Hellerwork Stuctural Integration - myofascial bodywork and movement education for better balance, alignment and ease of movement
Hellerwork Stuctural Integration - myofascial bodywork and movement education for better balance, alignment and ease of movement
“Anyone considering Hellerwork should not hesitate. My posture is better, joints move easier, I can breathe easier and this is after only a few sessions”
I’ve been running for the last 8 years or so and was regularly pulling my calves, resulting in pain, long periods without running and irritating advice that “maybe I was getting too old for running.” Having been to the physio countless times and tried other body work, I went to Alan because of the promise of long-term results. He certainly didn’t disappoint. A month after my 11 sessions finished, not only am I running better than ever, I’ve experienced myriad other positive changes. My posture and coordination are better, headaches are much less, aches and pains have just about disappeared, and I move with more ease. I feel more confident and look better too. Alan’s style is friendly, informative, respectful and professional. He has an admirable dedication to the feedback loop; throughout out work together, he regularly checked in with me both on process and results. He also answered my hundreds of questions, enabling me to understand what we were changing and why. This enabled me to always feel comfortable and make the most of the sessions. Rather than diminishing, I feel that the effects of the work are increasing with time. I recommend Alan without reservation, not just if you have a specific problem but also if you just want to move and feel better.
In June 2018 I was diagnosed with Compartment Syndrome in my calves. This is a condition where pressure within the muscles builds to very high levels. As a keen football player, I was unable to play longer than 10 -15 minutes at a time without pain. I was pencilled in for surgery but tried to look for alternatives because I could not afford to lose time developing my football career.
I came across Alan's website after thorough research and decided to give it a go. The first session with him was unbelievable. It was a completely different experience and less painful compared to the previous work I had done on my calves by other physiotherapists. My calves had never felt so 'light' it was like the pressure levels in my calves disappeared when I returned to football.
I started going to Alan before big football games or tournaments and every time the same result. I would walk out of the session feeling great, and I have had no troubles with compartment syndrome in my calves since I have been seeing Alan.
My mentality has completely changed in terms of how I approach a football game, now not worrying about my calves, my outlook on physiotherapy has changed for the better, and surgery to 'cure' my compartments seems to be a thing of the distant past.
Thanks Alan!
I have tried many types of rehabilitation work over the years. Hellerwork is different and superior to anything I've experienced. I damaged my back quite badly and I was extremely kinked over to one side! I was walking around like an old man for days! Your work allowed me to return to work much sooner than expected, and with increased flexibility. The main thing I noticed is that you really look at how the body is twisted and work at untwisting the kinks and loosening the muscles. I was sold after the first appointment and moved on to the full series of 11 sessions.
Thanks Alan.
I would like to thank you for the very successful Hellerwork sessions we have had. After a year of pain and discomfort in the ribs and chest area and many visits to my G.P, osteopath, physio and regular massages, I had given up hope of being pain free. I’m delighted to say that I had improvement from our first session and the ongoing programme of body management and education on posture have helped my well being.
I recommend Hellerwork to anyone whose life is being dictated to by restricted movement or pain. Your approach to the body as a whole, the relaxed atmosphere and the feeling I had of always being in control made the sessions something to look forward to. Once again Alan, thank you for giving this fifty-year-old the body to tackle things I had given up on.
As my late 20s have approached 30 at and alarming rate, I have felt increasingly aware that mind, body and spirit are definitely not a contented whole, as they should be if you believe the ads on television. At the time of realising this, I had developed a very uncomfortable and startling problem with my neck having hardly any turning ability as well as my left arm losing about 60% of its feeling - since I am left handed something had to be done about it. This was also accompanied by severe headaches, verging on migraines.
So off to Alan I went with no idea what Hellerwork actually was.
Over the first two or three session it was found that a repetitive action at work had caused my right side to over compensate, which in turn cramped all the muscles, tendons and nerves of my neck - hence the arm with no feeling and the blinding headaches. By working in this area Alan managed to restore movement and feeling. With this our of the way we were able to concentrate on restacking my body neatly, like Lego, rather than the crazy block style that was causing discomfort.
As the sessions progressed, I felt increasingly more "well oiled' rather than creaking. This was achieved through a series of exercises and a type of massage that put muscles and tendons back in their rightful place.
I found that after the completion of 11 sessions that; my scalp didn't feel tightly pulled, shoulders and neck were more relaxed and with greater movement, my posture felt markedly different and easier - I no longer had a felling of tipping forward all the time and having to correct by leaning backwards - which in turn also relaxed my hip joints and pelvis, my legs actually felt connected to the rest of my body and I found walking easier using my whole body rather than just my bottom half.
My favourite part of all the sessions done though had to be where Alan changed the part of my body I hated most - my feet. These things at the end of your legs are very important if you wish to do anything! My feet were small (size 7 1/2) for my height, bony and thin - making me self conscious to the point that I always wore shoes and never went shoe shopping if it meant actually showing feet to anyone. I found the session that concentrated on my feet not only made them size 9, but widened them as well as making me feel far more balanced than ever before. This also stopped the thick calluses I was getting where my feet rolled to the outside on the heels and balls of them.
Even now that the sessions are finished, I still remember to do the exercises if I feel I am starting to creak again. So if you feel your body is more like a game of crazy blocks than the neatly organised creation it should be, go see Alan to put it right!
In 2001 I undertook a course of Hellerwork with Alan. It was a time of considerable change in my life, and it appealed to "pamper myself". The course itself and the results exceeded all my expectations. I had tongue in cheek told Alan in the first session that what I was aiming to get out of it was "eternal youth". Perhaps the effect will be less than eternal, but I feel in so many ways years younger.
"For nearly 30 years I had discomfort in my feet, ankles and knees from an old injury. Alan picked up the problem immediately, carried out a simple realignment in perhaps five minutes, and the pain and discomfort was gone. In more than a year it has not returned, and I can now walk briskly for long periods in all terrain, which I could never have done before.
I recommend Alan to many people. I tell them that I am happier, healthier and have more energy than before. My feet are properly aligned, ankles more stable, and the pain gone. I am taller than I was, and slimmer. I do up my belt two notches tighter than I did, although my weight has not dropped and I continue to eat as I always have.
I enjoyed my sessions with Alan. I find it hard to imagine anyone not liking him. I strongly recommend his course of Hellerwork to anyone old enough to have got set in the ways they handle their body.
Alan provides Hellerwork, a refined synthesis of bodywork movement and dialogue that rejuvenates the whole-body structure, posture and alignment, ... After having tried many other services and enduring years of discomfort and pain, Alan's work has provided me with excellent and enduring results so recomend Alan to anyone needing deep tissue bodywork and massage.
Alan Roberts helped me to realize the root of my physical and emotional stress, and to alleviate the strain it was having on my spine. Through his excellent instruction and hands-on work I felt taller and more in-tune with my body than I have in long time. I cannot recommend his work any higher!