Restoring upper body balance for well-being

By PHILIPPA SMITH

Karen Muller is well aware of the stressful effects gravity can have on the body.

Working as a "postie" in the 70s to support her university studies, she spent many hours lugging heavy mail bags around the streets of Auckland.

The weight created an imbalance in her posture, throwing her body out of alignment and giving her a sway back and round shoulders.

Ms Muller overcame the problem through a modern body reconditioning method called Hellerwork. Later, putting her job as a corporate archivist aside, she trained in the technique to help others with imbalance problems. She now runs a clinic at Kohimarama (telephone 528-4905).

"Hellerwork is an extremely powerful tool in transforming the effects of people's life-long habits of posture and movement," she says.

With an unaligned body, stress is created by the different angles of the head, shoulders, upper chest, waist, pelvis, knees and ankles. This uncomfortable stance can cause pain varying in severity from moderate discomfort to excruciating agony.

"Breathing is restricted, leading to fatigue and low vitality."

However, while some people may have bad posture out of habit, she says, others will have problems exacerbated by an accident or injury which can be relieved through Hellerwork.

The environment, workplace, hobbies and sports can stress the body and cause such symptoms as repetitive strain injuries, numbness, tightness or lack of strength.

Ms Muller's clients have included musicians, drivers, gardeners, Machinists, runners and people who work with computers.

Hellerwork combines deep-tissue bodywork (myofacial release therapy), involving remedial massage, with movement re-education and personal awareness to realign the muscles and skeleton.

Each person is assessed individually and receives a sequence of 90-minute sessions depending on their needs. They are taught to become aware of changes in their body and how to identify and modify habits.

Hellerwork is not a treatment for injury, she says, but for restoring balance - especially to the upper body. In conjunction with a guided self-help programme of gentle stretching, she says, this can lead to less tension and stress, increased flexibility, energy and breathing capacity - and greater well-being.

Ms Muller is also a teacher of the Feldenkrais Method which focuses on learning more efficient and easier ways of moving. It is applied to daily activities such as reaching, sitting, standing and walking.

"There are a variety of treatments to help people with musculoskeletal imbalance and posture problems," she says. "People should use whatever works best. The greater the awareness we have of our posture and movement, the better we can use our bodies in the way they were designed to be."