Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Hellerwork

Definition

Hellerwork is a system of bodywork that combines deep tissue massage, body movement education, and verbal dialogue. It is designed to realign the body's structure for overall health, improvement of posture, and reduction of physical and mental stress.

Origins

Joseph Heller (1940–) developed Hellerwork, a system of structural integration patterned after Rolfing. Although Heller received a degree in engineering and worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, he became interested in humanistic psychology in the 1970s. He spent two years studying bioenergetics and Gestalt therapy as well as studying under the architect and futurist Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), the flotation tank therapy developer John Lilly, the family therapist...