Anita Boser
My path to Hellerwork started when my twin boys were 5 years old. They loved the Power Rangers and practiced all of the karate-style moves on each other. I thought that real karate training would be good for them and for my husband and myself as well, so I enrolled us in a traditional karate school. When it came time to earn our second degree green belts, our Sensei told us that our rankings would be taped to the ceiling and we would have to climb the rope to get them. I did not have much upper body strength, so this was a real challenge for me. I did extra push ups and pull ups to try to develop my arm strength, but I hurt my back every time I worked out. My chiropractor could "put me back together," but no type of treatment had any lasting effect until I tried Hellerwork. I knew that what I needed was for someone to get deep enough and touch "the right spot." I kept trying different types of massage and one day tried Hellerwork. My Hellerwork practitioner, Kim Illig, did not do "fix it" work. She took people through the 11-session Hellerwork Series. In the Series, there is not any extensive work directly on the back until the sixth session, so it was a leap of faith for me to take that path. After the second session, I successfully climbed the rope in karate. It wasn't pretty, but it was fun (my practitioner's suggestion) and I didn't hurt my back. This experience opened my eyes wide to the fact that there was a different way of viewing the world that could have great implications for me. I had a successful career in the health insurance industry, working for a great company with nice co-workers, a good salary and terrific bosses. But it was stressful work and took its toll on me. In the sixth or seventh session of the Hellerwork Series, I remember lying on Kim's table and thinking "I could do this work. I would really like my life if I did this work." But it was a scary thought. I had really lived my life from my head. I was very attached to my intelligence and found it difficult to stay in my body for any length of time. It took me a couple of years to get the courage and resources to attend a Hellerwork training. Through more than half of the training, I felt like I was in the wrong place and could be making a mistake, because touching people, teaching people about their bodies, and being an example for being embodied was so foreign to me. Fortunately, my mentor and teachers recognized my gifts (everyone has gifts!) and helped me to become the Practitioner that I was destined to be rather than the Practitioner that I thought I should be. Often I look back and wonder how I got here, but am very glad that I took the risk and developed different parts of myself to do it. It may sound silly, but I learned to accept myself and then love myself through the training. I stopped trying to be someone I wasn't and started to use my gifts in the best way I can. As a Practitioner, I have a great sense of peace about my work. I apply my mind, body and spirit on a daily basis and have the wonderful reward of helping my clients to accept themselves.
Return to Practitioner's Stories Return to the Homepage |