B2 - Wednesday, October 31, 2007 The Issaquah Press BY DAVID HAYES

Sway your way to better health through
Undulation

Anita Boser, a licensed Hellerwork Structural Integration practitioner, actually has the Power Rangers to thank for the change in her career vocation.

The author of the new book "Relieve Stiffness and Feel Young Again with Undulation," Boser said she didn't want her children several years ago to kill each other trying to emulate the martial arts moves they saw the Power Rangers perform each day on television. So, she signed up the whole family for karate lessons. Unfortunately for her, every time she tried the moves, Boser would hurt her back.

When the pain wouldn't go away, she tried yoga, chiropractic and physical therapy. But nothing seemed to work until she came across Hellerwork. Similar to massage, Hellerwork is more structural and more targeted in its approach to healing. It worked so well for Boser, she took the two years' schooling in Twisp to become a practitioner herself.

"For typical patients, I'll evaluate their alignment, find out what is out of balance and fighting gravity," Boser said. "Hellerwork provides deep tissue bodywork by manipulating the soft tissue to put you back into alignment."

Boser has practiced Hellerwork at her Issaquah office now for six years. She said she figures she has about 60 patients at any given time and about 300 overall. After years of patients telling her she should put this information in a book, Boser decided to put the centerpiece of Hellerwork, undulation, into an easy-to-follow instruction manual.

The book includes 52 exercises, essentially one for every week of the year. "By the end of the year, you should have really worked your back all sorts of ways," Boser said.

The target audience of the book is actually those over 40 who may have lost some mobility over the years. But Boser points out it's also appropriate for younger readers who find themselves slouched behind a desk all day long at their job, causing long-term problems to their backs.

"The book shows how to release your own back by moving the right way," Boser said, illustrating her point with a wooden snake that "undulates" back and forth, much the way she wants her readers to move their own spines. "This will empower readers to relieve their own pain, teach them a way to feel better about themselves."
The project took two years to finish. Along the way, Boser consulted local experts in yoga, chiropractic and physical therapy to get their input. "One yoga teacher said she never thought of undulation as something separate to teach from yoga," Boser recalled. "Yoga has a lot of movements that you do without thinking of flow. If she taught undulation, and her students could to that, then they could do everything else more effectively."

To help demonstrate the proper movements in each exercise, Boser recruited locals, including some patients, as the book's models. No professionals were hired. "One gentleman was nice enough to come in one day, having never tried Hellerwork before or since," she added.

Boser said readers will be surprised to learn how much undulation there is in everyday activities, from running, swimming, playing tennis and even lifting weights.

"Even those in wheelchairs, who sometimes have debilitating conditions, can do it," Boser said. "I especially want them and other people who are really hurting to get the most out of it."

The two-year writing process took a lot of discipline, she said, many early mornings, late nights and many hours logged at a local Starbucks. One of the hints she picked up in the writing process was not to get too bogged down in describing the process. Rather, she was told to get right to the exercises as early as possible. Getting the right editor proved to be a blessing and curse.

"I put so much blood, sweat and tears into the book, that I wanted it all to stay in," Boser admitted. "Some of it had to be deleted and it was actually hard to let it go."

Boser said she'd love for the book to sell 20,000 copies, but she is taking a more pragmatic approach. "What I would really like to see is for people to have control again over their back pain," she said. "I would also be happy if I were to walk in a room and see everyone swaying back and forth as they sat in their seats. Then, I'd know they were definitely more comfortable."

Reporter David Hayes can be reached at 392-6434,
ext. 237, or dhayes@isspress.com.