The Mensendieck method

Olivier’s is a hands-off practitioner: in Mensendieck posture therapy, the patient is the main actor, and the therapist is just a guide. His combination of Mensendieck therapy and ergonomics is uniquely effective in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain. 

Principles

According to the Mensendieck method, only the patient can modify the functioning of his neuromuscular system. The hands-on methods used by most doctors, physiotherapists, chiropractors, etc. are therefore not effective in promoting habits and posture change.

The return on investment is excellent, especially on long-term health costs. By learning how to take care of yourself, correct your posture and incorporate simple exercises into your daily life, the risk of developing chronic conditions is reduced.

However, posture correction requires motivation, concentration and repetition. Olivier therefore treats only highly motivated people: your time is too precious to be lost.

A different therapy

Most of Olivier’s patients live abroad, thanks to Mensendieck being a hands-off therapy.

You will appreciate the structured treatment, inherited from his engineering background. You will learn that the body is extremely logical and you will thereby regain clarity, comfort and quality of life.

Last but not least: Olivier combines Mensendieck therapy with ergonomics. This is unprecedented. The former helps you improve your habits, whilst the latter deals with your environment: the entire biomechanical load on your tissues is reduced.

The origins

After spending her childhood in New York, Bess Mensendieck (1866-1959) studied medicine in Zurich. She was a pioneer in observing that body awareness (proprioception) can be improved by a better use of the body, and that this increases muscle control and coordination as well as overall balance.

In the last decades, Bess Mensendieck’s clinical findings have been complemented or confirmed by research into the brain and nervous system, their plasticity and their consequences for movement learning.

Working with Olivier

Olivier is the successor of Ans Samama-Polak (born in 1923), the oldest Mensendieck therapist in the Netherlands. She has treated the greatest musicians of the 20th century (classical music, jazz and modern music).

In Northern Europe, Mensendieck therapists are well known, but the training does not exist in Switzerland or in France.

Olivier opened a new way in 2015, by accepting requests from patients living in the United States, Europe, Asia or the Middle East: thanks to his “hands-off” method aiming at empowering his patients, distance is no longer a problem.

By combining the Mensendieck method and ergonomics, Olivier helps you improve your habits and your environment, at work and at home. He takes a 360° look at what you do to your body 24/7.

Since 2020, The Posture Academy offers access to posture correction therapy with a minimal budget, simply from a cell phone.

Services

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