Britannia Bodywork and Wellness Centre

       In the summer of 1995, while working as a whitewater raft guide in Jasper, Alberta, I received a gift certificate for a one hour massage at Jasper Park Lodge. Not knowing anything about massage other than what is typically portrayed in movies and on television, my first personal experience with massage surprised me in every conceivable way. My therapist was male. My treatment room was brightly lit, with no music. The only cliché that held true was that he was from eastern Europe. It turned out that my therapist was an ex-Olympic athlete who had found that massage had been the most effective modality for helping him to recover from his career ending injury. Subsequently trained as a massage therapist he was working for the Czech Olympic athletes in Montreal in 1976,… and never went home. It was an extremely powerful and important experience for me. Days later I was on the waiting list for admission to the West Coast College of Massage Therapy.   I graduated with my BPE in 1987 and from WCCMT in 1989.
      Originally I had only recognized the potential of massage in regards to rehabilitating athletic injuries. It wasn´t until I was working in a general practice that I realized that chronic pain is prevalent enough to be termed epidemic. Statistics tell us that, in North America, over 80 percent of us suffer from low back pain at one time or another. Neck pain and headache problems are almost as common. The vast majority of these problems are caused because most of us do not place enough balanced demands upon our bodies (specifically, our muscles, bones and joints). This leaves us with problems related to muscle imbalances and dysfunctional structural alignment. We experience this as poor posture, poor flexibility, pain and lack of energy. When we need help with a painful condition, we present with a unique combination of strengths, weaknesses and other physical characteristics that makes it impossible to effectively address the underlying cause of your pain with a “one size fits all” approach to treatment. For example, an extremely common underlying cause of low back pain is dysfunctional alignment of the pelvis. In such a situation no amount of the world´s finest treatment on your low back will eliminate your pain. Surgery is not the answer either. However, appropriate remedial exercise and manipulation of key musculature can normalize your pelvic position. Only then can your low back respond favourably to treatment and you have a chance at a lasting resolution to your problem. I have come to believe that accurate, detailed assessment of skeletal alignment and muscle imbalances is the key to consistent positive treatment outcomes. Once we know exactly what is causing your symptoms, the solution is usually self-evident.
       I have had the good fortune to study under Paul St. John (creator of St. John Neuromuscular Therapy) and Geoff Gluckman (creator of Muscle Balance and Function Development). Although I have taken many, many continuing education courses, including Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy, Muscle Energy, Biokinetics (based upon Hanna Somatics, which is the “American Feldenkrais”), these two mentors were each responsible for a complete paradigm shift in regards to my work. Because of them I see the body differently and work with patients differently than I did before.
      I´m originally from Cranbrook, British Columbia. I had a private practice there for almost 8 years. I also worked and travelled with the Vancouver Canucks during the 1991/92 season. During the last 9 and a half years I´ve been working with the rich and famous of Los Cabos, Mexico, including Jesse Ventura (actor, former Governor of Minnesota and retired professional wrestler) and Sammy Hagar (rock ´n´ roll musician). However, I´ve had that adventure and it is time for the next chapter. Calgary is THE place to be in Canada. I´ve been an admirer of Dr. Hasick´s work for almost 15 years and I couldn´t be happier to have the opportunity to join the team here at Britannia Bodyworks. My primary goal is to eliminate your pain, and show you how, together, we can keep it from coming back.