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Howard Rontal
MA, CHP, LMT
Howard has been a Certified Hellerwork Practitioner since 1985 and began teaching what would evolve into the Myofascial Release Massage in 1991. Over 4,300 massage professionals and students have taken the Part I, Upper Body course since its inception. From a single two-day course the Myofascial Release Massage has grown to three 2 1/2 day courses.
From offering the Myofascial Release Massage at a single school, the seminars are currently available in the eastern half of the United States at seven schools as well as several clinics and spas, and are taught by Howard and four other instructors he trained and certified.
Howard continues to maintain a private practice because he loves doing bodywork and because, as Joseph Heller once told him, "You can't teach well what you don't practice."
Howard specializes in traditional Hellerwork with its emphasis on postural correction, as well as relieving clients of the effects of physical trauma. He is also a Certified Myoskeletal Alignment Therapist (developed by Erik Dalton) and a Board Certified Structural Integrator. Howard is a member of the American Hellerwork Association, the International Society of Structural Integrators, and the American Massage Therapy Association.
Chris Morakis
LMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Chris was the first person to become certified in the Myofascial Release Massage.
He took the Upper and Lower Body courses while a student at the Ohio College of Massotherapy from which he graduated in 1994 and immediately after completing these seminars was asked to serve Howard as a teaching assistant. He has assisted Howard over 40 times.
Chris is licensed by the State of Ohio as an LMT. In addition to his private massage practice Chris was responsible for massage therapy, rehabilitation, exercise, and some physical therapy at a Chiropractic Clinic in Ohio.
He was the massage therapist for the 2000 Hewlett Packard Women's Bicycle Challenge in Boise, Idaho as well as for the LPGA in Warren, Ohio from 1998 through 2000. Chris is also certified as a fitness trainer by the International Sports Sciences Association, and is also an instructor of T'ai Chi and Chi Cong. From 2000-2003 Chris was also an instructor at the Ohio College of Massotherapy. Chris has also worked for the Pro-Am PGA in Pittsburgh PA as a massage therapist.
In addition, Chris, with his wife, own The Focal Point in Poland Ohio, where they are redefining preventative health care. He is dedicated to educating students in the healing art of Myofascial Release Massage! Students comment that learning the Myofascial Release Massage from Chris is a not only very educational, it’s a great deal of fun as well.
Tracey Morris
LMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Tracey has been a Licensed Massage Therapist in Maryland since 1998. In addition to her certification in the Myofascial Release Massage she also trained in Craniosacral Therapy (Upledger Institute), Hot Stone Therapy, and Deep Tissue Massage.
Tracey has a thriving clinical practice and has been an instructor of Massage Therapy at The College of Southern Maryland, LaPlata Campus for five years. She is also the owner of the Therapeutic Massage and Wellness Spa in LaPlata, MD.
While Tracey specialized in Deep Tissue for many years her study of the Myofascial Release Massage completely reoriented her approach to deep bodywork, because, she says, of its immediate effectiveness and long lasting results. In her clinical practice she specializes in orthopedic problems like frozen shoulder, post surgical rehabilitation and working with athletes, both to mend injuries and prevent them, as well as improve athletic performance.
Her relationship to the Myofascial Release Massage began not as a student but as Howard's client. She enrolled in Howard's Part I seminar before she had completed her initial course of treatment.
Her enthusiasm for the work was so great that she asked to be trained as an instructor even before she completed the three courses and certification examination. She served as Howard's teaching assistant over 20 times before leading her first Myofascial Release Massage seminar. Students report that her enthusiasm for the work is contagious.
Krissy Viccione
LCMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Krissy graduated from the Bancroft School of Massage and has been a licensed and certified massage practitioner in Rhode Island for over 26 years. In addition to be being certified in the Myofascial Release Massage she is also certified in pre and neri-natal massage and hot stone massage.
Krissy was instrumental in the establishment of the first Massage Envy franchise in Rhode Island. Remarkably, in the midst a heavy administrative schedule, she also performed so well as a massage therapist that she was named Massage Therapist of the Year for the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Westchester County Region in 2009. She continued to work for Massage Envy for six years, doing thousands of sessions and helping to create another three regional franchises. She left the company to give more of her time to her husband and four children and to teaching the Myofascial Release Massage.
Krissy says that the Myofascial Release Massage revolutionized her approach to treating clients and that this has led to a specialization in chronic pain and injury treatment. She has a thriving practice in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Perhaps her greatest strength as an instructor of the Myofascial Release Massage is the sheer volume of people she's worked with. Calling on her wealth of experience she is an indispensable resource for the student who wants to know if and how the Myofascial Release Massage can be used to help their clients.
Andy Knepley
LCMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Andy has been a massage therapist since 2011. Currently he is a lead therapist for the Rhode Island franchise of Massage Envy and was named the 2016 Massage Envy Therapist of the Year for the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts Region. He is licensed to practice in both Rhode Island and Florida.
Educating himself and educating others has been a theme thorough out Andy's life. In addition to teaching the Myofascial Release Massage he teaches regional workshops for Massage Envy. Prior to discovering that massage therapy was his calling, he earned a bachelor's degree in music and two master's degrees, one in history and the other in education. He is a graduate of the Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Andy discovered The Myofascial Release Massage only one year into his massage therapy practice. He was so excited by the work from the first course that he marched through all the classes and passed the certification exam in 2014. A few years later he entered the instructor trainee program. His training was interrupted by Covid but he remained steadfast in his determination to teach this modality and became a certified instructor in 2023.
Andy is a very spontaneous teacher. He comes up with many unusual and fun ways to describe the work, ways that really bring the concepts to life and makes them easy to learn. In addition, his many years at Massage Envy has given him a practical knowledge of how the Myofascial Release Massage is applied, both in a private practice and in at a spa or clinic.
— More about Courses & Certification —
III. Advanced Strokes, Evaluation and Treatment
Howard Rontal
MA, CHP, LMT
Howard has been a Certified Hellerwork Practitioner since 1985 and began teaching what would evolve into the Myofascial Release Massage in 1991. Over 4,300 massage professionals and students have taken the Part I, Upper Body course since its inception. From a single two-day course the Myofascial Release Massage has grown to three 2 1/2 day courses.
From offering the Myofascial Release Massage at a single school, the seminars are currently available in the eastern half of the United States at seven schools as well as several clinics and spas, and are taught by Howard and four other instructors he trained and certified.
Howard continues to maintain a private practice because he loves doing bodywork and because, as Joseph Heller once told him, "You can't teach well what you don't practice."
Howard specializes in traditional Hellerwork with its emphasis on postural correction, as well as relieving clients of the effects of physical trauma. He is also a Certified Myoskeletal Alignment Therapist (developed by Erik Dalton) and a Board Certified Structural Integrator. Howard is a member of the American Hellerwork Association, the International Society of Structural Integrators, and the American Massage Therapy Association.
Chris Morakis
LMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Chris was the first person to become certified in the Myofascial Release Massage.
He took the Upper and Lower Body courses while a student at the Ohio College of Massotherapy from which he graduated in 1994 and immediately after completing these seminars was asked to serve Howard as a teaching assistant. He has assisted Howard over 40 times.
Chris is licensed by the State of Ohio as an LMT. In addition to his private massage practice Chris was responsible for massage therapy, rehabilitation, exercise, and some physical therapy at a Chiropractic Clinic in Ohio.
He was the massage therapist for the 2000 Hewlett Packard Women's Bicycle Challenge in Boise, Idaho as well as for the LPGA in Warren, Ohio from 1998 through 2000. Chris is also certified as a fitness trainer by the International Sports Sciences Association, and is also an instructor of T'ai Chi and Chi Cong. From 2000-2003 Chris was also an instructor at the Ohio College of Massotherapy. Chris has also worked for the Pro-Am PGA in Pittsburgh PA as a massage therapist.
In addition, Chris, with his wife, own The Focal Point in Poland Ohio, where they are redefining preventative health care. He is dedicated to educating students in the healing art of Myofascial Release Massage! Students comment that learning the Myofascial Release Massage from Chris is a not only very educational, it’s a great deal of fun as well.
Tracey Morris
LMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Tracey has been a Licensed Massage Therapist in Maryland since 1998. In addition to her certification in the Myofascial Release Massage she also trained in Craniosacral Therapy (Upledger Institute), Hot Stone Therapy, and Deep Tissue Massage.
Tracey has a thriving clinical practice and has been an instructor of Massage Therapy at The College of Southern Maryland, LaPlata Campus for five years. She is also the owner of the Therapeutic Massage and Wellness Spa in LaPlata, MD.
While Tracey specialized in Deep Tissue for many years her study of the Myofascial Release Massage completely reoriented her approach to deep bodywork, because, she says, of its immediate effectiveness and long lasting results. In her clinical practice she specializes in orthopedic problems like frozen shoulder, post surgical rehabilitation and working with athletes, both to mend injuries and prevent them, as well as improve athletic performance.
Her relationship to the Myofascial Release Massage began not as a student but as Howard's client. She enrolled in Howard's Part I seminar before she had completed her initial course of treatment.
Her enthusiasm for the work was so great that she asked to be trained as an instructor even before she completed the three courses and certification examination. She served as Howard's teaching assistant over 20 times before leading her first Myofascial Release Massage seminar. Students report that her enthusiasm for the work is contagious.
Krissy Viccione
LCMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Krissy graduated from the Bancroft School of Massage and has been a licensed and certified massage practitioner in Rhode Island for over 26 years. In addition to be being certified in the Myofascial Release Massage she is also certified in pre and neri-natal massage and hot stone massage.
Krissy was instrumental in the establishment of the first Massage Envy franchise in Rhode Island. Remarkably, in the midst a heavy administrative schedule, she also performed so well as a massage therapist that she was named Massage Therapist of the Year for the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Westchester County Region in 2009. She continued to work for Massage Envy for six years, doing thousands of sessions and helping to create another three regional franchises. She left the company to give more of her time to her husband and four children and to teaching the Myofascial Release Massage.
Krissy says that the Myofascial Release Massage revolutionized her approach to treating clients and that this has led to a specialization in chronic pain and injury treatment. She has a thriving practice in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Perhaps her greatest strength as an instructor of the Myofascial Release Massage is the sheer volume of people she's worked with. Calling on her wealth of experience she is an indispensable resource for the student who wants to know if and how the Myofascial Release Massage can be used to help their clients.
Andy Knepley
LCMT, CMRM, CIMRM
Andy has been a massage therapist since 2011. Currently he is a lead therapist for the Rhode Island franchise of Massage Envy and was named the 2016 Massage Envy Therapist of the Year for the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Southeastern Massachusetts Region. He is licensed to practice in both Rhode Island and Florida.
Educating himself and educating others has been a theme thorough out Andy's life. In addition to teaching the Myofascial Release Massage he teaches regional workshops for Massage Envy. Prior to discovering that massage therapy was his calling, he earned a bachelor's degree in music and two master's degrees, one in history and the other in education. He is a graduate of the Bancroft School of Massage Therapy in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Andy discovered The Myofascial Release Massage only one year into his massage therapy practice. He was so excited by the work from the first course that he marched through all the classes and passed the certification exam in 2014. A few years later he entered the instructor trainee program. His training was interrupted by Covid but he remained steadfast in his determination to teach this modality and became a certified instructor in 2023.
Andy is a very spontaneous teacher. He comes up with many unusual and fun ways to describe the work, ways that really bring the concepts to life and makes them easy to learn. In addition, his many years at Massage Envy has given him a practical knowledge of how the Myofascial Release Massage is applied, both in a private practice and in at a spa or clinic.
— More about Courses & Certification —
III. Advanced Strokes, Evaluation and Treatment