Testimonials
Shellie Sakash is the finest of physical therapists and Pilates instructors. Her depth of training and experience in both areas, as well as in other therapies, is apparent right from the start in her interviews with clients to begin designing their individual wellness programs. She is a superb listener, diagnostician, and coach—responsive and flexible to the client’s needs during each session in acknowledgment that our bodies change from day to day. Furthermore, she has cultivated highly collaborative referral relationships with other quality practitioners. If she thinks a colleague may address an issue better or in complement, she will refer you or consult with that colleague on your behalf, with your permission.
But it is her fluid, expert ability to combine techniques—engaged as needed during each session—that makes her a truly exceptional practitioner today. Because Shellie has the skills and knowledge to identify and address root causes while also treating the issue at hand, she has—in our opinion, based on vast medical experience— redefined physical therapy and created a model for Best Practices.
Working with Shellie, my husband and I have each achieved results faster and more fundamentally than with any other physical therapist or Pilates instructor. Our cases have not been easy. Despite no family history and being thin and as fit, I have dealt with catastrophic cardiac events since 1997, culminating in a heart transplant in 2006. Multiple thoracic operations and traumas created both physical and emotional scar tissue, contorting my body and affecting general movement, with a profound impact on my wellness and ability to endure. Shellie’s combination of physical therapy and Pilates was and continues to be life-saving.
My husband, Jack, is a founding executive of a leading biotechnology company and no woo-woo medicine guy. A world-class mountain climber and all-round athlete, he has had multiple injuries and back problems and thought he could benefit from a training update from Shellie, after he saw what she had done for me. Her emphasis on core strength training for him has transformed his posture and increased his strength and energy—just in time for a diagnosis of cancer. That cancer is now in total remission, but Shellie’s ongoing, adaptable training throughout his chemotherapy and afterwards has accelerated his recovery, helping particularly with neuropathy in his feet, a typical and devastating side-effect of chemotherapy. His MGH oncologist noted that he is considerably ahead of his peers in his recovery and vigor.
Our clinicians at Mass General Hospital in Boston have approved and applauded what Shellie and her peer practitioners have achieved with us. Of course, we had to do the work. No patient will achieve results in any therapy without fully participating. We work hard in between sessions, with Shellie as our guide. You could not find a finer practitioner to help you feel good and set you up for thriving than Shellie Sakash.
- Deborah Daw Heffernan
best-selling author of An Arrow Through the Heart, originally published by Simon & Schuster and featured on Oprah (2002); revised/updated by Open Road Media, 2015
Upon the recommendation of two other musicians, I contacted Shellie Sakash with the goal to understand and find relief from increasingly problematic physical symptoms. Back and neck pain, arm and hand fatigue, as well as loss of function were present as a result of longstanding injuries, chronic overuse, and neglect of early stages of decline.
It has been an amazing experience to work with Shellie, who literally brings to the table a plethora of nuanced skills, deriving from her extensive training and background in physiology, movement, and musculoskeletal relationships. I find her to be a remarkably gifted, multifaceted Physical Therapist and whole health advocate. She is also a stellar person of the highest integrity.
In addition to her keen ability to diagnose and treat, I have welcomed Shellie’s encouragement and invitation to participate in my ongoing improvement through carefully prescribed and monitored stretching and strengthening exercises. It is exceedingly rare to find a practitioner with the level of depth and breadth of knowledge that informs Shellie’s work; and even more extraordinary that her expansive experience joins with an abiding commitment to get to the heart of the issue. In this, she is unmatched.
If anyone is looking for healing – not just of symptoms – but true healing of root causes with a therapist who will stay the course and believe even when discouragement arises, look no further than Shellie Sakash. She is a joy to work with, deeply kind and compassionate, and professional at all times.
I have no doubt that I will benefit from her skills and knowledge base for years to come. And because of our work together, I now have hope.
I cannot recommend Shellie highly enough.
- Dana Cunningham
Pianist and Composer
"What impresses me most about Shellie’s physical therapy treatment is the entire process, from start to finish. I find her evaluation entirely thorough and her listening skills to be profound. This pairing, along with the breadth of her knowledge and hands on experience, is where results are gained. I highly recommend Shellie to anyone experiencing a challenging injury, chronic or acute. "