The MELT Method® is a breakthrough self-treatment system that restores the supportiveness of the body’s connective tissue to eliminate chronic pain, improve performance, and decrease the accumulated stress caused by repetitive postures and movements of everyday living. This patent-pending, pro-active self-treatment technique is backed by science and acclaimed by thousands of devoted MELTers.

New research has revealed the missing link to pain-free living: a balanced nervous system and healthy connective tissue. These two components work together to provide whole-body support, protection, and mind-body communication. Manual therapist Sue Hitzmann has transformed groundbreaking neurofascial science and hands-on therapies into a one-of-a-kind treatment method called MELT.

MELT creates a strong, flexible body that maintains its upright posture for life. And you will see and feel results after just one session!

MELT improves:

flexibility & mobility
posture
the results of exercise
range of motion
sleep & digestion
overall well-being

MELT reduces:

aches & pains
wrinkles & cellulite
tension
headaches
risk of injury

MELT is for anyone who wants to slow down the aging process and live better, longer. For those in their 40s, 50s, and older who want to stay active, mobile, and independent — MELT is a must. MELT is for active younger adults and athletes who want to maintain a fit, toned body and achieve optimal performance without debilitating wear and tear.

MELT is truly for everyone! Even if you are pregnant, injured, post-surgery, overweight, sedentary, out of shape, have limited mobility, chronic pain, knee/hip replacements, or bone disorders — you can still MELT. It’s the best starting point for any exercise program.

No. MELT is unlike any other technique because it addresses an entirely different system of the body. MELT is to the neurofascial system (nervous and connective tissue system), what all other forms of exercise are to the musculoskeletal system. The science of the neurofascial system is being introduced to the health and fitness arena for the first time by Sue Hitzmann and MELT.

Far beyond weight loss and exercise, through a series of easy, precise techniques—using simple, specialized equipment like soft body rollers and small balls—this groundbreaking program quickly rehydrates connective tissue, making it more supportive, allowing the body to release long-held tension frequently leading to chronic pain symptoms. MELT also helps decrease accumulated stress in the nervous system improving any person’s overall wellness. It’s like getting all the benefits of a great massage yet it lasts longer and takes only minutes a day to get lasting results.

Day-to-day living creates tension within our bodies. Physical stressors range from sitting at a desk to running a marathon. Carrying children and heavy bags creates trapped tension, as does even the gentlest form of exercise. Emotional, mental, and environmental stressors such as processed foods, medications, environmental toxins, and daily worries all build tension in the body.

New science reveals that this “stuck stress” is literally trapped in our connective tissue, which surrounds every joint, muscle, nerve, bone, and organ. Unaddressed trapped stress causes connective tissue dehydration and cellular damage. This creates a domino effect that begins with aches and stiffness and leads to common health issues such as neck and low back pain, headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, and injury. Accelerated aging and chronic health problems can follow . . . leaving us with limited options such as medicine, surgery, and a sedentary lifestyle.

However, when the connective tissue is hydrated and free of roadblocks, our bodies function at a more optimal level. MELT is a breakthrough technique that keeps our connective tissue and nervous system in top condition and slows down the aging process. MELT rejuvenates tissue hydration and relieves the tension of day-to-day life that gets trapped in our bodies. No other proactive approach directly treats the connective tissue—including nutrition, exercise, yoga, meditation, or vitamins.

MELT is easy to learn, backed by cutting-edge research, and offers immediate results that you will see and feel the first time you MELT. Changes in posture, flexibility, energy, mood, and performance occur within only a few sessions. Best of all, your body feels great long after you MELT!

MELT a minimum of 15 minutes, three times a week to experience immediate and long-lasting benefits. And if you want to MELT every day, that’s okay too.

MELT before strength training to improve muscle performance or after a cardio workout to erase joint compression and stiffness.

People who MELT regularly find that they want to exercise more often. It’s just more fun to move when your body feels good, has more energy, and is free of pain.

Yes, MELT has been reviewed by internationally respected doctors, neuroscientists, and connective-tissue researchers, including Jean Pierre Barral, D.O.; Ben Domb, M.D.; Gil Hedley, Ph.D.; Tom Myers; and Robert Schleip, Ph.D. Each expert has recognized that MELT is grounded in scientific principles and offers extraordinary benefits.

Light touch hydration techniques using the MELT Method Soft Roller and the MELT Method Hand and Foot Ball Kit. I’ll teach you how to treat your tissues using the 4 R’s of MELT: Reconnect, Rebalance, Rehydrate, and Release to improve how you navigate your daily life and recover from the demands you place on your body and its systems every day!

Highly Specialized Neuromuscular work traditionally only performed by a highly skilled therapist to stabilize and improve muscle timing of the shoulders, core, and pelvis. Sue Hitzmann developed a way to teach her clients, in a group or private setting how to simulate these highly specialized results to reduce pain and improve stability and mobility using the next two R’s of MELT: Reintegrate and Re-pattern using the MELT Method roller, your own body, and the MELT Method Resistance Band.

Sue Hitzmann, MS, CST, NMT, has spent two decades seeking answers to her own questions about the health and longevity of the human body. Like many of her teachers, Sue is a clinician and educator. Although her brainchild – MELT – is a simple self-treatment technique, it is based upon a complex intersection of interdisciplinary science, research, and clinical practice.

Sue has taken emerging brain and body science relating to systemic balance, stability, and function and created a simplified, dynamic reference point—the MELT Living-Body Model™. This applicable model is a shorthand view into the complex subsystems, stabilizing mechanisms, and history of a body to help the general public embody cellular and neurological science into their daily life. The intention of this longevity model is to provide an educational tool, a barometer of personal wellness, and a platform from which more complementary methods can be brought into the mainstream in an effort to provide proactive options to medicine and surgery.

The MELT Method® is the application of this model and a vehicle to bring neurofascial science to the masses through Hands-off Bodywork™. The model and method ultimately offer new opportunities to better define the how and where stress accumulates in the body, and provide more precise applications to maintain optimal function and health for a lifetime. Both have been created in close consultation with Sue’s network of mentors and collaborators.
MELT offers the opportunity for anyone, regardless of age or fitness level, to improve their longevity through self-treatment. The consistent results MELT yields are remarkable and undeniable. Previously such results were available only through ongoing, costly bodywork from multiple practitioners.

The foundational concepts of MELT rests in the science, methods and applications, and pioneering research of a variety of hands-on modalities, including Leon Chaitow’s and Judith DeLany’s Neuromuscular Therapy, John Upledger’s Craniosacral Therapy, Ida Rolf’s Structural Integration, Bruno Chikly’s Lymph Drainage Therapy, and Jean-Pierre Barral’s Visceral Manipulation to name a few.

Over the past decade, the research into connective tissue, pelvic and spinal stability, sensory motor learning, and neuroscience has expanded exponentially. As a founding member of the Fascial Research Society, Sue has collaborated and studied with, and learned from the world’s most renowned educators and researchers in these fields of human science, including but not limited to Thomas Findley, Robert Schleip, Jean-Claude Guimberteau, Tom Myers, Diane Lee, Elaine DeBeauport, and Gil Hedley.

As the research emerged, Sue assimilated histological studies and neurological and connective tissue research, and has participated in numerous human cadaver dissections. She has integrated her discoveries with her manual, movement, and kinesthetic therapy education and conducted empirical research with thousands of clients and students. As the science continues to make discoveries, the method and her learning and teaching continue to grow, adapt, and become more refined.
Sue’s pursuits have unexpectedly led her to the profound discovery of the intersection of the nervous and connective tissue systems. Based on her understanding of the inseparable link between these two systems, she has become a self-proclaimed neurofascial anthropologist. Addressing the balance within and between the nervous and connective tissue systems is central to MELT.

Exciting research continues and new scientific discoveries consistently support Sue’s findings, yet there is still much work to be done. In late 2007, at Harvard Medical School, the first International Fascial Research Conference brought together some of the most esteemed researchers, therapists, and educators from various scientific, medical, and therapeutic disciplines to collectively explore current research and future goals.
Fascial and neurological research continues to be driven by the need for evidence-based practice, the findings of which will likely revolutionize the fields of conventional and complementary health care, fitness, and wellness in years to come. As scientific equipment and technology allows us to look at the body on a cellular and molecular level, we will continue to learn more about the vast universe within the human body and solve the mysteries of aging, pain, and the longevity of the human organism.

To learn more about emerging brain and body science, the neurofascial system, and the MELT Living-Body Model™, you are invited to attend Sue’s educational course for personal growth or to become a MELT Instructor. Both general public and professional programs have been developed to educate more people on self-care

Take your Pilates to the next level with MELT for Pilates, which uses the soft MELT Half Roller to bring the precision of Pilates apparatus techniques to Pilates mat work and uses MELT Length moves to prepare the body for a deeper, more efficient Pilates workout. You never knew Pilates could feel so good!