History
Biography of Georg Alzner
Mr. Georg Alzner founded the Alzner School of Reflexology and Deep Muscle Therapy and The Physiatric Therapeutic Association as well as developing the Alzner Technique for Reflexology and Deep Muscle Therapy.
Georg was born in Romania and educated in Austria and Germany. He graduated with a PHD from the University of Nuremberg, where he was introduced to Reflexology. His degree was in Orthopaedic Massage and his doctorate was received for the development of his Orthotic. Georg was a shoemaker and specialized in making shoes for crippled children. Those who knew Georg knew him to be a one man force against crippling disease in all ages. The knowledge was gathered from forty years of experience.
During the Second World War Georg was conscripted into the German army and sent to the Russian Front. Along with others, in the middle of winter, Georg was captured by the Russians, suffering from frozen feet. He was taken to a Russian hospital where the doctors wanted to amputate his feet to prevent gangrene. He said ‘no’ and offered to show them how to save them. Because of great pain with gangrene, and a willing victim, the Russians agreed to go along with the treatment. When Georg’s feet healed he ended up spending six years working in the Russian hospital while adding to his knowledge. It was here that he met his first wife with whom he had five children.
Georg came to Canada and first settled in Calgary, Alberta, where, along with shoemaking he framed houses, earning enough money to manufacture his orthotics. In order to market them, he traveled throughout Canada and the United States, teaching both Chiropractors and lay people in their fitting while demonstrating how restoring balance to the feet restores balance to the body.
While in British Columbia Georg was privileged to read very old Chinese documents on Reflexology. This was very exciting, and with the aid of interpreters, added to his knowledge of Reflexology.
The latter part of Georg’s life was spent in Ontario, where he met and married his second wife and had three more children.
Georg would treat and teach people from Malls, Motels, Hotels, and Private Homes. The Mennonite Community in the Kitchener area has fond memories of him. People came from across the continent to be treated by him. He had a special talent for being able to tell what was wrong by watching you sit, stand, or walk. He was also privileged to getting instant results for some crippled people.
Georg was a spiritual person who recognized there is a spiritual aspect to the healing process. Those being treated by him knew this.
Watching Georg work showed the vast amount of energy he put into his work. Like many healers, he put other people’s needs ahead of his own, which may also have contributed to his death from a heart attack on the hottest day of the year at the age of sixty-three.
Georg wanted his knowledge to survive him so teaching became his driving force in the last few years. Teaching others Reflexology and Deep Muscle Therapy has allowed many others to benefit from these techniques. Thus the Alzner Method of Reflexology and Deep Muscle Therapy is a proven form of Holistic Treatment.
The Alzner Orthotic is still available and there are many people who praise the benefits derived from them.
It was Georg Alzner’s dream to eliminate crippling disease and to help all people walk with ease.
Autobiography: Lois Sawatzky, D.M.T., C.R. #D05395
(January 16, 1950 - November 4, 2021)
At 12 years of age, a severe fall on metal edged stairs crushed my coccyx, broke some ribs and damaged my lumbar spine. I saw an orthopedic surgeon who told me I had torn muscles, broken my coccyx and my spine was like spaghetti. Surgery, he said, would have a 95% failure rate. I lived on painkillers which made sitting in high school and college very difficult. I saw many chiropractors over the years; their prognosis was that I would need their adjustments 5-6 days per week. They accepted me as a chronic case and I only received temporary relief. In 1969 I was married, and my husband drove me many miles for treatments. Any prolonged sitting position rendered me with paralysis in my lower limbs. At age 29 I birthed our youngest son, and the pain became much worse. At times I had to crawl the stairs on my knees. In Newfoundland I was given a Chiropractic adjustment that gave me a major whiplash. According to my next chiropractor, he had almost broken my neck. People in our church joined us in prayer and God in His mercy, gave me healing in my back.
My husband had a white-collar job and was studying for his Master’s degree. He would ask me to treat his neck and experienced much relief. He developed a frozen shoulder and a tennis-arm from much writing; treating him relieved the pain and gave mobility to the shoulder. He recognized my God-given gift as well as others that sought treatment. In 1992 we moved to Kitchener-Waterloo ON. I saw Dr. Paul Gilmore Sr. who asked me if I wanted a cure for my neck pain; he scheduled me for six days a week for three months. In spite of weeks of nausea, he was able to give me great relief. Shortly thereafter, my husband encouraged me to get training to enhance the gift that God had given me. I enrolled in classes in London, Ontario. I am grateful for the technique that I was taught. Upon completion of those studies I felt a quest to learn more, especially anatomy and physiology.
I opened three clinics; one at the Atrium in Waterloo and two satellite clinics in Aylmer and Cambridge. I was working over fifty hours per week and doing much traveling. I recognized my need for an assistant and in 1998 I trained two ladies from Aylmer and one in Cambridge to help with the clientele load.
Some of my clients became students in London and requested further training under my tutorship. Mary Scheucher RN. , BA. , assisted me in formulating the curriculum of anatomy and physiology. Having treated many clients in the past years, I added further technique to the treatment. We spent hours weekly for a prolonged period of time developing the course; she was a great and valuable assistant and an encouraging mentor. I sought an understanding of the names of muscles, their location and function. I found myofascial trigger point release and its pain pattern fascinating, like a GPS in the body.
I have enjoyed teaching ready minds and gifted students that have become effective therapists. I thank the Good Lord for this awesome privilege.
I thank my husband, Dr. Neil Sawatzky, for his countless hours of assistance and encouragement.
2020 was my year of decision to pass the mantle to a therapist who had years of experience and was effective in the lives of many. Not only did she have passion to help her clients, but a fervor to continue this technique, knowing it to be very effective. I pass on the responsibility of teaching students to Maria Redecop, praying God will bless her and multiply her efforts to graduate many successful certified Deep Muscle Therapists.