The Root Cause Session
Start with a Root Cause Session at Dharma Massage in Westport, CT. Combine a posture and movement assessment with personalized hands-on bodywork.
Your Massage Therapist in Westport, CT
You want to know who you're trusting with your body.
That's exactly the right question.
You deserve a practitioner who knows how to listen to your pain, and treat it. That's what you'll find here.
Our Story
Some people become massage therapists. Mark was born to relieve pain.
He'll tell you he always wanted to be a doctor. What he became instead is something rarer: a practitioner with the clinical training to find what's driving your pain, the hands to treat it, and the kind of warmth that makes you feel genuinely cared for from the moment you walk in.
His path started long before the massage table. Early in his career, Mark worked with AmeriCares and was sent to Rome to meet with Mother Teresa, to ask her to intervene in the Sudanese war so that medical supplies could reach people who desperately needed them. She agreed. The supplies got through. That is the kind of work that shaped the practitioner who now works on your body.
"He doesn't work on the body alone, he works on what the body carries."
Nothing brings Mark more joy than watching someone leave a session moving freely when they walked in guarded and in pain. It's a calling, and it's why he named this practice Dharma. In Sanskrit, dharma means one's sacred purpose, one's sacred duty, the work one was put here to do.
For Mark, this is it. His clients don't just get better. They come back. Not because they have to. But because something about working with Mark makes people feel genuinely seen and heard, clients leave saying, "I feel so much better." Over eight years, he did more than 4,000 sessions, helping people find lasting relief, move freely again, and solve a problem they thought they just had to live with.
Rev. Dr. Mark L. Heilshorn, LMT, MMP, MAT
★★★★★ 100+ Five-Star Google Reviews
CREDENTIALS
His credentials are serious. His manner is anything but.
Mark holds a Master of Divinity from Yale and a Doctorate in Theology in Interfaith Studies.
He's a Licensed Massage Therapist, Master Massage Practitioner, Medical Massage Practitioner, and Pre & Perinatal Specialist, licensed in Connecticut since 2018, and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association. He's also a Myoskeletal Alignment Technique Certified Practitioner, trained through Erik Dalton's Freedom From Pain Institute, the organization behind the method itself.
What that means for you: when Mark works on your body, he knows what to look for, and how to address it.
M.Div.
D.Min.
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Master Massage Practitioner (MMP)
Licensed 2018
The Practitioners
The Hands Behind the Work
As the practice grew, Mark brought on talented therapists who share what matters most to him, not just technical skill, but genuine care for the person on the table. From the first intake question to the last stroke of a session, every detail is designed to facilitate relief.
Founder
Rev. Dr. Mark L. Heilshorn
LMT · MMP · MAT · M.Div. · D.Min. · Licensed since 2018
Twenty years in pastoral ministry, a doctorate in theology, and eight years of clinical bodywork. Mark's approach blends structural precision with deep human presence.
Mon – Sat · Early mornings and evenings available upon request and by appointment only
Licensed Massage Therapist
Lisa Wingard
LMT · Medical Massage · Pre & Perinatal Specialist · MSMAT
Lisa offers Dharma's full range of therapeutic modalities with a presence that puts every client immediately at ease. Her precision is exceptional. Her touch makes hard work feel gentle.
Thu & Sat · 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Our Philosophy
Every Body Has a Story to Tell
Pain is never random. Tension is never arbitrary. At Dharma, facilitating healing requires listening, with trained hands and an open mind.
Find the Root Cause
We trace pain to its origins. Every session begins with listening and understanding the full picture.
Presence Over Protocol
Our sessions flow intuitively in real time, drawing from our full repertoire to meet your body with what it needs.
Safe by Design
From the intake form to the closing moment of every session: you are seen, you are safe, and your healing matters.
Results That Last
We build personalized treatment plans and educate clients about their bodies, because sustainable relief requires more than a single session.
