Policies and FAQs:

$100/1-hour session

A sliding scale fee is available for those who can’t afford the normal rate

I also offer free 15-min consultations

The short answer is: an in-take, a one-hour massage, and an out-take.

During the in-take I discuss with my client what their goals are, their medical history, and what our plan is for the massage. For new clients the in-take process can often take 30-min or more. During this time, I will often conduct assessment tests, delve into the history of old injuries, and it may sound strange but it's not rare for these discussions to get personal or emotional. Often old injuries have attached emotions and experiences, and often new injuries add more stress to an already stressful life. These sessions are a safe place to release such emotions, be it during the intake, or at any time.

During the massage I stay in communication with my client and make sure they are comfortable and that nothing needs to be changed as we are progressing. Often I will communicate so much with my client that we barely need to discuss anything during the out-take, but I always check in to see how they feel, and we discuss if there are any stretches or exercises that might help for the future.

I like to call my style rehabilitative, and evidence-informed. The focus is on getting results and helping with specific issues. That means if my client's shoulder is bothering them I may spend 30-60 minutes on just trying to heal that one shoulder. The body is connected in many strange ways, and there is plenty of science to prove that now, so while focusing on a shoulder I may end up working everywhere from the neck to the foot, but I might also only work from the neck to the upper arm. In either case, I am not focusing on giving a full body massage, but I will draw upon whatever skills I have that are appropriate. As such I don't do any one style of massage, I take everything I've learned and try to provide the best service I can. These techniques can include but are not limited to: trigger point therapy, myofascial release, Swedish, deep tissue (if you want a rant ask me why I hate the term 'deep tissue'), and East Asian medicine often in the form of acupressure.

I offer one-hour focused rehabilitative massage sessions. I do my best to provide the massage you want and need in that session, drawing upon whatever techniques or styles are most appropriate. I feel it's not fair to my client, or myself, to limit a massage to only certain techniques or styles (such as deep tissue, relaxation, or acupressure) when the best results usually require a mix.

No. You do not need to be undressed, or do anything that might make you feel uncomfortable. If you do choose to wear clothes for the session, I request that you wear comfortable loose-fitting clothes like you might work out in. If on the other hand you choose to undress for the session, you will be modestly covered with a sheet the entire time and I will only uncover the part of the body I am currently working on. In the end, it is up to you, and I want to assure all my clients that whatever they feel more comfortable with is what they should do.

Yes! Massage is great for everyone and being pregnant is no exception. There are a few more things to consider and be careful about when pregnant, but massage can be delivered safely and still be wonderfully beneficial.

Yes! Massage is great for everyone, and that absolutely includes children. Depending on the age and personality of the child, the session may be much shorter, but there can still be great benefits. If you want to schedule a massage for your children, I will require a guardian to be present and to fill out a release form in advance.

That’s ok, and I will do my best to work with you in a manner that you feel safe.

Massage with a therapist you trust can have great benefits for trauma survivors. For many it is a significant part of their journey to resolution. I have been studying trauma and trauma resolution, and often incorporate acupressure techniques and protocols to help as they are very gentle and inherently work with connecting our body and emotions. For many clients it barely feels like I’m touching them.

If you feel comfortable working with me, I would be honored to be a part of your healing process. The more you can share with me the better prepared we can be through the session, but there is no need to make yourself uncomfortable, only share with me what you want to. Lastly, it’s very important that you know that a technique can be stopped at any time, and even a session ended whenever you want, and you do not have to give me a reason.

That answer is staggeringly long, and as I incorporate East Asian medicine and acupressure in many of my sessions that list has only gotten longer. Honestly I can help with just about everything including anxieity, digestion, sleep disorders, and pain management (and there are scientific studies to back this up). I have no desire to write a list a mile long so to conclude let me share what I specialize in: helping you get back to the kind of movement you once had. Whether that movement restriction is from injury, pain, or trauma. Often this means helping someone recover from an injury, like a sprained ankle. For others it means focusing on managing pain. For others it means working through trauma, be it physical or emotional. I am not licensed to give talk therapy, but I can listen, and safely and respectfully introduce somatic work, discuss how that trauma may be expressing itself physically, and I can give you an East Asian medical perspective on some issues that may help.

To me an evidence-informed massage therapist is one who is constantly reading and listening to new scientific evidence. I am constantly continuing my education and paying attention to new research be it from respected podcasts, massage publications, books, or articles on pub med. However, I am not an evidence-based therapist. Not all of my techniques and protocols are based on current research. Some of the techniques that I use are best explained and understood as "energy work" (a term I dislike), but we haven't studied these techniques, so while I see results from them I cannot call myself evidence-based when I include them in my sessions. Instead I consider myself evidence-informed.