decided to try out some new massage therapists and this sounded like a good place. It has a legit sounding name, it's tethered to a Chiropractic practice, it's in St Albert, sounds good to me.
For the record, I can't speak to the chiropractic care side of things - I am solely speaking of my massage experience with Kerri.
The practice is a repurposed house in St Albert, and when I am brought into the room, i see that it's a very small bedroom with a closet and a window with the blinds drawn. The closet is half open with used towels strewn about inside - I am having second thoughts. Still, perhaps Kerri is great and the surroundings won't matter as much.
I notice she's using a tub of coconut oil by dipping her hand into it and this doesn't seem to be the most sanitary practice. The table I am lying on is so small that my feet are hanging over the edge starting at mid-calf (and at 5'10", i am not exceptionally tall).
As we begin, my massage therapist begins talking about the traffic situation with certain lights and roads that are closing etc. and how frustrating it all is. This is not calming conversation. I don't really respond, but she doesn't clue in right away that I'm not interested in reliving road stress on the massage table.
Getting into the massage, I feel like I am being handled by an undeliberate hobbyist. Instead of a deep tissue massage, I'm just being shoved around and pushed against. I should have left 3 times by now and I don't know why I'm still staying - maybe it's due to the fact that they got me to pay up front so the receptionist could go for lunch.
The massage continues and I can hear someone outside the door giving another person directions on how to clean the toilet. Nice. Thankfully Kerri stops and tells them to take the conversation elsewhere, but this was just another element that was in keeping with my experience for the day. I couldn't wait for this to be over.
At one point, the towel covering my back side was pretty low and I felt very exposed and vulnerable. (Again, kicking myself for not just leaving with my dignity in tact.) The towel stayed down for far too long after that - I estimate about 20 minutes. Her method had quite a bit of redundant overlapping and not much rhyme or reason. It seemed as if she had memorized the basics and then just repeated the process without ever connecting in to what makes an actual massage work - listening to the client's body.
I have had many massages by multiple therapists and I have never had a worse experience than this, including the time I was hurt by a massage. By the time it was finished, I felt like all of the areas I was asking to be addressed had simply been glossed over. I left with more strain in my shoulders and back than I went in with.
I do not recommend this place for massage. The woman I was with wasn't even on the website when I booked. I had looked at the two massage therapists and deided that either one was fine, so I didn't specify upon booking. I would have appreciated a warning that there was someone else who could be doing the massage.
This was amateur hour, and I won't be returning ever again.
*edit - Upon further looking, my massage therapist's last name is the same as the owner of the business. It may be a coincidence, and likely isn't specifically relevant, but it could explain why a subpar massage therapist is working there. read more