Long review because ya'll need to know the truth. I went for the first time to get an ashiatsu massage from them because the yelp reviews were good and it was close to my house. Man I am never going back!! My body feels wrecked, believe it or not I actually feel worse now than I did before the massage! I'm not a "soft" person, I'm a retired rugby player, I work out regularly, I'm a strength and conditioning coach, and I have much experience with GOOD therapists of many different modalities. This is hands down one of the worst "massages" I've ever gotten in my life. My whole body feels like it was abused for 1 hour basically. Problems I have today that I didn't have prior to massage: my neck hurts, my low back hurts (I have been pain free and free from irritation for like 99% of the time), the rest of my back is sore, my legs are sore. I basically feel like I played a rugby game! Wow.
How this started: I wrote an email to ask about the massage and I wrote a short blurb about how I had ankle surgery last year and I wanted some extra attention to my leg, and that it had been a while since I had a massage. I'm a reiki master so I'm sensitive to energy, and I can tell if a therapist has good intuitive capabilities (in conjunction with being knowledgeable and skilled), so it's been difficult for me to find someone who truly does a stellar job. My old massage therapist back in Humboldt was THE BEST EVER, and my ashiatsu experiences with her were night and day with this place. Anyways, they reply saying they can do whatever and it's all good, so I set an appointment up. I show up and there's no questions or intake asking me if I have any issues (which I also have a bulging disc in my low back), because as a GOOD THERAPIST these are things you LITERALLY NEED TO KNOW. Just like I would never train a person I've never met without asking at least a few questions upon meeting, a massage therapist should be doing those same things. Basically I ended up getting battered like I said for an hour. I told my therapist several times to use less pressure due to my body sensitivities and conditions, and she kept saying "yeah" but I highly doubt she understood me or gave a shit (it's one of the 2 because again a good therapist adjusts their pressure for clients if they ask). It was pretty rough, and she used basically her whole body weight to walk all over my back, with no gradual introduction of pressure, which is not what my Humboldt therapist did. My therapist up north is a much larger woman than this lady and I never felt like I got my ass kicked from her. I always got a super deep, ultra relaxing experience from her. Another thing a good therapist will do during a massage, is gradually introduce pressure to your body, to be sure you can handle it and it's also a bit of a "warm up" to the remainder of the massage. Even during the massage I had told her about my back and my ankle, and she continued to do whatever she wanted without any good adjustments. The only time she truly honored my requests was when I got flipped over and my quads were super sensitive because they are hella tight from a long run I did last week. And then to make things more awkward, I was trying to pay and then quietly and politely escape, but the owner asked me how it went and then asked me if I wanted to leave my therapist a tip. Except it wasn't really a question, it was more of a statement! Verbal question, energetic demand type thing. And I'm thinking are you serious right now?? I just got beat the f*ck up with a terrible massage AND you're breaking etiquette by demanding a tip? It is rude to ask for a tip, but it is also rude to not leave one for massage therapy. But no way I was leaving a dime for that "treatment." I actually tip therapists anywhere from $10-40 depending on the cost and type of service, and of course the better you are and I feel the more I will tip you because you deserve it. She tried to tell me to try a different therapist because their specialties are different, then gave me a stamp card to come back, and that is already in the recycling bin because I will never come back!! Even if you have different specialties (that is a real thing), you still know how to adjust your body work for individual clients!!
If you are a real experienced massage person and want a quality job, do not come here. It is cheap for a reason, and that's one thing people need to understand about services offered: The overwhelming majority of practitioners who offer a "cheap" rate are either novice or not good at their trade. Period. There are rare gems of people who are in a position to provide an amazing service for an amazing price, but this place is not that gem. Literally invest your money into a good therapist elsewhere, it is your body and you are worth it! read more