It took me months to be able to share about this publicly because of how traumatic my experience…read morewith Alex at Centered Spirit was. I reported him to both the state and national board of massage therapy, but no action was taken (other than learning that he was not nationally certified, though he claimed to be). I think it's important to speak up against harmful behavior, so I'm sharing what happened here in an effort to avoid someone else experience the discomfort I did.
BOTTOM LINE: There is a continued pattern of not respecting women and their bodies and thinking his (Alex's) knowledge and technique are more important than the experience of the client on the table.
MY EXPERIENCE:
I had a Mayan Abdominal Massage with Alex Jackson in May 2022. I sought him out because he specialized in trauma-informed body work.
At the beginning our session I brought up a concern I had around a negative Yelp review I read about him. His response - "it's hard to be a male therapist during #MeToo" - he said he even talked to a lawyer to see if he could remove the negative Yelp review about him.
His inability to take responsibility was a red flag. I felt trapped to continue the session since I was already there (MY MISTAKE!).
The reason I have not spoken to him directly about my complaint is because he proved in the conversation above that he cannot receive criticism or hold a respectful conversation about concerns brought to his attention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF COMPLAINT:
1. Claiming to heal trauma without being trauma-informed or trauma-responsive
His sessions are structured in a way that elicit trauma through the extreme pressure he uses, the in-depth and intimate intake questions he asks around trauma and sex (such as have you been raped and how easily do you orgasm), and how he wants you to revisit the trauma while naked on his table and connected to your "inner little girl". He was acting like a therapist in a way that seemed to be an attempt to exert control over me.
2. Ignoring my boundaries
At the beginning of the session, I asked him if he could use lighter pressure. I told him the pressure was too much, I was having trouble breathing and it hurt.
Instead of respecting my freedom of choice (lighter touch) in the session, he told me the light pressure was just a "spa massage" and wouldn't provide any benefit. If I wanted the benefits from his work, he said it had to be deep pressure (that hurt). This felt like an exploitation of trust: that I was supposed to trust him because he was the therapist even though my experience of the session was painful.
The pressure that Alex used was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It literally took the breath from me. I was bracing myself every time he pushed down on my body. I could hardly speak, let alone advocate for myself, because he was working with such intense pressure it knocked the wind out of me.
Other than natural childbirth, I've never endured such physical pain. All the while, he kept saying "you're doing great sweetheart" (this was the first time I met him).
3. Continued dismissing feedback
Toward the middle of the session, I started feeling dizzy and nauseous. I told him I get hypotensive easily and have a tendency to pass out. He told me my lightheadedness was not from my medical condition, but was from the extra oxygen I was breathing in. Every time he applied pressure (which was constantly) he told me to exhale. That required me to breathe fast, almost like I was hyperventilating. He did not do anything to help me feel less dizzy.
At the end of the session my body was shaking uncontrollably and I was disoriented. He said that was common.
Upon reflection of how the body can elicit a freeze response to trauma by shutting down and not feeling, he willingly seems like he's trying to induce this reaction in bodies to not feel anything and go numb by the sheer force of pressure he's exerting on our bodies. The amount of force and how it was applied felt abusive to my body and spirit. A massage worker creating a trauma response is not ok, especially when he's been notified the pressure is too intense.
The massage therapist is in a position of power as the practitioner and naked clients are much more vulnerable, especially in a healing space.
4. Dealing with physical and emotional effects after the session
Because I've received a lot of bodywork before, I know that working on tissues can bring up emotions. The repercussions of my session with Alex Jones were completely different from other bodywork and energy work I've received.
Instead of feeling relief or healing from this massage, I find myself feeling traumatized from it. I don't want anyone else to feel the way I did, which is why I'm sharing this.
