I had a 90-minute session with Jo Ann yesterday, which was wonderful. Unlike the corporate or chain spa experience, it felt like visiting a friend you've known for a long time for a session of healing. Her rates are about 30-40% less than the spas I was checking out online in Calistoga and Petaluma.
She works out of her home, which is lovely and has a lot of sunny, calming colors. You'll see the mailbox numbers to know you've arrived, then park in her driveway up the hill. Jo Ann was there to greet me, ask about problem areas in her kitchen, then take me to her massage room which has some chrystals and a comfortable, luxurious heated table and blankets.
The massage was really relaxing and easy to stay in the moment, and one of the most interesting I've had. I lived in Thailand and have had a lot of Thai massages, and Jo Ann did incorporate some of the stretching/tractioning movements and accupressure common in Thai massage throughout the session. She is formally trained in PUSH, and has really strong hands so can also accomodate deep tissue. The medium pressure I requested was harder-handed and used different technique than Swedish, but she assured she could accomodate that too.
One of the best parts of our session was her use of hot stones on almost every body part. You can practically feel your muscles opening up and unknotting. I also enjoyed the strategically placed warm washcloths - a head wrap at the end made me feel like I was floating in a cocoon. Jo Ann can also accomodate cupping, though I didn't try it.
She did a full 90 minutes, which I appreciated since sometimes 90 minutes means 10 mins to chat about problem areas and 10 mins to get dressed at the end. She had a glass of water waiting, and we sat down in her living room and chatted for 15 mins about life and purpose as a hummingbird flitted up to the window for a drink. I'm telling you, this woman is magical and she's cultivated an environment to match her personality and aura. Go see Jo Ann! read more