I have been searching this area SO long for a great massage place that is closer to my home than previous places I had been to. It's been under my stupid nose the entire time.
Last year, Mother's Day to be exact, my husband bought me a gift certificate for a massage. "How COULD you!? Don't you know that picking a place for massages is a very personal matter!" He just did that husband thing, you know, staring at me like I'm a lunatic? (He's correct).
It has taken me nearly a full year of staring at this gift certificate before I finally opted to use it. Pulled my back out (fell down my stairs) and the pain was like, WOW! My best friend says, hey! Let's go for massages.
Okies. I'm in. Let's do this.
We pull up to Massage Medics and I let out an exasperated sigh. It's in a strip mall. With an plain old store front. It doesn't look pretty. I'm already annoyed. I'm thinking, "Oh come on, how bad can it be?" knowing full well that the answer to that question could be really, really bad.
Thankfully, I listened to her. Upon walking into MM, we were greeted by a very cheerful receptionist. My best friend, forever on time, was already in the back so I couldn't even share my immediate dismay at the storefront. However, all fears alleviated when I saw the huge massage chairs in the front waiting area. It was pretty, clean, bright and I thought, Hm. Okay. So, I'm a bit superficial. I'll get past the storefront thingie if the massage is good.
Not only was it good, but it was probably the best massage I received in like...ever. My therapist was Brenda and she was just fantastic. We talked about my problem issues, previous injuries and she was very patient with me. My back was in a LOT of pain, so she didn't rush me to get dressed or undressed. She helped my back so much. We chatted throughout the entire massage, which is unusual for me, because normally I start my massages with "I like it quiet please, so if we could refrain from the chit chat, that would be awesome." Yeah. That didn't happen...but it was really nice to talk with her. She was extremely cordial and very empathetic. She told me where she was going on my body before she did it. The room was very peaceful, quiet, with a nice audio track playing, dimmed lighting and it was just the right temperature. She put hot stones in my hands while I was on my stomach to relax me while she worked on my back. A nice hot towel on my back at the commencement of the massage. Turning onto my back, she did this thing she called a "Zinger". I'm thinking, Oh Sweet Lawd, this is where it is all going to go terribly wrong, isn't it? Is Zinger another word for "Happy Ending", because I want no part of THAT nonsense. Fortunately, a Zinger is actually a scalp massage that was so relaxing I could have fallen asleep right then and there. (Sorry, Brenda. No offense. You are beautiful, but...you know). Brenda is also an esthetician who does facials and at the end of my massage, she placed a hot towel on my face.
My bestie had Tara as her therapist and she had equally as good of an experience with Tara. We both wound up booking again for the following week. The last time we had massages together, both our therapists took "deep tissue" as "beat the living crap out of our muscles" and we both walked out like a couple of defeated boxers, all banged up and scarcely able to move. This time, we felt refreshed, invigorated and awesome. Prices are very, very reasonable. There is a discount for both first timers and referrals. They even offer home visits within a certain distance.
Needless to say, I will never judge an establishment by its location ever again. Seems like an old snob can learn new tricks.
I'm giving Massage Medics a big ol' FIVE stars because I have not had an ounce of pain since my massage. I am so excited to go back this week. It's all I have talked about all week...which of course has my husband strutting around like a peacock.
"Told you so," he says, smug smirk in full effect.
"Shut up." read more