I am a massage therapist myself so perhaps not the softest critic. Merik , the owner and chief therapist of the Mind-Body Therapy Center , is a very nice, jovial man
and perhaps I should have offered this 'constructive criticism' to his face, but he will probably read it here and hopefully rather than taking it badly will just be more aware next time. I don't normally complain but paying 100 dollars for a very mediocre verging on poor massage is not the same thing as paying 10 dollars for a bad meal. If I gave somebody a massage and if either myself or that person felt it mediocre I would not feel good about taking 100 dollars.. but I know we all have our good days and our bad days..
Given his physical stature I was hoping Merik would go deep but I didn't feel deeply touched by this massage. As he advertised himself as a trigger point therapist, I was interested and even told him I loved it that he could give me some trigger point therapy to which he joked 'I don't do trigger point on Thursdays'.. alas, he wasn't joking.. He only hit one or maybe one and a half trigger points, he didn't work the muscles from origin to insertion (always much better feeling), and the movement of his hands were vigorous and lacking in rhythm and a sensitivity to energetic pauses. I credit him for not using too much oil, but at the same time his hands lacked finesse and I was not feeling the quality of touch nor that he was really feeling me either with his hands. His breathing was a little too loud and raspy.. always off-putting during a massage but of course forgivable as perhaps cannot be helped. It is good to work with the breath, for the one giving the massage ..if they are going to breath loudly, to use it as a tool.. to breath more slowly and deliberately.. so as to invite the client to do so too.. so as to release more. Also Mirek wanted to talk during the massage, which I find can be a distraction rather than an invitation for one to relax more and feel more.
Before the massage I had filled out a little form asking which parts of me needed particular attention and I cited my left elbow. Merik never touched my left elbow (although he did work on the forearm). He spent a lot of time on my back, which is not a bad thing, but considering how much time he spent on my back I didn't feel him penetrating deeper layers of muscle but just very much stayed on the more superficial layer and it times it felt more like the kind of quick rub than a real deep tissue massage. Although he did go to the back of my legs (it was an hour and half massage, after all) I didn't feel like he really touched my hamstrings. I also would have appreciated more attention to my hands.. the hands are a wonderful place to work deep into.
I know this place has been voted Best Massage on Monterey Peninsula by the Monterey Weekly for years running,, but I did not at all get that impression from my visit. I hear the building where the Mind-Body Center is used to be a slaughterhouse though.. so at least thats an improvement. .. and again, very sweet people, very nice. .and I would in no way wish to offend them.. but just point out that I felt like I did not get my 100 dollars worth. ... and I would consider taking down this not-so-upbeat review if Mirek would contact me and let me give him a massage and give me my 100 dollars back.. so he can learn a few things from me...not in an egotistical sense.. but just so we can share and help each other to feel more what is needed in the moment.... For sure I support smaller businesses..and charming couples such as Mirek and his wife doing what they do.. and I just want everybody to be there best and realize their greatest potential as healers. .
So , in conclusion, more sensitivity to touch, more consistent firm pressure, more rhthym and pace, with meaningful pauses.. deeper work..and more energy work (as I saw Mireks wall was adorned with Reiki Master certifications) .. all this would have made the massage a 5 star rather than a 2 star.
Namaste. read more