Body-Mend Therapies

Jul 2021

I'd never gotten a professional massage before, and was nervous about my first time experience. I can't remember how I found Body-Mend Therapies, I think it was just a google search and liking how their website looked. I am GLAD for that! Going in, my two concerns were a) getting naked in front of a stranger and b) hoping I wasn't too heavy for the massage table. Neither of these ended up being issues with Body-Mend, which allows you to speak with your massage therapist before getting into it so you can communicate your levels of comfort and expectations. And their table was very solid, with steel legs, so that wasn't an issue either. I scheduled my massage about a month out -- but that was only because I was looking for a specific time-frame after I got off of work. There seemed to be more openings if you wanted to be seen during "standard" work hours. When I arrived to the building, it was a little confusing trying to figure out which doorway led to their offices, but the lobby is pretty and the doors are well-labeled when you're close enough to read the papers on them. My appointment was with Jason. When I clarified that I had no idea what I was doing and that it was my first professional massage ever, he did an amazing job of being communicative. I filled in a short (and easy) questionnaire, and then Jason started a discussion about what I was looking for, if I had any trouble areas that I wanted to focus on, etc. Instead of opting for the "traditional massage" ("like what you've seen in movies"), my mention of shoulder and lower back issues prompted Jason to recommend treatment that would especially focus on those. The room was comfortable and clean, both of us were masked the entire time, and there was hand sanitizer readily available. At no point did I feel unsafe, and that was a relief with COVID practices differing from business to business. For the entirety of my hour-long massage, Jason was communicative about what he was doing and why, and his instructions were clear and easy to understand. I got a lot of affirmation from him with various movements, which made the loosening and moving of muscles feel even more productive. I helped do that! He also made a point to check in regularly throughout the process to make sure I wasn't uncomfortable or in pain. At the end of it, when I stood up, I felt like I had a new center of gravity because of all the drastic changes that had been made in such a short time. I also felt so much looser and relaxed (Jason used the word "gooey" which is a very apt descriptor)! He gave me "aftercare" instructions to walk around for a few minutes before getting back into my car and driving home so that my body would have more of a chance to adapt to new alignments before being tempted to melt back into the sitting issues I'd come in with. It's the next day, and I'm a little sore from the adjustments that were made, but it's a good soreness -- like my body knows that I was trying to help it along, haha. I'm not uncomfortable at all, and still feel very loose. All in all, I'd highly recommend Jason for massage therapy -- he's an excellent communicator, very professional and knowledgeable, and generally GOOD at what he does! I'm excited to try acupuncture with his wife (and co-worker) Jennifer sometime!