Sessions
(I provide sensitive, emotionally attuned touch that produces pleasure and relaxation without pain or strong force. For impersonal, physically forceful or emotionally disconnected touch, please look elsewhere.)
Chair Massage Chair massage involves stretching, pressure, tendon-loading and joint mobilization. It is conducted clothed and seated. It primarily targets the hands, arms, shoulders, and neck. Excellent for the upper back, but not the lower back (which needs more stretching), it is a good option for many office workers dealing with upper body tension. It the most structural and emotionally neutral session I do. The basic Chair Massage session is one half hour. Chair Massage is available at the Farmers’ Market on Tuesday between 2 and 6:30 PM at Alcatraz and Adeline, three blocks from Ashby BART, and during house calls. I do not keep a chair in my office, so scheduling a last-minute chair session is improbable.
Reiki is energy work. It is received clothed, with light touch or no touch (your choice). An intensified stream of energy is focused through you, aligned and connected; restoring your energetic integrity and patterning a more healthy state of internal referencing. You’ll know who you are, where you are, where you begin and where you end. If you have been blown open by psychedelics, traumatic impacts or disorienting relationships, this might be a good way to reestablish containment. Basic Reiki is one half to one hour; full Reiki is 90 minutes to 2 hours. This Reiki session is based on Polarity Therapy, developed by Randolph Stone; I have the Karuna Ki Reiki attunement, the one above Reiki Master.
Shiatsu is also energy work, but is received hands-on (and clothed). You may be stretched, pressed, rocked, or gently shaken. Natural flow patterns of energy will be encouraged and restored. Natural self-referencing will be encouraged by boosting and saturating your field. If you feel grounded and comforted by touch, or have structural issues that would enjoy being gently addressed, this might be a good place to start. Basic Shiatsu: one half to one hour; Full Shiatsu: 90 minutest to 2 hours. This Shiatsu session is based on Polarity Therapy, developed by Randolph Stone, and the Zen Shiatsu of Shizuto Masunaga.
Mossage is therapeutic touch using oil on skin, meeting and releasing tension in layers. It is received unclothed to your level of comfort, and draped (covered up). If you are ready to float in your own sensation, upgrade how you perceive yourself, and dissolve and drift in the joy of being you, this might be a good place to start. Simple massage: one hour; regular massage: two hours; full massage: three hours. This style is based on the work of Wilhelm Reich, a ground-breaking scientist who measured the movement of energy in living systems, and Gordon Inkeles who popularized self-guided massage training in the US.
Note on the Mossage style: About 90% of my massage clients are women and this style developed while working with them. Women’s bodies have a higher fat content, and are softer and more fluid. I work with this softness and fluidity; repatterning connective tissue and fascia and stimulating lymphatic drainage. This is a liquid, pleasurable massage style that gets systemic results by relaxing soft tissue and deep tissue, draining metabolic wastes from muscles, and providing a supportive relationship container in which to disarm and expand.
Note on draping: Mossage is received unclothed but covered. The top sheet or ‘drape’ covers everything that is not receiving touch. Long strokes from the heels to the shoulders and down the arms, and from the skull to the hip sockets are effective and much loved, and are blocked by undergarments. But please remember: Your comfort is the most important element of a good massage. You get no points for pretending to be more comfortable with nudity than you actually are. Please wear whatever helps you feel comfortable, and if you do wear a garment please choose one that is loose-fitting that can get oily.
