Bay Area Therapeutic
Massage and Bodywork 

Updated April 2023: I have been fully vaccinated and boosted ​ Stay home if you or anyone in your household has been exposed to COVID or experienced the following symptoms within three weeks of your service date: fever/chills, cough, sore throat, body aches, loss of taste, intestinal upset, fatigue. Please stay home if you are currently experiencing and cold / flu symptoms or are otherwise unwell with a contagion ​​ Masks are no longer required for service. If you would prefer I wear one, I gladly will upon request ​​ Hand sanitizer is available ​ There is a "pillow case bubble" being used to surround the face cradle to allow you to remove your mask while face down (For clients who prefer to remain masked) ​​ Full and thorough sanitation / disinfection protocols are in place before and after each session: All touch points sanitized with spray AND wiped down with sanitizing wipes Table and face cradle are outfitted with a plastic sheet under the linen that is sanitized as above All linens removed and washed after each client My hands are thoroughly washed and sanitized before and after each session There is an air filter running on site and the room is also fully opened up between sessions in order to air it out, ample time is provided between sessions There is NO RESTROOM AVAILABLE, please plan accordingly. ​ Contactless payment is used ​ There are big french doors that can be opened up during your session upon request ​

LATE ARRIVAL POLICY: Sometimes things get in the way of our best intentions to be on time, but please understand that appointments are time specific and your therapist is only able to work until the scheduled appointment end time. You will be charged for the full time booked. It is this policy that ensures you will be seen on time as well! CANCELLATION POLICY: Once you book an appointment you have full control over canceling or rescheduling it as you see fit. HOWEVER as of 48 hours before your scheduled appointment the appointment will be considered confirmed as-is and arriving late, cancelling within that window or failing to show up for your appointment will require payment in full for the time as agreed upon. Your credit card used at the time of booking will be automatically charged for the full amount of the session fee. It's awkward and I don't love doing it but I do adhere to the policy, so please plan your time carefully and be sure you are booking for the right date and time. If I have no credit card on file for you, an invoice will be sent via email and due upon receipt. Once payment for the missed or late cancelled appointment is received, you are most welcome to book with me again! OPTIONS: If you can't make your appointment as planned you are always encouraged to send someone in your place. And, hey - karma points to you for being so considerate!

Very simply put, my time is very valuable, as is yours. When you book an appointment with me you enter into an implied contract that says you commit to receiving a service at a specific day and time in exchange for a fee. When your appointment is held for you it prohibits other clients from booking that same appointment time. A last-minute cancellation, or *gasp* - a no-show, means that I don't get paid for my time and that another client who wanted that appointment time was not able to book it for themselves. Canceling an appointment at the last minute or failing to show up creates wasted time for everyone. The therapist who is waiting around for you and created her day around that planned appointment as well as the other client who is in pain and would have liked to be seen. I have a specific amount of time each week in which to see clients and my income is based on clients showing up for agreed upon appointments. And when my kids start whining because none of their friends have holes in their shoes it makes me kind of cranky. In light of all of that I ask that when you book an appointment, you do so mindfully and with the recognition that you are booking another person's time which is irreplaceable. Thank you in advance for observing my Late Cancellation / No-Show Policy. By doing so you show respect for the business agreement we entered into upon the booking of your appointment. This policy is not personal, it is a neutral structure that applies to all clients and that helps this business run from a place of financial stability which allows full and unrestricted service to my clients. Once you have paid for your missed session, we will be on fair business terms again and you are highly encouraged to book another appointment. Thank you in advance

Great question, I recommend reading this article Massage Etiquette: What to Expect During Massage and How to Communicate With Your Therapist

Let me know! Or better yet, let the world know by writing a Yelp Review or Google Review. If you felt my service was a little lacking, please let me know by contacting me directly so that I can try and make it right. Client feedback is an invaluable resource to help me continue to improve! Leave a review on Google Leave a review on Yelp Email me directly: juliette@lifebalancemassage.net Need more motivation to leave a review or wondering how to write a short, sweet and super effective review? Here's a great resource that shows you how: How to Write an Effective Review

Ultimately this depends on what your lifestyle, schedule, and budget will allow. You should come up with a schedule that realistically fits your personal needs. Everyone uses their bodies differently and therefore needs a different level of care. If you are dealing with chronic pain issues, are an avid athlete, or have high levels of stress in your life then weekly or bi-weekly sessions are most ideal. If you are in good health, experience very little pain and are just seeking wellness maintenance then every three or four weeks would be fine. The important thing is to set up a regular schedule, whether that means every two weeks or every two months for you. Also, get in the habit of scheduling ahead this way you are less likely to brush off your self-care. It is a real treat to look at your schedule for the week and realize that you have a massage scheduled already!

Many people use massage to treat chronic or acute pain issues but, ideally, massage should be viewed as a preventative part of your wellness routine. If your body feels good, that’s great! But it's important to keep yourself feeling well and balanced with routine care. Remember, massage doesn’t just treat the muscles - It also has many other emotional and physical benefits.

Every massage therapist has a different touch and a different way of perceiving your needs while you are on the table. Sometimes it takes a little while until you find a therapist with whom you click. It is also very important to remember that while a therapist can and often does intuit a lot while working on you, he or she is not a mind reader and each client is different from the next. Things like temperature, music or pressure can make or break your experience of the service you received but often these needs need to be verbally expressed in order to get exactly what you want. If you’ve had a massage in the past and were left disappointed because, for example, you didn’t feel like the therapist worked long enough on your neck - simply mention this at your next massage by saying: “I really love having my neck worked on. I had a massage before that I found pretty disappointing because he/she didn’t pay enough attention there.” I guarantee this therapist will get the hint! Here are two great resources to help you get the most out of your massage sessions: 5 Pro Tips to Getting the Most out of Your Massage Massage Etiquette: What to Expect During Massage and How to Communicate With Your Therapist

Speak up! Every client is different from the next. While one person may find the room temperature perfect, the very next person may find it too warm or cold. It is important to express your needs verbally in order to get the most out of your session. It is never a problem to layer another blanket on the table, take one off, turn the music down or use more or less pressure. Your therapist won't mind at all - it would be worse to find out after the fact that a client was freezing the whole time and never said anything! Here are two great resources for learning how to communicate effectively with your Massage Therapist 5 Pro Tips to Getting the Most out of Your Massage Massage Etiquette: What to Expect During Massage and How to Communicate With Your Therapist

First, let's get the elephant in the room out of the way: no, you're not going to get high (not even a little) and no, you're not going to walk out smelling like you stepped off a hippie commune. CBD has been around and in use for ages and as more states move to legalize cannabis products, more and more people (and scientists!) are looking toward CBD products as a healthy, non-invasive alternative for the treatment of chronic pain, inflammation, and stress. CBD is the commonly used name for Cannabidiol, which is a Phytocannabinoid derived from the cannabis plant and the component that accounts for the majority of the plant's health benefits. CBD is NOT psychoactive, NOT addictive or habit forming and is currently legal in all states. (when derived from hemp plants cultivated to contain less than 0.3% THC) There is an incredibly long and dense report available from the US National Institute of Health (NIH) that delves into some of the exciting research in the area of the therapeutic use of THC and CBD. You can read it here, but the following is an excerpt: "Cannabinoids have antinociceptive mechanisms different from that of other drugs currently in use, which thus opens a new line of promising treatment to mitigate pain that fails to respond to the pharmacologic treatments available, especially for neuropathic and inflammatory pains. The combination of cannabinoids with synergistic analgesic substances is interesting because it may improve the efficacy and safety of treatment." CBD is great for people who suffer from chronic pain, arthritis, inflammation, general soreness, stress, and anxiety. Some CBD cremes on the market contain a menthol component which creates an instant "tingling" effect but in general, most CBD cremes do not create an instant sensation on the skin. Instead, the effects are felt as more of an absence of discomfort within about 15 minutes, but individual results will vary. Some of the benefits of CBD include: Reduce pain Increase comfort during deep tissue massage Reduce inflammation Eases the pain of arthritis Relieves anxiety and stress Improves sleep Nourishes skin Helps to improve Psoriasis / Eczema Aids in the healing of sprains/strains CBD provides a safe, non-toxic way to heighten and increase the already plentiful benefits of a skilled, therapeutic massage and are an incredible compliment to deep work specifically as it tends to reduce or eliminate that occasional post-massage soreness from some intense deeper work. Specific CBD products used at Life Balance Massage will vary based on availability but currently, we are using one made by Blue Ridge Hemp Company which contains sunflower oil, sesame seed oil, jojoba seed oil and 99.7% pure CBD isolate to deliver the healing power of CBD in a skin nourishing creme base. Intrigued and excited to give CBD treatment a try? Book your session by choosing your service, provider and date/time. You will then see an option to add a promotional add-on 'CBD treatment." Select that and proceed as prompted to finalize and confirm your appointment! Read more here

Cupping is the use of negative pressure applied to soft tissue structures via cups applied with a vacuum suction. Cups are applied to the skin over targeted muscles and a vacuum is created through a hand pump which gently but firmly pulls the skin, fascia and muscle up into the cup. Some cups remain fixed in one place while other cups are moved in a gliding motion along muscle structures, stretching the tissue and fascia along the way. Cupping is a really effective way to thoroughly and effectively apply a sustained passive stretch to rigid and restricted muscles and fascia. This sustained passive stretch aids to release trigger points and break up myofascial adhesions. Cupping allows for significantly increased range of motion and flexibility, relaxation of locked and rigid muscles, improved circulation and the release of pooled blood, toxins and fluids in the soft tissue. Muscle recovery is enhanced through the reduction of pain, swelling and inflammation. Cupping is excellent for treating back and shoulder pain, headaches, hip pain and knee pain. And is a powerful tool when combined with Deep Tissue Massage. Just like in massage, the pressure (vacuum) may be lighter or more intense. In very chronic areas of pain some discomfort, as in massage, is a normal part of the recovery process but in general the treatment should feel good to you. The sensation is a really interesting compliment to Deep Tissue work because it is a pulling and stretching action which is the opposite of the compression and stretching action of massage techniques. The most obvious side effect of cupping are those signature circle marks that range from stippled red to dark purple. When a muscle is rigid and tight, blood and fluids don’t flow as freely through these areas and can become stagnant. During cupping the muscle, skin and fascia are stimulated by the pumping, pulling and gliding of the cups. These motions pull that stagnation up and out of the tissue into the skin allowing for fresh, nutrient rich blood to flow to the area. The darker the mark, the more stagnation that was brought up during the session. These marks can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. The more often you have cupping done in an area, the lighter the marks tend to be after subsequent sessions. In addition to discoloration of the skin, some people will also experience “turtle skin” in some of these same areas. This is simply an area where the skin that was pulled up from the vacuum pressure remains raised for a period of time. The raised skin marks tend to fade quickly but may remain in place for longer, typically on more mature skin with less elasticity. Marks are most common in places where cups are left stationary for longer periods. Some clients report a mild itchy sensation where they were treated in the days following a session and, in particularly stagnated areas, mild skin tenderness. Clients with any of the following should not receive cupping treatments: blood, circulation or clotting disorders, cancer, organ failure, heart disease, hemophilia, pregnant or on blood thinning medication. Just as in any type of bodywork specialty, there are many different ways in which practitioners utilize cups. In my practice, I incorporate cups into my 90 minute massage sessions alternating between stationary cups and gliding cups as necessary and appropriate. ​

Gift certificates are not available. If you currently have a gift certificate it will be honored as usual. If you would like to gift my services to someone you hold dear you may either book an appointment for that person or have them book. Then you can contact me directly the day before the scheduled appointment to arrange payment. If you book an appointment under your name for someone else, please add an appointment note letting me know it is a gift and for whoThe card on file will not be charged, even if you make note that it is a gift - please contact me directly via text/email. Please be mindful when booking an appointment for someone else that the person whose name and contact information the appointment is booked under will be responsible for any canellation or no show charges according to my cancellation policy.

No. Never. Not under any circumstances and it is highly inadvisable to ask this at your session. Any actual, implied or perceived sexual intentions will result in the immediate end of your session with payment in full. Don't be that guy.