Inspire Wellness Massage

6 things you may not know about being a massage therapist:

1. We are members of professional associations (that's what allows you to claim our services under your extended health benefits).

2. We are required to keep up our CPR-C training. First aid. AED. CPR. (The course you take and hope you never use).

3. Depending on where you live, you may have to have a massage practitioner license as well as a business license (like here in Calgary).

4. Upgrading and continuing education are required. Our associations require a certain number of "credits" for courses and skill retention. (Number values vary, but the requirements are standard).

5. Only some Canadian provinces are regulated (Alberta is not one of them). There is no Canada wide regulatory body.

6. We carry insurance and associations do police record checks. If you have a business, you also carry additional insurance.

Massage is a professional career, and there are many moving parts behind the scenes. 💫

Unwind with a facial added to your massage.
My Summer Special is still on for a couple more weeks...but the facials aren't going away.

Why I don’t distinguish between massage style/type on my website or in practice.

After 26 years in this industry I’ve realized that clients want a massage. Period. They want to
feel less pain, more range of motion, to relax, to recover, and to experience care.

The terms are often moot. “Relaxation”. “Therapeutic”. “Deep Tissue”. “Sports”. And all the ways massage is described are often lost in translation and most modalities meld into one another.

Many clients associate “Deep tissue” with pressure/pain. Or “Therapeutic” with getting results. “Relaxation” with fluffy, light surface massage. But most therapists use their training and experience to meld it all together.
There is technically some difference in techniques, but clients generally don’t care what it is called (or don’t know the difference).

Some people will ask for “sports massage” or “deep tissue” because they are sore or injured
and some will ask for “relaxation” because they don’t want it to hurt and associate other terms
with hard pressure and painful treatment.
I do a lot of general full body massage with an area or two of focus. But I also do specific work, injury work, relaxation and soothing work.

Having clients distinguish between all the jargon while booking felt unnecessary. Book a massage and we’ll go from there. I would rather have a client tell me the goal, pressure preference, and focus, in session. If there
is a major low back issue, we may be spending the whole time in that region. If everything hurts and you're dying, we’ll likely do full body and less specific focus.

“Deep tissue” and other generic terms get my goat! It’s relative, it means something different to everyone, and “deep” doesn’t equal pressure/pain (which I strongly believe most people use the term to imply). Depth is more associated with speed, technique and focus to a muscle; not hammering in there (which is painful and therefore feels “deep”).

I consider most massages "therapeutic". I would say I provide therapeutic relaxation. My default mode is moderate pressure. I can do light. I can do heavy. But overall, I work in a mid range, with the client’s goals in mind. So if someone did book a “relaxation” massage with me, there wouldn’t be any major difference between "therapeutic". I would see what the focus/concern is and go from there.

I don’t want to confuse clients or have a variety of options to sift through. “Massage”. That’s it.
We can work on goals/focus/pressure when you get here. Many clients change each session and many don’t. Sometimes it's a general full body and next it could be back and neck only. It makes more sense to just book a massage and not have to distinguish between styles.

So, do I do “deep tissue”? Yes. Do I do relaxation? Yes. Can I help your knee pain, carpal tunnel, neck strain, or hip injury? Yes. I just call it all massage and see you when you get here.

Truth be told, I am a morning person. If I'm not up by 6am and in bed by 9:30, I don't know what kind of crazy things have taken place.

For my career, I have always worked a few evenings and Saturdays. In this studio, I have availability 5 days a week, with hours that aim to fit my client's schedules

Monday: 10-3
Tues: 2-8
Thurs: 2-8
Fri: 1-5
Sat: 10-3

I hold a pretty firm grip on my days off (Sun & Wed) but am open to some little tweaks to the rest of the week. If you can't find a time you need, my site has a waitlist, or even shoot me a message, and we can see what we can do.

Hiking. Biking. Camping. Patio drinks. Busy weekends. Trying to squeeze every drop out of summer....sounds like you need a massage.

Getting slower. Going deeper.

Pressure in massage isn't depth. The muscles don't like that.

Our bodies guard us; fast, strong pressure may "feel" deep, but pain does not equal depth or effectiveness.

Often, our nervous system is already overloaded with day to day stresses and chronic pain signals. The last thing we need is one more red flag screaming for help.

Slowing down. Allowing the muscle to feel safe and let the massage do its thing. Giving the nervous system comfort and stability.

That's where the recovery begins.

My most booked treatment is a 60 minute massage. It's the standard. Over 75% of my days are one hour massages.

But did you know I also offer 45, 75, and 90 minutes? I have a sweet refresher of a facial, do cupping, holistic reflexology, and raindrop aromatherapy.

There are around 30 options for massage and treatment combos on my booking page. Many durations and services to address your aches and pains, and offer you some time to relax and recharge.

Switch it up and try something new.

One thing leads to another.

If you have a dull ache or a little tweak today, it could grow to something more significant later.

Compensation, restricted range of motion, altered movement; that little ache is suddenly a trail of discomfort.

Massage makes life better.

The best compliments ever are when a client says their pain is less, their stress is down, or their day to day movements are improved.

Between better movement, reduced pain, improved sleep, and stress relief, regular massage sessions enhance quality of life.

Peace and rest...while also working on those sore spots.