Find answers to your frequently asked questions (faqs) here.
OUR POLICIES
For your own safety, you must provide us with an honest health history and list of medications taken during our initial intake process and continually update when necessary. This is in case there may be any contraindications for any particular types of treatment.
It is important you arrive, not under the influence of alcohol during your appointment. Please inform us if any pain relieving medications have been taken within 24 hours of your scheduled appointment. Consumption of certain substances can alter depth perception and may contribute to unpleasant side effects of massage (like soreness or nausea).
It is best to eat light meals before a treatment. Overeating and hunger pangs during a massage can undermine relaxation and cause unpleasant effects. It is best if your blood sugar levels are balanced so that you do not feel woozy afterwards.
Proper hydration is highly recommended. You will maximize the overall effectiveness of your treatment, meanwhile minimizing soreness and discomfort. Best of all, you will have a very happy therapist whose hands thank you.
Please come clean, having showered the day of your session. Make sure your therapist is made aware of any rashes, warts, or other contagious conditions you are experiencing.
All services offered at Embodiwork are non-sexual. Sexual harassment and vulgar language are not tolerated. Clients remain draped at all times during the session. Only the parts of the body being worked on are exposed at any given time. The genitals are never exposed or massaged. If our safety ever feels compromised, the session will end immediately.
Payment is expected at the time the treatment is rendered. Pre-paid and membership options are available for your convenience. Any other
arrangement must be made prior to treatment. We accept cash, check, and credit cards.
Appointment times are reserved just for you. We understand that sometimes schedule adjustments are necessary and we do my best to be flexible. Your appointment times can be managed (cancelled or changed) by clicking on the ’manage your appointment’ on the bottom of your confirmation email or reminder email that goes out 48 hours before you appointment time. Please make sure you provide us with an email account that you check regularly.
We respectfully ask that you honor our 24 hours cancellation policy. Without giving enough notice, we do not have sufficient time to fill that time slot, and other folks miss the opportunity to receive services.
- Less than 24 hour notice will result in a charge equal to 50% of the reserved service amount (single session pricing).
- “NO SHOWS” will be charged 100% of the reserved service amount.
- For appointments made within the 24 hour period, client’s must cancel within 4 hours of appointment time or it will result in a charge equal to 50% of the reserved service amount.
Cancellation Policy for Pre-Paid Packages and Lifestyle Memberships
- Rescheduling without providing 24 hour notice will result in a charge equal to 50% of the reserved service amount (single session pricing) and does not count towards our monthly session
- “No Shows” will result in a forfeiture of treatment. You are, however, allowed to send friends or family in your place.
- For appointments made within the 24 hour period, client’s must cancel within 4 hours of appointment time or it will result in a charge equal to 50% of the reserved service amount.
You will always be provided a competent and professional experience.
With your honest communication and feedback, we will do our best to address your bodywork needs during each and every visit.
We only provide services for which we are qualified, are physically/emotionally capable of, or are in your best interest. We will help refer you to the appropriate specialist when work is not within the scope of our training and licensure.
Personal boundaries are respected at all times. Privacy and confidentiality are maintained at all times.
Our facility and equipment are clean and safe. We use only high quality, natural, hypoallergenic cleaning agents and skin care products.
You may reach us directly by phone, text or e-mail. We will return calls within 48 hours and respond to emails as promptly as we can. You can book an appointment anytime online by clicking the book online button.
If an emergency arises and we are unable to keep our appointment without giving you 24 hours notice, we will provide 25% discount on your next treatment. This does not include reschedules due to extreme weather conditions.
Sliding scale fees are available for individuals who qualify. We offer an senior discount for clients 62+ and for full-time students. Joining our lifestyle memberships or purchasing your treatments in pre-paid packages also make regular bodywork easier on the pocket.
Our clients are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of age, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status, body-type, political affiliation, state of health, or personal habits. Our only requirement is that you are ready and willing to have transformation happen.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND BODYWORK ETIQUETTE
Besides a willingness to allow transformation to happen, you will only need to bring a list of medication and supplements you are taking. You are invited to bring any x-rays or other diagnostic records that may be of value in helping us determine a treatment plan or as little interesting known facts about you.
If you you have blood sugar sensitivities, than you may want to bring a snack for afterwards, to hold you over to the next meal. We do provide water, unless you prefer to bring your own.
This depends on many factors…
• how well hydrated you keep yourself
• how chronic your condition is (the older the issue, the more stubborn, rigid and habituated it becomes)
• the current state of your health
• whether your body is being supplied with the hydration and nutrients it needs to repair and re-build
• whether you are giving your body proper rest and giving it opportunities to reduce stress
• the amount of physical demand you place on your body –
• occupational hazards you are exposed to
• how far you stretch your limits in your other activities
It depends largely on what other self-care methods and therapies you participate in regularly. Health is a culmination of lifestyle practices.
Our rule of thumb is that we spend some time checking in and connecting during the beginning of session (the first few minutes or so). Then we like to provide you a healthy amount of silence for you to be able to sense and become more aware of how you feel in your body. Unless, on a given day, talking is what you needs to happen in order to process something, than that is okay too.
We want you to experience peace and calm and have a sense of retreat from all the things that create tension or disconnect/distract you from just being. We intentionally hold space for you to be able to release the tension and just be with your body.
The environment we provide is safe to show up in your raw authentic state and we do our best to nurture our therapeutic partnership.
It is best to arrive 5-10 minutes early so that you can get situated and we can begin on time. It is also best, not to make any plans immediately after your appointment. It may take you several minutes to ground yourself afterwards and feel ready to drive. You may need to pay for your treatment afterwards and discuss future appointments, so you will not want to be rushed. Besides, we don’t want to induce stress on your newly relaxed state of being.
Snoring, drooling, sighing, gurgling tummies, flatulence, and involuntary twitching are all natural responses when the body becomes relaxed, and quite frankly are signs of relaxation and are compliments in our profession. Please allow yourself to relax.
Therapists have a body too, and they experience all these things too. No need to apologize or feel embarrassed. We see it all the time. It’s no biggy. The same goes for things that you may have bodily insecurities about – body hair, cellulite, scars, anomalies, quirks, tattoos, etc.
For you men…erections can happen. It’s a natural response. There is no need to bring any attention to it. Honestly, we won’t even notice when it occurs because our attention is never focused there. We only know this because it is known in our profession to prevent men from getting massages or induce self-consciousness. If need be, please allow yourself to re-position your man parts so that you can get comfortable. So you that you may continue to relax.
To be direct, our treatments are non-sexual. You are in a safe container for healing and transformation to happen. So delight in some delicious healthy therapeutic touch.
This is self-love at its finest.
To help you understand our job better – every individual client we work with is unique. This may seem to be an obvious statement, but not as quick to grasp; unless you really stop to think about it.
We work with ALL different body types with their own story to tell. The record keeper of their entire life.
Some clients have extremely high tolerances for pain, while others are extremely sensitive. Even this can vary from one body part to the next. Some are small, some large, some freckled, some weather worn, some hairy, some not so much. ALL bodies are beautiful and ALL carry tension and tightness.
All who enter our treatment rooms are in varying states of health and are in different stages of healing – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. This very fact is what keeps our work interesting!
During our training and in our practice, we have developed an eye for body symmetry, and ‘inner’ seeing and hearing. We developed the ability see and discern tension patterns and learned to speak fluently with muscles and nervous systems. We are mostly looking below the surface of the skin.
We never want you to feel self-conscious. We appreciate you with flaws and imperfections. It’s true that we see you closer than most, but we don’t look at bodies maliciously. We see what needs improvement but with no emotional attachment, only a desire to help you improve and grow into your greatest potential.
One thing you can count on is us being a positive influence on your health.
Well for starters, we always leave the room while you un-dress and get on the massage table. Even if you are quite comfortable being nude in front of others, we maintain this boundary for everyone. It is part of how we maintain trust and safety.
It is also important that we both remain 100% present to and responsible for our own wellbeing, and for our own personal truth – feelings, belief systems, behaviors, expectations, needs, and for communicating any issues or concerns that may arise during our treatments together.
Sexual harassment and vulgar language are not tolerated. Our clients remain draped at all times during our sessions. Only the areas being worked on are exposed. The genitals are never exposed or massaged. If our safety becomes compromised, the session will end immediately.
You may experience a range of after effects. Your treatment initiates the release of what your body has been holding onto and signifies that change is in progress.
We don’t like to plant seeds in your mind of what you are to expect, because it‘s unpredictable. However, it is important to note that sometimes symptoms do temporarily worsen, or rather, you become hyper aware of them.
Sometimes you may experience soreness that feels like you had a good workout or a fresh bruise (though rarely does my work cause any visible bruising). You may feel your nervous system discharging (little zingers), or your bones adjusting to being in a different position.
You may have memories surface or old latent injuries reawake.
You may feel the need to initiate major life changes. You may find yourself speaking up about things that are not in alignment with your core values and purpose.
All or none of these things are possible. Either way, willingness to allow change to happen is key.
I always tell people to give any type of bodywork treatments two days to “land”. For two days afterwards, your body will continue to release and repair.
It is beneficial to understand and accept that sometimes change, doesn’t always look the way we think it should or happen as fast as we want it to. Change can be uncomfortable in the beginning, and takes consistent effort. Yet, willingness to ctreate change is necessary for transformation to happen.
Bodywork is a process of continuous surrendering. Including surrendering any expectations you might have about how healing is supposed to look.
Just like eating healthy and getting in shape, healing isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. However, it is an empowering and worthy endeavor. The quality of your life depends on it.
Yes it happens. It is totally natural and normal. People may find themselves needing to cry or feeling angry when a certain areas are being touched. Regardless, it always happens when it is “time” and it is always imperfectly perfect. Even if it feels raw and vulnerable or turns sloppy, we do our best to remain your sacred witness and personal support. We will take it one moment at a time.
Let your therapist know if emotions are beginning to arise. If you experience an emotional response during your session, we just ask that you be open and honest about what you need for us to do (or not do), and how we can best support you.
Some emotions are accompanied by a memory associated with it and some do not. Either way, expression and acknowledgement can help foster it’s release. We are here as a sacred witnesses, and trusted partners in healing and personal growth.
Receiving bodywork is a collaborative relationship. In order to optimize your experience and outcome, it is incredibly important that you openly express with us your experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant.
Open communication will allow us to tailor our work to suit your needs and preferences. It makes a world of difference in the results we create working together.
This includes:
Telling us when we find spots that are tight, tender, or contributing to the problematic area. Even better yet, describe the sensations you are feeling using descriptions like “tingly, burning, numb, zingy” etc….Tell us if the pain is radiating to another area or if a spot is calling for more attention.
On a pain scale from 0-10 – 7 is your threshold of comfort. Anything about 7 is registered as pain and you are holding your breath, clenching, or resisting. The pressure we apply should never elicit a response that goes above a 7. Ideally for soft tissue release, we want to remain in the 4-6 range. We refer to this as “hurts so good” zone. If we find an area that the pressure applied is above a 7, tell us where it’s at on the pain scale, so that we can recalibrate our pressure back to therapeutic, rather than injury.
Our intention is to reduce tension and inflammation, not exacerbate it.
Tell us if a technique or position is uncomfortable. There is no reason to feel you have to endure something you know doesn’t feel right. The “no pain, no gain” mentality won’t serve you in the treatment room. We can make adjustments to the pressure or angle, and slow down the speed at which we achieve depth.
This applies to room temperatures, music, or any discomfort imposed by the face cradle or bolsters.
Letting us know if you have to go to the restroom, need to blow your nose, or take a drink of water. We can pause the treatment at any time. We want you to be able to relax.
You are always welcome to call or email us with any questions or concerns you may have concerning your body. We also love to be updated about progress we have made.
We also strongly encourage you to let us know if you are experiencing any unpleasant side effects so that we can modify to our treatment plan if need be, or offer suggestions for ways to alleviate discomfort naturally and in harmony with the work we do together.
In some cases, we may refer you to other health-care professionals, if your situation can be further assisted by other therapies, or not within our scope of expertise. We are not just your massage therapist; we are also great resources for health.
Unless you are schedule for Cranio-Sacral therapy, than it doesn’t matter what you wear, because you will be undressing.
You are welcome to keep underwear/panties on, if you are more comfortable that way. However, if we are planning on working on your hips, than it is best to remove them too (though not mandatory – we can work through them, if need be).
If you are scheduled for a purely Cranio-Sacral Therapy treatment, than you will want to wear comfortable stretchy clothing. Clothes that you would wear to work out in or to do yoga are perfect attire! You may also wear these items if you aren’t comfortable receiving direct contact onto your skin or if we are only working a specific area that does not require you to undress.
Only the areas that are being worked on will be exposed at any given time during your treatment. Genitals are never ever exposed. All other areas will be draped with a top sheet and blanket.