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A massage table made up with warm white linen in a plaster-walled room, low afternoon sun falling across the sheets

Put the week down.

Therapeutic and relaxation massage in a quiet studio with two rooms and one rule: nobody gets rushed off the table.

Minute sessions, never rushed
60 · 90
Hands-on, licensed practice
11 yrs
Open late on weeknights
Tue – Sat

Where are you holding it?

Point to it — most people can. These are the places tension settles for almost everyone, what it tends to feel like, and what we would book for it.

Client intake

Mark where it hurts

Back
  1. Neck and base of the skull

    Headaches that start at the back and creep forward. Checking your blind spot hurts.

    What to book: Deep tissue, 60 minutes

  2. Tops of the shoulders

    Shoulders up by your ears by 3 pm. The laptop, the steering wheel, the baby carrier.

    What to book: Relaxation or hot stone

  3. Between the shoulder blades

    The knot you can't reach, that you can point to but never quite press.

    What to book: Deep tissue, 90 minutes

  4. Lower back

    Stiff getting out of the car, better once you're moving, worse again by evening.

    What to book: Deep tissue or prenatal

  5. Hips and glutes

    Tight after a long run or a long sit. Sometimes it shows up as a sore knee instead.

    What to book: Sports and recovery

See every treatment and price

Priced by the hour you need.

Every session is one therapist, one room, and the full time on the table — undressing and talking happen outside the clock. Most people start with sixty minutes.

A therapist pouring golden massage oil from an amber bottle into a cupped palm in low sunlight
  • Relaxation massage

    Long, slow Swedish strokes with light to medium pressure. For when nothing hurts exactly — you're just wound tight and sleeping badly.

    Best for: Stress, poor sleep, a first massage

    60 minutes
    $95
    90 minutes
    $135
  • Deep tissue

    Slow, firm work into the layers under the surface, with forearms and elbows where they help. Focused on two or three areas rather than everything.

    Best for: Desk necks, stubborn knots, lower back

    60 minutes
    $110
    90 minutes
    $155
  • Sports and recovery

    Stretching, compression, and targeted work on the muscles your sport leans on. Book it two days after a race, or a week before one.

    Best for: Runners, climbers, lifters, cyclists

    60 minutes
    $110
    90 minutes
    $155
  • Hot stone

    Warm basalt stones glide with the oil and rest along the spine, so muscles let go before any pressure arrives. Slow and heavy in the best way.

    Best for: Cold hands, winter shoulders, deep rest

    60 minutes
    $120
    90 minutes
    $165
The therapist, seen from behind in a linen apron, smoothing a white sheet over a massage table by a sunlit window

Nora Whitfield

Licensed massage therapist (LMT #MA-40218), 11 years in practice

Your first hour, minute by minute.

Nobody should have to guess what happens behind the door. Here is the whole of a first session — booked with me, in my room, at my pace, which is slow.

  1. 0:00

    Arrive, shoes off, a glass of water

    Come ten minutes early. There's a short health form — injuries, medication, anything that's bothering you this week.

  2. 0:10

    Five minutes of talking first

    Nora asks where it hurts, what you do all day, and how much pressure you like. You can change your mind on the table.

  3. 0:15

    On the table, under a warm sheet

    Undress to your comfort. Only the area being worked on is ever uncovered. Talk or don't — both are normal.

  4. 1:15

    Slow up, and one thing to take home

    Water, a minute to sit, and one stretch for whatever was tightest. Rebook if you like; there's no pressure to.

I came in for my neck and she found the knot in my shoulder blade that's been causing it for three years. First night in months I didn't wake up with a headache.

Daniel R. Deep tissue, 90 minutes

The questions people are shy to ask.

Ask them anyway — by phone, by email, or on the table. There are no strange questions in this room.

Five black basalt stones warming on a folded grey towel beside an amber bottle of massage oil and a sprig of eucalyptus

How much should I undress?

Whatever you're comfortable with. Most people keep their underwear on; some keep more. You're under a sheet the whole time, and only the area being worked on is uncovered.

Is deep tissue supposed to hurt?

It can feel intense, but it shouldn't make you hold your breath or tense up — that works against it. Say so and the pressure changes straight away. Some soreness the next day is normal; bruising isn't.

Sixty or ninety minutes?

Sixty is right for a full-body relaxation massage or one problem area. Choose ninety if you want the whole body and focused work on a trouble spot, or if it's your first deep tissue session.

Can I come if I'm pregnant or injured?

Yes to both, usually. Prenatal massage is from the second trimester. For a recent injury or surgery, bring your doctor's go-ahead and we'll plan the session around it.

Do you take insurance?

We don't bill insurers directly, but we give you an itemized receipt to claim with, and HSA and FSA cards work at checkout.

First visit? Take 15% off any 90-minute session

Come in and lie down.

Book by email or phone and we will confirm within the day. Tell us what hurts when you write — it helps us plan your hour.

Hours

Tuesday
10 am – 8 pm
Wednesday
10 am – 8 pm
Thursday
10 am – 8 pm
Friday
9 am – 6 pm
Saturday
9 am – 4 pm

Closed Sundays and Mondays. Last booking 90 minutes before close.

Find us

418 Alder Street, Suite 2
Hollis Park
Get directions

hello@balmstudio.example