Restorative Bodyworks

Restorative Bodyworks Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Restorative Bodyworks, Massage Therapist, Flagstaff, AZ.

Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Personal Trainer
Human Movement Specialist (corrective exercise)
Swedish - Deep Tissue - Myofascial Release - Cupping - Stretching - Thai Massage - Movement Assessments and Optimization - Fitness Programming

06/04/2026

Some muscle groups will release more easily in a particular order. The reasoning behind this is, for example, when the muscles in the front of the shoulder (pecs, front delt) become shortened, they pull the shoulders forward. Makes sense? This compromises the alignment of the shoulder joints, so the traps pull harder to try to realign and stabilize. The traps will be hesitant to release while the threat to stability remains. Often after releasing the pectorals, the trapezius is happy and relaxes on its own. It doesn’t always work out this straightforward and simple, but still patterns can be helpful to keep in mind as long as we remain open to other possibilities. 🙂

06/03/2026

Roll your shoulders back and down.
Tuck your chin.
Make goofy faces. 👍🏼

06/02/2026

It feels silly to say but I think people have tendency to dissociate from feeling their legs. There seems to be a general lack of awareness of the lower body compared to the upper. So many come in for massages with complaints of how tight their neck and shoulders are. Some don’t even want any lower body work. Meanwhile their adductors are like suspension bridge cables and their quads are poured from concrete. But it’s all related, connected. The tension in the legs affect every other joint that rests above them. So I invite you to direct a little more of your attention to your legs. Move your ankles, your knees, your hips, and consider booking a little bit of a longer session for your next massage and ask for some extra time on your legs and feet!

06/01/2026

As the summer season hits I find myself with less time for the socials and more hands-on connection, which truly is ideal. The one-on-one work I’ve been doing lately has been so inspiring and rewarding! We’ve been really focusing in on making incremental progress to move better and stronger with the combination of massage and corrective exercises. It’s so beautiful to see people relieved of their pain and limitations so they can more fully enjoy life! One thing I haven’t done in awhile that I’d like to get back to is offering outdoor sessions. I recently got a new massage table just for mobile appointments and I’m looking forward to booking some open air appointments!

05/27/2026

I’ve been using cups for my aches and pains for over 10 years now. I’ve used them to get over minor injuries, improve my mobility, and accelerate my recovery. I recorded this a couple days ago. Got into my first set on the bench and had a twinge of pain in the shoulder. Something was stuck or aggravated. So I applied 3 cups, one to each head of the deltoid, and took the shoulder through some comfortable range of motion. Cupping + Movement is known as active or dynamic cupping. It’s going to increase deep circulation to the joint, release any active trigger points, and stretch any fascia restrictions. Afterwards I went on to do 3 more heavy sets, pain free! Now I’d be lying if I said cupping always relieves all the pain magically like this. It’s not always a 100% fix, but it always helps. I think it’s a great self care tool that everyone should have some working knowledge to use. If you want to learn, I’d be more than happy to teach you!

05/26/2026

Too often in massage education I’ve heard instructors give tips on how to eat up time in session to conserve the therapists energy. Sometimes that’s asking excessive intake questions, holding extended stretches, or even giving the client “extra” time to get settled on the table. Maybe if the massage clinics just booked longer times in between session, their therapists wouldn’t get burnt out so quick!
I became a massage therapist because I love the work. It doesn’t sit well with me to “eat up time” during the session. I want to make every minute we have together count for something. So much so, that I’m often going over session time to get those last few trigger points. I think when the therapist loves what they do, the client will feel the difference!

05/24/2026

Every once in awhile I gotta jump on these cheesy social media trends…
“My Top 5 Horror Movies”

1) Physical Therapy is a science field. “Belief” shouldn’t come into it at all. Follow the evidence. The best outcomes involve a combination of manual therapy and strengthening techniques.

2) Ice can be helpful right after an injury to slow swelling and prevent secondary injury. After the first 15 minutes following an injury, it provides mild pain relief but can drastically slow the healing process.

3) This one’s self explanatory. Take a shower. Ew.

4) Fundamental movements (squat, hinge, push, pull) shouldn’t be painful. If they are, something is trying to get your attention. Don’t ignore it by avoiding the exercise. It’ll only get worse.

5) Stabilizer muscles (think rotator cuff) can often get inhibited by larger muscle groups. This can throw off joint alignment and increase your risk of injury. “Just lift heavy” isn’t a solution. It’s shoulder surgery waiting to happen.

02/27/2026

It’s no secret that I hate running. Most forms of cardio feel tedious and boring to me and I have a real hard time motivating to do it. But cardio is important for health and performance so it’s important to find a version you enjoy. For me, that’s bag work. I’m not a trained fighter so don’t hate on my technique. It’s only to get the heart rate up and move some energy through my body. Not that I wouldn’t love to train someday but fight gyms are kinda expensive and I’m getting a little old to be getting punched in the face for fun. Workout done, on to the chores. Feeling good 🤩

02/25/2026

That snow last week brought in a lot of patients with sore legs and hips. Better to be sore from doing something fun than from working too hard though!
Nothing like a nice leg massage to help you recover and get back on the mountain before springtime hits. What do you think Flagstaff? Was that it? Or do we have more snow coming?!

02/22/2026

There’s such great diversity in the practice of cupping therapy. Cupping can be used for lymphatic drainage, as energetic medicine stimulating acupressure points, and for aesthetic purposes to induce inflammation plumping up the skin. My own practice has evolved over the years but myofascial therapeutic techniques have always been my central focus. As such, most of the cupping I do is also from a myofascial perspective. Here’s a few classic myofascial techniques adapted for the use of cupping.
- Glide cupping is similar to the myofascial technique “skin rolling”
- Dynamic cupping works similarly to a myofascial pin & stretch or active release
- Trigger point cupping is a great, efficient variation of the most well studied and reliable of myofascial techniques, ischemic compression
The research is lacking when it comes to cupping therapy but seeing as how this 5,000+ year old modality is still being used and expanded on, that’s good enough for me. The research will come eventually and tell us practitioners what we already know. 😉

Address

Flagstaff, AZ

Website

https://www.acaciafruitwellness.com/schedule

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