OUR THERAPISTS
April Kirk, LMT: Mon 8-2, Sun 12-7
Becca Rose Overstreet, LMT:: Mon, Wed, Fri 2-8
Robert Ginwrite, LMT: Wed 12:30-7, Thurs 10-8, Fri 1-7, Sat 10-8
Bobbie Banks, LMT: Tues 9-1:30, Thurs 9-1:30
Jenae Jeffers, LMT #3048, Birmingham School of Massage 2010
Please read about each of our therapists to determine which will most suit you. Every therapist at Stellar Massage is capable of giving a good deep tissue massage, but each has their indivicual styles and some have deeper pressure than others. You can also look under the "Who should I choose" link for a summary by category to save you time.
My philosophy on Customer Service and Working for Stellar Massage
My Massage History
My interest in massage therapy began in 1991 after I was struck by a semi on the interstate and I received massage therapy twice a week as part of my treatment. After my recovery, I began to practice what I learned on friends and family. I find giving massage to be very relaxing, and much better than squeezing a stress ball. In 2009 I was massaging a massage therapist friend of mine who was going through med school, and she said "You're better than the girl I trade with, why don't you go to school and get licensed so that you can get paid for this?" It was a no-brainer moment. All I could think was "why not?" It hadn't occurred to me to do something that wasn't administrative.
I graduated from the Birmingham School of Massage in March 2010. I became Nationally Certified and received my license in June 2010 and immediately started Stellar Massage. I am certified in Massage Therapy, Neuromuscular Therapy, and Hot Stone Therapy. I have received continuing education in Oncology Massage, Myofacial Release, Thai Yoga Massage, Muscle Energy Technique, Cupping, Facial Massage, and Aromatherapy. I've also received training in Stretching and Craniosacral Therapy but they don't really suit me and I rarely use them.
My Massage Philosophy
I am securely grounded in the western philosophy regarding massage, incorporating knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology to address stress and soft tissue pain. This means that I base my style on the physical, not metaphysical. While I know about chi and meridians and recognize that as beings made up of atoms we probably all do have an electrical field, I am not attuned to it.
My Massage Style
I spent almost 20 years doing massage by touch, feeling the tension and knots and manipulating the muscle. I still prefer to directly manipulate the muscle rather than stretch it and tend to be firm in my massages. That being said, if you tell me that you want a light relaxation massage and don't want it to hurt, I can do that too (just make sure you tell me so I can switch mentally from "fix it" to "pamper").
When I do deep tissue I have light, medium, deep and DEEP (and anywhere between if you ask me to go lighter or deeper). Most of my targeted work is medium to deep, but if your previous therapist didn't go deep enough, you may want to give me a try because if you indicate you want me to go deep, I can go very deep. I feel that you paid for a massage, and if during the interview you said that you have sore areas that need particular attention, then I'm not doing my job if I don't work it as well as I can within your pain tolerance. When I speak of your pain tolerance, I don't want to see how much pain you can take, I mean a 6-8 on my pain scale.
Our personal massage styles are a mixture of what we learned in school, our continuing education, what we personally like in a massage, moves we create or pick up from other therapists, and feedback from our clients. One client may think one therapist is "better" than the other, while another client will think the opposite, depending on personal preferences. One way to choose is to try each therapist and just pick the one who suits you best; you don't have to stick with the first therapist you try. Every therapist at Stellar Massage is confident in his/her ability as a massage therapist. Each of us have our dedicated clients who don't want to go to anyone else, so our egos are safe. We recognize that no matter how good we are, some people will like our style and others won't or will simply prefer another. Please don't think any of us will feel insulted or hurt if you choose to try (and stay with) another of our therapists.
Pressure: All therapists at Stellar Massage can adjust their pressure from light to very firm/deep depending on your stated preferences and input during the massage. We rely on your feedback during the massage to adjust our pressure to your needs because while we can feel the knots and tension, everyone responds in their own way and we can't determine your pain without your input. All of us can give good deep tissue massage, but Becca, Robert and Matt offer DEEP deep tissue, which is a separate service from regular relaxation/deep tissue.
If you have thick, dense musculature and want a DEEP deep tissue massage, I have made a different service category for it so we can schedule extra time after for your therapist to recover. I am not talking about well developed/toned muscles (someone who works out at the gym every day), I'm talking about overdeveloped (think Football player, stone mason, etc ...). I'd like to say this is the person who feels like no one ever goes deep enough, but unfortunately that is usually a reflection on the quality of the massages previously received not the amount of pressure you need. Please don't be shy about asking us to lighten our pressure just because you asked for a DEEP massage.
Anxiety Massage: Becca and Matt offer this service. Having anxiety issues themselves, they use their experience and intuition to design their service to reduce your anxiety.
Stretching: Matt, Bobbie, and Robert are most likely to incorporate stretching into their massages.
Sports Massage: Becca does not offer this service.
Hot Stone: While we all do the Stellar Upgrade, which incorporates hot stones and hot towels into the massage, only Matt and April do full Hot Stone Massage.
Reflexology: Becca and Robert are the only ones to offer Reflexology.
Reiki: Becca is the only one to offer Reiki.
TMJ: Jenae and Robert do not do TMJ work inside the mouth so do not offer this as a seperate service.
Cupping: Matt is the only one to offer cupping as a seperate service. Short and sweet, cupping is a myofacial technique using cups to create a vacuum and release adhesions. Cupping is likely to leave purple bruise like marks.
Lymphatic Drainage: Matt is the only ones that perform this service.