One is for a nervous system that will not come down. The other is for a shoulder that has been wrong since March. They are not the same appointment.
Most people book the wrong one first. They choose Swedish because it sounds gentle and they are nervous, then leave wishing someone had worked harder on the shoulder — or they choose the deepest thing on the menu because they want their money's worth, and spend the next two days sore. The difference is not how hard someone presses. It is what the hour is trying to do.
Swedish massage: for a nervous system that will not switch off
Swedish massage is long, flowing work over the whole body. The aim is circulation and calm: it stimulates the skin and the nervous system, soothes the nerves, and reduces emotional as much as physical stress. If your sleep has gone, your jaw is tight, and you cannot point to one specific injury, this is the one.
Book it when the problem is general — a bad few months, a job that lives in your inbox, the kind of tiredness that a weekend does not fix. Sixty minutes covers the body. Ninety gives the back, neck and legs enough time that nothing is rushed.
Therapeutic massage: for the thing that has a location
Therapeutic massage is slower and more specific. It targets particular areas of tension, pain and fatigue, working to release overworked muscles and move lactic acid and metabolic waste out of tissue that has been holding a pattern for a long time.
Book it when you can put a finger on the problem: the right trapezius, the low back after lifting, the forearm from a mouse, the calf from running. It is not a punishment, and it should not leave you bruised — but you will feel it working, and the next day you may feel like you have been to the gym.
A quick way to decide
- Can you point to it? Therapeutic.
- Is it everywhere and nowhere? Swedish.
- Is it stress that has become physical — shoulders at ear height, headaches by 4pm? Start Swedish, then move to therapeutic once the volume is down.
- Are you pregnant? Neither — prenatal, which is its own training and its own positioning.
- Do you run cold, or ache in the damp? Hot stone, where the heat does the opening before any pressure is applied.
What each one costs here
- Swedish Massage60 min$85
- Therapeutic Massage60 min$90
- Hot Stone Massage60 min$90
- Prenatal Massage75 min$90
- Swedish Massage90 min$100
- Therapeutic Massage90 min$115
- Hot Stone Massage90 min$115
Sixty minutes or ninety?
Sixty minutes is a full-body treatment that keeps moving. Ninety is the honest length for anyone with a specific problem *and* a body that needs to relax first — because tight tissue does not respond to pressure until the nervous system stops guarding, and that takes fifteen or twenty minutes of the hour you paid for.
If you are coming for one stubborn area, ninety minutes of therapeutic work is the appointment that changes something. Sixty is maintenance once it has.
What to say when you arrive
The most useful thing you can bring is a sentence about your week, not a diagnosis. What you do for work, which side you sleep on, what you did on Saturday, what hurts when you reach behind you. Linda Minichiello, who does the massage here, trained at the Baltimore School of Massage and started her career in a chiropractic practice doing rehabilitation — she reads bodies for a living, and the history is what tells her where to start.
Pressure is checked during the treatment, not guessed at. If it is too much, say so; if it is not enough, say that too. Neither is rude, and both are more useful than lying there enduring it.
How often is worth it
For a specific problem, three sessions two weeks apart will tell you more than one session ever can — the first calms the area, the second does the work, the third finds out whether it held. For general stress, monthly is the rhythm most people can actually sustain, and sustainable beats ideal.
Questions people ask
- Is therapeutic massage the same as deep tissue?
- In practice they overlap. Therapeutic describes the intent — working a specific area toward a result — while deep tissue describes the pressure. A good therapeutic hour will use whatever pressure the tissue actually accepts, which is often less than people expect.
- Will a massage make me sore?
- Focused therapeutic work can leave you feeling like you have exercised for a day or so. Swedish work rarely does. Drink water, move gently, and expect to feel better on day two than day one.
- Can I get a massage while pregnant?
- Yes, with a therapist certified in prenatal massage, which is a different training and different positioning. Linda is certified in prenatal work — book that treatment specifically rather than a standard massage.
- How far in advance should I book?
- The studio is appointment-only with two practitioners, so evenings and Saturdays go first. A week ahead is comfortable; the same week is often possible.
