Leah Levitan sets to work, firm hands and laser focus in motion. “I make a point of listening to people to know what’s going on with their bodies,” she tells me. “Otherwise, how can I help them?”
It is something of her personal mantra as a healer. I mean, we’ve all had those soft hand, cold fish type of massages along the way, the ones we want to love, but that leave us wanting so much more. Align Massage is not that kind of place and will never be.
When regular massage won’t cut it, call on Align Massage Company for an intensive treatment program to get you back on track (or on the trail). Athletes. Musicians. Service industry people. They and others deal with a particular type of pain, and incur injuries that require a particular brand of massage. Align and Levitan deliver.
Clinical massage, sports massage, and body realignment are Levitan’s specialties. They are also her calling. Seeing her eyes light up as she talks about her business and vocation is inspiring. When she works on you, you understand this is all together different from a basic massage. Align Massage fills a gap in pain management and care routine, a gap we may not have realized was there.
Disclosure: Align Massage Company offered me a complimentary treatment for the purposes of this article. All opinions are my own.
Finding a Calling
Licensed massage therapist Leah Levitan realized early in her massage therapy classes that she was interested in clinical massage. She had no interest in providing surface level, luxury massages. She is an intense person and driven to help people.
Levitan and I used to live in the same apartment complex. I recall when she started massage therapy school. We had animated, lengthy conversations over far too much wine about our futures. I was going to be a writer, and she was going to help people through massage.
It didn’t take long for Levitan to find her niche within the massage arena. She was fascinted with anatomy and how everything in our bodies lines up and works together–or doesn’t. The-knee-bone’s-connected-to-the-thigh-bone kind of stuff, except with muscles rather than bones.
A months-long apprenticeship with a chiropractor added more tools to her massage therapist toolbox. It also showed her how specific movement and working with the client to set a course of action enhances the experience and improves results.
More Than a Rub-down
Clinical massage, pin and stretch techniques, and elongation all play a part at Align Massage. Levitan is dedicated to bringing her clients back to maximum mobility with a minimum of pain. For this reason, she sends each client home with a treatment plan for them to work through. As much as we hate the word “homework,” the treatments work better with a bit of it.
This treatment plan complements the physical manipulation and massage Levitan provides at the massage studio. It is true that she really listens. Working with the information each client gives her, and the “tells’ our bodies have when someone is working on them, provide the focus for each session.
Levitan works on her clients until she feels satisfied they have experienced or will experience some relief. For an ultra-marathon runner, that may amount to a 3.5-hour session, although most clients do not require that level of work.
After the massage itself, Levitan works the painful or stiff areas with pin and stretch movements. This works the way it sounds. By restricting certain muscles and gently pulling others, Levitan is able to increase mobility in her clients.
While the whole magic bullet cure is not actually a thing, I did feel relief after the first session. My body felt a bit tender in the problem areas, similar to how your muscles feel after a new workout routine. You definitely feel it. Weeks later, the same area is still much less tight.
At Align Massage, Levitan takes time to photograph her clients before and after a session. This showed me, for example, that my shoulders dropped a bit from their initially tense position, a sign those muscles were responding and relaxing.
Go Get Ya Some Relief
A quick scroll through the Align Massage Instagram page provides a sense of Levitan’s mission. Instead of the standard inspirational quotes, the account shows common problems many of us have due to our individual daily grinds and/or injuries. Levitan gives helpful hints and exercises we can implement into our routines to start feeling better.
Align Massage Company is out here doing good things, y’all. Whether you suffer from limited mobility or major pain, Levitan is a helpful local resource. She prides herself on being the first line of defense against increased pain and decreased mobility.
While it may be appropriate to see a doctor or start a course of medication, starting with clinical massage with someone who is dedicated to providing a comprehensive service, complete with a wee bit of education, can be helpful. See a doctor if you need to, but if you are simply in need of some relief, Align Massage might be that apple a day that keeps the doctor away.
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