Tahoe is a land of skiers with tree trunk legs and muscled backs. It’s also a place populated by 105-pound, petite massage therapists. That unequal equation has led to a legion of frustrated athletes searching in vain for a pair of powerful-enough hands to relieve their tense musculature.
Enter Dana Lucia, owner of Awakening Massage in Truckee, a seasoned massage therapist who is using her powerful, dexterous feet to deliver a massage that can work out even the most stubborn muscle kinks. Holding overhead bars for stability and to regulate pressure, Lucia uses her heel, toes, and the lateral edge of her foot the way most massage therapists use their palms, fingers, and elbows.
The first time Chris Ryman went to Awakening Massage, the bodywork on his hamstrings, IT band, and back was so pinpointed and precise that he found it hard to believe that he was being massaged by Lucia’s feet.
‘The first couple of times I couldn’t tell if she was using her feet or her hands,’ said Ryman.
The deep pressure of Lucia’s Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy is powerful but smoother and gentler than massage therapists who use bony elbows to exert added force. And the advantages of Ashiatsu massage really shine at the end of a session, or for the therapist, at the end of a day of multiple sessions. Where other massage therapists might lack the power in their weary arms to continue applying deep pressure, Lucia is able to use her body weight and heels to give as deep a massage as the person wants.
Ryman, a dedicated skier and tennis player, began recommending Lucia’s business after his first visit.
‘It works for everyone,’ said Ryman. ‘The angles in which she can approach the body and the ability to sustain a constant, even pressure from your Achilles up to your back, is something you can’t achieve if she were standing next to the table.’
Ryman said he usually goes in for a two-hour session, a length of time typically unheard of in deep tissue massage, since a therapist’s arms typically fatigue before then.
Lucia, who has seven years of experience in deep tissue and Swedish massage, said the length and steadiness of the pressure she can exert is very noticeable to customers accustomed to traditional massage.
‘I don’t exert the energy that I used to, so I am able to work longer. I can give that extra energy to [the person being massaged],’ said Lucia.
While Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy is perfect for loosening muscles for 9-to-5-ers tense from a week of desk work and regular massage patrons looking for a deeper, more sustained treatment, the practice really shines when applied to Truckee and Tahoe’s large population of dedicated athletes.
‘Athletes tend to be a lot more bound up. Their muscles are very dense,’ said Lucia.
Many sports, like skiing or mountain biking, build tightly wound muscles in one part of the body, while leaving other muscles unused, said Ryman. The resulting imbalance can lead to injury when proper cross-training and bodywork is not incorporated to loosen the dominant muscles and bring the body back into balance.
Today, more athletes are in tune with their body and aware of the injury-prevention and performance benefits of therapeutic bodywork like Lucia’s Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, said Ryman.
That opens up a steady and growing customer base for Lucia, and her talented, dexterous, knot-seeking feet.
Awakening Massage is located in the Bikram Yoga Studio in the Pioneer Commerce Center in Truckee. Appointments are available online or by phone. Info: awakeningmassage.com
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