Swedish Massage
in Santa Rosa.
A relaxing and therapeutic style of bodywork. It combines oils or lotion with an array of strokes such as rolling, kneading, and percussion to help the body improve its circulation. The benefits are wide-ranging and include relief from aches and pains, decreased stress, enhanced mental clarity, and greater flexibility. A great massage for first timers.
What Swedish massage does
Swedish is worked with oil or lotion so the hands glide without dragging the skin, and it is built from a handful of named strokes that flow toward the heart. Effleurage is soothing stroking with the padded fingertips or the palms. Tapotement is rhythmic striking with the side of the hand, the percussion most people picture when they think of massage.
The usual reason is stress that has settled in the shoulders, a neck stiffened by long desk days, or an hour with nothing asked of them. ABMP's glossary lists generalized relaxation and improved circulation among what the style is used for.
The research is more modest than the marketing. NCCIH reports that massage looked helpful for chronic low-back pain, while rating the strength of that evidence low and the investigators' confidence in it very little. It also reports massage as more helpful than inactive therapies for neck and shoulder pain, with benefit that may last only a short time. A 2024 Cochrane review of massage for neck pain found, on low-certainty evidence, that massage may make little or no difference against a placebo. Relaxation and short-term ease are what the evidence supports. Anything that needs a diagnosis belongs with your doctor, since massage does not include diagnosing a specific pathology or prescribing medication.
What a first session is like
It starts with questions. The American Massage Therapy Association describes the usual intake as covering medical history, lifestyle, stress levels, medications and areas of physical pain. The therapist then leaves the room while you undress to your comfort level, and you lie under a sheet that covers everything except the part being worked.
A padded face cradle lets you lie face down without turning your head or neck.
Whether there is conversation, music or quiet is your call, and AMTA lists that as the client's right. A therapist should check on pressure and comfort throughout, and you can ask for an adjustment at any point or ask to stop.
Who books Swedish massage
- First-timers who want to know what a massage feels like before trying deeper work
- Anyone whose goal is winding down rather than working one stubborn spot
- People who want the whole body worked in one session
- People who have found firm pressure uncomfortable elsewhere
- Someone coming back to the table after a long gap
Session lengths and rates
| Duration | Investment |
|---|---|
| 70 min | $165 |
| 90 min | $195 |
Packages are prepaid and shared across every massage style, so each session can be whatever your body needs that day. Three sessions save 15%, six save 20%, and twelve save 25%. Payment is settled in person, and cash payments earn 8% off.
Worth mentioning when you book
Mention anything a therapist should know: recent injury or surgery, skin conditions, allergies to oils or lotions, medications including blood thinners, and whether you are pregnant or are in or past cancer treatment. This is wellness work that sits alongside medical care.
Common questions
What is the difference between Swedish massage and deep tissue?
Is it rude to fall asleep during a massage?
Where the sessions happen
The boutique is at 3914 Princeton Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95405, and every session is by appointment. Booking times vary week to week. The open times shown when you book are the current ones. To ask a question before you book, call (707) 596-3117.
Other ways to work with the body
Every session is tailored on the day, so if another style fits better once you are on the table, we change course.
Where the general information on this page comes from
- NCCIH (NIH), Massage Therapy: What You Need To Know
- American Massage Therapy Association, What to Expect at Your Massage Session
- ABMP (MassageTherapy.com) glossary: Massage and Massage Therapy
- ABMP (MassageTherapy.com) glossary: Swedish Massage
- Cleveland Clinic, Everything You Need To Know About Massage Therapy
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2024), Massage for neck pain (Gross AR, Lee H, Ezzo J, et al., via PubMed Central)
General information about the style of bodywork, offered so you know what to expect. It is not medical advice. For anything concerning a diagnosis, a medication or a pregnancy, please speak with your own clinician. As the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health puts it, do not use massage to postpone seeing a health care provider about a medical problem.
Ready for a session?
Pick Swedish Massage when you book, see the current open times, and request the one that fits.
See open times →