Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC

Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC Creating a custom massage & skin therapy experience based on your unique needs!

You know that feeling when your heart races, your stomach flips, and your brain says, “Relax”… but your body says, “Not ...
11/08/2025

You know that feeling when your heart races, your stomach flips, and your brain says, “Relax”… but your body says, “Not safe”?

That’s not weakness.
That’s your nervous system doing its job — trying to protect you the only way it knows how.

Here’s what most people don’t realize:
Your body reacts before your mind does.
Because biology always beats logic.

Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety — and it remembers every stressful moment you’ve ever pushed through, ignored, or “moved on” from.

So when your shoulders won’t drop on the massage table, when your skin flares up “out of nowhere,” or when you feel anxious even while resting… it’s not that you’re broken.
It’s that your body still thinks it needs to protect you.

At Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, this is where we begin:
Not by forcing your body to relax, but by teaching it how to feel safe again.

👉 Through specific therapeutic massage that quiets stress signals.
👉 Through skincare treatments that calm inflammation and activate repair.
👉 Through nervous system–based approaches that remind your body: “You’re safe now.”

Because real healing doesn’t happen through force — it happens through safety.

You don’t have to fight your body into calm.
You just have to give it permission to exhale.

✨ When your nervous system stops yelling, your body starts healing.

That headache that keeps showing up.The fatigue that doesn’t make sense.The bloating, the anxiety, the flare-ups “out of...
10/27/2025

That headache that keeps showing up.
The fatigue that doesn’t make sense.
The bloating, the anxiety, the flare-ups “out of nowhere.”

None of it’s random.
It’s your body’s language.

The body doesn’t use words—it uses signals.
When something feels off, it sends a message.
First as a whisper… then as a nudge… and eventually, as a symptom that gets too loud to ignore.

That tension in your shoulders might not just be “bad posture.”
It might be the weight of what you’ve been carrying emotionally.
That gut issue might not just be food—it might be stress your body never got to fully process.
That fatigue—it’s your biology’s way of saying, “I’m tired of being in survival mode.”

Your body isn’t working against you—it’s working for you.
It’s just asking to be heard, not silenced.

✨ Every symptom is your body’s way of saying, please listen.

10/22/2025

🎁 BLACK FRIDAY CAME EARLY — And You’re Gonna Want In 🖤

We’re doing something a little wild this year…
Black Friday is here early.
Like, right now early.

Why? Because let’s be real—waiting until after Thanksgiving to snag the best deals is kinda old-school. And honestly? The people who plan ahead? They deserve the biggest perks.

✨ So here’s the deal:
We just dropped our BIGGEST gift card sale of the year — and it’s live now for YOU!

🖤 Now–Nov 15 → 20% OFF
🖤 Nov 16–30 → 15% OFF
🖤 Dec 1–25 → 10% OFF

Whether you’re gifting a little relaxation to someone you love…
or saving big on future-you self-care…
this is your moment.

🎁 E-gift cards only
💸 Discount applies automatically at checkout
🧖‍♀️ Valid on purchases of $100+
⏳ And yes — when we hit our limit, the sale ends!

👇 Grab yours before they’re gone:
https://squareup.com/gift/ARVB7CGSRXHXM/order

Thanks for letting us be part of your health & healing journey. 💆‍♀️

We’re so grateful for you this season—and always. 🖤

You know those moments when your body reacts before your mind can explain it?Your chest tightens, your stomach drops, yo...
10/17/2025

You know those moments when your body reacts before your mind can explain it?
Your chest tightens, your stomach drops, your throat closes up—
and logically, you can’t figure out why.

That’s your biology speaking the language of what’s unprocessed.

Your subconscious stores everything it didn’t feel safe enough to express—
grief that never got a voice, fear that got tucked away, boundaries that were crossed but never named.
And your nervous system? It becomes the messenger.

It sends whispers through tension, fatigue, anxiety, and even illness…
not to punish you, but to bring what’s hidden to the surface so it can finally be seen, felt, and released.

This is why healing isn’t just mindset work—it’s body work. Because the body keeps talking even when the mind goes silent.

✨ The nervous system whispers what the subconscious can’t say out loud.
The question is—are you listening?

Your body doesn’t speak in words — it speaks in sensations.That tension in your shoulders, the bloating after meals, the...
10/14/2025

Your body doesn’t speak in words — it speaks in sensations.
That tension in your shoulders, the bloating after meals, the fatigue that hits out of nowhere…
None of it’s random. It’s information.

Every ache, flare-up, or emotional wave is your body’s way of saying,
“Something needs attention here.”

Sometimes that story started recently — from stress, sleep loss, or overwhelm.
Other times, it began years ago — from grief, trauma, or old patterns that never felt safe to process.

Your symptoms are the messengers.

✨ Every symptom has a story. Are you listening?

You’ve probably heard the phrase “the body keeps the score.” And it’s true—your body holds on to everything it’s been th...
10/09/2025

You’ve probably heard the phrase “the body keeps the score.” And it’s true—your body holds on to everything it’s been through: stress, grief, trauma, even the emotions you didn’t have space to process.

But here’s what often gets missed:
Your body doesn’t just hold the pain—it holds the path out of it.

Every tight muscle, racing heartbeat, or wave of anxiety is a breadcrumb pointing you back to what needs safety, attention, or release.
Those sensations aren’t random—they’re information.

When you learn to listen instead of fix, to regulate instead of suppress, your body starts guiding you. The same system that stored the stress knows exactly how to unwind it… once it feels safe enough to.

✨ Your body keeps the score—but it also keeps the map to healing. You just have to learn how to read it.

Your body isn’t just hearing what you say out loud—it’s responding to what you think.Every thought sends a chemical sign...
10/08/2025

Your body isn’t just hearing what you say out loud—it’s responding to what you think.

Every thought sends a chemical signal.
Every emotion writes instructions for your biology.

When your mind says, “I’m not safe,” your body floods with cortisol and tension.
When your mind whispers, “I’ve got this,” your body softens, digestion opens up, and healing begins.

Your cells don’t speak English or logic—they speak frequency and feeling.
They’re constantly translating your inner dialogue into hormones, heart rate, immune response, and even gene expression.

So the question becomes:
What story are your cells living inside today?

✨ Your cells are listening to the language you think in.
Choose words that feel like safety.

Inflammation gets a bad rap.We talk about it like it’s the villain of every story—pain, aging, fatigue, autoimmune issue...
10/06/2025

Inflammation gets a bad rap.
We talk about it like it’s the villain of every story—pain, aging, fatigue, autoimmune issues.

But here’s the truth: inflammation isn’t chaos.
It’s communication.

It’s your body waving a flag saying, “Hey, something needs attention here.”
Sometimes that “something” is a physical trigger (like food, injury, or toxins).
Other times, it’s emotional or environmental—chronic stress, unresolved grief, lack of sleep, a life that’s out of alignment.

Inflammation is your internal alarm system—it’s meant to protect you, not punish you.
The goal isn’t to shut it up… it’s to understand what it’s trying to say.

Because when you listen and respond, the body doesn’t need to yell.

✨ Inflammation isn’t chaos—it’s communication.

Your body doesn’t go from fine to falling apart overnight.It starts with whispers.👉 A little fatigue you brush off.👉 A h...
10/01/2025

Your body doesn’t go from fine to falling apart overnight.
It starts with whispers.

👉 A little fatigue you brush off.
👉 A headache you pop painkillers for.
👉 A knot in your gut you tell yourself is “just stress.”

When those whispers aren’t listened to, your body turns up the volume. That’s when symptoms feel louder—chronic pain, insomnia, burnout, autoimmune flares.

Not because your body hates you.
Because it’s trying harder to get your attention.

Here’s the shift: symptoms aren’t setbacks. They’re signals. They’re biology speaking a language that gets harder to ignore the longer it’s silenced.

✨ The whispers you ignore become the screams you can’t.
The sooner you listen, the sooner you can heal.

Stress doesn’t just “live in your mind.” It stamps itself all over your body.🧠 In your brain → brain fog, racing thought...
09/30/2025

Stress doesn’t just “live in your mind.” It stamps itself all over your body.

🧠 In your brain → brain fog, racing thoughts, forgetfulness.
❤️ In your heart → skipped beats, pressure spikes.
🌱 In your immune system → more colds, slower recovery.
💤 In your sleep → restless nights, early wake-ups.
🥴 In your gut → cramps, bloating, knots in your stomach.
🔥 In your hormones → cortisol on overdrive, everything else scrambling.

Your body keeps the receipts. Every ache, shift, or symptom is your biology showing where stress pressed its thumb.

The good news? Calm leaves prints too. Nervous system tools can rewrite the pattern—laying down new evidence of safety, balance, and healing.

✨ Stress leaves fingerprints on every system. But so does calm.

09/29/2025

Just me… voluntarily stepping into an icebox 😅❄️

If you’ve ever wondered why on earth someone would choose to freeze their butt off in a cryo chamber… here’s your answer from a nervous-system-loving, healing-obsessed human:

Cold exposure isn’t just a trendy wellness thing. It’s a nervous system training tool—and a good one. It helps you:

🧠 Build stress resilience (consciously choosing to stay calm in the cold)
💪 Train your vagus nerve (cold can stimulate the diving reflex)
🔥 Lower inflammation
💡 Boost mood, circulation & mental clarity (rebound vasodilation)
🫁 Practice calm breathing in the middle of discomfort (which… sounds a lot like life)

I’m always looking for ways to stretch my capacity without burning out. Cryotherapy is like a reset button for my nervous system—it gets me out of my head, into my body, and reminds me I’m capable of way more than I think.

Not gonna lie… it’s cold AF. But it’s also powerful. 💥

Have you tried it yet? Or done contrast therapy? I’d love to hear how you’re supporting your nervous system lately!

Before the supplements. Before the diets. Before the protocols.There’s your nervous system.It’s the first medicine becau...
09/23/2025

Before the supplements. Before the diets. Before the protocols.
There’s your nervous system.

It’s the first medicine because it decides how your body responds to everything—food, sleep, stress, even love.
👉 If your nervous system says danger, digestion slows, hormones misfire, inflammation spikes.
👉 If your nervous system says safety, digestion flows, hormones balance, repair begins.

And it’s the last word because no matter what you try—detoxes, cleanses, the latest “miracle” fix—if your nervous system isn’t on board, the results won’t last.

That’s why regulation is the foundation. It’s not “woo.” It’s biology.
Your nervous system sets the stage for whether you stay in survival… or shift into healing.

✨ The nervous system is the first medicine and the last word.

Everything else builds from there.

Address

3606 NE Otterview Circle, Suite 13
Ankeny, IA
50021

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7:30pm
Tuesday 10am - 7:30pm
Wednesday 10am - 7:30pm
Thursday 10am - 7:30pm
Friday 10am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

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Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC

Creating a custom massage and skin therapy experience based on your unique needs!

Catherine Christy, MA, LMT, LST Catherine is a licensed massage and skin therapist along with holding a BA in health promotion and MA in community health education. She is trained in craniosacral therapy, neural reset therapy, myofascial release, medical massage, visceral manipulation, myoskeletal alignment therapy, trigger point therapy, spinal reflex therapy, cupping, deep tissue, Swedish, and more!

Catherine is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and health coach. Additionally, she has specialized training in behavior change, fitness nutrition, functional fitness, osteopathic fitness, and more. She is also a certified yoga instructor.

As a skin therapist (esthetician), Catherine has specialized training in skin analysis to customize your skin care. She also has specialized training in techniques like hydrafacial, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microcurrent, ultrasonic, galvanic, high frequency, and more!