Restorative Bodyworks

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Restorative Bodyworks

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Restorative Bodyworks, Massage Therapist, Flagstaff, AZ.

Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Personal Trainer
Human Movement Specialist (corrective exercise)
Swedish - Deep Tissue - Myofascial Release - Cupping - Stretching - Thai Massage - Movement Assessments and Optimization - Fitness Programming

11/17/2025

Another Monday rolls on through… Can you make time for some self care this week, or you just going to keep carrying all that tension around with you?

11/13/2025

This was advice for a massage therapy student but honestly the same principles will apply to just about any career. If you want longevity and you want to prevent injuries you need to:
Strength Train- and don’t forget to diversify your training. Weight lifting, isometrics, plyometrics, mobility work, yoga… all build different components of strength. You need them all!
Take Breaks- Obviously this is harder when you’re working for the man, but all the more reason to work on building your own practice. You don’t have to work for Massage Envy forever. Some employers are better than others as far as giving their therapists a break between sessions too. For me, in my practice, I schedule AT LEAST 30 minutes in between sessions. This is time to take payment, answer questions, reset the room, drink water, have a snack, etc… and a lot of the time, 30 minutes is still not enough time to actually REST before the next client comes in, so if it’s a really full day I’ll make some of those transitions up to an hour so I can sit there and do nothing and let my body recover. You’ll feel better at the end of the day and you’ll give better bodywork too.
Body Mechanics- You should have learned this in massage school. There’s a whole set of skills that you can learn that will allow you to apply maximal force with minimal effort. The better you implement these principles, the better off your own joints will be.
Notice what I didn’t include?
Getting massages yourself?
Yes, getting massage is helpful, but no amount of bodywork is going to save you if you move like 💩, rest like 💩, and train like 💩
I’ve gone easily a year at a time in between massages and been just fine because I do all the other things to take care of myself.

11/11/2025

On Halloween we did some squats in our costumes just for fun but I noticed something… As my wifey descends into her squat, there’s a slight weight shift to the right, and the right foot turns outward. The asymmetric weight shift is one of the more complex squat issues to correct, but I took this as a good opportunity to show you all how a human movement specialist works.
Yes, I do a lot of “regular” deep tissue/myofascial bodywork, but I REALLY love it when I get the chance to use these very specific strategies to correct movement dysfunction. We didn’t get to 100% perfect form in one session and that’s not to be expected. But as you can see, there was much improvement. The releases will need to be done again, and we need to practice the corrective exercises consistently. Over time, these kinds of imbalances can lead to increased injury risk for the knees and low back so it’s important to get help correcting them before the pain begins.

11/09/2025

I’ve heard that some folks don’t like it when the massage therapist use elbows and forearms. I haven’t experienced this, but I can only assume that it’s because so many therapists use their elbows/forearms as a means to use excessive pressure. Used properly, the forearms/elbows are an excellent tool for providing longer, deeper strokes. They don’t need to be used with crushing force. As far as pressure goes these are broader tools than say fingertips which concentrate all that force in a much smaller footprint.

11/07/2025

It’s been a great week at the gym! I saw some significant gains on both my squat and bench press, and I’m 🤏🏼 close to getting my first ever muscle-up.
Yes, strength training builds muscle but more importantly imo are the neuromuscular adaptations yielding better muscle recruitment and functional training that links different muscle groups to increase full body power output.
Specific corrective exercises such as those that activate the rotator cuff or glutes as well as functional exercises such as Foundation training (this video) helped me the most to make this progress. Gonna eat a fat steak 🥩 tonight! 😂

11/06/2025

Who wants to be “normal”?!
Let’s strive for “exceptional”!!

11/05/2025

Hip mobility is a big contributor to low back pain and injury. Most people only move their hips back and forth and get very little lateral motion and even less rotation. But even if all you do is walk, you still need multidirectional capacity. Table Thai is a great modality for loosening restrictions in the hips and cultivating body awareness. And the rhythmic motion is sooo relaxing! ☺️
Wanna give it a try?! As always, new clients get $20 off their first session!

11/03/2025

The soft strokes are just as important as the deep ones. We use these soothing strokes to introduce touch, warm up the tissues, and smooth things out after the deeper work returning to that parasympathetic state. Don’t skip or rush through this part! It’s the best part!

10/31/2025

Good luck everybody on your Halloween celebrations! 🍀 🎃
We started the day off right with a Body Pump class with and then the school parade.
Time to get ready for trick or treating!!
Have fun and be safe!! ❤️

10/28/2025

I usually turn off the sound on these videos and add some music but you can’t really beat the song of the wind and leaves. 🍁

10/27/2025

It’s make-a-plan Monday! As we all begin to fill up our week with things we must do, this is also a good time to carve out a plan to take care of your wellbeing. Too often gets pushed to the back burner, or off the stove entirely. There’ll always be laundry and errands. Taking a time out during the week to take care of you will actually help you accomplish more when you’re well rested. 🙂

Address

Flagstaff, AZ

Website

https://www.matthewtcmt.com/, https://www.acaciafruitwellness.com/schedule

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