Community Massage is based on Community Acupuncture which has been around for about 20 years now. It has revolutionized their industry, improving access to high quality acupuncture and stabilizing practitioner incomes. There are HUNDREDS of community acupuncture clinics across North America now with more demand for acupuncture than there are acupuncturists.
Community Massage aims to lower all the barriers to treatment that is possible, for as many people as possible, while continuing to be financially self-sustaining. It recognizes that healing is best done in community, not in isolation.
Alyx started this semi-open format massage concept ("Community Massage") in 2014. While this is not the only community-style massage practice in the US and the UK, this particular model has been the longest running and most financially stable.
The Davis clinic is Alyx's fourth community massage center. The first two were in Chico and Paradise and the third as a pop-up clinic in rural Nigeria operating as a demonstration project for "emergency massage" in crisis areas impacted by war, genocide, and natural disasters.
So, why Community Massage?
There are several reasons.
First, most Americans are looking for a quick, easy, and affordable way to address their pain. Sometimes popping a pill is enough, but there is a point where it just needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the resources to pay for a high priced, boutique massage and hope somewhere in that 60 or 90 minutes our issue will be addressed. Fortunately, most massage techniques don't actually require that you take your clothes off. No messy oil! It makes getting in and out faster, and you can get on with your day.
Second, I started my career 10 years ago specializing in massage for traumatic stress. A major part of my work is Somatic Psychology, which is a body based approach to postural change, addressing the emotions we hold in our bodies. I've learned that longer sessions can trigger what is called a "healing crisis". Too much of a good thing too quickly! This approach also means I'm giving you the same amount of results you would get in a 90-minute massage in just 30 minutes.
Third, massage therapy has a reputation as either a luxury or being involved on the fringes of illegal activities which makes it challenging to know where to find a good massage therapist. The transparent, semi-open format means you can bring your friends and family with you, if you want. We also see massage as a human right, not a luxury. That means we want a space that is comfortable and accessible to all bodies.
Fourth, while massage has been something we have been doing since before we were even human(!), here in the United States massage has had a much darker history. Today's field of massage therapy has its origins in a few different places, such as Kellogg's Eugenics Health program and generally the Third Great Awakening's focus on health/wellness/sanist purity as symbolic of productivity and Talentism (David Kyle, unpublished), the Human Potential Movement and Esalen's programs that built on health purity's central role in the American Eugenic's Movement, "internal" massage as a "mental health" service performed by male doctors on women often coercively, and the human trafficking of women (and sometimes other genders) to perform sexual services for men (and sometimes other genders).
The community model generally (there are many- acupuncture, massage, yoga, chiropractic, psychotherapy, meditation, etc) draws a hard line against this and actively seeks to promote disability justice and sanist justice. Disability Justice activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha mentions several times in her book Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice the role community acupuncture has played in her own life and DJ work. Alyx's version of Community Massage continues the legacy of Bill Mueller in creating safe spaces for both therapists and clients to live authentic, non-exploited embodied lives and to heal from bodymind traumas. You can learn more in our Client Bill of Rights.
Finally, massage therapists haven’t been able to raise their rates for more than 50 years, so practice margins are getting smaller and smaller. It forces experienced practitioners to quit the field, leading to consolidation of the industry under large corporate businesses. The average massage career is only six years! It can take more than a decade to really learn all the muscles in the body. Community models in the wellness industry prolong practitioner careers, meaning practitioners are often more experienced. We are able to more quickly and effectively address patient complaints.
The Community Massage model is a space about:
- community rather than commodification
- social justice rather than exclusivity
- cooperation rather than "white coat" power dynamics
- accessibility rather than pay-to-play
- trauma-informed rather than ableist
- a sustainable and accountable practice model rather than exploitive and unstable for therapists
- family and friends friendly rather than isolated healing
