Radical Being Bodywork

Today I got a massage from Deb, and I’ve had many before this as well. She has employed many different techniques and modalities with me (I’ve got chronic pain from arthritis, and I suffer from migraines too.). She’s got such an amazing repertoire to use for different issues, it’s really so very helpful. Today, I explained I just really needed pampering and the deep pleasure of gentle touch. The massage was that perfect balance, it felt super luxurious and relaxing but also revitalized me profoundly. I’m so grateful, as a disabled, super-​fat client, to be able to place myself in Deb’s strong, adept hands. This is touch that is both therapeutic and full of loving care. Thank you Deb, a thousand times over, for your excellent massage!

Deb is amazing. I have been seeing her weekly for months to address my peripheral edema and pain issues, and I have felt better since I’ve been seeing her than in the year or more before. She is skilled, intuitive, VERY knowledgeable, friendly, her energy can be either warm and engaging or totally mellow if you just want to sleep or be quiet. I’ve had a lot of massage in my life but Deb has some techniques that I’d never had used on me before (like cupping, and her new reset technique that really helps with the chronically tight muscles in my legs and hips). I feel completely comfortable with her, she make accommodating your unique needs and body a first priority which is why I’ve never felt awkward or like my body is an anomaly for the therapist and their equipment. She has the most comfortable table EVER and a face cradle that actually tilt/​shifts up the way it should, so you don’t suffocate on your 44DDs. And in addition to being really skilled, her touch is nurturing and healing. Finally I know this isn’t necessarily a CMTs job but she know so much about bodies and some of the various conditions her clients tend to have that she really helped me to research treatments, medical equipment, and medication that I didn’t know about, some things even my primary care doc didn’t know about! I’d recommend her to anyone and everyone, and if that werent enough she works on sliding scale!

A truly artful and nurturing experience to receive a massage from Deb. She was effective at addressing my specific concerns of shoulders and neck while also supporting a calm and subtle field for deeper work to be done, grounding presence combined with confident application of technique.
I had seen her postcards at Berkeley Acupuncture Project and was drawn in by her body positive, inclusive philosophy and her sliding scale pricing. Like many, I find it challenging to budget in self care practices into the mix of Bay Area living costs– her affordable scale of pricing made it possible for me to honor my body with a massage this month.
Highlights– welcoming reception and receptivity to my concerns, flowing & comprehensive sequence, excellent neck, face and feet work, fully present at the end of massage, enough time to ground and transition to leave.
It really made a difference, thank you Deb!
I’ll definitely be back :)

I had never received a professional massage and I’m so happy I chose Deb for my first time. She is very welcoming and makes you feel totally at ease. I felt invigorated and relaxed after. I’m definitely going back.

Deb is great. She’s warm and kind, very very thoughtful about setting up a space that will work for all kinds of bodies with all kinds of needs (her office is scent-​free, she has an extra-​wide massage table…), and she’s an awesome bodyworker. She’s helped me with things I didn’t know I needed help with. I’ve gone in for relaxation and ended up crying my face off, worked out the tightness in my chest that was giving me back pain (who knew?), and most recently, when I mentioned I was congested, Deb used some MLD to help open up my sinuses. I’ll spare you the sinus details, but I will say that it feels really awesome to breathe.
I think one of the things I like best about Deb’s work is that she’s really intent on learning more, always. She has a range of techniques and approaches, and it seems like she’s always adding more tools — like cupping (a way of using suction) and MLD (manual lymph drainage, way less gross than it sounds, a really gentle way of manipulating the lymph through gentle touch in a specific pattern). She travels frequently for additional training and is dedicated to learning how to treat fat bodies. What a gift.

Saved my back yesterday. SAVED! Just as my work is kicking into gear, I decided on Sunday to jog, hauling my hefty toddler niece in one arm, to catch a ferry. Woke up Monday with my back spasming, like it hasn’t in years. As my dad would say, My back went OUT! Deb was able to see me the same day. Phew. Her combination of listening and skill really works for me, as well as the feeling of complete comfort with my body. I’ve done yummy massage to feel good with her before, but this time was different; I needed FIXING! And she did the job. Deep work on my lower back, on my soaz, on my upper thighs, got everything to loosen up. The way she uses cups as another kind of massage technique REALLY works for me. Followed her recommendations of water and icing and advil after — and woke up today with a functioning back, and could keep up with a longer day at work. So pleased to have a practitioner who can see with her hands what’s going on under my skin and work with me to heal what’s out of whack. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Super grateful she’s out there.

I’ve never felt quite so at ease getting a massage! It is amazing what a difference Deb’s truly inclusive body-​positivity makes.

If you’re looking for a body-​positive, fat-​positive massage therapy provider, Deb Malkin is freaking amazing. She listens attentively to what I have to say before each treatment, and really incorporates that information into her treatment strategies (and into her home recommendations for me between treatment sessions). I love how gentle Deb is with my body, yet how effective her massage is in reducing my body pain, tension, and sleeping difficulties.
«Fat-​positive massage,» some folks might be asking, «isn’t that some kind of pie-​in-​the-​sky myth?» No! It’s real! And it’s not lip service! Deb’s practice focuses on fat communities, not just in the treatment modalities she studies, and the techniques she employs, but in the economic justice that backs all of her massage work. There’s a sliding scale. Deb tailors her work to a person’s individual needs. It’s all about access, which for me, is the cornerstone of whether or not I can go to or stick with bodywork. She’s got specific kinds of gentle massage techniques that she does with me in treating the total package of disabled old me, like lymphatic massage and cupping. Heaven!
I like the appointment-​booking calendar on her website (it emails me appointment reminders and also occasional post-​visit summaries). If you’re looking for a massage therapist but (like me) want to try it out first, or if you are otherwise curious as to what fat-​centered massage therapy is like, definitely be on the lookout for Radical Being Bodywork at community events and spaces all over the Bay Area. I have had a few of Deb’s short «event» massages and found those to be lovely, too (and a good opportunity for me to get a sense of what her style and energy are like). I usually get an hour of massage, and follow it with lots of water and, let’s be honest, a nap.
Outstanding massages. Outstanding provider.

Deb Malkin is a wonder of touch and healing. Her accomodations for bodies of all sizes, her gentle welcoming demeanor and her formidable knowledge of human anatomy are unmatched.
I’ve had many massages, and have to say that working with Deb is as good as it gets. When I was injured, not only did she call and email and give lots of support and advice, SHE OFFERED TO COME TO MY HOME!!! Who does that?
Her commitment to making massage affordable and accessible is her politics in action. Highly recommend!!!