Acupuncture Clinic

When I used to think of foot massage places, my mind usually wanders off into the abyss of what could be going on in the small room in the back corner. Considering that they’re usually pretty cheap (exploitation cheap?) per hour, I’ve dabbled around the east bay looking for affordable places to get a little relaxation on. This has taken me to the usual spa or creepy yet comfortable little gems in the town, all of which I appreciate.
I came into this spot because it just opened and is really close to my house and honestly this week has been a «beer after work» kind of a situation. When I walked in, it was a small, simple white walled little clinic, the owner really barely speaks English at all, but offered me a seat in the one reclining sofa chair in the office, there was an area for acupuncture as well. I asked for the foot massage, $ 35, and sat down. I got the hot water foot bath with some Chinese herbs in it. I sat back, I didn’t realize that I was about to experience some knowledgeable, considerate body work, apparently the owner had been a doctor in China for over thirty years and has been practicing acupuncture along side for just as long. He started with a cranial massage that really put me in touch with pressure points on my skull and face that I never really had attention to, it was an absolute mind melting start. I have a pretty solid office job that gently pushes me towards carpel tunnel on a daily basis, the doctor did some really liberating reflexology on my arms and wrists which in turn is making this typing much less strained feeling…
The best and favorite part of this massage is the foot massage. They said that every organ in your body is connected to your feet. This massage gave me the evidence. It was clear that the owner of this shop was not some community massage school grad, he really found pressure points all over my feet, at many points, he found particular areas of pain and intuitively gave those areas more attention without me ever needing to tell him. There was an area in particular that he applied extra pressure to that was really sensitive, he looked at me and let me know that my kidney’s were over stressed. Amazing, because I know what I have been doing with my free time ;)
Overall, it’s a small business at it’s very inception. It’s not the kind of place where you take your girl or boyfriend to get pampered together since it’s just one guy. But this one guy is a true doctor, it’s not simply a massage place, it’s like getting an eastern doctor to provide therapeutic body work. He said that acupuncture is $ 50 a session, I will be coming back for that… and another massage… and maybe some herbs.