Why I Don’t Offer Short Sessions — And Why 90 Minutes Is Just the Beginning

In a world that moves fast, we’ve come to expect quick fixes—faster food, shorter wait times, rapid relief. But when it comes to the body, the soul, and the sacred relationship between the two, healing doesn’t happen on a timer. It unfolds. It deepens. It reveals itself in layers.

There’s a rhythm to healing that doesn’t respond well to rushing. It’s slow, deliberate, and deeply wise—unfolding in ways that can’t be peeled back on demand.

This is why I don’t offer sessions under an hour. And why, more often than not, 90 minutes—sometimes even two hours—is best when your system is asking for something deeper.

It’s not about indulgence. It’s about listening to the body with reverence and allowing space for what’s ready to shift.

Your Body Doesn’t Unwind on Cue

We live in a fast-paced world that rewards output and productivity. But the body is not a machine to be fixed—it’s a landscape to be tended.

True release doesn’t happen through pressure alone. It happens when safety is felt. When trust is built. When the nervous system has time to settle into a rhythm slower and steadier than the one we’re usually asked to live by.

An hour may offer the beginning of that softening. But 90 minutes or more opens the door for something fuller, something more complete. It’s often the difference between feeling slightly better… and feeling profoundly met.

Relief vs. Resolution

You might notice a gentle glow after a shorter session—muscles warmed, pain dulled, a pleasant wash of endorphins. That’s because the body responds to touch by releasing its own natural pain-relievers. It’s real, and it’s valid.

But often, it’s short-lived. Endorphins can help take the edge off, but they don’t unwind long-held patterns. In shorter sessions, we may only have time to calm what’s most urgent—the surface-level tension or pain—without exploring the deeper cause beneath it.

When there’s more time, we can move beyond temporary relief and into something more sustainable. We can follow the threads, listen more deeply, and allow the body to release at the level where true change begins.

Pain is Often a Messenger from Somewhere Else

One of the body’s great mysteries is that pain rarely tells the whole story. It’s not always located where it originates.

That ache in your neck may be related to tension in your hips. Low back pain might trace back to your feet and legs, your breath, or the way your body has been bracing for years. Fascia—the connective web that holds everything together—has a way of pulling and referring sensation far beyond the source.

Longer sessions give us space to follow those lines of communication. To listen more deeply. To treat not just the site of pain, but the story it’s telling.

Other Cultures Know: Healing Takes Time

In many other parts of the world, wellbeing isn’t something squeezed into the margins—it’s honored as essential.

There are cultures that dedicate entire days—sometimes even full weeks—to the care of the body, spirit, and soul. Bathhouses, sweat lodges, hammams, saunas, sacred rest rituals, and healing retreats aren’t seen as luxuries. They’re woven into the rhythm of life as necessary resets.

This isn’t about comparison. It’s about remembering what we already know in our bones: healing isn’t something we should have to earn or rush. It’s a birthright. And it flourishes with time, space, and intention.

In this fast-paced, productivity-driven culture, it can feel radical to slow down. To set aside more than an hour just for yourself. But that’s the invitation here—not to escape life, but to return to it more whole.

This Is More Than Bodywork

What happens on the table is not just physical. It’s emotional, energetic, sometimes even ancestral. This work holds space for all of that.

It’s not about “fixing” you. It’s about helping you come home to yourself—gently, gradually, with curiosity and care.

Spaciousness Invites Integration

One of the most overlooked parts of healing is integration. The time when everything you’ve just released begins to settle, reorient, and root.

In shorter sessions, we don’t fully have time for this. We might just get to the threshold—right where things begin to shift—and then it’s time to stop.

With 90 minutes or more, we can move at the body’s pace. We can begin and end with intention, honoring both the unwinding and the return.

A Note on Accessibility: You May Already Be Covered

If cost has made you hesitant to book a longer session, you might be surprised to learn that many major health insurance companies offer reimbursement for massage therapy—especially when it’s part of a care plan or prescribed by a provider.

In addition, HSA and FSA accounts often cover massage therapy in full, particularly when it supports chronic pain, injury recovery, or stress-related conditions. You’ll need to check with your specific provider to confirm eligibility and required documentation, as coverage and policies vary.

Please note:

Massage therapy is not covered by Medicaid or Medicare unless it is billed through a licensed clinical provider such as a chiropractor or physical therapist who accepts that form of insurance. Independent practitioners like myself are not able to bill these plans directly.

That said, if your plan includes out-of-network benefits, you may be able to submit for partial or full reimbursement—and I’m happy to provide a detailed invoice (also known as a superbill) upon request.

This Is an Invitation—Not a Persuasion

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin, held tight, or simply disconnected from yourself, consider what a little more time could offer. Not because you should, but because you can.

You’re allowed to take up space. To move slowly. To let go—not just enough to function, but enough to feel free.

You deserve that.

And I’d be honored to hold the space with you.