When I went in for the session, I immediately felt at home in his studio.  He had plants, good lighting, tons of reading materials, and an overall very comforting (but not too out there) energy to the place.  Before the session started he sat me down with the anatomy book to show and explain exactly what he was going to do.  As a former study of anatomy I appreciated this.  It assured me as well that he wasn’t just feeling this out.  He knew the body, and what he was doing.

The work itself, wasn’t what I was expecting.  It was not “massage” as one would normally think of it.  Rather, more like assisted stretching.  In fact, after a few assisted stretches, I wondered if what he was doing would have that big an impact.  He was working on my legs and lower back during this session.

After about 15 minutes, he asked me to take a walk around.  It’s a funny feeling to have your legs feel like they are doing no work at all to carry your body.  I immediately noticed that not only had those “simple stretches” made a difference, but it had affected my posture.  As a student of yoga, I noticed that it was much more effortless to maintain the correct posture.

As we continued with what turned out to be about an hour and a half session, the stretches continued, and my posture/relief continued to improve as well.  Even three days later, I can still feel the effects of the work.

If you are in the D.C. area and are looking for pain relief, or just an overall good person to go to for body work I would suggest checking out James Graffenburg.  I would also suggest reading a a bit about the type of massage therapy he practices: Active Isolated Stretching (AIS).

Thanks James!  I look forward to my next session.