Tl;dr: Best massage I've had in my life. If you want pain relief that actually LASTS, try Eleos.
As someone who has perpetual muscle pain as long as I can remember, I've had my fair share of massages over the decades -- from treatments at high-end spas to the chiropractor's office. I've tried Thai massage, Shiatsu, and all manner of Western massages. I've paid $600 for a massage to $50, but in the end, the only way I evaluate a massage is through its quality and results. I can promise you that if you want to leave with pain relief that LASTS beyond a single day, Eleos is the place!
I'm a runner who has scoliosis, works at a desk, and lives 100 miles from work (I'm in California); I have tightness and pain in my neck, shoulders, along my spine, wrists, lower back, and legs. Basically, I'm a nightmare. I've learned to live with the pain, and think of massage as a temporary relief -- and if I'm lucky, that's what I get. Maybe one or two days of a better-feeling body. After my massage at Eleos, my body felt complete transformed. All of the constant pain I'm used to was gone, which I've experienced in massages before.... But this time, I felt a more fundamental shift in my body, as if the therapy fixed the pain rather than simply masked it. For the first time ever, the pain improved longterm, not just for a couple of days.
To me, this indicates that Catherine really knows what she's doing. Most masseuses have a routine; you know what I mean! They spend a set number of minutes in each spot and no more, because they need to complete the set by the end of the time limit. Not Catherine. Without any direction, she found the spots that needed work and committed to them until the knots were loose.
Catherine won't cut corners. I'm a small person, and although I always ask for a lot of pressure, I almost always get about 50% of what I want. I imagine it's a LOT of effort to give a "strong" massage, so I do understand when a massage falls short of the pressure I'm hoping for. But that inevitably means the relief is only temporary. My massage at Eleos was effortful for Catherine, I'm sure, but it made all the difference.
All of that, and it's still one of the most affordable massages you can get.
Because I don't reside in Hawaii, I'm going to have to live without these massages until I'm back. If you live nearby, consider yourself lucky! You can bet I'll be making my appointments long before my next return. My goal is to go in multiple times on my next trip, since frankly, going to a massage near me would be too disappointing after the one I had Eleos :( read more
