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Welcome to Melt Massage…

In response to COVID-19, Melt continues to adapt to the changing demands of this personal and global health crisis, including updating this website. Read more in the latest Covid Safety Protocols blogpost.

This does not change what I believe.

You are unique in all the world. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anyone exactly like you. That deserves to be honored, respected and celebrated.

That’s why at Melt Massage, I don’t leave a good massage to chance.  In your first visit we take extra time to review your unique history, to tailor a session to meet your needs and exceed your expectations.

Since 2001, clients say things like, “There’s no substitute for talent.”

In 2022 Melt was nominated for Best of Oakland in Oakland Magazine’s Best of Contest.

Previous Awards include:
– Winner, Best Massage in Oakland and the East Bay by Oakland Magazine, 2017 & 2016
– Top 5, Bay Area A-List, 2017 & 2016
– Winner, Best Massage, Best of the Bay, Diablo Magazine 2013.

My greatest reward, though, is feeling the difference I make in people’s bodies, every day, relieving stress and tension, feeling your stress and tension melting in my hands, with every massage.

I’ve done over 10,000 hours of massage working with over 3,000 clients. If I haven’t yet worked with you, I invite you, when the time is right, to feel the difference experience makes for yourself. If I have, and it’s been a while, when the time is right, I look forward to welcoming you back.

Until then, be well,

Hana Levin, MA, cmt, Founder
Melt Massage LLC

 

 

Important News and Updates

Have a cold, but want a massage? Why it’s a bad idea:

Posted On: April 18, 2023

You’re sick. You want to feel better. You’ve felt better after massage so you book a massage.

Or, you’ve got a massage scheduled and you’re sick or “getting over” being sick days before the massage appointment. Some symptoms have subsided and you’re “well enough” to work, so you think you’re “well enough” to get a massage.

The thing is, getting a massage when you’re sick, or “getting over” being sick, is contraindicated: a bad idea. Why? If you’re getting over being sick, you’re not well, you’re not 100%, you’re still sick.

When you’re sick your body is already working hard to get rid of toxins. Massage may push toxins through your system faster than it can handle and make you sicker. In addition, you can spread your sickness to the therapist. Even if the therapist doesn’t catch your cold or get your sickness, they may be a carrier to the next client or someone else with whom either of them are in contact, who may inadvertently catch that cold. That’s how you got it, right? You can be the one to stop the spread.

Here’s a perspective from a pediatric emergency medicine physician, Dr. Maya Heinert, M.D., published in Shape Magazine.

Also, if you are not actively sick, but have been exposed to someone who is sick within the last 3 days, please contact Melt before coming in. The CDC says we usually catch illnesses like a cold or the flu a day before we show any symptoms.

If you have symptoms of being sick or have been exposed 24-48 hours before your appointment, please reschedule to avoid the 24-hour cancellation fee of full payment for the session reserved for you.  If you don’t learn you’ve been exposed until fewer than 24 hours before your appointment, please text right away. If you show up to an appointment sick, in order to promote your health and ours, you may be declined service, charged the full rate for your appointment and sent home without your massage. We don’t want that to happen, so one way we try to help is by having our system send appointment reminders 2 days in advance.

Please reschedule if you are sick. A cold can be spread by sneezing, coughing or talking without a mask on or through infected body fluids. According to the CDC, a cold is thought to be contagious for up to 5 days of symptoms.

Even if we wear masks to minimize contagion, getting a massage may still make you sicker. We are here to help you feel better, not worse.

Thank you for protecting yourself, preventing the spread of illness and for understanding our commitment to your optimal health and healing.

Originally published Feb. 18, 2017.

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Is Cupping right for me?

Posted On: March 31, 2023

Cupping isn’t for every body and there are some conditions for which it is even contraindicated. However, if you have stubborn tension that hasn’t been relieved in other ways, or if you want to feel your body like you’ve never felt it before and your body is in a condition to benefit from Cupping, you owe yourself to give it a try.

Is Cupping right for you right now? Find out by reviewing the following:

List of Contraindications: (if any of these would apply at your massage, Cupping would not benefit you right now)

  • Organ Failure (Renal, Hepatic, and/or Cardiac)
  • Liver disease
  • Kidney Function Illness
  • Cardiopathy / Heart Disease
  • Pacemaker or Other Similar Aids
  • 3D Varicosities (Varicose veins) or Spider Veins
  • Anemia
  • Hemophilia or similar bleeding disorders
  • Pregnant (First Trimester)
  • Fever
  • Skin lesions or inflammation
  • Systemic Cancer
  • Undergoing Cancer Therapy
  • Hunger
  • Thirst
  • Emotional Upset

List of Precautions: (Under these conditions we may proceed, but with caution)

  • Hearing Aids (if so, please remove prior to care)
  • Menstruating
  • On blood thinners
  • Diabetes
  • High blood pressure
  • Low Blood pressure
  • Postpartum – the first 6 weeks after giving birth
  • Lymphedema
  • New Tattoos (localized)
  • Recently given blood or undergone a medical procedure
  • Psoriasis
  • Eczema
  • Rosacea
  • Hives
  • Herpes or Shingles
  • Skin tags
  • Raised moles
  • an Insulin Monitor
  • Ferrous metal joints
  • Metal plates
  • Bone Replacements
  • Broken bones
  • Dislocations
  • Hernias
  • Slipped discs
  • Sunburn
  • Ulcerated or inflamed skin
  • Recent surgical incisions

Are you in the clear? Then book your next Melt Massage today with an Add-On Service of Cupping ($25) included in your next massage. (Available for Return Visits only.)

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Melt Massage LLC

Melt Massage LLC