What is a real masaje all about?  Find out todo from a professional.

Massage has received a reputation facelift.  Now it's up there with nail care, facials and a
personal trainer, as something available to everyone, one of the things we can count on to help us feel our best.  We wanted to saberlo todo about massage, so we went to Maria Alonso, Latina, friend of Mi Apogeo, and a top certified massage therapist, with a distinguished clientele.

Mi Apogeo:  Is massage therapist the correct term to use for what you do?
Maria Alonso:  Well, we could be called licensed massage therapists, physiologists, or biotherapists.  Massage therapist is a term that we use.

Mi Apogeo:  Who licenses you?  How much experience do you have?
Maria Alonso:  The State of New York, via the Nursing Board.  We had to complete 650 hours of training and pass a licensing exam.  I graduated in 1991, so I've been doing this for sixteen years now.
 
Mi Apogeo:  What did your training consist of?  Is there a special school?
Maria Alonso:  I graduated from the Swedish Institute of Massage Therapy, on 26th Street, in
Manhattan.  It's an accredited school for licensing.  It's one of the best schools in New York.  My training included deep tissue, sports massage, shiatsu; there are different specialties. 

Shiatsu is an acupressure massage.  We had training in clinical, in medical massage.  We had hands-on training in our fourth semester, on real people.

Mi Apogeo:  Live people? 
Maria Alonso:  Yes, live people [laughs].  The tests are hands-on and written.  We got tested on techniques, medical terminology, pathology, many things. 

Mi Apogeo:  What did you especially like about your training?
Maria Alonso: I liked the ethics studies.  I liked that the teachers are really knowledgeable, that they are hands-on.  We got very good preparation for the licensing exam.  They are accredited, now the program has been expanded, it's a two-year associate's degree.  Now it's over a thousand  hours.

Mi Apogeo:  How did you get interested in this field?
Maria Alonso:  It was a calling.  Back in 1989, I used to work in retail, down by Gramercy Park.  I came across the Learning Annex course guide, something pulled me to it.  I went right to the holistics part, and my eyes went straight to a massage course.  I remember it was shiatsu.  I took it to see if I would like it.  I liked it so much! The teacher gave me a letter of recommendation and told me about the Swedish Institute.  It was a calling.

I went to Trenton State for two years.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue working for my  bachelor's degree in teaching.  I look back now and see how far I've come, and I have no  regrets.  I like what I do.  I like the holistics arts.  I like helping people.

Mi Apogeo:  You mentioned shiatsu and Swedish.  Can you tell me what the differences are  between the different types of massage?
Maria Alonso:   Swedish is basically a relaxation massage.  There are basic strokes that are for relaxing.  Shiatsu is a Japanese style of massage that's done on the ground, on a mat, and it's pressure, acupressure.  You're focusing on the meridians, on the chi that your body has, and you're opening the channels of the meridians, which are connected to the different organs of the body -- the kidneys, the liver, the spleen, the heart.  That was part of my training.  Medical massage dealt with treatment of people who have problems such as scoliosis, kyphosis, conditions dealing with posture deformities and such.

Mi Apogeo:  We think of massage as something that's good for the body, that makes us feel  good, so there's those two elements, the therapeutic and the relaxation or the pleasure aspect of it.  As an expert, what would you say massage is?
Maria Alonso:  Massage to me is an art form.  It's an art form in a medical sense.  My hands are tools, like a surgeon has tools, I have tools, my hands.  It's a form of transcending your energy to someone else in an amazing way, where you create healing, and you help people.  That is amazing, to be able to do that, and that, to me, is what massage is.

Mi Apogeo:  So, when you have a patient or client, do patients request what type of massage they want, or do you make suggestions?  How do you know what to do?
Maria Alonso:  I make suggestions.  Most people want a combination of Swedish and deep tissue, which is to help release the tension areas in the body which are tight.  I do a combination.  If I have clients that need specific treatments, such as someone who might come with scoliosis, or an injury, maybe and athletic injury, then I put my medical training to work, and that's what I focus on.  Also, helping people who have functional immobility, due to injury or genetics.  I like that challenge. 

Mi Apogeo:  You look like you're pretty strong.  Do you have to be strong to give a good  massage?
Maria Alonso:  I would say you have to have a lot of endurance.  Endurance is key.  You have to know where the center of your energy is.  You have to know how to work from that focal point, the center of your body, your chi. 

Strength helps.  I developed that more over time.  I was always strong because I had a  background in athletics.  I used to be a runner.  I have a lot of endurance because of that.  It helps to have strength and endurance. 

Mi Apogeo:  What are your clients like?  Men, women?  Are there differences in how you treat
different physiques?
Maria Alonso:   I have an array of clients.  They range from athletes to CEOs, to celebrities.  Everyone is different.  With so many years of experience, I know how and where to touch someone to meet their needs.  Obviously an athlete needs different work than someone who is a CEO and may just be looking to destress.  My business is a lot of aesthetics and intuition.  It definitely comes from the inner self.  I'm guided by a gut feeling that you get about what people need.

Mi Apogeo:  It is rather intimate, isn't it, to touch people in parts of the body that we're not usually touched by a stranger.
Maria Alonso:   It is intimate. 

Mi Apogeo:  Is it different for you to work with different people, with men and women?
Maria Alonso: It could be, maybe in the sense of the physique.  Men are maybe larger in size, maybe stronger, but the style of working, no.  I have women who want me to work just as deep 

Mi Apogeo:  Is it different for you to work with young or old people?  Do you work with children?
Maria Alonso: I do, I have some clients who bring their children for massage, some are in soccer or basketball.  It helps them.  Children use their muscles too.  And it helps them destress for school.  It's nondiscriminatory.  An elderly person obviously can't be worked as hard because they're more fragile.

Mi Apogeo:  There have been reports of massage therapy for pets.  Is that something you do?
Maria Alonso:  I am looking into that.  I do massage my own pets, I practice on them [laughs].  There is no licensing for pet massage, but there is a course you can take, which is accredited by an international organization of massage for animals.  It's a growing field.  A lot of states are allowing you to do massage on pets.  There are situations where there are medical issues, like dysplasia of the hips, and it's known that acupuncture helps that.  So massage would help too, also with the atrophy of muscles.  Not enough research has been done with animals, but it definitely helps.  The anatomy is different in proportions, but it's in many ways the same.

Mi Apogeo:  Do you have any funny stories about your clients?
Maria Alonso:  One time I had a lady, where, I was using her table, and the table tilted on me.  That was a scary moment. [laughs] 

Mi Apogeo:  Good thing you're strong!
Maria Alonso:   I've never had any bad experiences.  That table was a very old fashioned table.  It's actually an antique, it belongs in a museum [laughs]. It didn't have a face cradle. The woman got nervous.  She said "I don't want to use this table anymore!  We'll use your table!"  It was time to upgrade.  [laughs]  That was a long time ago. 

I have to say it's been quite a journey, it's been quite fascinating, because of the people I've met along the way. 

Mi Apogeo:  Have you met many celebrities?
Maria Alonso:  Yes, a lot of my celebrities are in the music industry.  Others are writers, Denise Rich, she's been with me quite a while now, Judith Regan.  I've worked with Patti Labelle, RuPaul, Katie Couric, Ivana Trump, Isaac Hayes.  I've been mentioned in books by my clients (21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox; and High Voltage), and in an article in the L.A. Times.  I've also worked on the Chicago Bulls. 

Mi Apogeo:  Those guys must be really in shape!
Maria Alonso:  Oh yeah.

Mi Apogeo:  How long does a massage take with someone like that?
Maria Alonso:  It took me two and one half hours.  The tables are not even long enough for  them, for someone almost seven feet tall.  It's a lot of work to work on an athlete.  They demand more, because they're lean, their muscles are lean and strong.  But it was quite interesting to work with them.  I'd like to get affiliated with the tennis association, when they come to play for the Open in Queens.  I'm trying to associate with the Mets also.

Mi Apogeo:  How is massage different from physical therapy?
Maria Alonso:   They do more rehabiliation exercises.  We do manual therapy.  They can do it only if they have the training. 

Mi Apogeo:  Do you have special treatments for say, dancers, or for people who sit all day?
Maria Alonso: With dancers, you want to focus on their lower back and their legs.  There's a lot of deep tissue work I do with them.  They need and appreciate that type of work.

With someone who sits a lot, I do a lot of upper back and lower back concentration.  It's totally different.  They're using different muscles.  They're probably leaning into a desk, so the  shoulders and lower back are focus areas.  It's different also, from someone who wants relaxation to someone who is an athlete who has other specific needs.

Mi Apogeo:  Do you work with artists, pianists, people who use their hands?
Maria Alonso:  Yes, I do hand massage.  I've had a lady who plays the piano, her name is
Barbara Carroll, she's been playing for years.  She likes when I massage her hands, her fingers.

Mi Apogeo:  What about head massage?  Is that something that people request?
Maria Alonso:  I do that.  I do this technique called Indian scalp massage.  It's done with  aromatherapy oils, you massage it in, and it creates a sense of release, destress, with the aroma, and the infusion of the oils, the massage of the scalp.  Then you also massage the face and the neck.  It's a great technique.  It's a great way to relax.

Mi Apogeo:  I'm relaxing just listening to you!
Maria Alonso:  Fifteen minutes of that, it's all you need! [laughs]

Mi Apogeo:  What parts of the body do you typically work in a regular massage?
Maria Alonso:  I normally spend an hour and a half, sometimes even two hours.  I try to be very detailed with my work.  An hour is not even enough time, although that is how they train us in school, but it's just five minutes per body part.  There are times when you come across areas that need work.  So I'd say an hour and a half to two hours. 

The areas that I focus on is what people want, usually the back, neck and shoulders.  That's
where the tension is, from carrying our bodies up, our heads, which weigh like eight pounds.

Mi Apogeo:  Oh my god!  I'm not going to ask you how you got that information!
Maria Alonso:  In school, don't worry [laughs].

Mi Apogeo:  What do you think of these five-minute massage places, like in the street fairs here in New York? 
Maria Alonso: I think it's great, they do fix you for a few minutes.  It's not the same as a table massage, it's not the same as getting worked on for an hour or two.  But for ten minutes, it's good to relax.   That type of work is done on a chair.  I do that type of work in a lot of  corporations, in office settings.  I bring a chair and do ten or fifteen minutes on their employees.  It helps relieve a lot of tension.  It's done with clothes, it's a combination of acupressure and massage.  A table massage is done with no clothes on, with oils. 

Mi Apogeo:  Do you get massages yourself?
Maria Alonso:   Yes.  Not as much as I give, though.  [laughs]  I find another therapist, maybe I'll barter with another massage therapist. 

Mi Apogeo:  It sounds like this work is very strenuous, so when you go for a massage, what
kind of a massage do you ask for? 
Maria Alonso: I ask for something in the middle.  A little deep tissue and relaxation.  Not too hard.  I feel I can give it but not get it [laughs].

Mi Apogeo:  Do you travel to your clients?
Maria Alonso: Yes, my business is pretty mobile.  I also have an office in White Plains, where clients can come to me.  I travel -- New York, New Jersey, Westchester.  Most people like the fact that I can come to them, after hours.  I bring my own table, my own supplies, I bring everything to the client. 

Mi Apogeo:  Do yo have to have a special mood or environment for a massage?
Maria Alonso:  I have candles that I bring, scented candles.  And of course, music, though most of my clients have their own audio and music they like.  I think it's very important to have the music and candles, because we associate our senses, touch, which is the massage, scent, which is very important, and hearing, all three put you in that zone where you can relax.

Mi Apogeo:  Do you have a lot of Latino clients?
Maria Alonso:  Yes, I do.  I have some Latino artists in the music industry who are my clients. 

Mi Apogeo:  Do you have special offers for people who may be interested in your services?
Maria Alonso:   I offer gift certificates, referral rates, discounts for first visits, savings for multiple sessions.  It's all on my website.

Muchas gracias, Maria, for telling us all about masaje! 

You can contact Maria Alonso to arrange a masajito for yourself or a loved one.
Visit her website,
http://www.mariaalonsomassage.com/
Email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call her at (201) 618-0394 
Se habla español.