Minding Body

From what I’ve read, Bob Hope got a massage every day of his professional life. The man lived to be over 100 years old! Wouldn’t it be great if we each had the money to hire a personal massage therapist? Maybe if that were the case the world would see less war. Maybe we’d hug out our problems the way our parents told us to when we got into fights with our siblings.

So the reality is that most of us don’t have money like Bob Hope and political leaders aren’t quite hugging out war-related issues. Yet another reality is that massage is now turning into less of a luxury and more of a necessity. More massage therapy options are giving people (such as struggling massage therapists and freelance writers) the chance to get a well-deserved, quality massage at a discount.

Here are four major ways to find a cheap massage no matter where you live:

1. Look Up Massage Therapy Schools – Just use a search engine to locate massage therapy schools in your city. Most massage therapy schools require their students to have a certain amount of hands-on hours at a student clinic. Massage therapy school websites will give you the information you need to determine the cost of a student massage. If the site itself does not give you this information, the school will definitely provide a phone number. Massage therapy schools often charge between $25 and $40 for a 50 to 60 minute long treatment. That’s less than a third of what you would pay for a massage at most spas. Schools are even cheaper than Massage Envy, plus you won’t have to worry about schools automatically taking money out of your bank account every month.

2. Visit a Chiropractor’s Office – If you can’t find a massage therapy school near where you live, visit Google once more to find local chiropractors. More and more, chiropractors are hiring massage therapists to provide an assortment of massage therapy modalities for patients. Chiropractors also generally charge much less than a spa would charge for a 50 to 60 minute massage. The office I currently work for has a sliding scale depending on the services a person chooses to receive from us, but our “Wellness Package” is very popular. With that package, $40 covers a single 53-55 minute massage or two 25-minute massages per month.

3. Find Cheap Seasonal Deals – This method will take a little bit of research on your part, but if you manage to snag a great deal you won’t regret the effort you put into it. When you look around at spas and hotels near you, you will find that, especially around special occasions like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, most places that offer massages will also offer cheap massage deals. A common discount is something along the lines of a “2-4-1 Romantic Getaway Massage”.

4. Travel Off-Season – If you’re only looking for a luxurious spa day at a discount, the best way to find a fancy cheap massage is to plan an off-season vacation to a place like Scottsdale, AZ where there are tons of luxurious day spas. In Scottsdale, this means: visit during the summer! It is sweltering hot between the months of May and September, and many spas have to offer cheap massage deals because most people don’t want to “vacation” in 112 degree weather. The weather really isn’t a big issue if you’re planning to spend most of your time getting pampered indoors anyway. Keep an open mind!

Tips/Warnings:

• When you visit a chiropractor’s office or massage therapy school for a cheap massage, don’t expect a bells-and-whistles treatment that involves aromatherapy, cucumber eye masks, chanting, and rain sticks. You may be able to find one, but if actually you do I’d like to hear about it.
• Avoid “cheap massage” places that are open until midnight. This also goes for “cheap massage” places where the therapists wear long fake nails and high heels.
• There is a chance that visiting a student clinic will mean that you get a less experienced therapist. This may occasionally mean that the quality of the massage is diminished, professional massage therapists also vary in quality. (Besides, you can simply opt to visit on a different day if you want to avoid getting the same therapist.) Let student therapists know if you have any health conditions so they can ask supervisors for assistance if necessary.