On Balance Massage & Bodywork

I just had a massage and sound healing combination session with Jaire. Going into our session I was a bit skeptical of what to expect from the sound healing component. Having been to a few so called ‘sound healing’ events and workshops at various yoga studios, I think what I was at most hoping for was to listen to some relaxing sounds from his crystal bowls. What I experienced after almost an hour of masterful bodywork, during the sound healing was a deep rejuvenation and reset of my entire nervous system. It was a full body physical healing experience through sound, the effect for me is like having 10 therapeutic massage sessions combined. Now I know what sound healing is, and it is amazing! I feel that this is very helpful for people suffering from low energy, fatigue and for anyone with an highly stimulated and over worked nervous system. Jaire is extremely talented at this; his embodied depth of knowledge in sounding the crystal bowls as well as his keenly attuned sensitivity and sensibility to his clients using sound as a medium for healing is a rare and precious gift! I highly recommend anyone trying a combination of massage and sound healing session with him. The only risk of writing this review is that I may have to wait in line soon to get into his Sunday massage and sound healing sessions. But I feel that this may be an invaluable resource for anyone seeking help to improve their health and state of wellbeing.

I highly Recommend Jaire. He was very professional and has great massage skills. I was so relaxed after his massage. I will gladly go back for more sessions with Jaire.

I saw Jaire for a number of body work sessions over the last year. His skills and personality are really a winning combination. He’s very good at maintaining comfort and communication, as well as providing tools for people to help heal themselves. I have been working with his advice and have seen my body pain get better. It’s so nice to work with someone who cares so much for his clients. I would not hesitate to recommend him.

I’m in heaven. I haven’t had a massage well since I don’t even remember and desperately needed one. I asked for some recommendations and On Balance was highly recommended. Jarie is amazing and listened to what my needs were. Definitely going back soon! #bliss

I am not a resident but had severe back pain and needed relief. I called and was able to quickly book an appointment. Michael did an excellent job in explaining my problem and got right to ‘repairing’ me
I was able to book again for the next day and feel so much better and able to enjoy my visit!

I highly recommend Michael for deep tissue and medium pressure massage work. I have been going to see him about every three weeks for five months for ongoing neck, shoulder and upper back tightness/​pain because of too much computer work combined with migraines. I absolutely love his style and how much better (and taller) I feel when I leave.
Michael has a calming, warm demeanor that immediately put me at ease the first time I met him. Now I look forward to chatting while he works on my kinks, although I’m sure a lot of his clients prefer things quiet. I just find him interesting.
As a woman, you do not have to worry around Michael. He is extremely professional and takes care to ensure that you are covered at all times.

I came in to see Teodora because of multiple pains and stiffness in my neck, shoulder, and mid-​back for a few weeks and could barely turn my head. She talked with me about what I was experiencing and how I was using (and abusing) my body. Then she went ahead and worked on massaging my problem areas as well as other related areas. After the first visit I felt quite a bit better and she sent me home with some advice before the next visit. By 3 visits my neck and back pains were virtually gone and I felt like I understood enough about avoiding them in the future. She’s really good at listening and observing to figure out the best way to help. I highly recommend her!

Had such a wonderful session with Michael. As a massage therapist myself, I am very particular about work I receive.
Michael really keyed into where I was and what I needed. He was respectful of my requests and my boundaries. He is also really knowledgeable about different modalities, including fascial work. Most importantly, I left being able to actually move my shoulders (previously not happening).
The prices are also very reasonable. Next time I’m in the area I’ll certainly be back.

I go to Jaire for massage and he listens to my concern on my back and musle pain. I highly recommend this place. Clean, good ambiance and great staff.

After moving from the East Coast last summer where I was working with the massage therapists who work with the Boston Bruins… it is an understatement to say I couldn’t find a quality sports massage therapist in the Bay Area. I was surprised by how many «Therapists» in the Bay Area don’t actually talk to their clients about their injuries… or simply «check in» throughout the massage to make sure everything is on track.
I finally found my place at On balance… and particularly with Jaire. While his «zen-​master» style of relaxation, meditation is different (especially from the East Coast)…he knows the body and understands how to take pressure up or down depending on the circumstance. I need serious deep tissue in my neck and shoulders from stress – and most massage therapists seem too tentative to go as deep as I need it. Jaire took the time to discuss my needs and throughout the entire massage we discussed pressure and he talked me through what he was doing and why. I’ve since been back weekly for treatment (yes – I’m hooked) and alternate between serious deep tissue work and relaxation massage.

It’s been almost a year since I last needed the expert skills of Teodora at OnBalance, but this time I needed fixing in a hurry. We had a trip to Disneyland planned!
Both my knee and my shoulder weren’t working — and that just wouldn’t do. I was very lucky that she was available for 3 visits in the week before we left — and it worked! She worked a lot on my IT Band (?) which can be very painful (as I discovered in physical therapy) but happily, it wasn’t with Teodora. I did still need to ice after a long day of running across both parks — but I’m old enough to need need that anyhow :-(
With Teodora’s help, I was able to keep up with my companions and really enjoy myself for 3 incredible days. Not sure what I would have done without her and OnBalance.

I found OnBalance massage by chance because I couldn’t remember the name of the place I went for my last massage. Fortunately, I was able to book an appointment on-​line for the next afternoon (Wednesday), and the «New Client» discount was a great enticement.
I met Michael when I arrived, and when he had me fill out their form, I realized this place was really different. They wanted me to FEEL BETTER, not just give me the usual deep tissue massage I’ve had elsewhere. We discussed my problem areas (neck/​shoulders) and the possible causes. Then Michael went to work. He would check with me on the pressure intensity, gave me some tips and ideas to alleviate future pain, and even better, I didn’t feel like a greased pig at the end of the session. Also, I noted on the form that I bruise easily, and Michael picked up on that right away. For the first time ever, no bruises the day after the massage!
On Balance is now my new first choice for a massage, and they’ll be seeing me again!
If you’re looking for the «spa» experience (milk bath, massage, facial, mani/​pedi, whirlpool, steam/​sauna), please go to a day spa. This is a small business with one massage room, and they really concentrate on YOU feeling better.
Thank you, On Balance and Michael!

I really needed a massage. My head, neck and back hurt pretty bad, plus I had a headache. I was well over due for a massage. Me and my poor planning self called randomly on a Sunday hoping I could get in some place and Jaire promptly returned my phone call and got me in within the hour! So happy!
He did a really good job of listening to me and paying attention to my aches and pains. Very professional too. I felt so relaxed! It was the perfect amount of pressure too. My two pet peeves during massages is when they don’t take the time to listen to what you want and the perfect amount of pressure. I’d definitely recommend and I’d definitely come back :)

Jaire is the best messuse!
Not only does Jaire fix my back pains, he teaches stretches, maintenance needed after the message.
Jaire is also a yoga pro, identifying what we all should know that yoga is good for our back and our backs.
I feel Jaire really cares, listens, and follows up with call to ensure I am ok day after.
Jaire is one of a kind, all around nice guy, excellent pro!

I am so lucky to have found OnBalance and specifically Jaire for massage and bodywork. He is excellent, and regardless of your level of flexibility, exercise and stress/​tension, I am sure he can find a way to help you feel better.
In addition to a great job with the massage after discussing previous experiences and current problems, he also provided some stretching, exercise and posture recommendations that I should do to help improve my areas of tension.
I work a desk job most of the day, but travel often, so the session was perfect for what I need and I now have a great massage option very close to home. I will definitely be back!

This review is for Teodora. I am extremely picky about massage therapists. What matters to me is someone who is exceptionally skilled at finding and releasing trigger points in tight muscles. It is the only massage technique I have found therapeutically helpful in dealing with persistent pain. Previously, I sought out the strongest therapists I could find, because trigger point work requires a lot of pressure.
Then I got a massage from Teodora. Now I know that brains are at least as important as brawn for trigger point work. Teodora is incredibly skilled at finding trigger points I didn’t even know I had. Today in targeting pain in my right elbow, she found an incredibly powerful trigger point in my right lat (latissimus dorsi) where it connects at my LOWER BACK that referred pain to my elbow.
But the best part is how she releases them. She uses a functional movement approach in addition to ordinary pressure on the point. This is where the brains comes in. It’s possible to do decent trigger point massage just by feel with a rough map. By contrast, with the functional approach the therapist has you activate the muscle with the trigger point while it is being massaged. That means the therapist has to have highly specialized skills in palpating individual muscles first to identify them by touch, and then to tell the patient how to activate that particular muscle. I’ve been studying trigger points for years to assist in my own healing, and it’s amazing finally to find someone who knows my body better than I do. I leave each session not just feeling better, but with a more nuanced understanding of the precise and often distant muscles that cause the pain. This has a psychological benefit as well — pain seems more manageable when you know the precise points that are causing it.
Incidentally, the one star reviews posted below are preposterous. First, there is no receptionist, so the experience of whomever based their review on a bad interaction with a receptionist will not be representative of your experience because, well, there is no receptionist. Second, those of you who buy services only through introductory-​offer coupons — well, it’s a free country, but seriously some of you bad apples spoil it for the rest of us. Groupon was once one of my favorite things, but now hardly any good places offer them because they were a raw deal for the businesses and people took advantage. And seriously — the person who complained about no couples massage? This is not a spa where you would go as a couple to be pampered by a feel-​good masseuse that couldn’t even name the shoulder rotator cuff muscles much less identify them by touch. This is where you bring your broken body to be fixed by a professional so dedicated to her craft that you realize you can avoid surgery.

On Balance is an amazing place to go for a massage. There are 3 people that do massages and all are exceptional. I can say that because I’ve had all 3 give me a massage. They all work a bit different from the other but all three know how to get to the ailment and make things better.
I was referred to On Balance by my Primary Care Physician who also uses their services. I started out with Michael who is, as most of the reviews say, just incredible. His touch and the way he deals with our various muscles just amazed me. He helped me through a very difficult injury I got while working out. I’ve also had Jaire do a massage for me and found him also to be very attentive and quite concerned with making you feel better.
After reading most of the reviews I realized that many may not have had the pleasure of Dora’s (Teodora) services and I’m not so sure I want to toot her horn since I wouldn’t want her to get so busy that I would have to wait weeks for an appointment! Kidding aside, Dora is absolutely mind blowing. She can find the areas of discomfort just with the touch of her hands and then work the pain into submission. At first when I met Dora I thought, she is too small and a woman at that and there is no way she can give me the type of massage I need. Boy was I wrong! This woman has amazingly strong hands and knows how to use them to make you feel much better. She knows the body and knows exactly how to work with it in order to relieve you of pain and to bring you into total relaxation.
Also I read a couple of negative comments about James (the Receptionist!!). I must say I have never had any problem with reaching the business, always getting a call right back or a text message (and this was from day one) and always find James to be very accommodating with appointments. Never rude and always very helpful.
Lastly I wanted to comment on the facility. I’m very picky about the appearance of a place and this place gets 5 stars for its cleanliness, ambiance and the overall serenity. On Balance is just an awesome place for a massage and the people that work there are just as amazing!

I wish I was one to give a glowing review but not this time. I bought 2 Amazon Local deals before Valentine’s Day, for a couples massage, as the pic above the deal SHOWED couples massage, I checked out Unilocal first for reviews before booking and was good at the time, so I bought 2. One to give to my boyfriend for us to go together.
When I called to book appointments, I left 4 messages with none returned. The fifth time I called and left another message, someone finally called me back the next day. I was very disappointed to THEN find out they don’t do couple’s massages NOR do they do 2 massages at once, as they ONLY had 1 massage table and they only had men masseuses (which my bf was not thrilled about). I was told they are mainly for sports therapy. Wish i would have known that before buying it! They didn’t even have appointments back to back for over 2 months!
After booking those, I get a call saying the masseuse was sick and had to cancel. I tried 2 more weeks to rebook before I got another call back to reschedule. Unfortunately I had to cancel due to death in the family. They could not reschedule at the time and had to call me back. They never called back.
I tried one last time. I called, left ANOTHER voice mail. After 3 days of no call back, I had Amazon refund my money, which they did and apologized profusely, which I know is not their fault.
I revived a call back 12 days later, in which I just ignored at this point. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

Michael is the best. I call him the muscle whisperer. I have scoliosis and the work he has done on my back has really made an improvement. My husband has also seen him for his chronic pain with the same results. If you want the best massage/​body work ever, go see Michael at On Balance.
The owner, James, is great too. I messed up and went to their old location, which made me extremely late for my appointment. Even though it wasn’t his fault, he gave me a discounted massage. And the new location in San Carlos is much nicer.

***4.5 stars***
i found out about this place through groupon as there was a special deal for a one hour massage therapy session. i was very sore, especially in the lower back and legs, thus badly in need of a massage. i especially appreciated the fact that this place specializes in deep tissue, sports massage and myofascial release.
upon arrival, i was greeted by my therapist who had a new client intake form for me to fill out. as soon as i finished we went through everything that i had written down and anything else I had concerns with.
then he took me to the massage therapy room which was wonderful, very dim and quiet. the massage table was quite comfortable as well, with a bolster for my ankles to rest on.
for an hour, my therapist worked through every body part that i had mentioned in my intake form. he kept very good communication throughout the session, asking me whether the pressure was sufficient or too much, was he hitting the right places, etc. while the pressure could have been deeper, my therapist kept it to a tolerable pain level, enough that i felt the stimulation in my muscles, but not to the extent where i was writhing in pain and wanting to jump off the table. he was able to get to every body part that i had requested and there was still some time remaining, so he gave my the option to choose what other body parts i wanted him to work on. i chose neck and scalp, and while the neck massage was quite good and released more tension, the scalp massage is what really hit it home for me.
when i got up off the table, i noticed the clock and was pleasantly surprised to see that i had been given an additional 10 minutes of massage time, which i greatly appreciated.
i left this office feeling not only relieved from the soreness i had coming in, but a sense of peace and relaxation, which i attribute to the scalp massage at the end.
i highly recommend this massage therapy office, and would definitely return when my body starts crying for another massage. note that they will soon relocate from their current redwood city office to san carlos.