Testimonials

INJURY & STRESS

“I began seeing Blane in the fall of 2000 because I had injured some muscles in my upper back and neck, and I was also under a great deal of stress at the time. I’ve continued to see Blane every two weeks since then.

Although I’ve had other types of massage, Blane’s Oriental bodywork techniques are better suited to address the recurring issues that I face: muscle tension along with general stress. Swedish massage is great for relaxation, but doesn’t do much to work out knots in the muscles. Deep tissue work can get out the knots, but isn’t necessarily very relaxing. Blane’s more eclectic approach to massage therapy covers all the bases.

There are several benefits that I receive either wholly from Blane’s work, or in conjunction with my own efforts (tai chi, meditation), quick relief from muscle tension/knots before the problem has an opportunity to become more serious reduction in stress levels significantly improved sleep patterns.”

Gregory J. Humpa, Ph.D.
October, 2001
Current client, March, 2002

HEADACHES & MIGRAINES

“About 2 years after the birth of my first child, I began experiencing frequent and painful migraine headaches. I discussed these with my physician and after a series of tests, serious medical conditions were ruled out. I received a prescription for pain, but was not happy addressing this problem by medication alone, so I decided to look into massage.

After several sessions with Monique and her colleague, Blane Allen, I found that their massage work not only loosened up knots and tension in my muscle tissue, but also helped me prevent tension from quickly returning again. With their help, I was able to identify my trouble areas and become more aware of how tension was affecting my body. Less tension quickly resulted in fewer headaches.

My informal discussions with Monique and Blane about mind and body connection and potential natural approaches also proved to be very beneficial to me.”

- J. Martin
January, 2001
Current client, November 2001

“I have suffered chronic headaches as long as I can remember. Determined to find a way to manage the pain, I tried headache clinics and numerous types of medication. As each one failed to alleviate my pain, I felt more and more helpless about improving the quality of my day-to-day life. Each day was spent either in pain or worried about being in pain.

When I first went to Monique, I was feeling very vulnerable and depressed. She provided a safe, respectful and healing environment. Monique has always been accessible and willing to listen to my health concerns, and she is a great source of holistic information. She is also respectful of my boundaries and does not indulge in unsolicited advice. I credit Monique with helping me develop a sense of body awareness; of helping me understand that I have control over my headaches.

The massage has a cumulative effect. It is now easier for my muscles to remember how it feels to be relaxed. Regular massage also give me a basis of comparison between my usual tense posture (especially in my shoulders and neck) and a more relaxed stance. An added bonus is less fatigue.

To fellow headache sufferers: there is a light at the end of the tunnel of pain. Monique and her massage therapy are helping to make pain-free existence possible. I highly recommend her services.”

- D. Donovan
Arch Street Design Collaborative

CANCER
” I had been unexpectedly diagnosed with a brain and a lung tumor in October. The shock, as you can well imagine was devastating. To compound the issue, I am actually a visitor, not a resident of the United States. My first appointment with Monique was one month after my operation. I was not feeling so well and my spirits were low.

Monique’s gentle and caring manner matched her skills as a masseur. She was able to cater to my specific requests. Monique managed to make me feel human again.

I am both grateful and pleased to have someone I can relate to, and whose healing abilities have helped in my healing process these past months.”

E. Hinden
Hong Kong
March, 2001
Current intermittent client, November 2001

BACK PAIN

” I began massage therapy with Monique about two years ago. Between the stresses of my job and hereditary scoliosis, I was having trouble with my back. Pain was a constant companion and I found that my ability to engage in every day activities was being curtailed.

Monique has been very helpful in helping me reduce these pains. She always begins each session by asking me where I am hurting the most, then proceeds to massage the pain away. Her therapy is thorough; she eliminates pain in places I was not aware existed.

I must confess that I sometimes go to Monique when my body is actually not in any pain. As I mentioned, my job is quite stressful. I use massage to unwind; to ease the tension out of my mind as well as my body. It is hard to describe the benefits of a good massage to someone who has never had one. The sense of inner peace is something that only a personal experience can bring. I highly recommend Monique.”

- D. E. Reilly
Attorney-at-Law

“I have used the massage therapy services of Monique Illona approximately a dozen times since mid 1997. Monique does a great job of ‘fixing’ my bad back!”

- S. Auclair
October, 1998
Current client, November 2001

RELAXATION, STRESS REDUCTION, GENERAL ILLNESS & INJURY

“I have been seeing Ms. Illona for almost two years on a weekly basis for an hour-long massage. I began teaching three years ago after a long hiatus, and had been plagued with illnesses the entire first year.

I came to Ms. Illona to see if stress-reducing massage would prevent my frequent sick days! Since starting with her I have missed only three days in two years! My family has noticed the difference in me – they say they can tell by the weekend if I’ve had my massage that week by my disposition!

My sessions with Ms. Illona are peaceful and relaxing – she is professional in her relationship with me, encouraging me to talk of any stress-producing issues, and offering advice. But during the massage time I appreciate her silence as she concentrates on her work. Her work is very thorough, but gentle…I frequently sleep during some of my massage time!

Since coming to Ms. Illona, I find I am much more aware of my state of tension and relaxation. The effect must be cumulative – I continue to feel much more relaxed and in control even if I must skip a week now and then!

I recommend Ms. Illona to anyone with enthusiasm!”

- M. McConnell
Teacher
March, 1995
Current client, January 2004

“I have been coming to Monique Illona for therapeutic massage for six years, since September of 1992.

I have experienced a dramatic change in my overall health as a result, finding that the major illnesses that had plagued me yearly before massage began have not returned at all. I also have gained a sense of my body in relaxation that aids me in caring for myself more successfully.”

- M. McConnell
Teacher
October, 1998
Current client, January 2004

“I first contacted Monique after being rear-ended in an auto accident. Very pleased with our initial visit, I signed up for a short group of weekly sessions. Over the weeks that we worked together, I noticed a marked difference. In my sessions with Monique we addressed not only the tension in my back, but issues of balance, energy congestion and distribution, and various techniques to perpetuate the benefits of massage between and beyond our sessions. Her approach is a highly personal one, providing care that is individually relevant to each session with no two sessions ever exactly the same. Based on the value of my experience, I have continued to work with Monique on an ongoing basis. Whether seeking help with a specific issue or looking to begin a process of greater mind-body connection, I recommend Monique wholeheartedly”.

- T.O.
October 2001
Current client, January 2004
“Monique is the best. She is the epitome of what massage therapy has to offer in real growth. I have been to many massage therapists that are good and create relaxation, but rarely have I been to one who so intuitively taps into such depth as to promote continued and successive growth. Her well defined persona engenders respect, fills the room with healing energy, and defines the precision of her mastery and technical know-how. She listens to her client and is easy to work with cooperatively in the reduction of pain and stress. Real transformation is the context and paradigm of her work.”

- Robert Lax
October, 2001
Current client, November, 2001

“I have been fortunate enough to have worked with Monique Illona for three years. I initially came to see her because I felt I needed to find a way to alleviate mental and physical stress. I needed help in allowing an teaching my body to relax. I found that with Monique I was able to relax enough physically, my mental stresses followed in tow. My thinking gains a kind of clarity during the massage sessions I experience only rarely elsewhere – perhaps only before falling asleep.

The idea of massage by someone I did not know well made me skittish at first. I appreciated Monique’s professionalism entirely. She very much respects one’s need for modesty and I never felt in the least as if my privacy were being invaded. On the contrary, her presence and professionalism made me feel more at ease in my own body.

She has an intuitive grasp of what kind of touch to use. She could always sense which of my muscles were most constricted, needed to most work – and also knew whether a deeper of a lighter touch would help most. She is very much an artist and strives towards the perfection of her work each time she encounters the body. I felt refined by this, as if my body had been sculpted into something more fine than perhaps it actually was, from the inside out.

My comfort level with Monique could not be higher and the work I have done with her over the past three years has contributed enormously to my well-being. She helped my body adjust to and through a difficult pregnancy. Her spirit is buoyant, quietly exuberant. Because she taught me how to unclench my body, she has made it much easier for me to manage the stresses that creep into my days. I recommend her unconditionally.”

- M. Tyler
March, 1995
Current client, January 2004

“My massage with Monique is the most important part of my week.  It renews my body and soul.  It reduces my stress and helps me get ready to face the challenges of the week.  It has helped relieve the pain in my knees and back.  My massage soothes and energizes my body.

- Susan Gordon, 2000

CHRONIC FATIGUE

“I have known Monique for over two years, and have been receiving weekly massage and stress relief therapy for her for the past year. Her level of professionalism, including professional boundaries is most excellent, without any feeling of stiffness or undue formality. I was immediately comfortable with her.

I began coming to see Monique for a number of health problems I have due to Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome. I have many sever symptoms due to this chronic illness, which I have had for over three years. These include severe fatigue and weakness, stress and anxiety attacks, insomnia, headaches, almost constant muscle pain throughout my body, digestive problems and difficulty concentrating and making decisions, just to name a few. I had had some relief with acupuncture over time, but nothing other than a strict regime of rest, yoga, breathing exercises and a vegetarian diet had really helped. I was immediately helped by Monique’s work.

Monique’s excellent muscle work resulted in a lessening of symptoms, or elimination of them for several days at a time (which for me is quite remarkable). Her incredible intuition and knowledge of the body’s energy systems and flow have also played a huge part in symptom management over time, clearing emotional issues and negative thought patterns that impeded my personal health, happiness and productivity.

Monique Illona is extremely talented and knowledgeable about her work, highly intuitive, friendly and completely professional. I recommend her most highly.

- S. Paice
Voice Instructor
February, 1995

LA STONE

“THANK YOU – it was so nice! While the warm stones relaxed me deeply, making me feel as if I were melting, I also felt very grounded by the cool stones. I really liked having the warm stones on my belly, as well as on my hands and feet. I felt in touch with the natural elements.”

S. Glikson, Therapist
November, 2001

FOUR HANDS

The four-hands massage, above any other, attends to the body’s deep needs. In bodywork, it is one thing to submit to an individual pair of hands, to allow them to circulate and knead out tensions, but with two the effect is not so much doubled as extended. Because together Monique and Blane work through the upper layer of muscular tightness with more rapidity, the second turn, the deeper and more emphatic work, leaves the body feeling released, open to happier sensation. Most of the time it is difficult to distinguish whose hands are whose — but I think this serves as an aid in relaxation. Concentration must, perforce, be let loose. And very few circumstances provide us with such a welcome possibility. I have been Monique’s client for over ten years now, and have been fortunate enough to experience her ever-evolving skills and styles of work I am overwhelmed by the bounty of this one.

Meg Tyler
October, 2001
Current client, October 2001

GIFT CERTIFICATES

“Scott was SO THRILLED with his massage certificate! I have to say that in spite of all my efforts to get him nifty and thoughtful gifts, which he liked, I think the certificate was perhaps his favorite!”

S. Paice
February, 1995

“A gift certificate for a massage by the best. We thought that you would enjoy taking time out from your hectic life to relax and be transported to another realm. We have both experienced a massage with Monique and highly recommend her. Enjoy! Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy 50th”

A. & N. Motenko
February, 1998
Written on the Gift Certificate