Gilmore Girl Massage

Relaxation, accident recovery, chronic-pain relief, cupping, hot stones

"If there is music, I’m dancing. And I’m a big believer that the kitchen is made for dancing. I dance my way through life."

Life is funny. Few of us are lucky enough to know what we want to do with our lives right out of high school. Reina, a Tucson native, knew she wanted to become a massage therapist, but life happened and gave her four children and she became a stay-at-home-mom instead. Not one to leave well enough alone, life also presented her with a divorce while her children were still young. She needed to find a career. Raising four kids, she had ample experience with caring and nurturing, and she wanted to be of use to people, to make things better. "I wanted to help those who were hurting," she says, "I wanted to become a Child Life Specialist." But the extensive education (four years of college) and training requirements put that choice out of reach for someone with a full household.

Then she remembered. "I didn't even think. I jumped." What she jumped into was massage school. It wasn't easy, but she discovered that she is "a big nerd when it comes to the body," and came out of school with her ideal profession. "I love helping those in pain, be it physical or mental. My passion is to heal, to facilitate all-around better wellness for life. And I do that through massage."

Reina is eager to help anyone who is in pain--even if it’s just "the world feels heavy" type of pain--and needs to regroup and breathe, to relax. She advocates for self care: we all need “me time” in order to be the best versions of ourselves, and to be fully there for those who need us.

But as a "body nerd," she's also well versed in the anatomy of pain and effective massage techniques. Before joining Rooted, she worked with a chiropractor and physical therapist for three years helping car-accident patients recover. Her experience has made her a firm believer in addressing pain by helping the fascia (the thin, tough tissue that envelops and connects all the muscles in the body) to heal. Her style combines clinically based deep-tissue work, myofascial techniques, cupping, and stretching to calm, reset, and relax the body. Flowing movement and specific work are also incorporated to aid the body’s natural healing process and to reconnect the client as a whole. Her work can benefit athletes, chronic-pain sufferers, and anyone seeking overall wellness of being.

Life continues to happen to Reina, and she has added two bonus kids to her four. Plus two dogs. ("One is an older, slightly grumpy old lady. The other is young and super needy and loves to cuddle and needs at least 2 miles of walking every morning to get his zoomies out. Ha ha!") She and her family enjoy hiking, concerts, exploring, the beach, trying new restaurants, movie/pizza nights . . . "we basically love having adventures!"