During a long daily commute, Valerie Newman looked around and felt a strong desire to bring peace to the people in the cars honking and speeding by. “I would be sitting in traffic, seeing people sitting in cars around me, and looking miserable and stressed,” says Newman. “I had only had one massage in my life at this point, and all of a sudden, trying to help these commuters with massage seemed like the right path.”
Fifteen years and hundreds of hours of education later, Newman now brings peace and relaxation to her clients at the Massage Room off Highway 7 in Minnetonka. The Massage Room opened last June. Her approach is to focus on the individual and use different methods to find balance in the mind and body. “The best way to get results with a massage is to love and nurture—to take care of each of my clients the way that I want to be treated,” says Newman. “I’m there to take care of my clients from start to finish.”
No two sessions with Newman are alike. She uses elements of Swedish, deep tissue or neuromuscular massage as well as aromatherapy, hot stones or hot towels to guide her clients to a relaxed state. Says client Theresa Benoit, “I love that she uses different scents each time and just goes the extra mile. Last week, she gave me a little pouch of bath beads to put in my bath after my massage—it’s just the kind of thing she does.”
Newman is also passionate about a Hawaiian restorative massage called lomi lomi, or “loving hands,” massage, where she applies pressure in flowing waves over the entire length of a person’s body. “My philosophy is that massage is emotionally important, and I treat the body as a whole,” says Newman. “Stress and anxiety are just a few of the examples of behavioral issues that can lead to such things as high blood pressure and constant muscle tension. When we’re stressed, we do actions quickly, improperly or repetitively, and we stop listening to our bodies … These are all things that massage can help. “
Before a session, Newman schedules extra time to be able to connect to her clients, and her clients appreciate it. Says Mark Glover, who first came to Newman because he worked nearby, “She actually took the time to get to know me, unlike other massage therapists I’ve been to who have treated me just like another client. Valerie listens to your needs prior to the massage and then adapts to what your body is telling her.”
In these sessions, sometimes Newman learns not only about tight muscles or knots, but also about emotions that might be putting more stress on the body. Patricia McManus, a client who is going through a divorce, says, “The thing I appreciate most about Valerie is her holistic approach and openness to understand what’s going on with me emotionally. My emotional stress started creating very intense physical pain. My therapist recommended Valerie because she addresses the whole mind and body together.”
Newman believes creating a personal, peaceful respite for people is more important than it has ever been. “The world we live in is so difficult right now,” she says. “People are trying to do everything and make it look like they are superheroes. They are also constantly struggling with body issues and comparing themselves to others, which is external.” So Newman tries to turn the concentration within so people can find their own serene place. “I try and make people look inwards during a massage and get all of that junk out of their brains for an hour and focus on how that physically feel,” says Newman. “I hope they can see that the body is an amazing tool.”
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The Massage Room
14451 Highway 7, Minnetonka
952.297.5012
