Deep tissue massage in the Inner Sunset
For load and tightness, not for a pattern.
What it is for
Deep tissue is the right call when you know roughly what is going on. You have been lifting, running, cycling, or standing through long shifts, and the tissue is carrying more than it is clearing. Nothing is mysterious about it. It is just tight, and it responds to time and sustained pressure.
There is no assessment protocol in front of it. You tell Li where you want the work, she checks it, and then she spends the session there. That makes it faster and cheaper than the clinical route, and for load-related tightness it is usually the better value.
It is also the right session for the muscles between your shoulder blades, which rarely strain and mostly just fatigue from holding you upright against a desk all day.
What happens in a session
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A short conversation
Where you want the work, what you have been doing to earn it, anything sore that should be left alone.
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Warm the tissue first
Broader, slower work before anything specific. Going straight to depth on cold tissue makes you brace, and bracing is the opposite of the point.
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Sustained pressure where you asked for it
Slow, layer by layer. You are in conversation the whole time and the pressure is adjusted as you go.
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Finish broad
The area gets flushed out and settled before you get up, which is most of the difference between leaving loose and leaving wrecked.
Fifty minutes covers one region properly — a back, or a pair of legs. Ninety covers two, or one region plus the hips, which is usually where leg tightness is actually coming from.
When this is the wrong session
- The same spot has been hurting for months and keeps returning after treatment. That is a pattern, not load. Book neuromuscular therapy.
- You want to relax and not think about your body. Book Swedish — deep tissue asks you to stay present and give feedback.
- You have swelling, warmth, or pain in one calf that came on without a clear cause. See a doctor before booking anything.
- You believe more pain means more result. It does not, and Li will not work that way.
Price
| Length | Price |
|---|---|
| 30 minutes | $65 |
| 50 minutes | $100 |
| 90 minutes | $150 |
New clients
20% off your first 50 and 90 minute session
One per person, first visit only. Applies to 50 and 90 minute sessions. Cannot be combined with gift certificates. Offer ends November 30, 2026.
Common questions
Is deep tissue supposed to be painful?
No. It is supposed to be intense in a way you can breathe through. If you are holding your breath or gripping the table, the pressure is too high and the muscle is bracing against it, which means the work is not landing. Say so and it gets adjusted.
How is this different from neuromuscular therapy?
Deep tissue treats where you point. Neuromuscular therapy works out why you are pointing there, which usually turns out to be somewhere else, and that investigation takes a longer first appointment. If your problem is load, deep tissue is the faster and cheaper answer.
Fifty or ninety minutes?
Fifty for one region done properly. Ninety if you want two regions, or one region plus the hips. Trying to cover a whole body in fifty means nothing gets enough time to change.
Will I be sore the next day?
Mild soreness for a day is normal, like the day after a hard session in the gym. Drink water, move normally, and skip a heavy workout that evening.
Not sure this is the one
Start from where it hurts instead
Pick the area that bothers you and you will get a plain explanation of what usually causes it and which session suits it — including if that session is not this one.