Our Facility
Owner Amanda Tarver founded Women's Massage Therapy because she was tired of working in places that didn't care about their employees, and more importantly didn't care about their clients. Her practice, which opened in June of 2011 in a small office on the 5th floor of the Carlson building in downtown Evanston, has many of the same luxuries that you may find in a day spa such as a heated table, hot stones, weighted eye pillows, and aromatherapy oils, but is also dedicated to providing quality services tailored to fit each individual's needs.
​
What sets Women's Massage Therapy apart from some other massage establishments, is that you aren't getting the same assembly line treatment as the clients before and after you. Your therapist will listen to your needs and work intuitively to get to the root of the problem She won't just massage whatever is hurting, but will try to figure out what is causing the pain, and work to treat the cause rather than just alleviate the symptoms.
​
WMT is housed inside of the Heartwood Center, a collective of practitioners focused on many aspects of the health and wellness industry. There are 2 large waiting areas featuring the artwork of local artists, a large event space with a catering kitchen, a shrine room where meditation sessions are hosted, and a lot of natural light flooding in through the skylights.
​
All of the sheets and towels utilized by WMT are washed using chemical free, hypoallergenic laundry soap. The sheets are made of super soft and sustainable eucalyptus fibers. Before your appointment, you can choose from one of several oil blends made from natural carrier oils like jojoba, grapeseed, and sweet almond. Several aromatherapy blends are available, each of which is made in-house and contains essential oils rather than artificial fragrances. You can also choose unscented oil or cream if you prefer.
Our Practices
At Women's Massage Therapy, we believe that all people deserve massage. While we limit our clientele to women only for massage, it is important that we are clear that ALL women are welcome. We are 100% supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and consider the term "woman" to refer to anyone who identifies as female or femme regardless of biology. We are happy to work with people in any stage of transition, and encourage you to call with any questions regarding massage treatments.
​
We also hold to the philosophy that massage should never hurt. It is true that soreness or tenderness can be normal, but pain is not. Our view of pain is very simple:
​
Pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. If you feel pain, it means that something is wrong.
​
That being said, pain can be an important guide for us in determining the most appropriate treatment, but it should not be the goal. You may have been told that the more you feel something, the better it is working. This is absolutely not true. You should always leave a massage feeling better than when you came in . We employ many deep tissue techniques in a manner that is pain free rather than just applying more pressure to force our way into your tissue. We believe in treating every body with respect and kindness, and the results tend to speak for themselves.
​
Meet the Owner
Amanda Tarver (she, her, hers)
LMT, CEIM, RMT
​
Amanda is the owner of Women's Massage Therapy, a small local massage and doula practice headquartered in Evanston, IL. Her main focus is to promote women's health and well being through bodywork and education. It is her goal to help her clients achieve a better quality of life by looking for the root of a problem rather than simply focusing on the symptoms. She believes that this can be done through knowledge of the body, intuitive touch, and providing self-care recommendations. She believes in a gentle, respectful approach, listening to the body and how it responds rather than trying to affect change by force.
Amanda is a licensed massage therapist in the state of Illinois (LMT). She is certified to do pre- and perinatal massage through Body Therapy Associates, and is a Certified Educator of Infant Massage (CEIM) through Infant Massage USA. She has received her training as a birth doula through both Doulas of North America (DONA) and toLabor and has continued to expand her birth knowledge through workshops hosted by Spinning Babies, [M]otherboard Birth and mores. In addition to body and birth work, Amanda also offers energy therapy as a Reiki Master Teacher (RMT) trained at Way of the Seeker's Path.
I tried Women's Massage via an Amazon Local deal. I've tried several massage places with varying success. This was a total score!
The space is clean and easy to find. Parking is easy.
Amanda is very holistic and responsive to the needs of the individual's body. She doesn't subscribe to the mostly Western philosophy of "no pain, no gain." She'll go deep and coax your muscles, not force them. It's not a superficial touch, either - she just has a way of doing it without forcing it.
She followed up the massage by sharing some helpful observations and suggestions. She's extremely knowledgeable and kind.
R. W. Massage Client