Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC

Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC Creating a custom massage & skin therapy experience based on your unique needs!

04/03/2026

I need to share something personal with you today. And I’m posting the video to go with it.

In 2017, I stood frozen inside the Statue of Liberty while my daughter climbed to the crown alone.

It was her last spring break trip with me before she graduated high school. We had planned it together. We had tickets to the crown. And when we hit that last narrow spiral staircase — my nervous system said absolutely not.

She went up without me. I stood in that stairwell in full blown nervous system response, wondering how I was even going to get back DOWN, knowing she was up there alone in what was supposed to be our moment.

That experience changed something in me.
What followed was years of intentional work — small moments like getting on a ladder, building to bigger ones like standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, rappelling down an 80-foot slot canyon at Zion National Park, and eventually — in 2023 — jumping out of an airplane.

Back then, the work was nervous system RECOVERY. Learning to feel the response come up — and learning to bring it back down. Breath by breath. Step by step. That work was real, and it mattered deeply.

In the video you’ll see me giving a big thumbs up inside the plane. Confident looking, right? And then the very next shot is me eyes closed, doing breathing techniques — because my nervous system was already in full response mode before we even got to the door. That’s recovery work happening in real time.

When I landed, my daughter called me. She had witnessed my fear of heights her whole childhood. She knew how real it was. She could not believe I had actually jumped.

In the years since that jump, I’ve gone even deeper — coming to understand that there’s a difference between nervous system RECOVERY and nervous system INTEGRATION. Both are important. Both are distinct. And that understanding now lives at the heart of everything I do with my clients.

One of the greatest feelings I’ll carry from this experience isn’t just that I faced the fear. It’s showing my daughter what’s possible when you do.

What fear has been costing YOU moments you can’t get back? Drop it in the comments. 👇

The moment that made my whole week 👇She came in yesterday for her lymphatic drainage session — which she’s been doing wi...
04/02/2026

The moment that made my whole week 👇

She came in yesterday for her lymphatic drainage session — which she’s been doing with me for a while now — this woman was GLOWING.

Her lymphatic work has been keeping her system moving, draining the puffiness, clearing out what her body needs to let go of, and just keeping everything flowing the way it should. That part? Already working beautifully.

But about a month ago she decided to add the DMK Paramedical Enzyme Therapy Facial into her visits with me. In-office treatments PLUS a customized take-home regimen. Her goal? Tackle her hyperpigmentation.

What she didn’t expect was everything ELSE that happened.

She told me: “My skin doesn’t feel tight when I wake up in the morning. It doesn’t hurt. It just feels… smooth. I keep grabbing my daughters and telling them — touch my face. FEEL how smooth my skin feels.” 😭🙌

And THEN — she went to her hair appointment, and her cosmetologist stopped and said… girl, your skin. More hydrated. More glowing. More youthful. Smoother.

Her COSMETOLOGIST noticed. Without being told a thing.

That’s the kind of result that doesn’t need a filter.

And yesterday we leveled things up even MORE.

While she had her DMK enzyme mask on, we added Red & Infrared Light Therapy — this time targeting her SCALP. 🔴💡

Because here’s something a lot of people don’t know: red and infrared light therapy isn’t just for skin. When directed at the scalp, it can:

✨ Stimulate hair follicles and support new growth
✨ Increase circulation to the scalp
✨ Reduce inflammation that can contribute to thinning
✨ Support scalp health at a cellular level

She’s noticed her hair thinning and she’s ready to do something about it. So we’re working on it — from the inside out, the outside in, AND from the top of her head. 😄

This is what I love about what we do at Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists. We don’t just treat one thing. We look at the WHOLE you — your skin, your lymphatic system, your scalp, your nervous system — and we build a plan that actually works together.

If you’ve been curious about lymphatic drainage, DMK facials, or red/infrared light therapy — or all three 👀 — I’d love to talk to you about what that could look like for YOU.

📲 Drop a comment, send me a DM, or book directly at advancedmassageskincare.com

Your skin (and your scalp!) are ready. Are you? 💛

Most don’t talk about this — your nervous system has never made a single decision for you. It responds. To threat. To sa...
04/02/2026

Most don’t talk about this — your nervous system has never made a single decision for you.

It responds.

To threat. To safety. To every story your body learned to believe.

Most people try to silence it.

The real work is following it.

The question becomes— what is my body responding to right now?

That answer? That’s where the healing begins.

04/01/2026

This right here 😂

Everyone wants this level of “just vibes” energy…

But here’s the part most don’t talk about:

It’s not the couch.
It’s not the house.
It’s not even the environment.

It’s the nervous system.

My cat isn’t relaxed because life is puuurfect.
She’s relaxed because her system feels regulated enough to let go.

And most people?

They’re trying to create relaxation from the outside in.

Better routines.
More self-care.
More “trying to calm down.”

But if your nervous system isn’t regulated…
your body won’t let you stay there.

It’s not that your body is broken.

It’s that your nervous system is still being given instructions to run a pattern.

This is the work I do.

Not just helping your body relax…but helping your system actually hold that regulation.

So it’s not temporary.

It becomes your new normal.

Because “just vibes” isn’t luck…

It’s a state 🐾✨

03/31/2026

Battery: 1% 🪫

Mid-play.
Toy still in hand.
Didn’t even make it off the couch 😂

This is what I mean when I say your nervous system will shut you down…

whether you listen or not.

Book an appointment now and let us help you with nervous system recovery. ❤️‍🩹

Before anything can change, you have to hear what your body has actually been saying.Most people never get there. Not be...
03/31/2026

Before anything can change, you have to hear what your body has actually been saying.

Most people never get there. Not because they don't want to — but because nobody taught them how to listen.

So instead they manage. Push through. Stay busy enough to stay ahead of the whisper.

Until they can't anymore.

Reset is the first step and it's simply this: becoming aware of what's actually feeding your nervous system. The moment of pause where you shift from reacting to listening…so you can begin to hear what your nervous system is responding to.

Not the symptoms. The source.

The tightness in your chest. The way your jaw locks. The exhaustion that doesn't lift.

Those aren't random. They're signals. And they're pointing somewhere specific.

You can't decode a whisper you haven't heard yet.

There’s a difference between nervous system recovery and nervous system integration. And it’s not what most people think...
03/29/2026

There’s a difference between nervous system recovery and nervous system integration. And it’s not what most people think.

Recovery is your nervous system coming back down after it gets activated.

Integration is your nervous system no longer firing the same way in the first place.

Recovery is the breathwork that brings you back after you’ve lost your breath.

Integration is waking up one day and realizing you’re no longer holding your breath in the first place.

But here’s the part nobody talks about:

Your nervous system didn’t change how the held breath feels.

Something deeper did.

Your body isn't working against you. It's communicating with you — in the only language it has. Pain. Fatigue. Tension. ...
03/27/2026

Your body isn't working against you. It's communicating with you — in the only language it has.

Pain. Fatigue. Tension. Inflammation.

These aren't failures.

They're whispers.

And whispers, when you know how to listen them, actually point somewhere useful.

This one's for the person who’s tried just about everything. The diet. The sleep. The supplements. The therapy. The move...
03/26/2026

This one's for the person who’s tried just about everything.

The diet.

The sleep.

The supplements.

The therapy.

The movement.

The mindfulness.

And is still. Not. Better.

___

First: you are not failing.

Second: there's a reason. Most approaches to healing work at the level of the symptom.

___

And symptoms matter — treating them gives relief, reduces suffering, keeps you functional. But symptoms are outputs. They are what the body produces when something in the underlying system is off.

And if you never address what's off in the underlying system — the symptoms regenerate. No matter how well you manage them. The underlying system, in most cases nobody talks about?

The nervous system.

And underneath the nervous system — what it's actually responding to. That's the layer.

And it's where the stuck finally becomes unstuck.

____

As a Nervous System Specialist, I help people with their nervous system inputs and outputs. Share it with someone who's exhausted from trying. 💛

If you've ever said 'I'm just a tense person' — I need you to hear this.Because here's what I know after years of workin...
03/25/2026

If you've ever said 'I'm just a tense person' — I need you to hear this.

Because here's what I know after years of working with the nervous system: chronic tension is not a personality trait. It is a nervous system state. And the fact that it's been there so long that it feels like you? That just tells me how long the nervous system has been holding on.

The tension in your shoulders, your jaw, your chest — that's your nervous system running a protection program. It learned to brace. At some point, for a very real reason, it learned that staying ready was necessary.

And it's been doing that job faithfully ever since. Even when the original reason is long gone.

A nervous system pattern and what’s beneath that signaling it, can be changed. That’s exactly what I help people with.

03/24/2026

🫁 Stop scrolling. Breathe with me for 10 seconds.

You're allowed to put it down. Read that again.

There's a kind of exhaustion that doesn't show up on your face. It lives in your shoulders. In the way you hold your breath without realizing it. In the low-grade hum of tension you've stopped noticing because it's just become background noise.

You've been holding it together. Probably for a while. Maybe for years.

That feeling where you can't fully relax because something might fall apart if you do. Where "I'm fine" is just on autopilot. Where you've been strong for so long you've forgotten what it feels like to just… breathe.

Most of us were never taught to release. We were taught to manage.

So we hold tension in our shoulders, our jaw, our chest — and call it fine. But fine has a cost. Your nervous system is running threat-detection 24/7 and it is exhausted.

Here's a 10-second reset: a deep inhale and a slow, audible exhale. Not a quiet breath. An actual exhale you can hear.

That sound? It's your vagus nerve getting the signal: you're safe. You can let go. You don't have to earn the right to relax. You don't have to finish the list first. You are allowed to put it down — right now, mid-day, mid-chaos.

Save this for when you need a reset. 🤍

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301 North Ankeny Boulevard, Suite 100
Ankeny, IA
50021

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Advanced Massage & Skincare Specialists, LLC

Creating a custom massage and skin therapy experience based on your unique needs!

Catherine Christy, MA, LMT, LST Catherine is a licensed massage and skin therapist along with holding a BA in health promotion and MA in community health education. She is trained in craniosacral therapy, neural reset therapy, myofascial release, medical massage, visceral manipulation, myoskeletal alignment therapy, trigger point therapy, spinal reflex therapy, cupping, deep tissue, Swedish, and more!

Catherine is certified by the American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and health coach. Additionally, she has specialized training in behavior change, fitness nutrition, functional fitness, osteopathic fitness, and more. She is also a certified yoga instructor.

As a skin therapist (esthetician), Catherine has specialized training in skin analysis to customize your skin care. She also has specialized training in techniques like hydrafacial, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, microcurrent, ultrasonic, galvanic, high frequency, and more!