Dear Myo Community,

We have missed you so much, and we are excited to finally announce our Stage 1 re-opening starting June 1!

In Stage 1, we will be offering a limited schedule of 1-on-1 services, including massage and acupuncture. For now, our classes will remain online, but please stay tuned for updates. For the protection of both clients and staff, we will have numerous new policies and procedures in place. We appreciate your cooperation to make things as safe as possible for everyone.

Massage establishments in Texas were permitted to re-open starting May 18th. We chose to wait so that we could thoroughly review the available guidance and information and ensure that our protocols and policies were fully implemented. We did not make the decision of whether and when to reopen lightly. Our staged re-opening plan is based on guidance from state and local officials, Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals, The Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, the CDC, and other experts in the health field, and we are meeting or exceeding the recommended guidelines. But given the high incidence of pre-symptomatic contagion, transmission via respiratory droplets produced from normal talking and breathing, and the close contact necessary to provide massage, nothing short of an effective treatment or vaccine will make it possible to get back to “normal”. For some of our therapists, this means they won’t be returning to work for a long time, if at all. But for others, the benefits of providing care and pain relief outweigh the risks. We are supporting therapists in the choice that makes the most sense for them, while doing everything we can to minimize risk every step of the way.

We ask that you prepare for your visit with the same care and consideration as you would before visiting a cherished grandparent: the next client your therapist sees may well be one! Please take the time to review the new guidelines and protocols you can expect on your next visit.

Before Your Appointment

• If you have any sign of illness, or if you have had close contact with anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19 in the last 2 weeks, we will not be able to work with you. We are happy to reschedule you; please let us know with as much notice as possible.
• If you have not been able to practice proper distancing for at least two weeks, or have engaged in any behavior that puts you at high risk for contact, please delay scheduling your appointment.
• All necessary paperwork, including a Covid-19 release form and intake forms, must be filled out in advance.
• Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to accommodate our new screening procedures and limited capacity in our lobby. If you arrive late, or if you haven’t completed paperwork in advance, your session will be shortened accordingly.
• Please bring your own water if needed, but otherwise leave unnecessary belongings in your car. If you need special accommodations in terms of positioning or equipment (eg bolstering) please contact us in advance so that we can prepare.

When you Arrive

• Please text us from your car to let us know you are parked. We will call you as soon as we are ready for you to come in.
• A properly fitted mask must be worn over your nose and mouth for the duration of your visit. Masks will be available for rent if you don’t bring one.
• When it’s your turn, we will unlock the door for you, check your temperature and ask a few screening questions.
• Sanitize your hands when you arrive, and before and after touching any surfaces.
• In order to ensure proper social distancing and disinfection, our waiting area and some of our amenities are not available at this time. After you check in, your therapist will meet you in the lobby.
• During your visit, we ask that you keep conversation to a minimum to avoid unnecessary respiratory droplets in the air. If you have complex concerns that require extensive discussion, please contact us in advance so that we can arrange a call with your therapist.
• We would be happy to assist you with any retail purchases, but we ask that you do not touch anything in our retail area.
• Payment will be entirely contactless; we recommend prepayment, or if you prefer we will verify your billing details prior to your appointment and charge it while you are in session. You can specify any gratuity amounts before or after your appointment via text.
• We would be happy to book your next appointment by phone, text, or using our online booking system.

What we are doing

• Temperature and symptom screening of all staff at arrival.
• All staff will be wearing masks at all times.
• Air purifiers with HEPA filters in each treatment room to remove 99.7% of airborne particles.
• Each treatment room is thoroughly sanitized between each client. We have added extra time between appointments to ensure that we can carefully complete all sanitization steps and allow the air to fully circulate.
• All high touch surfaces are sanitized frequently (after each use wherever possible) with hydrogen peroxide or alcohol disinfectant.
• Hand sanitizer is available through space for clients and staff.
• Minimized contact at check in and check out.

Please let us know if you have questions or concerns. Please note that in order to adhere to safety protocols, things may take a bit longer than before, and certain services and therapists will not be available. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and patience with our team. We can’t wait to (very carefully) get back to helping you feel better!

Thank you,
Catherine & Levi
Myo Founders

Dear Myo Community,

For the safety of our wonderful clients, therapists, and staff, as well as the Austin community at large, we have made the difficult decision to go into temporary closure effective tomorrow, March 19, for at least two weeks and possibly beyond.  Although we were already taking extreme prevention measures, even the smallest avoidable risk is too much according to models for the spread of this epidemic.  First and foremost, we must do the right thing.

As a small local business that relies on person to person contact, this will be a challenging and uncertain time for all of us for some time to come.  Our staff have dedicated their careers to helping others through touch and movement, and it is difficult for us to sit this one out.  We are working non-stop to find ways to support our team through this, financially and otherwise.

If you would like to help, purchasing gift certificates is amazingly helpful to sustaining us through this difficult time – and we know you’ll be very overdue for some quality bodywork when this is over!  If you want to send something extra to a favorite therapist or instructor, you can purchase a certificate and include instructions in the message.

You can also attend and donate to our online classes – movement relieves stress and boosts immunity!  This week, we have a schedule of online group classes available including Pilates, Floor Barre, Core Barre, Feldenkrais, Workout! with Erica Nix, Slow Flow Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, and Sound Healing Meditation.  We’ll be adding more classes according to demand as we go along. Please visit the classes page for details on the schedule, and feel free to reach out with requests and suggestions. 

We will still be responding to emails and voicemails during our closure.  Please reach out if you have questions, need advice with an ongoing issue, or want to get in touch with your therapist.

We appreciate your understanding and on-going support.  It is our honor to be your partner in health and wellness, and we look forward to coming back strong and healthy as soon as we can!  Please stay tuned here and on social media for updates regarding our re-opening.  In the meantime, stay safe and be well!

Catherine & Levi

Myo co-Founders

To our Myo Community:

This is an uncertain and difficult time for everyone, and we are responding every day to rapidly evolving information and best practices from the CDC, WHO and elsewhere regarding flattening the curve of this COVID-19 pandemic.

Naturally, health and wellness are central to our mission and procedures every day. In light of social distancing recommendations we have discontinued all group classes until further notice (at least until May 30, 2020.) We will be offering some of our classes remotely during this time.

At present, we are still open for a limited schedule of one on one services where we can better control disinfection and limit exposure.

WHAT WE ASK OF YOU:
▪ If you experience any possible symptoms or if you are at high risk for exposure due to recent travel or contact with infected individuals, please cancel your appointments for the protection of our entire community.

▪ When you arrive, please thoroughly wash your hands before your treatment or class. We will also have sanitizer available, but hand-washing is the most effective prevention 

WHAT ARE WE DOING:
▪ We are closely monitoring daily updates and recommendations from the CDC.

▪ We have increased the frequency of disinfection for all high touch surfaces including door handles, ipads, counters, faucet handles etc. to multiple times a day / after each use when possible.  This is in addition to our normal daily cleaning and disinfection procedures.

▪ As massage therapists, we are already in the habit of frequent hand washing, but we have retrained all our staff to ensure their technique is thorough and lasts a full 20 seconds.

▪ No staff are permitted to come to work if they experience fever or any Coronavirus symptoms.

Please contact us if you have any further questions, and be well!

What is cupping? Maybe you’ve seen those big purple welts on athletes and celebrities and wondered what they were from? Or Maybe you’ve heard of cupping but weren’t sure what it does exactly.

Cupping uses glass cups to suction the skin upward, moving blood towards the surface of the body. The suction helps to soften tight muscles and lift and separate connective tissue, as well as loosen adhesions, bring hydration and blood flow to body tissues, and drain excess fluids and toxins by opening the lymphatic pathways. In traditional Chinese medicine, cupping is used to dispel stagnation, thereby improving Chi flow and bringing blood and nutrients to the affected areas. Cupping therapy can be used to treat a variety of ailments, including different respiratory disorders such as colds, pneumonia, and bronchitis, or it can be used on the back, neck, shoulders, and many other areas of the body for musculoskeletal conditions. Cupping can also help with cosmetic concerns like minimizing scars and reducing the appearance of cellulite by loosening and breaking up the cellulite to create smoother more toned skin and tissue.

Cupping can be added on to an acupuncture treatment or can be done as a standalone treatment. To learn more about Myo Acupuncture, click here. To book an acupuncture treatment or cupping therapy session click here or give us a call at 512-458-4696. If you have any questions, feel free to email our Acupuncturist at lauren@myoaustin.com

About our Acupuncturist: Lauren Brinkowski graduated at the top of her class from Texas Health and Science University in 2010, and has been with Myo since 2011. She maintains a general practice, but has particular interest in GI disorders, emotional disorders and women’s health, and has success in treating many disorders and ailments such as constipation, diarrhea, gastroparesis, IBS, post-surgery nerve damage, depression, anxiety, insomnia, concussions, PTSD, shingles, Bell’s Palsy, allergies, sciatica, arthritis, colds and flu, vertigo and various kinds of pain.