About:

The Tension Tamer was formed with the vision of creating a straight to the point massage therapy space without the frou-frou. You won’t find uplifting quotes on the walls, robes to change into as you sip Brunello di Montalcino, flowery curtains, or even bottled water at the end, but once things take off, you can expect many more plant species lining the open spaces, and nature-related decor. If the plastic water bottle at the end of your session is something you’re attached to, please consider bringing your own re-usable bottle full of water.

You can expect a comfortable, heated table, commercially licensed music of your choice played during session on a high quality blue tooth speaker, with the main player in a separate room for maximum privacy, HIPAA compliant software for health records, a bookshelf with a “Take a Book, Leave a Book” honor system, quiet sessions where you decide how much talking happens, or doesn’t, and skillful body work by a practitioner who truly cares about your wellbeing.

A Note on Hours:

You’re able to start booking sessions on November 25th! You’ll notice at first that hours seem limited. This is because I’m still maintaining a regular job as I get things off the ground. Once my books begin filling regularly, I’ll be able to dedicate more time to The Tension Tamer! I’m looking forward to that day!

Your Massage Therapist:

My name is Katie Eken. I graduated from Elite Massage Academy’s 1,100 Hour-Massage Therapy program in April, 2025. The opportunity to blend autonomy and creativity, while meeting individual client needs, through a healing modality that allows for continuous learning is what ultimately resulted in my decision to pursue this path. Massage therapy checked all the boxes, and as I’ve worked on clients since graduation, my enthusiasm for bodywork has only grown!

Cycling, even during frigid winter weather, is a hobby that I hold dear, whether it’s long-distance riding, or just general commuting around town. Being active outdoors is something you can catch me doing in some form everyday, meandering about town with a large backpack, wishing I were on a trail, or kayaking a lake at a State Park. I’m passionate about helping clients maintain their favorite activities, as well, and want to hear all about the adventures you’re planning!

Reading a book over endless cups of coffee is typically where I’ll be found, when not doing things outdoors.

I’m a student at MSUM majoring in English. One of my favorite things in life is writing, especially short-stories that border on the absurd.

Gardening is something I hope to focus on more during upcoming summers. I always enjoy helping friends and family with theirs, when time allows.

I have an unrelenting obsession with push-reel mowers.

This sums up a few things you maybe wanted, or didn’t want to know about me, but now that you do, there’s no going back to being total strangers. You might as well book a session!

Policies:

Cancellation Policy: The Tension Tamer has a 12-hour cancellation policy. You will not be charged whenever you cancel within the 12-hour notice period; however, in the case of a late-cancellation, or no-show, a flat fee of $50.00 will be charged to your card on file. Exceptions will be made in cases of local natural disasters impacting safe travel, sad life events, or illness, but I’ve made the policy 12-hours to be flexible, allowing for quick decisions to be made, regarding illness, weather, etc. If you’re reasonable with me, then I’ll work with you when truly unexpected things come up.

Intake Forms: The intake form, including your health history, will be emailed to you before your scheduled time. Please do your best to fill this out before your session begins, as it will cut into your booked time, otherwise. Arriving 15-minutes before your session begins is recommended, especially if you didn’t fill out your forms at home, and need to do so in the office.

Please note that exceptions will not be made to extend session times due to arriving late. Yes, even if your dog shredded your shoes to pieces, something you noticed just before trying to take out the kitchen trash, which ripped, leaving a trail of cranberry sauce from the kitchen to the porch, before realizing your front door got blocked by an overturned tree during a ferocious windstorm, but see above for the cancellation policy due to inclement weather, as the latter situation may be a good opportunity to seize on that late-cancellation exception!

Intake forms are required for the first session, after that they will be updated whenever major changes occur; please communicate with me on these.

A note on Music:

If you want to listen to the stereotypical massage room sounds of calming waves crashing along a beach on a 30-below day in Moorhead, to pretend you’re elsewhere, we can do that, but if you’re a music freak like me, there will be options beyond your standard massage session jams.

Feeling like bluegrass? Okay. Portuguese metal? Heck, Yes! /,,/ Recently discovered an obscure Indie band? Let’s find it! In the mood for the droning of an Australian Didgeridoo? That’s workable!

The Tension Tamer uses Sound Track Your Brand, which connects to customizable Spotify playlists, converting songs for use with commercial licensing permissions. This allows for a multitude of artists to pick from, for a listening session tailored to you.

Let me know before your session what you’d like to listen to, and as long as it’s in the catalog, it will be played during your session, or if you have a favorite Podcast or Audiobook you’d like to listen to, bring in your device, and we’ll listen to that!

Your session time is about you. That’s why you decide.