Kamasajei BioDynamics

This place wasn’t for me. I realize it is a sports massage. But it was much too painful. I really felt like the person massaging me didn’t know what he was doing. He had a lot of commentary of what i was doing wrong, but all I wanted was silence and a nice sport massage. My face was contorted throughout the massage. Stupidly, I said nothing. If you go, expect to feel pain for many days after.

Kamasajei is in a new location, just across Telegraph one block from the old location. Johnny is still the best and most knowledgeable sports massage therapist I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve tried every quack out there.
The new space is just as tight and cramped as the old space — if not more so – but you’re not going for the frills or the cucumber slices, so it shouldn’t matter too much. Otherwise, same old same old, still five stars!

I’m ruined forever because I will never be able to get a massage from someone who thinks that light touch is healing. Even more intense methods of massage are lacking for me now: shiatsu, Swedish, etc. all feel disappointing. Whether in a downtown storefront or a fancy resort spa, most massage therapists think that rubbing around some muscles is the equivalent to true, deep tissue healing.
But not Johnny.
I don’t know what took me so long to review him. I’ve been seeing him for probably around three years now, following some really nasty accidents and knee injuries that left my body in really rough shape. Every session with him is intense, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. He understands how the body, the muscles, and the fascia work together to create dysfunction and pain and exacerbate injury. He is not afraid to go hard into a fresh injury, and you should not be afraid to let him! I was at first, but what I have learned is that it expedites healing to have work done on an injured area. Johnny has a skill for taking you to your limit but not any farther, encouraging maximum healing.
If you have injuries and you want real healing to happen, or if you’re looking to relieve stress and tension, the only way to do it is to see a practitioner like Johnny who understands how to help your muscles and fascia release. Some froufrou spa with aromatherapy candles and modern décor may look appealing, but you’re not likely to leave feeling better than when you came.

I’ve worked with various masseurs over the years all over the bay area for both sports massage or general stress relief. Johnny is the best hands down. If you want just the regular soothing pleasure kinda massage, this place may not stand out, but if you want serious body work, get your body pain, tightness, knots or whatever issue addressed, this is the place to be.
This experience comes from someone who runs a lot and heavily uses her legs. For the past 6 years, before every major race, I would go see Johnny to get legs’ twisted muscles straightened out and tightness worked out. I also have a troubled leg with muscle memories still recording the wrong, twisted movement after an old injury thus very tight and twisted. Thanks to his work, he’s able to reverse some of the wrong muscle memory and I’ve been able to still train and race at a high level with an injured leg.
Johnny knows way beyond the surface level and is an expert on how body works from physiological, functional and anatomical point of view. He may not even touch your troubled body part, but work from the connective muscles and address the sources muscles… He would dig in deep and get to the cause immediately. You may experience extreme pain, you may sweat and groan, but hey, when the treatment is over, you may find the body pain is gone and muscles are smoothed out, and feel like a new person. His price may be a little high, but he packs other people’s 2 or 3 hours’ work into 1, if others could ever match his result that is. To this day after I moved to this side of the bridge, I’d still drive over to Oakland to see Johnny because he knows what he’s doing. His magical work justifies the time, dollar and bridge toll.

I had and still have difficulties pronouncing the name of the business, but it doesn’t matter because this place is fantastic. You don’t get only a massage, you get a chiropractic treatment, deep tissue manipulation, body and mind work. I had pain in my right shoulder that I had for for over 5 years, and it was gone after 1 treatment. Magic? Kamasajei! You walk out reborn. The night after my massage I slept for 10 hours, and woke up so refreshed (it didn’t happen to me in 5 years). I was full of energy, my mind was clear, and I was very optimistic. There is only one disadvantage of this place-it’s in the bay area. They need to create an office in LA!!!

Had a good experience w Johnny. Felt at ease, from moment I opened that door. Place is bare bones. I am tired of getting dinky massages from pretty spa though, and I was in pain this time, so I needed some serious kneading. Johnny will fix you in no time He helped me figure out root cause of my pain, which I had not even considered was the cause. I must make my next appointment!

Great, deep massage that pays attention both to body and soul.

I’ve been here twice — mainly to work on a tight shoulder that hasn’t felt normal for 2 years. After the first visit with Johnny, my shoulder felt eons better than it did before — no joke, the massage WILL HURT at times and I was sore for a couple of days after.
After a second visit a few weeks later, my shoulder is feeling closer to normal.
Johnny is professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. Highly recommended!

As many reviewers have noted, this is not a relaxing, pan flute music, scented towel massage. This is a therapeutic massage that will give you relief from aches and pains. Johnny is very strong and knows how to get in there and straighten your body out. You may cry and you may wrench on the table, but when you get up, you will be walking straighter, taller, and have greater range of movement with less pain. This is definitely a place that is high on my list of great places to get real body work done.

Lucia is the best!

If you need mint scented towels, pan flute music twinkling overhead, cucumber infused water or any other spa amenity designed to take you to a tranquil state before or after a massage, Kamasajei is not for you.
If you’re a fan of sports massage where you take an active role in the healing and can stand a little pain (okay, sometimes a lot) on the way to relief, Johnny W at Kamasajei is your man.
Recently, after being curled up in coach on several long haul flights, I visited Johnny. I spent a lot of my time on the table cursing him out but I left feeling lighter and unfurled and I’m not sure how I’d achieve such a result without his assistance. And I’ve already booked an appointment with him for when I return from the three week travel odyssey I’m currently on.
Johnny is truly talented and I recommend him whole-​heartedly. Since I began visiting him last year, he’s been the standard by which I judge all other massage therapists.

Really fantastic serious massage! I hurt and then felt better, thanks Johnny!

Johnny gave me an excellent therapeutic massage. It hurt like crazy but I was finally in less pain. (I have been in serious pain for a week and I have chronic shoulder issues). I tried this place b/​c of a Unilocal deal for $ 75. I think the regular $ 100 is a bit steep.
The place is very basic and so far my shoulder feels better.

John gives the kind of massaged I like to give and get. He finds the tight areas and uses multiple approaches and tools to really work the area from different angles. he’s got some great active stretching techniques that I want to learn. All in all, a fantastic experience and I already booked my next massage!

Ok. To be fair, my massage was a 10 minute free massage following a 5K, so I don’t know how this place would be for an hour long massage, but my guess is awesome. I’ve never had a massage like this before. It was definitely an interactive experience. I have IT band syndrome so I’m constantly aware of my right leg, after just a few minutes, I felt loose and relaxed. I will definitely go back. The one drawback is that it definitely costs more than I would normally pay for a massage.

Awesome, amazing, informative massage! My therapist, John, is completely knowledgeable about anatomy, movement and the effects on the body. I highly recommend him. I left feeling returned to a baseline level of health in my muscles and joints. What a fantastic find!

I am an acupuncturist and have quite a bit of experience with all types of bodywork and massage ranging from Chinese Tui-​Na massage to abdominal (Chi Nei Tsang) to craniosacral to rolfing to Jin Shin Do.
At the recommendation of a friend, I decided to try Kamasajei Massage for some neck and shoulder tightness but more importantly, to see what could be done about my hip misalignment. As a result, I have one leg shorter than another and huge gaping holes in all the left legs of my pants but none on my right. On my bad days I actually feel like I’m standing lopsided, it’s that bad. I stopped running because of that.
Anyway, when I walked into Kamasajei, my first therapist Johnny, put me at ease immediately. He is extremely knowledgeable about human anatomy and biodynamics! He asked me very specific questions about what movements were creating which pain and related them to other symptoms I had been having. Using a body diagram, he asked me to pinpoint exactly where it was and then showed me on the diagram what muscles were connected to each other. It was clear he was a man with a plan! Most massage therapists ask you very general questions about your pain and then proceed to massage away. Not Johnny. With him, I felt like he was really looking to fix something, not just give a rubdown.
The second major difference with Johnny was the way he massaged. Based on the information I just gave him, he asked me to work through specific movements while he was massaging. Here I was expecting to relax but now I was being asked to participate. Wow. As he was pulling, I was stretching. I actually felt like my bone structure was changing from within. No pain whatsoever but it just felt more effective than any other massages I’ve received. The results speak for themselves. After getting dressed, he then had me walk around briefly while simultaneously observing my gait and taking notes on areas to improve for the next time (whereas most therapists have you leave after getting dressed), third major plus. I felt the difference immediately, more even on both feet and balanced, no clicking sensation in my hips. Most of all, the results held for a couple weeks, fourth plus!
I have been coming back ever since. The other Kamasajei therapists have the same quality of evaluation and bodywork and I am excited to see noticeable changes each time. Finally I feel like I am literally walking and running balanced on the ground. Thanks to my therapists, I will no longer have holes in my pantlegs soon. :) I would highly enthusiastically recommend Kamasajei to everyone. They are extremely knowledgeable, professional, super effective, and all around great friendly people.

I’ve had many massages over 30+ years, professional and non-​professional (including an Olympic team masseur), and in many countries (with various approaches). While I am receiving an incentive for my time to write a review, what I am writing is what I would write without any incentive.
I was introduced to KaMasaJei at a «5 minute» free booth at one of the athletic events near SF’s Ferry Building. The experience was so superior to my normal professional massages that I booked a regular appointment at its Oakland site – a significant investment of time as I normally don’t cross the Bay. I’ve repeated that trip, and will do so again. Of all the massage styles I’ve had over the years, the ones given by Johnny rate in the top three or so for their effectiveness.
May 4, 2011. I’ve had several sessions with Jonny since writing the above and I wish to underline my feeling of the superiority of the massages I receive. This, of course, is based on my personal preference; this is not the type of Swedish or «feel good» massage one expects in a day spa (although the short and longer term effects are a different type of «feel good».
Jonny works on athletes (as well as us mortals) and it shows. In my case, he fixed my arm to a full range of motion; it had a limited range of motion for several years – no other massage therapist suggested fixing it. He has worked on muscles no one else has touched with beneficial effect: I find that my body moves with greater ease. I also find that my vocal cords sometimes get a workout during his treatments.
He also takes time to explain what he is doing as well as providing suggested exercises to relieve ongoing issues.