If you’re trying to decide whether Michael is the right practitioner for what you’re working on, this is the longer answer.
Michael Jaece is a licensed massage therapist with more than 25 years of practice, the co-founder of Canyon Gate Wellness Studios in Orem, Utah, and an active instructor in Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy. She works with clients who have chronic tension patterns, who have tried other approaches and not found relief, and who want bodywork that adapts to what’s happening in real time rather than following a routine.
This page is for clients who want to understand who Michael is before booking, and for anyone trying to evaluate whether her practice is the right fit for what they need.
The credentials and the practical version
The credentials, briefly:
- Licensed Massage Therapist in the state of Utah (license #3084724-4701)
- 25+ years of practice
- Degree in Psychology, minor in Religious Studies
- Active instructor in Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy
- Co-founder of Canyon Gate Wellness Studios
The credentials matter less than what they translate into when you’re on the table. Twenty-five years of practice is not an abstract claim about expertise. It’s tens of thousands of hours of refined attention, the ability to read a body before the client has finished saying hello, and the kind of pattern recognition that lets her change approach mid-stroke based on what the tissue is doing.
That’s the working version of “experience matters.”
How Michael came to this work
Michael started in massage therapy the way many people do: trading hours for money, learning the technical side, doing the work. Over years, the practice deepened. The mechanical understanding of muscle and tissue layered with something else: an interest in how people carry stress, story, and experience in their bodies.
That layering is part of what makes the work different. A massage that treats the body as just tissue can produce relief. A massage that treats the body as a person, with patterns built up over a life, can produce change.
The Psychology and Religious Studies background isn’t decorative. It’s part of how Michael reads what’s happening in the room. The body brings its history. The work has to know how to receive it.
What it means that she teaches Ashiatsu
Ashiatsu is a specialized modality. The training is rigorous, and not every massage therapist can deliver it well. Most therapists who learn Ashiatsu use it as one of several modalities in their practice.
Michael teaches it. Other practitioners come to her to learn the technique, refine it, and develop the sensitivity it requires.
This is meaningful for a couple of reasons.
First, teaching a technique is a different skill than performing it. A practitioner who can teach Ashiatsu has had to break the technique down, articulate what makes it work, and observe what goes wrong when others try it. That depth of understanding is what makes the work itself more refined.
Second, teaching is selective. You don’t get to teach a modality without years of demonstrated competence in it. The fact that Michael teaches Ashiatsu is a signal about her standing in that specific community of practice.
If you’re booking Ashiatsu specifically, this matters. You’re working with someone who shapes how the technique gets passed on, not someone who learned it in a weekend workshop.
What working with Michael actually feels like
The brand voice on the homepage says “the body leads, I follow.” That’s not a tagline. It describes how the sessions are structured.
The first five minutes of any session aren’t massage. They’re listening. Michael watches how you walk in, what you say first, where the breath sits, what posture the body has settled into. That information shapes the session before her hands have touched you.
During the work itself, you can expect:
- Long, sweeping pressure on the broad muscle groups (the hallmark of Ashiatsu)
- Switches between modalities as the body shows what it needs
- Quick adjustments to pressure, angle, and pace based on how you respond
- Conversation when it serves the work, silence when it doesn’t
- Real attention, not autopilot
Most clients describe a session with Michael as different from any massage they’ve had before. That’s not because the techniques are exotic. It’s because the work is built around adapting to what your specific body is doing on a specific day.
What Michael’s practice is and isn’t
Being honest about scope matters.
What this practice is:
- Therapeutic bodywork for chronic tension, compensation patterns, and bodies that have been holding stress for a long time
- Specialized Ashiatsu and deep therapeutic massage
- Foot zoning for systemic and nervous-system-level work
- Three-hour sessions for clients whose bodies need real time
- Coaching for clients with specific goals around bodywork, pain patterns, or movement
- A practice built for clients who want to invest in lasting change
What this practice is not:
- A spa offering relaxation-focused services at the lowest price point
- A clinical setting (Michael works alongside but is not a chiropractor, physical therapist, or medical provider)
- A franchise model offering one-off discount sessions
- A practice for clients who want to be in and out in 30 minutes
- A replacement for medical care when medical care is what’s needed
Choosing the wrong practitioner for what you actually need is one of the most common reasons people walk away thinking massage doesn’t work. The honest framing matters more than a pitch.
Why she co-founded CGW Studios
Michael is a co-founder of Canyon Gate Wellness Studios, the building where her practice is located. CGW is a flexible studio space designed for independent wellness and beauty practitioners.
That she co-founded the building she practices in says a few things. It says she’s invested in Utah County’s wellness community beyond just her own practice. It says she’s spent years thinking about what an environment for high-quality bodywork actually requires (the right ceiling height for Ashiatsu bars, the right acoustics, the right scale of room). And it says her work isn’t an afterthought to a larger career. It’s been the central focus of decades of practice and intention.
When you book at Jaece at Canyon Gate, you’re walking into a space that was specifically designed by the practitioner who’s about to work on you. The studio reflects how she practices.
Where to find her
- Studio: Jaece at Canyon Gate, inside Canyon Gate Wellness Studios
- Address: 1145 East 800 North, Orem, UT 84097
- Location: Five minutes from the 800 N exit off I-15, at the base of Provo Canyon, beneath Mt. Timpanogos
- Phone: (801) 899-6327
- Email: michael@jaeceatcanyongate.com
- Hours: Phone hours 9 AM to 9 PM, 7 days a week. Sessions by appointment only.
Free parking, elevator access, 100% ADA-compliant.
Is Michael’s practice the right fit for you?
This is the same question every client should ask of any practitioner. Here’s the honest read.
Likely a fit if you
- Have chronic tension patterns built up over years and want bodywork that addresses the cause, not just the symptom
- Have tried other practitioners and felt like the work didn't hold or didn't match your body
- Are looking specifically for Ashiatsu or want to know what makes deep work feel different when it's done right
- Value a practitioner who reads the body in real time rather than following a memorized routine
- Are willing to invest in multi-session work for actual change
- Want clear communication and an honest read on whether the work is right for what you're carrying
Probably not a fit if you
- Are looking primarily for spa-style relaxation at the lowest price point
- Need acute medical care (chiropractic adjustment, physical therapy, surgery, primary care)
- Want a routine-based session you don't have to think about
- Are seeking modalities outside Michael's focus (prenatal-only, lymphatic drainage, sports rehab specifically)
- Want to be in and out in 30 minutes for a quick fix
- Aren't ready to engage with the work or commit to multiple sessions for chronic patterns
If you saw yourself on the right side, the framework on how to choose the right massage therapist will help you find someone who is the right fit elsewhere.
Ready to work with Michael?
If the practice and the practitioner sound like the right match for what you’re working on, the next step is straightforward.
Book your session and find out what 25+ years of practice feels like under your skin.
Michael Jaece