Massage Therapist Coming to Downtown Northfield

It’s a move nine years in the making.

Next month, Gam Prathueng will offer massage therapy in downtown Northfield in the space between and the former on the 300 block of Division Street.

Prathueng, who moved to Northfield in 2002, has been offering Thai massage out of her home since 2003 following a successful stint during that year’s Defeat of Jesse James Days.

That September weekend, she had a spot near the Cannon River and her hands were busy for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. 

“A lot of people asked if they could come and get a Thai massage for the full body,” she said.

Soon after, she opened Gam’s Thai Massage at her home and has been busy since, building a regular clientele and offering her services for Northfield Hospice, for which she was nominated in December for Patch’s .

Prathueng, who moved to Northfield 10 years ago, first learned about massage as an 8-year-old from her grandfather. In 2001, she took a professional therapeutic Thai massage course.

Prathueng says Thai massage is not the same as a massage that most Americans are familiar with—one that puts the recipient in a relaxed, sleepy state. She describes Thai massage as a massage that does relax you, but also helps with healing, relieving pain and energizing the recipient.

Prathueng recently finished coursework for an AAS degree in clinical sports massage, expanding her skill set.

Because of this, Prathueng’s business, which has been known as Gam’s Thai Massage, will be renamed Healing Massage when it opens downtown in mid-May.

Healing Massage will offer therapeutic Thai, Thai oil, Thai foot reflexology, Thai chair, passive yoga, sports with hot stone therapy, pre-natal, and oncology massages.

Aside from keeping busy with a devoted clientele, Prathueng said the move is in large part to accommodate her clients. 

Her current massage studio is on the upper level of her home. She said the street level downtown studio will be easier for many of her elderly clients to access.

Also, Prathueng said she has clients who drive together from other cities who schedule back-to-back massages. Instead of having to wait outside her home studio or driving to downtown to pass time, she said clients can simply walk out the door and grab a cup of coffee to do some shopping.

“It’ll be easy access for my clients,” she said.

Prathueng hopes to have a new website together by the end of the month. She can be reached at 507-301-8640.

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