Root Whole Body

Root is great! I have taken numerous workshops here. I really appreciate the tea area, and the sauna. Keep up the great work, I’ll definitely be back :)

This review is about how wonderful Natalie is with her angel hands when it comes to facials. Not only does she take the time to ask you about your skin and the problem areas she also makes you feel comfortable through the session and she has great recommendations about the future regimen.
Get Natalie if you want to get all the crap out of your skin and leave you feeling soft and hydrated!

This review is for Elizabeth, who just gave me an incredible 90 minute massage. What I appreciated about Elizabeth was how attentive and communicative she was — checking in regularly about pressure and keeping the atmosphere light and approachable throughout. If you like to feel a sense of ease and comfort with the person giving you a massage along with top-​notch technical skills in the massage itself, you’ll love Elizabeth’s work.
The facilities at Root Whole body are also very nice — friendly front desk staff, impeccably clean dressing and waiting rooms, tasty tea, and a wonderful sauna.

Such an amazing experience! I got a massage as a gift and Tressa was my masseuse. She listened to what I wanted and gave me a wonderful full body massage. She made me feel so comfortable and afterwards I felt rejuvenated and alive! Thank you to Root and Tressa! I will be back very soon :)

New administrative staff have been very helpful and have resolved my previous concerns, making the overall experience much more positive.

Their organic Hungarian skin products are amazing, and the facial is incredible.
I go to Stacey, and she’s awesome. She knows my skin without ever judging and always goes out of her way to help and get any of my imperfections to heal that much quicker with her techniques and process during the facial. She also gave me lots of samples to try and continue before my next facial.
It’s definitely not cheap, but they don’t skimp on the service or the products and the technicians who know what they are doing and how to hand facial skin like the pros they are. Definitely go if you are looking for a facial! Also, you can go in the sauna prior to the service.

This place is fabulous! The therapist are great and everyone is super friendly ;) The locker room/​bathroom are super clean and you can even shower there!

Tragic fall from grace. Root has now lost every good teacher who was once a part of their amazingly competent roster who were three years ago when I started.
Most have gone to better run studios or quit teaching yoga. Some, like Kate Holly, have started their own promising studios in other parts of town. The turnover of teachers is so disheartening, because it shows that management has no friggin clue about how to run either a student or teacher centered yoga facility. It’s sad to see the beautiful place go so far below standards that I had to say goodbye forever and move to the far more successful studios such as People’s yoga.

Two additional traumatic events hastened my departure. I was robbed in the changing room. My purse was stolen. The studio had hidden cameras and could have assisted police in apprehending the thief. Instead Root didn’t even call the police back. So much for giving a rusty rats ass about patrons who are called «members». I didn’t feel like a member when the owner didn’t reach out to mr after this horrifying event to ask how I was.
A second galvanizing event was when I got dizzy during class and left the room to cool off. The receptionist kindly brought me water and I left early. No follow up call from anyone at Root to check up on me.
This studio is all about selling and has no give back energy to the community or its members. Not sure how the place continues in business as a yoga studio because there is no consistency of management or teachers.
It’s been a downward spiral at the beautiful studio with its lovely sauna and dressing rooms, and inspiring large well lit studio. It’s a shame that management can’t get its act together to treat staff and students with respect so this place can regain its standing as a preeminent Portland yoga studio.

I do love this place. A bit pricey for membership but it worth it. All the instructors I’ve had have been amazing!

Nice yoga space with great amenities, showers and locker rooms plus the sauna and tea room are included with each class. All the instructors I’ve experienced have been great, and although I am not the most accomplished yogi, I always feel comfortable.

The facial I received from Rebecca was outstanding. It was so relaxing, I felt like rubber afterwards. Moving from step to step (toning, cleansing, etc.) was flawless, so smooth, it was wonderful. My only negative, and it is not about Rebecca or the facial, is about the external noise. One of the practitioners wore heels… heels and concrete floors while trying to relax in a spa environment do not mix. Also, there was either a conference call or meeting going on in another treatment room. You could hear the entire conversation. Again, not a relaxing environment. Root Whole Body needs to invest in some sound proofing. A runner rug down the hallway would do wonders. But they definitely need to figure something out about the conversations in the treatment rooms. I will continue to go there because of Rebecca!

Crystal is the most professional and perceptive masseuse I have encountered. In additon to being warm and caring, she is an excellent artisan. Speaking in more general terms, Roots staff have been welcoming and professional when I have attended classes and received massages. The setting is immaculate and, although more costly than my budget warrants, the service and setting is delightful. I will keep returning

Received an A++ message from Elizabeth. She combined the prefect balance of deep tissue and relaxation and really listened to me. Our insurance was supposed to be billed and the office staff really botched the whole thing. They didn’t reimburse us in a timely manner… MONTHS later we followed up with them and got several different excuses. It took many phone calls and emails (I’m guessing 10 total). We felt bad about harassing them, but they kept assuring us that it was taken care of and then we would wait more and nothing would have been done. Finally, a check showed up. I think an apology would have been appropriate – or some kind of offer to try to smooth things over, but that didn’t happen. It was disappointing to have such excellent service be marred by incompetent office staff. So… I would recommend Root to anyone not using insurance.

I had a facial with Natalie, 90 perfect minutes. It was the best facial I have ever had. Aside from the great work– two weeks later I am still getting complements – I also think that if you have to be at close quarters with someone for 90 minutes they might as well be pleasant… and Natalie is just a wonderful person to be around.

I have been to Root a few times, mostly because it is walking distance from my house. The teachers always gauge the class to see how everyone’s feeling and how much energy we all have before diving into the class. Overall great experience, but very expensive, $ 17 for a drop in, which is the only reason I’m not a regular.

Since my first review I have been to Root several times, and it’s just better and better each visit.
The massage and facial experts are so good at what they do. Professional, smart, funny — I really enjoy my appointments and leave feeling refreshed.
The front desk team is great. Polite, helpful, never appear to be in a rush.
The thing I love most about Root is the tea garden. Inside tea garden… you are welcome to come sit, sip, relax before or after your appointment. There’s also a sauna — have yet to try that, but it’s also an option before or after your appointment.
BIG FAN!

After reading my review, the new manager called me. I returned her call but never heard back. I was momentarily encouraged that Root was taking action.
Not so fast.
Then, a good friend told me about a ONE HANDED MASSAGE by some girl who «must absolutely hate her job» and «I am pretty sure she had one hand busy on her iphone, the other carelessly rubbing my neck».
Seriously, how bad can it get when the owners don’t even care that the people they employ are down right awful?
Last thing my friend said: «My husband and I (he is a massage therapist) both got the worst massages of our lives there. $ 200 down the drain.»
Sad.

I got the best massage of my life at Root, from Merlin. She got some horrific knots out of my shoulders without pain. I didn’t even know that was possible.
I live in the neighborhood and tried the 1 free week. I tried a regular Hatha yoga class and felt it wasn’t hard enough (I was used to 1 hour gym classes). I tried restorative yoga and felt angry there wasn’t a clock on the wall, and felt it wasn’t a workout at all. Later that evening, I thought about work and things that normally cause anxiety. And I could think about it, but anxiety didn’t kick in. Weird, but AWESOME. I got my husband (a type A marathon runner) to try restorative yoga. He LOVED it. The same reaction: it seems weird that it works, but it makes you feel calm.
I liked it so much that I joined Root. I’ve tried Hatha, Vinyasa and Power Vinyasa. For some reason, I went back to the same Hatha class that seemed easy and now it’s hard (in a good way). I have a feeling the class isn’t that different, it’s my attitude! I still struggle with the no clock on the wall, I’m working on it.
The studio is extremely clean, which is important to me. There are people of all levels: lean, muscled people with aspirational abs who can balance on one hand with their legs sticking sideways and people like me who are challenged by balance poses.
Oh, and there’s a sauna with cool damp towels to put around your neck. It’s unisex, which means there’s no danger of naked people lounging. Pretty great!

I have been going to Root since they opened in 2005 and it is officially a community staple. I love that I can call and find an appointment a day or two ahead of time for a facial. I recently had an LED facial with Nathalie and I was so relaxed that I was in and out of sleep during the whole session (and my skin looked fab afterwards). The yoga teachers are fantastic.
Disclaimer: I was acupuncturist there when they first opened from 2005 – 2008. I have witnessed various management changes and various levels of growing pains, just as any business experiences. I have seen some crappy front desk employees over the years. But the bottom line is that as someone who lives and works in the neighborhood, Root Whole Body is a reliable Irvington neighborhood establishment, which is what they set out to do from the start.

I went here for a prenatal massage and unfortunately not the best experience. Root is quite nice but it caters a bit more to those taking yoga classes not for the pregnant type like me that honestly was looking to get some knots out of my back and relax a bit.
The bathroom was nice but extremely crowded with people going in and out for their classes and I missed the spa like amenities of a hairbrush and slippers.
The massage sadly wasn’t that great… the masseuse was very sweet but given I’m seven months along I was surprised she had suggested that I lie on my back (even with a pillow I was ready to pass out) making me a little nervous at the end wondering how many prenatal massages she has done (although she mentioned her next appointment was a prenatal massage).
When I’m ready to exercise after the little fellow arrives, I’ll definitely consider a class here but definitely head to a spa for the massage!