Precision positioning and cushion surrounding you is important to placing it on your lower back, mid back and neck. It has a switch that lights up the moving parts which I believe gives off heat also. Then the switch has another position where there the moving parts then move in the opposite direction.
You can turn your body sideways too while the machines rotates with its moving parts. The day I got it, my lower left side of my back had strain. The next morning, it was gone.

You must have many pillows on your side and behind you to absorb your weight while the machine does its magic.

If you can imagine it is someone's hands, it then feels even better. The noise of the motor reminds you that it is not a human massaging you.
I feel I got what I paid for..

The trick is to not put too much of your weight on the machine it to do a great job.

I saw a similar model at Brookstone for 100 dollars. I am sure this product that is way cheaper, does the exact same job.

It is worth it.

This was a great purchase. Originally it was a gift for somebody else, but it has turned into the community masseuse.

At first it feels like it could be too hard, but you can just move away from it slightly and it works fine. It really leaves everybody relaxed and with less tension.

I also like the two speeds, and found out that only the faster speed has the heat mechanism with it. I didn't know about this function before I bought it, but I really like it. When there is a more intense massage, the heat helps facilitate the feeling of it.

The only reason I took off a star is because the mesh material is rough on your skin. If you use it for a little while (more than 10 minutes), your skin starts to get a little raw. Although, it's not a terribly rough, hence only taking off 1 star.
Other than that it is a great massager.

I've had one of these for over two years and even though it just stopped working I'm buying another one because it's the best style for me. Most brands switch the direction of the rotating balls every minute, so just when it starts to feel really good, everything shifts. The consistent direction of this unit is more effective to release muscle tension.

Love the portability. I schlep it along when I fly and use on the plane when there's power, or at least in airport during layovers and it helps me survive the travel with my fibromyalgia and tension headaches. A godsend!

Pressure is good for deep massage. If I press in super hard the balls can freeze up from the resistance, but no more than other machines I've had, just have to change position slightly. Same with the motor noises...no worse than anything else I've used, but does tend to annoy when I have a headache and use it on my neck. Also can sometimes be minimized by a change of position.

My older unit had mesh that wore and stretched to the point of tearing slightly, but looks like this updated style has resolved that issue.

What killed it? The connecting point of the cord is on the back (like other units) so the constant pressure seems to have weakened something there. It doesn't work unless I pull the cord an odd direction and hold it there. Electrical tape worked for a while but now it's virtually impossible to get power without serious contortion skills. Still, it's the best I've found so I'm buying another. Works out to less than $20/year ... Compare that to massage therapy or pain meds and it's a no-brainer.

I previously ordered a very similar product different brand, went through the pros & cons & it was an amazon "best seller" so I chose that one, got delivered, took out of box was gentle with it, plugged in & it worked perfectly for 2 days, then the heat wouldn't come on at all, which was a huge factor for my purchase, I have Chronic Pain & so I returned it, bought it again, thinking it was a fluke, took out of box & the heat never came on at all never once, even went 45 minutes thinking it would come on & it never did, but I did over work my muscles, which was painful for days after, packed it up again sent it back, it wasn't a fluke!! Then I bought this one & I wish I had bought this one first, it came out of the box working perfectly (knock on wood) have not had any issues with this one, have had it for 3 months now with daily use, the only con, which is fixable if you set
15-20 minutes on your phone timer as this one like the other brand had, doesn't have a timer & since it feels amazing sometimes I forgot to set my alarm & it gets my muscles too sore from over use, 15-20 minutes is perfect amount of time per session!! Buy this one instead of the one that starts with a "G" you wont be sorry!!

Great product! Arrived exactly as described. With pillow, power cords and adapters (wall and auto). This provides a nice deep, kneading massage with the ability to change direction from clock-wise to counter clock-wise. It works well on the neck, lower back and any where in between. It can be a pretty intense massage depending on how much pressure you use leaning back on it. Great for tense muscles! The heat is wonderful! It heats rather quickly. I've used this pillow for 20+ minutes at a time and never had an issue with burning. The smell is strong at first, like other reviews have noted, but over a few weeks it's faded. I rarely notice it now.

*** I suffer from occasional sciatica pain caused by bulging discs. The last time I had an issue with my sciatic nerve it took months of physical therapy for relief. Recently I had a recurrence. I woke up barely able to put weight on my right leg (hip and thigh pain - caused by the sciatic nerve). I used this massage pillow off and off throughout the day and night and not even 24 hours later the pain level was 99.9% improved.

If you have sciatic nerve pain and/or bulging discs GIVE THIS PRODUCT A TRY! The combination heat/massage will work wonders.