What to Expect at Your Massage Appointment

Before You Arrive and When You Get Here

Before scheduling your massage make sure that it is scheduled at a time that you can arrive on time.
Coming late to an appointment can result in a shorter massage session and no one wants that!
For safety reasons, while I'm in massage session, the front door is locked, therefore, arriving more than 10 minutes early for an appointment can result in waiting outside. However if you wish to come early to an appointment, please give me a call or text and I will let you know if that will work.
If you are a new client you will be asked to fill out new client paperwork when you arrive if you have not already done so on-line. Filling out paperwork before coming to your appointment is helpful for both of us. I strongly recommend anyone with health issues to fill out paperwork ahead of time so that I may review it and be better prepared for your appointment.

What Kind of Massage

After we have discussed where your aches, pains, and muscle concerns are I will then be able to give you a suggestion on what kind of massage I think will be the most helpful for you.

Relaxing Massage: The goal of the relaxing massage is to relax and de-stress… you may even fall asleep. There should be no pain or discomfort during the massage and feeling like jelly afterward should be the end result.
Therapeutic Massage: The goal of the therapeutic massage is to relieve pain, tension, and improve range of motion, you should walk out feeling invigorated. There will most likely be some discomfort involved in order to massage out the tension in your muscles.
Combination Massage: The goal of combination massage is focusing therapeutic massage in the areas that are in pain and need a little more focus, but also applying relaxing massage everywhere else.
All Massages: pressure will vary depending on the person, which is why I usually refrain from using words like "Deep Tissue" and "Light Pressure". These terms are subjective and only helpful as a starting point for the first massage. There are many people that a broad "deep" pressure massage feels relaxing, and others where the tension is so intense that "light" pressure is all that's needed in achieving a therapeutic massage. This is why I cannot express enough how important it is to communicate throughout the massage how the pressure feels.
Examples of What a Massage Session May Feel Like
- It is your first time ever getting a massage and you have been having headaches for the last week. I would suggest that we start with a full body relaxing massage, so that you can have the whole massage experience, but also spend extra time on your neck and head to relieve any tension that may be causing headaches.
- You injured your back a week ago and your mobility is limited and your doctor has recommended that you try massage. I would suggest starting a therapeutic based massage where on you back where it is the most and then massage any other areas that may be in relation to the injury.

You may have noticed that I used the word "suggested". The reason for this is because in the end it is YOUR massage time. If you have back pain but you would rather just have a full body massage with not a lot of focus on the back, we can do that. During the massage we are a team and we work together on helping you feel better!

Getting On and Off the Table

When you come into the massage room you can expect low relaxing lighting and peaceful non-lyrical music to help ease you into a relaxing state of mind. The room will also be at a comfortable temperature, with the massage table being complete with a blanket and heating mat to keep you cozy. I use coconut oil for my massages, but for those with an allergy please let me know ahead so I can be prepared. Unless otherwise told not to, an essential oil diffuser will be running that will give a hint of a relaxing aroma in the air.

Steps Through a Standard Massage:

I will ask you to "undress to your level of comfort" meaning that you may leave on as many articles of clothing as you wish. Whatever you do leave on will limit where and how I massage. For example, if you leave on your socks but want your feet massaged, my technique will be limited to pressure points and not a full foot massage. Most people will either undress down to nothing or just keep their underwear on.
I will usually ask you start on your stomach in which your face will be down and resting in a face cradle and then later ask you to roll over onto your back but this is dependent on what kind of massage you are getting. For some issues I will ask you to lie on your side.
I will leave the room for a few minutes for you to get undressed, get on the table (according to the above instructions) and cover yourself with the sheet and blanket. Before getting undressed this would be the time that you will want to use the restroom. Although you may use the restroom during the massage, it tends to break the flow of the massage and cuts back on the time allotted for your massage.
During the massage the only parts of your body that will exposed will be the area that I presently will be massaging. I will use proper "draping" techniques that will never leave you improperly exposed.
As stated before communication is very, very important. If you have any questions that during the massage or if something about the massage needs to change, please let me know. It is YOUR massage.
Most likely about half way through the massage I will ask you to turn slowly turn over towards me. I will assist in holding the sheets properly, but again, you will not be improperly exposed and will remain covered as you turn over.
At the end of our time I will tell you to slowly roll off the table to get dressed after I leave the room. It is important that you do not sit up quickly after massage and allow a moment for your body to register the change that has happened during the massage.
After you are dressed and have collected yourself I will be waiting for you outside of the massage room with water and conclude the appointment with suggestions on post-massage care and how to further your wellness.

After the Massage

Right After...

Regardless of the kind of massage you’ve received you should be feeling better than before the massage. If it was your first massage it is not uncommon to have a sense of euphoria. If it was an extreme therapeutic massage you may feel like you just worked out, with some sore and tender muscles. If it was purely a relaxing massage you may feel sleepy and need to sit down and regroup before going home. Either way, awesome!

Water and Rest

I will give you water after the massage to encourage you to continue to drink more water after you leave. Although most of us know that is it important to drink at least eight 8oz. of water a day, we hardly ever make that quota. However following a massage, it is crucial that you drink plenty of water, regardless of what kind of massage you received. You will also want to rest and continue to relax for the rest of the day after the massage if you can. Save stressful activities for the next day and any exercising should be calming and mild.

The reason it is important to drink water and rest after a massage is for the same reason it’s important to drink water and rest after a hard workout. Your muscles and body are having to adjust from a manual physical change. The water helps insure that your body has the fluid it needs to replenish your muscles and the rest gives your muscles the opportunity to do so. Drinking water and getting rest will affect how you will feel in the days following a massage and so for the most positive outcome I recommend plenty of water and continued rest.

The Day After and Beyond

For those who had a relaxing massage your body will continue to feel a bit like jelly in the few days that follow the massage.

Similar to after a workout, those who have had a therapeutic massage, or had focus on a particular problem area in the body, will most likely have muscle soreness. As I have mentioned, depending on what you do after the massage, will greatly change how you will feel the next day.

With that being said, you should not be so sore that you can't do standard daily activities. There should never be a visible bruise. Typically, you should not be sore for more than two days. If any of these things happen don't panic or write off massage, this simply means that the pressure was too much for your muscles. It is common for people to handle a great deal of pressure during the massage, but then realize later on that the result was too much for their muscles to handle. The solution is to let those muscles heal and then to communicate to me before the next massage, what happened so that the massage and pressure can be altered.

There is a learning curve in knowing what kind of massage, and pressure you will need, especially when you are new to massage. There may be trials and errors but I will always try my very best to give you exactly the massage your body needs.