What’s a session like?
Here’s a complete walkthrough of what to expect for your first session with me:
After booking online or via phone/email you'll immediately get a confirmation email that has information about how to find me, cancellation policy, payment options, etc. You'll get another version of this email 24 hours before your session as a reminder. You don't need to bring anything to your session except maybe a bottle of water as sometimes you can feel thirsty after a session and it's a good idea to stay hydrated.
When you arrive you can come right in unless my office door is completely closed, in which case there's a waiting room where I'll come find you when I'm ready for you. I'll introduce myself and have you take seat. Then you'll fill out a simple intake form if you're able (just one side of one page). The form just gives me some basic information about your health history; injuries, surgeries, medications, health conditions, etc. You can provide as much or as little information as you're comfortable sharing.
After you fill out the intake form I'll have you verbally tell me what brings you in and ask any questions that may come up. It's at this point that we'll talk about what we want the session to look like. It could be that we do a full-body massage, with some extra attention on areas that are particularly bothering you. It could be that we just work on specific areas of concern. We'll also talk about the "depth" of pressure that we want to use. There's a lot of flexibility here and every session is unique. My goal is to help you get the most out of the work.
I generally have gentle music and a white noise machine running, as well as soft lighting. If there's anything about the ambience that you want me to shift, you can let me know.
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At this point you'll be asking yourself, "Do I take my clothes off?"
Generally speaking, the type of massage I'm trained in is done directly on the skin. So most people remove all clothing, or leave on just their underwear. I have sheets/blankets that I use to cover everything that I'm not actively working on and I spent a lot of time in massage school learning how to keep you from being "exposed" while working on different areas. Essentially, anything that can't be shown in a PG movie will remain covered at all times.
With that said, you DO NOT HAVE TO remove any clothing at all. We can still work productively with any area of the body while you're fully-clothed. Your comfort is a top priority and is actually a critical part of the work being effective so don't worry about this part of it.
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So I'll step out of the room to wash my hands and give you a minute or two to get on the table under the sheet/blanket. I'll knock before coming back in to make sure you're ready. We can make adjustments like propping anything up, moving the face cradle, turning the table-warmer up or down, etc. to make you comfortable.
I generally start with simple compressions on top of the blanket to give me a sense of the general state of your tissue and to give you a chance to relax and ease in to the sensation of being massaged. Then I'll uncover whatever area we're starting with and begin the work. The specific techniques I use will depend on what I feel in your tissues. I always invite you to communicate freely about what you're experiencing if you want to. Knowing how you're doing helps me calibrate pressure, technique, area of focus, etc. The only time you NEED to communicate is if I'm causing any pain.
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Let's talk about "pain". Some people think that deep tissue massage is supposed to hurt. I've had folks come to me and say things like, "my last massage therapist really beat the crap out of me." There's a misconception amongst some that the level of intensity is directly correlated to the level of benefit. The way I define pain, in the context of massage, is when you feel a sensation so strong that your body or your mind feels like it needs to BRACE itself against it. If you find yourself holding your breath, clenching any part of your body, or even just thinking in your head, "I just need to get through this part then I'll be fine" then it's too much. That "bracing against" feeling is your nervous system trying to protect you. Putting your nervous system in defense-mode is not only unpleasant, but physiologically counter-productive to what we're trying to achieve. So it's important that we stay below that threshold as much as possible. If at any point we cross that threshold, or even approach it, don't hesitate to let me know in the moment so we can adjust.
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Outside of the communication piece, your main job is just to relax and hopefully enjoy the experience. Some folks are chatty, some fall asleep, most just zone out or tune in to what they're feeling. My default is to be quiet and focus on what I'm doing unless a specific logistical thing comes up. That doesn't mean we can't chat, but I would just keep in mind that the priority is to be as relaxed as possible. So if chatting helps you achieve that, great. Especially feel free to ask any questions that come up about the work.
At the end of the session I'll step out of the room to wash my hands and let you get dressed. I'll always tell you to take your time getting up so that you can maintain some of the relaxation we've hopefully achieved. It's possible to feel a little light-headed or even slightly dizzy when you first sit up. Just move slowly and take whatever time you need. That feeling should pass quickly. When you're dressed and ready you can crack the door open to let me know.
At this point I'll ask you how you're feeling and we can chat for a minute or two about how it went. This part is not mandatory. If you're feeling out of it or not social, we don't have to chat at all. Since most people are fairly quiet during the massage itself, it can be helpful for me to hear any feedback, positive or negative, about your experience so I can apply it to future visits. So don't think that I'm just phishing for compliments here. I actually want to know how you're doing. This is also the time to pay for your session unless we've done it ahead of time.
If you want to re-book, this is often when we'll schedule the next appointment. If it's your first session with me, I always recommend letting it "sink in" for a day or two before deciding whether you want to re-book. Some people get regular massage ongoing as a part of general health maintenance. Some people just need a session or handful of sessions to help out with a more acute issue. This varies person to person and we can talk about what makes sense for you.
It's nice to have a relaxing day/evening planned for after your session if possible. It's also good stay hydrated. If we've done deep work it's possible to feel a little bit of soreness but that should dissipate over the next 24 hours. Stretching and light to moderate movement can help.
And that's it!
