In order to receive the most satisfying massage one of the best things you can do is to recognize that every massage experience is what it is not just because your massage therapist does a good job or gives you exactly what kind of pressure or technique you like, but because between you and your therapist, there has been mutual sharing, cooperation, empathy and allowance.
The skills and intuition of you therapist are only part of the equation of a good massage. Understandably, you may come in for a massage precisely because you are stressed and are, therefore, less open physically and emotionally. But being aware of the fact that you are stressed and therefore needing a massage is actually a huge factor in releasing that stress. Your awareness is like an open door. If you bring your awareness of your current physical and or mental state into the massage and you share that with your therapist, the first step to your relaxation has taken place already because YOU have ALLOWED the therapist to glimpse your current state even before the massage begins. Whether or not you are aware of it, sharing yourself and your state of mind and body IS letting go of the first layers of stress. If you let go, you are more relaxed. If you let go, you avail your body, your mind and your spirit to a higher volume of relaxation and pleasure than if you do not take that simple moment to check in with yourself and share where you are. Just a moment of self-assessment and sharing makes you surprisingly more available to a better massage experience.
Just the thought of becoming more relaxed allows for that relaxation to take place. You would be surprised at the difference there is between a client who may come in with a lot of stress and physical tension who has the intention to let go of that stress and a client with that same level of stress and tension who has not given any thought at all to their own desire for relaxation and tension release. Clients who recognize what they want and realize that it is also their job to create what they want generally have a higher success rate in achieving what they want. Clients who are unaware that they can actually participate in their own unwinding and feeling of well being sometimes remain unconsciously attached to their state of stress and so do not let it go when the opportunity arises in massage to do so. Truly, it is not possible that ANYONE ELSE can de-stress YOU completely. Your intention to relax and change your state of discomfort is where a huge chunk of your success in the endeavor lies.
Even if you don’t know exactly how you are feeling or what you want to achieve in a massage, there is one very simple KEY you can always use to maximize the benefit of your massage experience: you can BREATHE. Often stress and tension creates a hardness in the body, like armor. When you are armored and distracted by your own high stress levels, your body can be near impossible to access so as to provide the relief that massage is intended to provide. The difference between the outcome of a massage when you get on the table having paused for a moment and given thought to your current state, shared it with the therapist and expressed a desire to release that state of stress and allows the therapist to suggest breathing or simply to begin the massage with understanding of and empathy for where you are and what you need.
We, as your massage therapists, are here to support you in feeling your best. It is with that intention that we start every session and it part of our job is to let you know that.
Take a moment, before your next massage, and ask yourself 1) how you are feeling? and 2) what you want from your massage?. Let us know when you come in and we will do our best to work with you to support your best possible outcome. We intend that you achieve that outcome and we will get to know each other better in the process. It’s a win-win situation.
