11 Tips To Making the Most of Your Massage!

Now that you know how to choose a massage therapist - post 1 and 2 respectively.

How do you make the most of it?  You might have 60 minutes on the table or 30 or even 15?  How can you benefit most from those minutes?

• Be prepared - know what you want, relaxation? work on an injury? relieve the tightness in a particular area? Explaining all this during the intake process can help the therapist focus and work where you need, even if it is only 15 minutes.
• Always report if you have any injury, specific aches or pains, unexplained skin rash or changes in medication you may be taking.
• Ask questions if you have them.
• During the session, talk with your practitioner. Much more effective work can be done when communications are open. Body language is a way of communicating as well, so if you can't drum up the words, allowing your body to respond, whether it's melting or flinching, helps the therapist know how things feel to you. She/he may then ask you to confirm their observations.
• Try to relax your mind while receiving bodywork. The break away from thinking about that project is important and can allow solutions to come to mind when the focus is off the problem.
• If you need to vent talk about life that's fine.  Your therapist may choose to remain quiet, just listening.
• Take a deep breath when a tender or sore spot is found, release the breath slowly, feel your tissues relax.
• Many therapists use passive movement during a session. They will lift your head, your feet or legs, your arms. The therapist expects you to do nothing, just let the body part 'be heavy' and let the therapist do the work. They will let you know if they want you to actively move.
• Let the therapist know if there is something that seems to work well or if there is something she/he does, that you don’t like. This is your session!
• Arrange to have 5 minutes afterward to get some water and sit quietly and still for some time, or go for a short walk. Pay attention to how you feel and let that feeling follow you throughout the day or longer even.
• The therapist may suggest you do some 'homework' or give you ideas for self care for when you are in between session. Often following the suggestions given will help you reach your desired outcome more quickly.

Arrange to have bodywork every week for a little while if you can. Some people like a long, perhaps 2 hour session once a month.  Others choose a shorter session weekly. Those of my clients who do schedule a regular massage benefit greatly.  I learn more from a person's body, the more chances I have to work with that person. I interpret their responses to the work more accurately and the massage becomes more effective. The massage becomes tailored to that persons' needs more readily. The client becomes more comfortable, able to relax easily and more quickly each week as she/he builds a level of trust with the therapist and as communication between them becomes easier.