Are you thinking about your first massage?

That can be a scary decision especially when you don’t know quite what to expect. You may even have some anxiety related to your first visit. That can be normal, but it’s not necessary!

Here’s a little more information about how your first appointment may go: First of all, it’s best if you arrive a few minutes early. Once you get to our office your massage therapist will greet you and provide you with a new client intake form to fill out. Generally, there is 15 minutes between appointments for therapists, so their previous client may be in the office taking care of their payment and scheduling their next appointment while you fill out your form. The form itself isn’t too invasive, mostly the therapist needs to make sure there are no issues they need to be aware of.

After your fill out the form, your therapist will take you back to the massage room. There they will go over the form and your expectations for the session. There may be a few questions to we ask, we don’t mean it as an interrogation and there are no wrong answers. After we finish up the discussion, the therapist will take you through the basics. Some therapists prefer you start face down, others like to start face up. Either way, you’ll be under the sheet and blanket. We’ll point out where you can put your clothes, there are hooks in every room, but some people prefer to just throw them on the chair. That’s absolutely fine too. It’s just important that we can’t trip on them while we give you your massage.

We’ll also mention to you how to undress. You can leave your underwear on, or you can take them off. It doesn’t really matter to us, although if you need low back or hip work, no underwear can be better but isn’t required. Here’s a more thorough description about our draping policy if you want to read about it.  Whatever your choice is, you’ll remained securely under the drape. As we work, we’ll undrape the area for access, but everything else will remain secure and out of sight!

At this point, we step out of the room. Usually this is the time that we use the restroom and wash our hands. If there’s anything we need for the massage, we usually grab it now. Sometimes we’ll be out a short minute, just enough time for you to undress and jump under the cover, sometimes we need an extra minute or two.

Once you’re on the table, you do have one job: Please let us know if there is anything that hurts. Please communicate if something doesn’t feel right. Don’t think that there is anything that you have to suffer through because the “therapist knows best”. Please, speak up! If you’re cold let us know. If one of our fancy massage strokes hurts, we can modify it. If it’s uncomfortable to lay in the position you are in, we can change it. Massage therapists usually have great intuition, but we don’t read minds! The first few massage are a process of learning about one another. For instance, a twitch can mean one person is falling asleep while a different person forgot to mention they jammed their finger the other day.

Other than communicating with us, feel free to relax. In fact, we work really hard for you to just drift away to your happy place. There’s absolutely no need to help us move your limbs, let your therapist do all of the work. There is no right place for your arms to be. Just melt into your table. Actually experience your massage! You don’t even need to make small talk with us. Although, some people do need to chat and that’s absolutely fine too! It’s also fine if you’re a quiet and introspective type of person.

When your massage ends, we’ll let you know we are stepping out of the room. You are more than welcome to relax for a minute or so. After, we’ll meet you, take care of any payment that is due, and discuss a massage plan to meet your needs. If you’re not ready to schedule your next appointment right then, no worries. You can schedule online, anytime 24/7! We mostly just want you to be able to float right out the door!

Also, massage therapists don’t care about your leg stubble, cellulite or scars. We don’t pay attention (or even notice) any flaws you may think you have. I promise you.

If you’re ready to make the leap, you can schedule your appointment now!