This section covers the following topics: >What Clients Can Expect for All Appointments >Frequently Asked Questions (Misconceptions of Massage Therapy & Other Modalities) >Bodyworkers' Expectations of All Clients
- - - - - - WHAT CLIENTS CAN EXPECT FOR ALL APPOINTMENTS - - - - - - Before your initial session, we will give you a form asking you to provide emergency contact information, your preffered scheduling contact information, and your health history.
Becoming aware of and familiar with your health history helps us to better address your present condition and customize the therapy you will receive. One massage/one modality does not fit all persons or conditions, so each SESSION is "designed" according to the client's condition at the present time. Sometimes modalities (with the client's permission) may be combined in order to attain optimal therapeutic relief for that client within each of her/his sessions.
We will always inquire about how you have felt up to and at the time of your appointment, and we will always explain our plan of action before beginning a session. Sometimes different things will be found or noticed (by the therapist or by the client) during a session, and a different technique or modality may be more beneficial at that point----the therapist may suggest and explain a change but will not perform it without the client's permission.
Our focus is to help clients be as comfortable as possible in terms of explaining a technique/modality, secure and appropriate draping (if during massage), and environmental comfort (temperature, music/sounds, lighting, positioning of therapy equipment or bolsters, aromatherapy scents, etc.) If you are not comfortable, you may not benefit as well from the therapy you are receiving. We encourage you to communicate your level of comfort with us as our focus is to help you attain a greater level of health. We are happy to accommodate your comfort as much as is appropriate, as this will optimize your therapeutic benefit.
When your session time is complete, you may take a moment to relax after the therapist exits the room. Take your time to get up from the table or chair and to gather your things----This is your time to relax, heal, and feel well----Unless you have another time commitment following your session, you have no obligation to rush. When you are ready, you may return to the office entrance to submit your payment, receive a receipt if needed, and rebook if you wish.
Keep in mind that healing is a process. Therapists complete as much therapeutic work as possible in the time allotted. A longer appointment may allow you and the therapist to address other wellness concerns or areas of discomfort, or allow you and the therapist to focus more on indicated areas of discomfort. As healing is a process, you may (and will likely) need to allow some time for your body to assimilate to the therapeutic work it has received, especially if it has been your first experience with alternative therapeutic body/energy work. For some people, they may feel the need to return after a few days, others a few weeks later, etc. The therapist may suggest a time frame for you to return for another treatment session, but ultimately the decision is up to the client. Since you know your own body the best, you are also most familiar with your own body's feelings, health limitations and potential. It is ultimately up to you how frequently you would like to return to address certain health concers, but remember tonot put-off addressing health concerns. Typically, when people say to themselves, "I'll take care of it later today...tomorrow...next week...", then next week turns into several weeks or even months later. Unless the problem has otherwise been resolved in that time, your next appointment may not provide as much therapeutic relief in one single session as you may have hoped. While clients are welcome to return as often as they wish and as often as is beneficial to their health, we want you to be able to visit our office because you can, and not because you have to.
It is also important to remember that while receiving therapeutic work from different modalities may be part of the solution to resolve health concerns, it is only part of the solution. Allow yourself time to recuperate between sessions, & care well for yourself.
- - - - - - - - - - - - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - - - - - - - - - - - - And Common Misconceptions of Massage Therapy & Other Modalities
I have to remove (all of) my clothes." No. For forms of Swedish massage, and steam therapy sssions, it is typical for the client to remove some or all clothing due to the nature of the therapy. THIS IS OPTIONAL. Clients are NOT required all or any clothing if it is not comfortable for them (due to modesty or physical ability, for example, if relatively recent surgery or injury has occurred and limits mobility). If dressing-down is not within your comfortability for any reason, please express this to the therapist prior to your session (preferrably when you contact us to schedule your appointment) so we may explain optional modalities/services that are performed with no removal of clothing.
The typical practice of Swedish massage uses oil, lotion, or cream to assist in the effleurage and petrissage strokes by the therapist's forearms, elbows, hands, or fingers to the client's skin. This is not mandatory, just optional. The primary focus of Swedish massage is to increase the circulation of oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to the body's cells (in our scope of practice, to the soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, and fascia) to help reduce movement restriction/increase range-of-motion, and such techniques (effleurage, petrissage with oil, lotion, or cream) are one way to achieve this. Steam therapy sessions are on a massage table under a canopy/canvas (all but the client's head/neck covered). Steam is created in a specialized pot at/below the foot of the table and passes through a "vent" or tunnel connected to the spacious canopy/tent on the table and over or onto the client's body. Clothing is not recommended (although a flat sheet is provided for privacy and to adjust the feel of steam-to-body contact) as a higher temperature is produced and may not be comfortable to the client. HOWEVER, if the client feels more comfortable NOT removing clothing, then clothing to be worn or changed into before the steam therapy session begins is lightweight clothing that will withstand and not be ruined by steam such as underpants, bras, workout shorts, short sleeve or sleeveless tops -- garments will be "soggy" by the end of the session -- BRING ALONG A DRY SET OF CLOTHING TO CHANGE INTO AFTER A STEAM SESSION.
EVEN IF YOU OPT TO DRESS-DOWN, whether partially or completely, the only parts of you that will be seen by the therapist are those receiving therapeutic work. Only one section of the client's body will be exposed at a time. AT NO TIME will areas of any client's body (such as the breast other than clavicular/collarbone area or the axillary/armpit area, sternum or sternal rib attachements, or ribs below the breast; the groin/pubic area other than the anterior illiac crest/front of the hip bone, the inguinal area/crease of the front of the hip, or lower abdominal area below the navel but well above the pubis/groin) come into any contact with the therapist's body, nor be seen. If in certain areas (the gluteal compartment/buttox, for example) you feel more comfortable having therapeutic work done OVER the sheet or blanket covering you, or not at all, this will be done---- DO COMMUNICATE this with the therapist. You are here to be comfortable, not to be embarassed or unethically treated. Additionally, therapists wish to see nothing more than the areas of concern which are appropriate to work on therapeutically within our scope of practice.
Any or all pressure applied has to be deep to be effective. "No pain, no gain." FALSE, FALSE, FALSE!!! There may be some discomfort in some areas of the body (whether during certain forms of massage, or Reflexology, where the therapist's hands/forearems/fingers/elbows or feet/toes/heels/knees may come into contact with the client's body), but it is not intended to hurt. One professor of massage therapy explained that "If it hurts, it probably needs the work." This same professor also explained the necessary balance of discomfort in an area of dysfunctional tissue and effective therapeutic work: If the pressure/movement is beyond what the client can comfortably tolerate, IT DEFEATS THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK. The therapeutic bodywork you receive should make steps forward, not backward. Our key for the clients to keep in mind is: If you can't breathe through it, it's too much.
Light pressure, depending on the client's preferences and wellness needs, may be equally as beneficial as medium or deep pressure.
Appropriate, comfortable, and therapeutic stimulation of the tissue (of any level) is beneficial to the client's wellness. In some sessions it may help to begin with light or medium pressure and smoothly graduate to deeper/firmer pressure, if it is comfortable for the client and necessary and appropriate to the needs/goal of the session.
Likewise, forms of massage such as Lymphatic Drainage require very light (weight of a nickel coin) pressure in order to be effective. Deep/heavy pressure defeats the purpose of a therapeutic session of Lymphatic Drainage as it temporarily collapses the lymph vessels (while it may benefit the circulation of blood).
Reflexology does not require any specific level of pressure (other than what is comfortable for the client) and requires simply stimulation to the nerve endings in the feet and/or hands.
I received (a form a holistic therapy) and I felt great for a while, but the next day or days or weeks later I didn't feel as great anymore; Therefore, these therapies do not work. Healing is a process, not an instantly-gratified one-time cure that lasts forever despite other things that may have happened to your body, prior to or following the session.
Think of your body/entire being as an automobile: Do you fill the fuel tank once, give it only one oil change, one set of tires, and it will not wear-out for eternity? Just as automobiles require maintenance and periodic fix-ups, so does your body. Just as a mechanic cannot control what happens to your vehicle after it leaves the body shop, bodyworkers cannot control what is done to your body beyond a therapeutic session.
SELF-CARE -- anything you do for yourself outside of your holistic therapy appointments -- is as equally important, or more, than any holistic therapy you receive from a bodyworker.
- - - - - - - BODYWORKERS' EXPECTATIONS OF ALL CLIENTS - - - - - - - + That the client be "present" in the appointment. Please do not arrive at your appointment under the influence of any substances taken for a recreational purpose, including alcohol (and being "hungover"). Additionally, if a prescription medication prevents you from being conscious/coherent/alert during a session, please schedule your appointment for a time when your medication will not affect you in such a way. As we feel this may be unsafe to your wellbeing, we reserve the right to discontinue or not begin a session should we feel that this may be the case. + That the client demonstrates respectful, appropriate behavior at all times. Inappropriate behavior that WILL NOT BE TOLERATED includes that of a sexual, violent, or derogatory nature, whether by speech, touch, gesture, or another manner. Only service/behavior of a PROFESSIONAL & THERAPEUTIC nature will be performed and tolerated.
>We reserve the right to immediately discontinue or not begin a session should such inappropriate behavior be demonstrated at any time. The client is responsible for the payment due of the intended session if the session has been discontinued or declined in regard to the above statements. >We also reserve the right to not schedule any client or potential client if said inappropriate behavior is suspected or displayed when said client requests an appointment.
CLEANLINESS ---- It matters not to us if your legs or face or armpits or back or shaved or not shaved, or if you have recently had a manicure or pedicure to make your palms and soles smooth. What we do care about is hygiene. We are used to working on sweaty bodies of those who've just finished races or walk-a-thons or other athletic events, while that is only for a few minutes and tables/chairs are sanitized immediately after each client. However, while we don't expect anyone to wear their best perfume or cologne or body spray (sometimes even those smells may also be overwhelming), we ask that you come to your appointment in good hygiene. (If your feet happen to have a strong odor no matter how much soap and water they have been immersed in, no worries---just let us know if there is a foot condition, or if they simply just sweat easily. Sensitive feet are not a problem, where hygenically-neglected ones are.)
Sometimes home or work environments contain heavy aromas, some of which are inevitible (automotive materials, livestock, tobacco if someone other than yourself in your household consumes it, food smells, pet odors, perfumes/colognes, etc.). We only ask that, for the aromas/odors you CAN control such as if you smoke or enjoy wearing heavy perfumes, to keep your bodyworkers and fellow bodywork recipients in mind, as some people 1) may have mild to severe allergies to such products, and 2) may find these aromas overwhelming or offensive and therefore NOT enjoy or be able to fully relax during their appointment time. If you use tobacco or usually wear perfumes -- PLEASE do not smoke or chew immediately before your appointment, or freshly spray perfume/cologne on yourself immediately before your appointment, as these aromas carry into the office and often linger in the air, the carpet, the walls, and our linens/equipment, and are often very overwhelming or bothersome to others in the office. Additionally, if you use tobacco, do not try to cover the aroma with another aroma as this escalates the whelm of smell-aversion---a lighter, less-recent tobacco or heavy perfume/cologne scent is less inhibiting has a fresh one. These aromas may also reflect on our office, and to newcomers whose first visit to our office exudes a strong tobacco or perfumed aroma, they may misconceive that as a regular aroma of our office, and then lack the ability to fully enjoy their therapeutic session.
