If this is your first professional massage, it’s helpful to have some information ahead of time to prepare yourself. 

For your first appointment, you will need to fill out a short form and have a quick discussion with your therapist about what brought you in for a massage to help the therapist develop a treatment plan of action.

Depending on your needs and comfort level, you and your therapist will decide whether receiving a “Casually-Clothed” massage or traditional massage is most recommended.

Traditional massage involves undressing to the level of your comfort, in most cases down to your underwear.  We ask that you also remove any watches, necklaces, bracelets or dangling earrings.  The therapist will step out of the room while you undress.  You will lie down on the massage table with two sheets on it and position yourself between the two sheets, covering your body with the top sheet.  It’s important that you feel comfortable during your massage, and having boundaries defined by the sheet helps to create comfort. 

When the massage begins, the therapist will uncover and work only one area of your body at a time.

We will apply light oil or cream to your skin as we work each area and use our hands and forearms to stroke, knead and work the tight areas out of your muscles.  We usually work your gluteal area (buttocks) through the sheets.  Since this is an important hinging point in your body, and is often the root of many people’s lower back pain, we feel it would be negligent to skip this part of your body.  However, if you are uncomfortable with this or work on any other area of your body, please let us know and we’ll proceed around areas you would prefer we not touch. 

We are also pleased to offer a “Casually-Clothed” option where you will receive a massage while you are fully clothed.

What is a “Casually-Clothed” massage?

A “Casually-Clothed” massage is just what it sounds like; you receive a full massage session while you remain clothed.  We ask clients to remove their shoes, any items in their pockets, as well as belts, watches, necklaces, bracelets or dangling earrings.  For women wearing skirts, we may cover your legs with a sheet.  The therapist will apply “Sports massage” style techniques including compression, gentle rocking, stretches and direct pressure to your body. “Casually-Clothed” massage is a great option when you have places to go after your massage, are short on time or you feel uncomfortable disrobing to receive a massage treatment. 

Let’s Talk About Pressure

As far as we’re concerned, the old motto “No Pain, No Gain” is not therapeutic.  We believe that a massage therapist should never work beyond a client’s level of discomfort.  For the sake of reference, we’ll share our definitions of pain and discomfort.  Pain is when your body tenses up to protect you and you hold your breath waiting for the pain to end.  Discomfort doesn’t feel good, but you can tolerate the feeling and breathe through it until it ends, similar to rubbing a bruise. That being said, we will pay attention to your body’s response to the amount of pressure we’re applying.  We ask you to use your breath as a tool to tolerate the discomfort and let us know when we move beyond the tolerable level of pressure.