What are the benefits of massage therapy?
I've never had a massage. What should I expect?
Do I have to get undressed to have a massage?
What is your cancellation policy?
What exactly are the benefits of receiving massage or bodywork treatments?
- Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion.
- Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and shorten maternity hospital stays.
- Ease medication dependence.
- Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.
- Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
- Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
- Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
- Increase joint flexibility.
- Lessen depression and anxiety.
- Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
- Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
- Reduce postsurgery adhesions and swelling.
- Reduce spasms and cramping.
- Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
- Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
- Relieve migraine pain.
Source: Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals
Your therapist will greet you, collect a brief health history then discuss the goals of your massage session. The therapist will then guide you to a massage room -- a warm, quiet and peaceful place for you to relax and for your therapist to focus on your needs. Expect to smell relaxing fragrances such as lavender. Expect to hear soft music and other sounds designed to help you clear your mind. There will be a special therapy table that has been specially designed for your comfort.
The therapist will leave the room so that you can undress to your level of comfort relative to the type of massage requested. You will then cover yourself using the linens provided on the therapy table. The therapist will knock and ask for your confirmation that you are ready before re-entering. Then your massage begins.
Communication is key to a good massage. Your therapist will likely ask you if you would like more or less pressure during your massage. But please don't wait for your therapist to solicit your feedback. Feel free at any time to tell your therapist if you need more/less pressure, or more/less attention to a specific area.
When your massage session is over, the therapist will leave the room so that you can get dressed. Get up slowly to give yourself a chance to get oriented and avoid getting light-headed. The therapist will be waiting for you in the lobby to collect payment and offer to set another appointment if you desire. You should drink penty of fluids after your massage.
Following are some additional resources that may be of interest if you are new to massage:
- Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals: What to Expect
- American Massage Therapy Association: What to Expect at Your Massage Session
- Everything2: What to Expect during a Professional Massage Therapy Session
Most people undress partially or fully for a professional massage session but it is not necessary to undress at all. There are several massage techniques that can be performed while you are dressed although you should definitely wear soft, flexible, loose-fitting clothing. If you prefer not to undress, simply mention this when you call to schedule your massage or when you are first greeted by our therapists and we will work with you to design a session that allows us to help you as much as possible while you are dressed.
What is your cancellation policy?
We ask that you give us at least 24 hours of notice on changes or cancellations. Our therapists are only in the clinic when they have appointments. They literally plan their personal lives around the times that they have to be in the clinic to see you. The clinic also allocates and reserves resourses for your session. So when you don't show up or wait to the last minute to call to make changes, it is extremely disruptive and costly. We understand that "life happens" so we try to be accommodating when we can. But the bottom line is that you need to be willing to pay for your scheduled sessions if and when you are late, don't show up, or make last-minute changes. It is not fair to the clinic, the therapists, or our other clients for us to foster that behavior, absorb the costs and therfore pass them on to other clients by increasing our rates.
