What to Expect
Below are just a few of the questions people ask before and during their first massage. The important thing to remember is that we want you to relax and enjoy your massage experience. Even a therapeutic massage should feel good!
So, I made an appointment: Now what?
We ask you to arrive at least ten minutes early for your first appointment. Since your hour is reserved for you—and more than likely someone else is booked after you—it’s important that we stay on schedule. By arriving early, you can complete your paperwork, get a feel for the space, use the restroom if needed and just start relaxing.
What happens when we go into the room?
Your massage therapist (MT) will take you into the treatment room and review your paperwork with you. You’ll be asked questions about your health history, what brings you in, etc. Basically, we want to know how we can help you.
Here’s what I really want to know: Do I take all my clothes off? Do you stay in the room while I do that?
For many people, this is the hardest part of the first session. We know that, and we’re happy to make it easier. The first thing to know is that we want you to be comfortable. If you’re not, you won’t relax. If that means you leave all your clothes on, that’s fine. Admittedly, if we can reach your skin you’ll get a better massage, but we’re all about working at your comfort level. You are always welcome to bring a bathing suit, shorts and a sports bra—anything you’ll be comfortable wearing on the table. Your MT will leave the room and let you get ready in private. You will be covered by a sheet the entire session. We don’t see any of your most private areas because we uncover only the area we are currently working on.
So, what happens when the MT comes back in the room?
First, we’ll check that you’re comfortable. Is the table warm/cool enough? Is the music too loud or soft or do you just dislike it? Those are all considerations we can take care of it when we come in. Every MT proceeds a bit differently, but they can explain each step of your massage.
Should I talk to my MT during the session?
We believe that your massage is all about you; therefore, you get to decide how we proceed. So, if you’d like to chat, that’s fine. If you want to just relax and zone out, go for it. The one thing we ask: Tell us what we can do to make your session better. If something we’re doing is painful, say so. Massage doesn’t have to hurt to help! Repeat: Massage doesn’t have to hurt to help! If we’re working on an area that is tight or uncomfortable, you will know we’re there working, and there’s even a concept called “hurts so good,” where it’s a bit painful, but you can feel things releasing and getting better. That’s o.k., but if it just plain hurts, you’re probably tightening up something in your body. We don’t want to trade one pain for another!
Can I go to work or exercise after my massage?
You should feel relaxed after your massage. There is often an initial period of feeling slowed down. But many people enjoy that time and then experience heightened awareness, increased energy and greater productivity. We suggest that you plan to have some quiet time for at least a half hour after your session, but then you can go back to any activity you prefer.
As far as exercise, we suggest you try to exercise before your session. It warms up your muscles before your massage. It allows you to be done with the physical stress on your body. However, you can exercise after your session if you’d like. Since your muscles will be relaxed and feeling good, you might feel like you want to run longer, do an extra set of weight training or in some way work our more. We’d prefer you don’t do that. Give your muscles the chance to enjoy the benefits of the massage before you ask more of them.
Anything else I should know before I come in?
It’s best to avoid eating a heavy meal right before a massage session. We don’t mind if you haven’t shaved your legs. We don’t judge you. Not by your size, your shape, your hair, your height or anything else. We believe bodies are beautiful and we want yours to function as well as it can.
Are there any times to avoid massage?
We love our clients, and we want to see you as often as possible! We did learn a few things during the Covid shut-down and the early days of the pandemic that have changed some things for us ongoing. One of those things is our illness policy.
Please do not come in if you have any symptoms of an illness. If you are coughing, sneezing, snotty nosed, sore throat, have a fever, body aches not related to activity, vomiting or diarrhea, please cancel your appointment. If you have tested positive for Covid, the flu, strep throat or any other contagious illness, please don’t bring those germs to our office. We do not charge for cancellations related to illness and you really need to stay home and recover. Also, we need to stay healthy so we can be available for everyone’s massages. If you call ahead to cancel, we don’t charge. However, if you show up at our office sick and we need to send you away, we will charge for that appointment. In addition to exposing everyone at our office to your illness, there is no way we can refill an appointment if we are sending you away right when it’s supposed to start.
If you have allergies or another reason for the symptoms you have, we will need a doctor’s note clearing you to come in unless we have a history of your allergies already documented.
If you’ve been in a car accident in the last few days, and you haven’t seen a doctor, we
will ask you to do that before we work on you.
There may be a few other cases where an illness or condition will affect what we do. If
you have anything unusual going on, it’s best to call ahead and ask before coming in.
We also ask you to let us know if you’re pregnant or have any physical disabilities when
you make your appointment. We welcome you, but we want to be prepared for your
session so you get the best care possible.
What happens if I’m late or I have to cancel?
If you’re late, we can still give you a massage. However, we won’t be able to give you the full amount of time booked. Most of the time, someone is scheduled soon after you, and we don’t want to inconvenience them by running late. If we’re behind schedule, you will still get your full appointment time.
We ask you to give us 24 hours notice to cancel your appointment to allow us time to rebook your appointment. If you don’t show up for your appointment or if you cancel with short notice, you will be charged for your session. However, if you are able to send someone else to take that time, we can charge them for the appointment instead.
What is the cancellation policy?
We require at least 24 hours notice to change or cancel an appointment. Giving sufficient notice allows us the opportunity to refill the opening, or to tell your massage therapist about the cancellation before they arrive to work. If you do not provide 24-hours notice, we charge the full appointment fee. If you can send someone else in to take your place, we will waive your fee. The only exception to this policy is an illness related cancellation – if you are sick, we still request as much notice as possible, however, we understand that this is beyond your control. Please call us before the start of your appointment to avoid the fee in the event you are sick.
How long should I wait to come back?
We know you’d come every day if you could! However, that’s not necessary (or even desirable) for good care. If we’re working with you on a specific issue, we often suggest coming once a week for at least 3 or 4 weeks. At that point, we can evaluate your improvement to start spreading out the appointments. Most people who want continuous care come about every 4 to 6 weeks. This allows us to work on any issues before they become larger.