Massage Part 2
What to Expect
Do you have a certain style/approach?
I do a combination of Swedish and lymph drainage massage I offer 1 hour and 30 minute massage appointments. When I first get a booking, I get the client in then have a talk with them about what they are wanting out of the service. Some people just want a gentle experience, they want the power of touch. For them it’s just a time they can switch off and unwind. But you aren’t really going to be able to sleep with the treatment types I usually use which are usually more of a deep tissue treatment, it can be quite sore. I find though, clients usually want pressure. When you are booking a massage, you want to feel something. You want a quite thorough treatment. People want to have their muscles worked. It’s always the same comment: It’s a sore but it’s a good sore.
The 30 minute appointment is most popular because it is quite an intensive back, neck and shoulder treatment. When I do an hour appointment, I spread that over the body: arms, the legs and back neck and shoulders. It will just depend on the sore points which areas come first, but I tend to end on the back and shoulders. The back is usually 20/25 minutes. I do offer abdominal massages, but they aren’t that common. You can’t put much pressure on the stomach and a lot of clients aren’t that comfortable with it. People are often surprised at how sore their calf muscles can be. We do this technique where we essentially split the calf muscles and it can feel really quite sore. But it helps so much. It is a good hurt.
Swedish is a deep tissue massage, a bit sporty, that really works the muscles. It’s quite a stimulating, deep-pressure, active massage. But I combine it with a lymph draining technique called effleurage. A very commonly known drainage technique. You have to learn where lymph node are and how to drain points of the body- release toxins, pick up energy, relieve headaches, can increase blood flow to the body and muscles. This last point is crucial because stimulating blood flow to muscles will instantly help them to feel better. It starts to heat up the muscle and gets things back to where they should be. If you’ve had a deep tissue massage, your back will be quite red.
Anything I should be aware of?
There are some questions that I will ask to determine what it is I can do and how I will approach my massages. I check at the beginning if they have allergies because I use essential oils during the treatment. They tend to know these types of things, but I also use fairly standard scents that are used in beauty therapy treatments to help mitigate any risks. Most people are ok. I always ask about the medical background. For example, I can’t treat post-surgery, chemo-therapy etc. These are some of the key ones. I then ask about their lifestyle, what do they think is causing their back issue. It’s not always a case of a physical ache. Sometimes it’s a case of someone is having difficulty sleeping or they just need an hour to pamper themselves. Massage has a very wide level of applications. I don’t do remedial massage. I’ve had clients come in for massage and I’ve had to tell them that they need more than me. If they have back problems, I’m not fixing their back. I would be worried of doing something detrimental if there is an injury.
Who should contact me for a massage?
Anyone can get tension that could benefit from a massage. People at a desk all day, new mums, anyone sporty. Even those with emotional stress, and there are a lot of reasons for that, it tends to manifest in the body too. Every joint and muscle is connected in the body, so if you have problems with your feet, you might start feeling that in your hips. How you walk and align your body, if you compromise your walking or have poor support, it will have a knock-on effect elsewhere in the body. I see a mix of things at my room: I have young single corporate women in their twenties, new mums who aren’t getting much sleep or able to give themselves as much self-care, to older ladies who have achy joints (as they are getting older in life, things are just starting to creak and they enjoy a good massage), and some clients who don’t have a lot of physical tension and just want some time to relax. I myself go in for a sports massage to aid in recovery. I’m always shocked at how my back feels when I go in, and I am pretty mindful of my posture. But I sit, do nails. You can still get tension from more active jobs. The biggest thing people should be feeling is self-calm, grounding, feeling relaxed and light.
To have a little boost, maintain your relief or aftercare: Heat is often very good for the muscles and they tend to like it more. If you have an achy back, those little packs you can place in the micro applied to the area (covered with a cloth of course) is great to sit on while watching tv. If you feel you’ve pulled something, you’ll want to put some ice on it.
