Picture the start of your next massage, lying face down on the gently heated massage table, in anticipation of the blissed-out feeling of floating away in perfect comfort and relaxation. There is soft music playing and the scent of essential oils. The therapist expertly kneads your muscles, and all your pain and tension drains from your body. We all, clients and therapists alike, want this to be the way it goes. Sometimes, however, there is something not quite right that can flip the experience from blissful to disappointing. It might be that the pressure is too soft, or it is too hard or even downright painful. Or perhaps we’re just a bit too cold to relax or uncomfortably hot. Maybe the pillow is too high; something is digging into our face; there’s an annoying draught, or the music is driving us around the bend.
In most cases, this situation could be improved or completely remedied by appropriate communication. Some people are great at this, but some of us are far too polite. It could be because we don’t want to hurt our massage therapist’s feelings by appearing to be critical, or we don’t want to interrupt their flow, or we just want to languish in relaxation without feeling like we need to give guidance to our therapist. Or we just simply feel we have to accept it as it is, even if we are not enjoying it.
As massage therapists, we have a responsibility to create an environment where our clients feel comfortable to tell us if something is bothering them about the massage. It’s not as easy as it sounds when lying face down on a massage table to speak up. I do try to ensure my clients know they can tell me if anything needs adjusting, but I’m aware that for some people, it is still tricky. I can also tend to become absorbed in what I am doing and may assume the client is perfectly happy because they seem relaxed and have not said otherwise. Through experience, we become more attuned to the experience of our clients under our hands, but we are not magical mind readers, and we do rely on feedback to ensure we get it right.
So my invitation to you, if you find yourself on my massage table, is to ask me to adjust anything if you are not comfortable. You can ask more than once! If you’ve asked me to use less pressure and then later you realise you actually want more – that’s ok. If you don’t like the music – let me know, it’s easy to change. I’d rather you interrupted me to ask me to change something than suffer the whole hour in silence. If you have any particular needs, for example, you hate your feet being touched; you like the room to be really warm; you only want your right shoulder worked on; you don’t want any oils in your hair; you especially love your face being massaged – let me know!
Don’t be afraid to be clear about what you want from the session. I won’t know these things unless you tell me. Do not grin and bear it under the assumption that the therapist knows best. At the end of the day, we both want the same thing, which is for you to have a fabulous massage.
Charlotte Softly works at Natural Balance Therapies on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and alternate Saturdays. Check her availability here:
https://www.fresha.com/book-now/ogr54n3q/services?lid=476169&eid=1396631&pId=444666