What I can expect on my first visit...
When you arrive at my office, the first thing we'll do is go over your completed
intake form. This is to ensure your safety and comfort during our sessions, as well as to make sure that I understand your goals and expectations. If I have any questions or concerns about your past or present health, I will be sure to let you know, and if you have any questions feel free to ask. It is also important for me to determine whether you wish to have specific results or whether you would like pure relaxation sessions. This can change from day to day depending on your mood and life, which is why communication is essential in a therapist/client relationship. In your following sessions, I will simply ask you about any changes in your health or areas you wish to focus on, rather than having you fill out any forms.
After our intake interview, I will leave the room while you disrobe to your level of comfort and lie on the table under the sheets. (Please see the FAQs page for additional information about appropriate level of dress.) I will then re-enter the room and we will begin your massage session.
| For this example, we start with the client face down, in preparation for a full-body massage. After entering, I warm up the tissue to be worked on and get in tune with my client. We proceed with the massage, draping as appropriate. |    |
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Many people carry a lot of tension in their back and shoulders, and so request focus in those areas. Here, I demonstrate some typical massage techniques I might perform to help my client relax these muscles. |
  
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| We then move to address the glutes, legs, and feet. Compression of these areas can be done either through the sheet, or directly on the skin using appropriate draping practices. |      |
Now I ask the client to flip over onto her back while I hold the sheet to cover her,
and we begin work on the anterior (front) legs. Again, proper draping is very important. |  |
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When we finish with the anterior legs, we move to focus on the arms. Massage of the forearms and hands is very beneficial to clients who use computers in their work or daily life, which these days includes nearly everybody! |   |
We finish with the head and neck, an area where many people carry the majority of their stress. Tight neck muscles can cause all sorts of problems, starting with tension headaches and migraines. Clients suffering from constant headaches can benefit enormously from regular massage, though the neck can only take small doses of deep work at one time.
When we are finished, I will again leave the room and allow you to slowly get up from the table and back into the real world.
It is important to drink plenty of water following a massage session, because the cells will have released what massage therapists call 'toxins' into your system. Toxins are just cellular byproducts, produced naturally from their everyday processes-but not used for anything further. Drinking water will help your body flush the toxins out, instead of allowing them to stay and accumulate in your tissue, potentially making you feel ill. Also, if you are sore the day following a massage session, wrap some ice in a washcloth and apply it to the area for about ten minutes at a time.
Massage therapy is a wholly therapeutic practice that can benefit every body, and be tailored to clients in any walk of life. Please feel free to browse through my treatment options to see which one can be adapted to fit you!
If you have any further questions, you can either consult the FAQs page or contact me directly.
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