How to Get the Most out of your Massage
Massage therapy is more than just a pretty face in the line-up of self-care protocols available to us all today. It is a powerful modality for your health that harmonizes and brings consciousness, flow and communication between your mind, body and heart.
It makes sense, then, that you would want to optimize this connection with every massage you experience so you can generate healing wherever it is needed in your being. Getting the most out of your massage session requires your participation even before your appointment begins.
Prepare
When you initially make the appointment, be sure you also schedule time before and after to fully absorb to the experience.
Feel free to ask any questions or voice any concerns you might have about the appointment. Do you need to know more about the process or you require directions to the location? Clarify whatever you need to so that you arrive with the minimal anxiety and distress.
Ensure you take the time for a light shower before your appointment and utilize minimal perfumes and make-up if possible.
You may also want to have a light snack but no heavy foods before your massage as it may interfere with your comfort during the session.
During your massage
The more information your massage therapist has, the more help and support you can receive.
Engage
An open dialogue between you and your massage therapist encourages a trusting collaboration and can deliver the greatest opportunity for healing. As you settle onto the massage table, be sure to communicate any pain or discomfort or restrictions of movement you are experiencing.
Be Aware
As your massage proceeds, be relaxed and open to the experience. Make sure to breathe and notice when and where your breathing changes or is held for a moment or two. Stay alert and awake. Assume equal responsibility for the outcomes with your therapist. Stay connected to the session so you can feedback what you are experiencing.
Be the Guide
Focus with your therapist on the area being touched. Notice any other areas that are affected simultaneously. Find ways to describe what you are feeling – where you are aware of tightening in your body, where you might be experiencing tingling or discomfort. Assume the role of guide so your therapist can attend to sources of discomfort or blockages in order to promote your well-being.
Be Guided
Your therapist will know from your responses what movements or actions might be required of you. If you share a painful sensation or if a muscle requires working or stretching, you may be asked to breathe into or move against the tightness, pain or restriction. Trust and allow yourself to submit to the wisdom of your massage professional and flow with the directions s/he asks of you.
Your active involvement throughout your massage will give valuable information to you and your massage therapist about your own state of wellness. As balance and flow are restored, it will provide a space for the changes you are noticing in your body to take hold and transform your health.
After Your Massage – Integrate
At the end of your session, take the time to do a personal inventory. How are you feeling now? Do you notice changes in your body feeling, emotional outlook, mental perspective, breathing, or overall condition?
Give yourself permission to stay in this awakened and aware mindset. It is easy to fall back into the routine of your life patterns and rhythms and ignore the profound changes your massage may have delivered to you. If you can, find a quiet place to relax so you can absorb all the glow and goodness from your experience. Drink plenty of water and be sure to eat healthy to support your physical well-being. Commit to moving as differently on the outside as you feel on the inside. Let your body guide your new mobility and trust the path of newness you have just stepped onto.
“When the Body Gets Working Appropriately, the Force of Gravity Can Flow Through. Then, Spontaneously, the Body Heals Itself.”
Ida Rolf