Tips For A Better Massage

In a perfect world, you find a skilled and experienced Massage Therapist through word-of-mouth or a review website, go in for your weekly or monthly appointment, and come out an hour or two later feeling great. Everything is right in the world. Boom. Awesome. That's how it should be for everyone. But that doesn't always ends up being the case, and for a variety of reasons. It could be an emotional time in the client's life, there could be trauma or grief to work through. We could be dealing with scar tissue from surgery or sports injuries, or chronic pain from professional and environmental habits such as posture, repetitive motions, sitting at a desk all day, rock climbing, too many down dog and chaturanga repetitions, lifting heavy objects incorrectly, etc. There could even be a combination of all of the above compounded into a beautifully adaptive, functionally imbalanced, human-body-mess.

The last massage I received was quite an emotional experience. It was also one of the most effective massage sessions I've ever had. It was exactly what I needed in that moment... 

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... I found myself choking back tears when this highly skilled and experienced Massage Therapist worked certain muscles to relax my shoulders and back. I knew it was going to happen, and I even gave her a heads up before the session began that I was very emotional that day and had a lot going on in my personal life. Being the talented therapist and human being that she is, the space was held for me to let it all go. She even said, “It's okay. You can let it go. This is a safe space.” It was there in that place that I realized that she is an amazing human being and fabulous at her job yes, but that I have to meet her half way to get the most benefit from our limited time together. I ugly cried. Felt the feelings. And I forced myself to breath. Slowly and intentionally. It was like pulling my arms and shoulders away from my body after being wrapped up like a mummy for a year. Best. Massage. Ever. I left that massage feeling vulnerable, exposed, relaxed as hell, shoulders lower than they have been in over a year, and surprisingly good considering I ugly cried in front of someone that I only know in a professional and social media context.

It's been about a week, and I'm still in awe of how powerful that experience was. It was because of where I allowed myself to meet her for the work to happen. It made me ask myself, “What did she do and what did I do to create that space to allow such effective work to happen?” … “How do you receive your best massage?” … “How does this fit into my practice to prepare others for the healing unknowns that come with self-care?

Upon much reflection in exploring these questions and more, here are some tips I have come up with to make your next massage the best one yet.
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• Awareness – Take some time before your next massage to assess what is going on with your physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual state of being. Emotions can be attached to knots and tight spots in the muscles b/c we often times are literally holding our emotional stress and tension in our bodies instead of processing and dealing with it. Having an idea of where to begin the unwinding process in your next massage can be helpful to long-term results. Share anything you feel appropriate as clues to where you might have tight muscles, limited range of motion, or discomfort. The body works as a cohesive unit, but having some clues to begin the journey is helpful to unwinding, from both perspectives of receiver and giver of massage.
  
  
• Breathing – When it comes to breathing, the most important part is to do it. That seems like common sense, but when our bodies are faced with a decision to hold on or let go, often times I notice clients subconsciously hold their breath to get through discomfort or resistance in the muscle tissue being massaged. This is an indicator to me that I am utilizing too much pressure too soon and more relaxation and superficial tissue work needs to be completed before going deeper into the muscles. Intentionally breathing into the massage is what gets the nervous system to relax and muscles to let go. Deep inhales and audible exhales are super effective in triggering this nervous system relaxation response, and an experienced Massage Therapist will work in sync with this inhale and exhale for maximum effect and release in the muscle tissue. At your next massage, let out a deep long audible sigh before you even get on the massage table, and see how much more relaxed you feel for the work to come. Then continue to breath deep and intentional. After awhile, you will be very relaxed, where full inhales and exhales happen naturally, and you may even drift in and out. In this state, the muscles tend to let go with ease. If you feel called to aromatherapy, ask for essential oils to be diffused or incorporated into the massage. The therapeutic relaxing effects of certain essential oils can be very effective when combined with massage.
  
  
• Communication – The most effective partnership between Massage Therapist and the person receiving the massage comes with excellent communication. While systems of the body work basically the same for most people, the actual experience is very subjective. What is intense for one person, is not so intense for another. Some techniques, stretches, tools, and approaches may not work for everyone. Tightness and congestion in muscle tissue has really interesting responses that is different from person to person. People laugh in response, sometimes the muscles twitch and jump, sometimes it just sinks and lets go with pressure, sometimes it's a combination of all of the above. Do feel comfortable to express what is working for you and what is not working for you. This could even change from session to session. Some people love essential oils and it helps them relax, while other people are very sensitive to smells. Fire cupping might be just what your body needs to fully unwind in a particular area. Body temperature varies from person to person, so the table heater or blanket might be a show stopper for some. Heat can also be used to warm and relax muscles. The music might not be working for you, and that's okay. We will be happy to change it for you. These little things are particularly important when you are working with a therapist whom you have never worked with before, so that your expectations can be understood and met. If a particular technique feels really good and is working well to relax the muscles and the overall body, let your therapist know so that they can make note of that and do more of what works. If you cringe inside when you know a certain move is coming up, clue your therapist in. They'll appreciate knowing more about what works for your best massage. You being comfortable and relaxed is a key to long-term results.
  
  
• Pressure – I still remember one of the first massages that I ever received. It was extremely firm pressure directly applied to knots and tight spots, with no warm up of the surrounding muscle tissue, and I usually felt more discomfort after the massage than before. I avoid this approach in my practice because I don't think it is effective for most people. With appropriately applied pressure, warming up of superficial muscle and fascial tissues, intentional breathing, and getting the body in a relaxed state of being; hold patterns release with ease, muscles let go, and results last longer without feeling beat up the next day. In my practice I approach each muscle group broadly and superficial at first, and as the muscles warm up, I work deeper and more specifically on areas of tightness within the muscles. Finally working my way back up to the superficial layers, incorporating light stretches and joint mobilization, and moving on to the next area of focus or bringing the session to a close. I do not typically ask about pressure levels, unless I notice that someone is flinching or holding their breath. Please communicate to let your Massage Therapist know if too much pressure is ever being applied. This could change from session to session, and different areas of the body. The “sweet spot” is applying enough pressure on warmed-up muscles to trigger the release of tight spots, without it being too much pressure and painful, where the muscle will get tighter to defend itself. Breathing helps with this process dramatically.
  
  
• Do more of what is good for you – One of the most important aspects of getting the most benefit from a regular massage, is to treat yourself kindly, make self-care a priority in your life, stack as many good and beneficial therapies and wellness philosophies to counteract the pull towards imbalance, and continually follow-up and get regular massage. The most benefit for long-term pain relief with massage consists of 2-3 sessions per week with a minimum of 60-minutes each session for one focus area and 90-minutes for more integrated work involving various muscles groups, and continuing this frequency for at least 4 weeks. In most cases after 4 weeks, treatments can be reduced by half for ongoing benefits from massage, and in some cases once a month is appropriate when other therapies are regularly incorporated in to a client's wellness routine. Going for walks, eating healthy and nutritious foods, meditation and managing stress levels, stretching, yoga, pilates, strength training, and cardiovascular exercise are all great ideas that will make your massage therapy benefits go further. Think of it like a scale.... on the one side you have gravity, structural (bones) deviations, postural habits, past injuries, work environment, and chronic overuse.... and on the other side, everything else that unwinds all of those other things. i.e. massage, yoga, walking / movement, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about my personal healing journey, how that translates into my massage practice, and my thoughts and ideas on how to receive the best massage.

Love & Light
Michael