Bodywork Etiquette
by Karrie Osborn
Punctuality = Full Session There’s nothing worse than rushing into your massage appointment fi ve minutes late. Not only is it nerve- racking, but it also eats into your valuable massage minutes. Do your best to be on time, and when possible, early. On-time clients start the massage more relaxed and focused, getting them that much closer to a place of healing calm. When scheduling at a spa, most guests are asked to arrive early so they can prepare for their session and stow away belongings in the locker room. Arriving early enough also allows you time to enjoy the facility’s amenities, such as
M
ost massage afi cionados remember the trepidation that
came with their fi rst massage. What should I expect? Will I have to take off my clothes? How much do I tip? For relative newcomers to massage, the prospect of those fi rst visits and their unknowns can be unnerving. Here are some basic bodywork etiquette guidelines to help you get the most out of your session, create a healthy client-therapist relationship and address some of those unknowns.
a steam room, before the scheduled service begins. New massage clients are also asked to arrive a bit early to fi ll out health history intake forms. If you do get held up in traffi c and
arrive late to your appointment, the therapist will probably not be able to give you a full session. Plan on the session staying on schedule, even if you aren’t. Sometimes therapists will extend extra time if there are no appointments after yours, but don’t count on it. Respect your therapist’s time, call if you’re going to be late, and understand that your session must end on time, regardless of when you arrived.
When it comes to cancellations, most spas and private practitioners require a 24-hour notice to avoid fees. Outside of an emergency situation, last-minute cancellations or missed appointments usually result in paying a percentage, or all, of the scheduled massage fee. Your
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therapist earmarked that hour for you and likely turned away other clients who could have benefi ted from that time. Every situation is different, so check with your therapist about his or her specifi c cancellation policy, then honor it.
Honor Your Body Some people have a hard time even
considering massage because they are so unhappy with their body. Primarily a female issue, poor body image can be extremely damaging, leading to eating disorders in many cases and negatively affecting the way people live. While it’s hard to imagine that getting naked and lying on a massage table will make the situation any better for those dealing with self-esteem or body image issues, massage therapy and bodywork can do wonders. According to bodyworker Merrill
DeVito, massage helps integrate body and mind again, allowing clients to see things from different perspectives, bringing them back into awareness of their body, and showing them what it means to listen to their body. Bodywork can help mend the body-mind chasm that is created through self-hate, bringing the two pieces back together in a peaceful, healthy union. Massage therapists and bodyworkers not only have advanced knowledge of tissues and structure, they also have a great appreciation for the human body as a whole, no matter its shape or size. “Massage therapists and bodyworkers don’t look at their clients as fat, thin, ugly, or beautiful, but rather see the person as a joy and a privilege with which to work,” says spa consultant Charles Wiltsie. Whether working with a 350-pound woman on the massage table or a 100-pound man, massage therapists see bodies as bodies.
Shower Up
While most guidelines recommend showering before your massage, it’s important to note that many therapists work with clients in less-than-hygienic conditions. Throughout the summer, you’ll fi nd massage therapists at cycling events, road races and even triathlons. A weary cyclist staggering into the massage therapy tent at the end of an exhausting day’s ride, hardly smells like roses. For massage volunteers who work with the homeless population, judgment is not passed on those non-showered bodies either. That said, if you fi nd that your feet have
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