How to Get the Most From Your Massage

10 Steps to Enjoy Your Massage Session!

 A professional massage is a great form of preventative health care. Many of today's diseases are stress related or worsened by the effects of stress. For example, there are many studies that show stress creates an inflammatory process that makes the body more sensitive to pain. Regular massage is a wonderful way to alleviate stress and much cheaper in the long run. Here's some tips to help you enjoy your massage!

1. Don't eat right before a massage session, a full stomach can make you feel uncomfortable on the table, making it hard to fully relax. Allow time for your food to digest.

2. Be on time, if you arrive in a frenzied state, it will take longer to relax. If you are late, your massage time is shortened but you will be charged for the full time.

3. Remove as much clothing as you are comfortable. There's no rule that you need to remove all your clothing. The professional therapist uses draping which respects your modesty whether you remove all or only some of your clothing.

4. Communicate with your therapist. Here are a few examples:

               * Give accurate health information which will help the      therapist provide the best massage for your needs. Be sure and let the therapist know what your expectations and reasons are for coming in for the massage.

               * If you are allergic to any oils or lotions, let your therapist know.

               * Most therapists play music during the session, it's okay to let them know if you find it distracting and would rather not hear music during your session. Or, if you don't enjoy a particular type of music, you can request a change. 

               * Report any discomfort during the session, whether you require a change in temperature, pressure, music volume, lighting, etc.

               * Don't be afraid to discuss any concerns or apprehensions about the massage. Your therapist is a professional dedicated to offering you the best service and help you feel at ease.

5. Breathe! Remember to breathe normally.  At the beginning of the session it may help to narrow your focus to a deep, rhythmic breathing pattern. Visualize tension leaving your body on the exhale and allow your body to relax a little more with each breath.

6. Relax your mind. This can be the hardest part of receiving a massage. As wait for your session to start, you can begin by performing this mental exercise:  

               * Inhale from the stomach, upward through the chest cavity and mentally swirl the breath through your brain. On the inhale, gather all your thoughts and tensions into a gray smoke and expel it from your body. Reverse the process with the next breath by filling the body with clean air. Repeat five times. 

               *Another way to relax the mind is to follow the hands of the therapist and focus on how the touch feels.

7. Relax your body. Once you have your mind quieted, it should be easier for your body to relax. When you unconsciously engage your muscles during the session, it makes the therapist work harder.

8. Talk less-- listen to your body. It's okay if a little chatter helps you to relax at the beginning of the session, but if you're talking through the whole session it makes it difficult to concentrate on the body and fully relax.  

9. Don't get up too quickly. After the therapist leaves the room, lay on the table for a few extra minutes and allow for some quiet time to enjoy your newly relaxed body.

10. Schedule several sessions. Massage has its greatest benefits over time as the effects of massage are cumulative. The more often you get a massage, the better your body will feel and the more quickly your body will respond in the next session. Each subsequent session deepens the sense of relaxation as the chronic patterns of stress are released. If you are coming in to find relief from chronic muscular tension or to aid in the healing process of an injury, more than one session is always needed. 

Brown Sugar & Vanilla Body Scrub

A sweet smelling body scrub which will leave your skin feeling silky smooth.

1 cup organic brown sugar

1/2 cup organic granulated sugar

1/2 cup + 3 TBSP Grapeseed oil *   

1/2 tsp organic Vanilla flavoring extract

Blend sugars together in a bowl, add oil and vanilla extract, and mix well.  For safety reasons, you may prefer to keep in a plastic container for use in the shower.  

* You can use any oil for this recipe. I like to use grapeseed as it's the least slippery of all the oils on the shower floor. 

1. Grasp the medial half of one brow between the thumb and index finger of the same side hand. Compress the tissue, including the muscle lying deep to the brow with enough (firm) pressure to produce discomfort. On a 1-10 scale of discomfort, with "1" being "non-tender" and "8" being "mildly painful", we would like this to record as a 7. In other words, use enough pressure to produce moderate discomfort, but not pain. If a firm pressure is applied and no discomfort is felt, move on to step 3.
    


2. Maintain continuous pressure for at least 20 seconds. Pay attention to the location of the discomfort and notice whether you feel any referred sensations into the eye, brow or nasal regions. This could include headache or other discomfort, eye pressure, a runny nose, muscular twitching, tingling, burning, itching, or moistening of the eye.
   
   Release pressure and move the grasp laterally (toward the ear) and repeat the technique. Continue at thumb's width intervals until the middle of the brow is reached.
    


3. Repeat the procedure on the second side, noting any referred phenomena.
    


4. Next, grasp each side with its respective thumb/finger and apply pincer compression simultaneously to both sides. Maintain compression and slightly stretch the tissues between the brows for about 20 seconds, during which time you will likely feel the tension and the discomfort begin to fade away. As the area "melts", continue applying compression while you pull the medial aspect of the brows laterally and away from midline. Apply a continuous light-force traction (like pulling firm taffy without breaking it) as you stretch the fascia and muscles of the mid-brow.
    


5. Once the contracting elements are relaxed, a "miniature" myofascial release can augment the changes and iron out the creases. Place a thumb on the middle half of each respective brow and press firmly against the underlying bone. Stretch the tissues away from midline as you maintain pressure against the bone. Continue to apply a steady tension for 90-120 seconds. Slowly release the tissues.
    


6. Repeat daily (1-3 times) until visible changes are apparent, which may even be noticed immediately.

** (This article was adapted from 'By the Sweat of the Brow', by Judith Delany LMT)

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