I was chatting with someone today about massage and got a question I get fairly often: what "kind" of massage do I do?
The people who ask this are are usually people who get massages in spas or spa-like settings which post different prices for the different modalities/styles of massage. I understand why spas do that but I think it's really unfair to you, the client.
Biggest problem with it? You can't make an informed decision unless you've done a lot of research about the modalities a massage therapist has access to. The descriptions in the spas I've been to aren't a lot of help. Even within the massage community, we don't all agree on what the "deep" in "deep tissue" means.
I operate on a simple principle: you tell me what you need out of your session, I'll use everything I've got to make that happen. I use all the things I've learned over time, all the modalities I've studied, all the things I've picked up on my own and I'll combine them the best way I know how.
You're not buying a product from me. You're buying an experience and an outcome. I don't tell my doctor how to relieve the pain in my abdomen. I tell him what the problem is and I trust him to use whatever techniques he thinks best. Even if I have some idea of what might help, the odds are he's more up-to-date on the latest treatment techniques than I am.
There's nothing wrong with asking for a specific modality when you want a specific experience. Love hot stone massage? Ask for it! Heard good things about raindrop therapy? Ask for it!
Don't be intimidated, though, if you don't know exactly what it will take to achieve your massage goals. That's my job and I'm happy to do it.
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