I recommend that clients book a number of consistent sessions, especially in the beginning. This allows us to adequately work into the deeper layers of the problem. When the restrictions in the tissues are properly removed, and balance is restored, maintenance treatments can be done less frequently. However, the more frequent the treatments, the better the results. And the most important factor is consistency. So if someone gets treated once a month, the results are better than for someone who only receives treatments randomly and sporadically throughout the year. Many people wait until they are in an acute state of discomfort before they will take action. This passive approach to self-care produces the least effective results.

Honor yourself by taking the time to plan for your self-care! When you wait until the last minute to book your massage, instead of getting the best therapist, you simply end up getting the first one who’s available, usually with mediocre results. You’re paying a lot of money, so why don’t you plan your self-care accordingly? Book your massage in advance with an experienced therapist and get the results you deserve! Someone busier than you is getting their massage right now. It’s never too late to plan ahead!

You can receive massage as often as possible. It’s really only an issue of time and of money. If you had the time and the money you could get a massage everyday. I have people that see me once a week, others that see me every other week, some every three weeks, and some that see me once a month. You really can’t over do it.

A shower or bath is always highly recommended before your massage, especially if you’ve been out in the sun. Clean bodies are easier and more pleasant to work on. Unpleasant body odor and/or dirt are very distracting and it makes giving 100% during the massage more challenging. A strong dose of perfume is not a substitute for a little washing up.

A hot bath with Epsom Salt is a wonderful way to prepare for a massage treatment. Add two cups of Epsom Salt to warm water in a standard-sized bathtub. Double the Epsom Salt for an oversized tub. Soak for at least 12 minutes. Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate) is inexpensive and can be obtained at any drug store.

This is a time for you to really relax into your body; a time of healing and rejuvenation. You are making time just for you to take care of yourself. This is how you honor your body.

Some talking in the beginning of the treatment is probably good just to establish a little rapport with your therapist. But, in general, you will receive more benefit from the massage treatment if there’s not a lot of chatting. Instead of being focused outwardly on a conversation, you want to bring your awareness inward. When your attention is focused on the area that is being treated, and on what your therapist is doing, this awareness will feed back to the therapist. This will concentrate the therapist’s energies and allow the massage treatment to be more effective.

As your therapist is working on your problem areas, you will want to bring your awareness to your breath, and consciously visualize your breath moving into those tight, tender, and sore areas. Where awareness goes, energy flows. This will help these areas to release, relax, and heal. The point is to be in your body and FEEL, instead of thinking, and being in your head. Do not try to “help” your therapist by anticipating what will come next, but allow yourself to simply be in your body. The more you can surrender yourself to the experience of simply receiving, the more you will relax, and the more benefit you will gain.

DO NOT HESITATE, HOWEVER, TO SPEAK UP IF THE PRESSURE IS TOO MUCH OR SOMETHING IS MAKING YOU UNCOMFORTABLE! The massage is for your benefit, and you are paying a lot of money, so it is your right to communicate your needs. Giving feedback to your therapist during the massage will only help you receive a better treatment.

• Minimize the talking
• Focus on the breath
• Surrender
• Give feedback

You are always free to undress to your comfort level. I want you to feel totally comfortable, and I keep you covered with a sheet and bath towel at all times. Many people feel most comfortable wearing at least their underpants, and this is perfectly acceptable.

It is also perfectly acceptable for you to wear clothing during your massage treatment, if you perfer to not be nude. In this case, you would need to wear a yoga style outfit, or clothing that is loose-fitting and comfortable. Thinner, flexible clothing works best.

The treatments where you will always be fully clothed and we do not use oil or lotion on your body are CranioSacral, Reiki, and Reflexology.

Drink a lot of water. Ideally, you should continue drinking pure water until your urine becomes totally clear. This will aid your body in eliminating all the internal waste that was stirred up during your treatment. Most people are not properly hydrated, and this can intensify any potential achiness one might feel after a good massage treatment.

It is best if you have nothing else planned after your massage treatment except to simply relax in solitude. A hot bath with Epsom Salt is a wonderful follow-up to a massage treatment. Add two cups of Epsom Salt to warm water in a standard-sized bathtub. Double the Epsom Salt for an oversized tub. Soak for at least 12 minutes. Epsom Salt (magnesium sulfate) is inexpensive and can be obtained at any drug store.

Any therapist working for someone else, or in someone else’s establishment only gets a cut of the treatment price. In this situation a tip is expected, and generally 15-20% is appropriate. An 18% tip is automatically included at many resort spas.

This tipping arrangement is similar to eating out at a restaurant. The tip is part of the cost of the experience. One may leave the restaurant without tipping, or with an inadequate tip, however, this is socially unacceptable. The food server and the restaurant relies on your tip for the food server’s compensation. Massage establishments with employees operate the same way.

I am fortunate to work for myself.