Massage Etiquette

Massage Etiquette

Over the years as a massage therapist I have heard and experienced people in a way most professional wouldn't understand. If your in the service industry you can probably relate. It is hilarious how you get to know your clients over the years. Once people are comfortable with you they will share many things with you as they continue to receive services from your business. I mention often that people share with us like we are bar tenders. I love what I do. I love the experiences. I would never change the career. As time has gone on I have experienced multiple personalities and in some cases I have learned that some personalities experience massage differently than other.


No one really has ever spoke of the unspoken etiquette of scheduling and receiving a massage. Well, I will share with you the mind of a massage therapist. I am here to tell you that if you have said it someone has beat you to it.

When you schedule your massage please check the website to see if they offer online scheduling, check office hours, don't expect the massage therapist to answer the phone during late hours to schedule your appointment, please do not expect to have a return call if you didn't leave a message.

I miss calls because I am in a massage session pretty often. So, I miss calls unfortunately and people usually become angry with me because I do not answer the phone. However, they do not leave a message. Please be patient with your therapist.


Many people schedule massages for the first time and as the therapist we don't expect you to know about the  proper things that are necessary leading up to the actual massage. One of the things that you should consider is that as Massage therapist we have to consider.

 Women
There is one thing When you show up for massage you do not have to announce that you do or do not have underwear on. We will advise you as needed based on the massage you scheduled.

Men
You don't have to announce whether you worked all day and you wore your work boots, or you just garlic etc.

Some of things as a massage therapist our clients find the need to ask or discuss with us that aren't necessary but we hear often and find humors. 

Do you hands hurt?
Sorry I didn't shave my legs
Do you massage dogs?
Sorry I've worked all day
Sorry I don't wear underwear
Do you cook with this oil?
Did you go to school for this?
Sorry I am late, I have got to go the bathroom. I still get full time still, right?
Do you feel the tightness/knots?
Am I the worst you have ever worked on?
Sorry I didn't shave
Your Husband is so lucky he has you there whenever he wants a massage
When you schedule a Swedish massage and you tell the massage therapist we can go deeper
No oil in my hair please
calling us a masseuse ( we are massage therapist) 
When we give instructions as you enter the room and you don't follow the instructions.
Can you actually feel the pain?
If I win the lottery your moving in with me and my wife
Its sad you will not experience your massage
Asked if I know how strong I am

 
There is the people who are so comfortable with us that modesty has completely gone out the door. 

Please do not undress while the therapist is still in the room.  Lord please leave something to the imagination. We know your comfortable however it is inappropriate to undress in front of us. 

There are so many people that come to receive massage with inappropriate intentions that we have to protect ourselves as well as you. I recently found out about a massage called NURU massage it is a Japanese erotic massage that a potential client thought was ok to request. Clearly he didn't visit my website first. Again, going back to check the website first. You will learn if the person you would like to schedule with is the therapist for you based on the information provided. 

Okay!!!

Enough about my rant. 

Massage therapist is a great part of a wellness regiment. When did you have your last massage? 

Tunisia Macklin, LMT, Women's Health and Wellness Herbalist, Doula & Placenta encapsulation 

Studio of Massage and Healing LLC. 

botaniclemassage@gmail.com 

(630)635-2189 

Psst... Much Kneaded... Massage??!!

Much Kneaded

Massage is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you read my last blog I explained that it is a part of wellness. As adults we put our bodies through a lot. Just think about it. When you were young and full of youth you would injure yourself; because you were younger you would keep going, shake it off and assume you were ok. Here we are and now your dealing with aches and pains that your not sure about. Well, just so you know the aches and pain has nothing to do with aging. It does however have plenty to do with not caring for ourselves properly.

Every person should have a regiment that would contribute to there long term health. Question.
Do you meditate? Do you workout? Do you stretch? Do you have a handle on your nutrient? Do you make an effort to go for massage? Do you go to chiropractor? When is the last time you had your vitamin levels checked? Do you sleep well? Do you drink plenty of water?

Most people wouldn't be able to answer these questions and others wouldn't be honest. Think about it. Every day you get out of the bed correct? Well, it requires muscles to do it. Every person moves daily and every time you manage not to stretch. We also, do not breath. Lol! yes I said you do not breath. Naturally we are breathing because your brain will not allow you to just suffocate while at work, but you aren't taking intentional breaths. Those deep cleansing breaths are what is great for your brain and your body.

Every breath is healing and rejuvenating. Every deep breath you are contributing to cell rejuvenation,

muscle relaxation and overall calming. With a combination of this practice you contribute to your overall health. I challenge you to take a few steps toward your health. Your body will reward you. If you treat your body right Your body will treat you right. it has us on a physiological reward system.

You can start with something as simple as quite time home before the start of your day or on the end of your day. Meditation is good to calm yourself. One of my suggestions toward accomplishing a good regiment is to start with something simple. Start with your evening regiment. This is affect your sleep. Watch what you eat in the evening. Once you have come home decompress before you get into cooking just simply sit down for a few minutes. Once you have completed this task and finished eating and what ever you do to end your evening find a place to lay on the floor, lay on your back, place a pillow behind your knees, place a rolled up sheet behind your neck and focus on your breath and work on your deep breath. It would take 2 hours to typically calm your mind and shut down for bed. I am not going to ask you to do 2 hours. I will be realistic and ask for 15 to 30 minutes. Yes, I said 15 to 30 minutes. Once you get use to this you will notice a great relief. You will start to experience restful night sleep, clarity of thoughts and your body will start to crave other healthy changes. 

Starting with meditation or quite time coupled with massage you will then start to really experience

positive affects. Massage is so beneficial to you. Massage benefits are beyond what your mind can handle. Just imagine every time you receive a massage you improve blood flow, mobility and  improve immune function.


If you don't believe prove me wrong....

I have a 4 week challenge. The first week is one week of meditation/quite time for 15/30 minutes before bed. Please after 7 days let me know what you notice. 2nd week you will start to stretch daily. 3rd week you will do required water intake. Recommended is half your body in water. ( if you weigh 150lbs you will drink 75oz of water through out your day) Do not be discourage many can't drink that much immediately do your best. If you feel like it is to much, your start to get a head ache or feel ill in any way please follow your 1st mind and minimize your intake. 4th week receive a massage. During this time please journal how you feel and email me about the outcome. I would love to hear how your body will respond to these changes.

Tunisia Macklin, LMT, Women's Health and Wellness Herbalist, Doula & Placenta Encapsulator
www.studioofmassage.com
botaniclemassage@gmail.com
(630)481-6079
Massage.. Wellness.. Relax... Rejuvenation....

Massage and Wellness

Massage and Wellness as a lifestyle and not just luxury

Massage has always been that thing that people considered a luxury. Well, No it can be experienced as a luxury however, it goes beyond luxury. Massage is truly a part of wellness and health. Can you believe it?? "Wellness and Health" I said. Massage has such a rich history in wellness from Olympics, all forms of sports and now relaxation. People experience massage benefits in many aspects of their lives. Massage can affect you mentally, physically and emotionally.

I became a massage therapist because I wanted to be in the health industry without pumping people with medicine. I considered everything but Massage is the one thing that stuck with me. 16 years in and I feel like I made the best choice ever. You can have massage with additional support. Massage is great in conjunction with other support. If you receive muscle spasms often and you work out its time to consider what are your work outs? How often you work out? What is your nutrient like? What kind of supplements you take? If any. This thought process is used for many people.

Massage is a part of a lifestyle like meals. Your weekly regiment is very important. I would love to make sure you have the correct regiment in place. Massage is great to partner with other disciplines.  When you choose wellness as a life style you should consider many things.

Life style regiment

1. Muscle
2 Structure
3. Function
4. Mindset
5. Nutrient
6. Regiment
7. supplements

Every person has their idea of what wellness look like. This may not be your view however consider what wellness look like to you. Massage can help you Relax, Rejuvenate. Recover. What stage of  wellness are you in?

For more details about our wellness plans please go to my website or call .


Tunisia Macklin, LMT
(630)481-6079
www.studioofmassage.com
botaniclemassage@gmail.com