What do you look for when searching for a Massage Therapist?

I wanted to post a few blogs with the intention of helping people choose the right therapist and modalities and also help them to show up in their best state so that they can get the most from their session. The first thing and perhaps the most important thing that came to my mind surrounded the topic of trust & safety.

Massage therapy is a very intimate and personal experience that deserves much respect and careful consideration both from therapist and client. As a client, you are allowing someone to touch your own body and hear the details of your medical history and how you’re feeling in relationship to touch. As a therapist you are holding space for those things and staying educated on your profession, contraindications, and tuning into the fact that how someone might be perceiving touch or the way their body feels might be incongruent with how their soft tissue feels as you palpate it. When you create trust and safety in massage therapy, the client has the best chance of leaving feeling restored and taken care of. And the therapist has the best chance of doing their best work! 

While trust can definitely take a few sessions and some time to establish fully, you can always lay a small foundation with the communication leading up to your first session. Feel free to interview and ask all the questions that help relieve any hesitation or anxiety regarding your first session. These questions may be as unique and different as every individual. Allow the way that the therapist answers them to help you decide whether they are the right fit for you and will provide a safe environment during a session.

The reason why I believe this is the most important thing to consider is because a stressed system is a guarded system. When the nervous system feels it needs to be protected and guarded, it can create tissue tension patterns. And yes, I’m sure that is why you are visiting a massage therapist to begin with 🙂 – so in order to get the most out of your session, you will want to find someone who allows you to let down your guard!

I hope this helps give you a little more insight into picking a massage therapist. Please feel free to comment or sent me a message on your thoughts! Click here to contact.

And in the meantime, feel free to check out this article on how stress effects the body to learn more about the importance of feeling safe and relaxed during your massage session. Stress effects on the body (apa.org)