I like receiving massage from people I don’t know. For many reasons, the main one being I do not always have the time to exchange. And, I’m not a fan of exchanging on the same day… something ends up feeling off for me. So I received a massage from a stranger the other day and these are a few things I learned.
- A massage session is all about the person receiving the session. Not rocket science, I know but something to remind myself of nonetheless. From the second my guests walk through the door I want to be on top of what they need to make them the most comfortable. My ego takes a seat and the selfless therapist in me takes over.I feel this is where the real healing begins. Now, obviously this is an ideal situation, and almost never happens 100%. However, I was reminded the other day to constantly be striving to be selfless during the session from beginning to end.
- If I have a discussion with a client before the session its not a bad idea to take notes on the conversation. It helps the person feel heard and its super thoughtful. I need to write things down. Even in regular friendships quite often I will write down what we chatted about and revisit it before the next time I see them. Its also a great way for me to decompress.
- When a person is talking to you about their body, be a captive audience. I know that there are some people that like to get people right on the table and go to from there. I respect that and sometimes work that way. However, sometimes people need to talk out their pain. Carefully keeping them within the boundaries of the physical body I feel it is important to let my client be heard.
Another reason I like to receive from strangers is that I always learn something new about the massage experience. Sometimes it’s a new technique and other times its more from the customer service point of view. Either way, I’m always learning!
How do you receive massage? Are you and exchange person, do you prefer to pay or a combo? Let me know in the comments!
somatically minded 