1) Do you recommend a 60 or 90 minutes massage session?
2) What is the difference between a "Deep Tissue" massage and a "deep"
massage?
3) How often should I receive massage?
4) Is it necessary to disrobe completely for the massage?
5) Is deeper better?
6) I tend to fall asleep during massages, do I miss out?
7) Is it ok to converse during my session?
8) What do I do if I feel (insert adjective here) after the massage?
9) Is it customary to tip a massage therapist?
10) Can I combine multiple discounts?
11) I want to get bodywork, but it's cost prohibitive for me in my
current financial situation. Do you ever work on a sliding scale?
12) Does "energy work" like Reiki really work?
13) In hypnosis, am I still in control or does the hypnotist control me?
14) What is the success rate of hypnotherapy?
15) I see you offer a cure for allergies via hypnosis. How does that
work?
1) Do you recommend a 60 or 90 minutes massage session?
While an hour session is the industry standard and provides just
enough time to work with most of the main muscle groups, I consider a
massage session given in the 60 minute format to be a brief or condensed session.
A 90 minute session allows a level of depth and relaxation that
shorter sessions do not. In the longer format, I am afforded time to
slow down to a pace where your body is more likely to relax and heal
your body. A 90 minute session provides me
with additional time to search for and treat areas of concentrated
tension, trigger points, scar tissue, and/or adhesions found throughout
the entire body. This includes working with muscle groups that are often
skipped over in shorter sessions, e.g. abdominals (including illio-psoas),
gluteals, adductors, IT band, and pecs.
In a Deep Tissue session, because of the intensity of the work,
we typically wouldn't work for longer that an hour on a particular
problem area. However, in a 90 minute session we can tie some of the
more intense parts together with relaxing and balancing strokes.
If you're looking for an excellent, truly complete session, I highly
recommend the 90 minute session. You're going to love it!
If you're still not sure, just ask when you book your appointment.
2) What is the difference between a "Deep Tissue" massage and a
"deep" massage?
The source of constant confusion for many people (including massage
therapists) is the term "Deep Tissue." The name implies that it is
simply a full-body Swedish massage using "deeper" or firmer pressure,
which it is not.
In a Deep Tissue session, just as in a Swedish session the depth of
pressure varies according to the tolerance and needs of the client. The
difference lies not in the pressure used but rather in the object and
focus of the work.
In a Swedish session, regardless of the pressure used, the focus is
providing a "complete" and relaxing session. The strokes are designed to
be broad and non-specific with a focus on providing a sense of wholeness
and balance.
In a Deep Tissue session, the focus is on
treating a particular injury or pain pattern. Here, we define an area of
related and opposing muscles and work just in that area. In this type of
session, we thoroughly search each involved muscle from insertion to
origin for scar tissue, adhesions, trigger points, and other tissue
abnormalities and attempt to normalize the tissue using a variety of
techniques. For example, in this type of session, we can spend the
entire session on just one shoulder and the muscles that might be
involved with it. Most frequently, in a Deep Tissue session, I
give a whole body session as in the hour format, but use the extra 30
minutes to focus intensely with Deep Tissue work on your problem area.
I find for most people this is either the upper back (for people who
work on computers or at a desk or driving) or the lower back (for people
who work in some type of physical labor or stand all day).
If you're considering a Deep Tissue session, be prepared with a
single problem area with which you would like to work. There is
sometimes enough time in a session to work more than one area of the
body, but the more focused you are, the more focused and successful
the therapy will be.
3) How often should I receive massage?
Although the answer to this question varies on a case by case basis,
I usually recommend that if we are treating a particular condition or if
you are generally holding excessive tension that you receive sessions
once a week for four weeks. After that, we will reassess your needs and
can usually move to every other week and ultimately, once a month for
maintenance.
For those who are generally healthy and active, I usually recommend
receiving sessions every two to four weeks.
People today tend to treat massage as a luxury. I happen to
believe that massage is a necessity. The number one killer of
people in the USA is heart disease and heart-related problems.
Massage is a proven technique for improving circulation and
strengthening the heart. Can you afford to treat the health of
your heart as a luxury? You insure your car, your home and your
life, so isn't it just as vital to insure yourself against problems of
the heart by receiving regular massage from a qualified professional? Human touch and the healing that comes from
it provides a profound and lasting way of maintaining your health at an
optimum level, so long as you treat it as medicine rather than as
entertainment or a luxury.
4)
Is it necessary to disrobe completely for the massage?
First and foremost, you should feel comfortable and safe. If you are
feeling guarded and insecure, your muscles will be tense and generally
difficult to work on and relax. If disrobing is not something with which you are completely
comfortable, then you shouldn't. Any article of clothing you choose to
wear can be worked around and the muscles accessed indirectly. In my
experience, women clients leave at least some article of
clothing on during the massage, but men rarely do. I generally
assume that this is due to women being wary of a strange man touching
them inappropriately. Rest assured, my massages are 100%
therapeutic, and you'll never be touched inappropriately. You're
welcome to be as clothed or unclothed as you wish.
That said, if you choose to disrobe completely you can rest assured
that proper draping techniques under a sheet will keep you from being exposed
or getting cold, while
allowing for direct access to your muscles. Also, if you are a
nudist or very comfortable being nude in front of a massage therapist,
and do not wish to be draped, that is also your option, though I find
about 75% of my clients prefer to be draped.
5) Is deeper better?
Not necessarily. There is no reward for heroism in massage! Ideally,
we will work at your tolerance level and not beyond. If the work is too
deep, your body will naturally resist and fight back, inhibiting your
muscles ability to relax and heal! If I use too little or too much
pressure, please use your voice and let me know. I'm always
willing to adjust my technique to your desires, but I won't ever go so
deep as to bruise you or harm your body.
6) I tend to fall asleep during massages, do I miss out?
People will sometimes "drift off" into a wonderful trance-like
slumber for brief moments during their session. If this happens to you,
don't worry you haven't missed out. Your body is still receiving
benefits from the massage and you get the additional benefit of some
high quality rest and relaxation! Not only that, when sleeping
your muscles naturally relax and let go due to a special mechanism in
the body that prevents most of us from walking around in the dream
state. This relaxation mechanism for your body means your massage
will probably provide an even deeper level of relaxation and healing
than might occur were you conscious for the entire massage.
7) Is it ok to converse during my session?
Yes. It's ok to spend the session doing whatever makes you
comfortable. However, I find most clients don't want to talk. They
just want to relax and be quiet and receive. Thus, I will not
attempt to initiate conversation, and will
follow your lead on when it's time to be quiet.
8) What do I do if I feel (insert adjective here) after the massage?
If after the massage, anything comes up for you which you are unsure
about, call me!!
If during your session, we did deep, focused work, it is not
uncommon for you to feel sore after the massage. This is part of the
healing process. The most important thing to do if your muscles feel
sore after a massage is to ice them, which causes vasoconstriction and
decreased temperature resulting in a decrease in swelling, inflammation,
and pain.
9) Is it customary to tip a massage therapist?
As with any service, tips are always greatly appreciated. Although not necessary, massage therapists generally receive tips on
top of the hourly rate. I have been tipped anywhere from about 10% to
about 50% by my clients, and probably 25% of new clients don't tip at
all. And of course, non-monetary tokens of your
appreciation are welcomed as well..
10) Can I combine multiple discounts?
Sorry, you cannot combine discounts! I offer so many different deals
that combining them becomes complicated, and could even result in giving
sessions for free. For example, say I have a 50% off special
running for two weeks, and you've provided a qualified referral (also a
50% discount). If I allowed "stacking" of discounts, this would
mean a free session. I'd love to be able to work on those who need
my services for free, but the rent must be paid and there must be food
on my table, so no stacking of discounts. One discount at a time.
If you qualify for more than one, pick one.
11) I want to get bodywork, but it's cost prohibitive for me in my
current financial situation. Do you ever work on a sliding scale?
Under very specific circumstances, I make a few appointments
available on a sliding scale. Call for more information and be prepared
to explain your situation in detail. Artists, performers, holistic
practitioners, activists, the disabled, and those contributing to a stronger community
are given preference.
Additionally, if you visit on a regular basis (2 or more times per
month) for any type of session, and do so on an ongoing basis, then I am
willing to work with your budget more flexibly. A regular and
consistent client deserves a discount for being a loyal client, in my
book, and thus I'm more willing to work with my "regulars" on a special
price than I am with someone who comes once, or comes only once every
two months.
12) Does "energy work" like Reiki really work?
Yes. I invite you to take a couple of minutes to let go of your
preconceived notions about medicine and think about how healing works.
Everyone is familiar with the "placebo effect." Most drugs
today are tested in what are called "double-blind placebo controlled
studies." In this type of research, patients are either given the
new drug, or they are given placebo. Placebo is simply a sugar
pill. It has literally no healing effect whatsoever. Yet in
numerous studies, the placebo group does nearly as well as those who
receive the actual medicine. In some studies, the placebo group
does better.
Consider that "faith healers" and "medicine men" around the world
have a cure rate of about 55%, whereas western doctors have a cure rate
of 50%.
What does this say about medicine and healing? Obviously that's
up for debate. What it says to me, however, is that if you expect
to be healed the healing will work more powerfully. If you believe
your healer will heal you, then you are more likely to heal. The
mind/body connection is incredibly strong in humans. We can cure
ourselves with the right thoughts and beliefs. If our minds are
powerful enough to make placebo work, then they're powerful enough to
make anything work.
Reiki works powerfully on anyone, in my experience. It works
most powerfully, however, on those who believe in it as a healing art.
If you're highly skeptical of such things, another treatment may be more
appropriate for you.
13) In hypnosis, am I still in control or does the hypnotist control
me?
You always remain in control in a state of hypnosis. A
hypnotherapist cannot make you do things you would not do in an ordinary
state of consciousness. You give over no control to the
hypnotherapist. This is why hypnotherapy requires that you be
willing, able and committed to achieving your goals.
14) What is the success rate of hypnotherapy?
This is a difficult question to answer. Studies show varying
rates depending upon the problem, the cure, and the hypnotherapist.
If you want to quit smoking, for example, hypnotherapy has been shown to have a
success rate of approximately 30-60%, depending upon the study being
done. Even at 30 percent, this means
hypnotherapy is the single most
effective method of smoking cessation.
I happen to believe that the success rate for hypnotherapy is 100%,
given that: a) the client is truly motivated to change their behavior, b)
the hypnotherapist is a skilled and well trained individual, and c) the
client does not resist going into a state of hypnosis. If all
three of these qualifications are met, I have yet to see hypnotherapy
fail.
15) I see you offer a cure for allergies via hypnosis. How does
that work?
Allergies are a mistake of the immune system. Allergies develop
when we are in a period of particular stress and difficulty in life.
Most commonly, they develop during a move, a divorce, the death of a
family member, etc. The body is under stress, and the immune
system kicks into full gear to "fix" the problem. Then some common
substance enters the body, such as pollen. The immune system is
fooled by this, and attacks the substance, believing it to be the
"cause" of the stress levels.
In hypnosis, we discover the root of the allergy and instruct your
subconscious mind to communicate with the immune system and treat the
"allergen" the same as every other common substance, rather than as a
foreign invader.
