Massage: Some Frequently Asked Questions

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Please note that these pages are all subject to future revision, so please check back for updates or changes in policy.

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Common Questions

What are your general policies regarding scheduling & cancellation, privacy, and so on?
Please see my Policies page for more details...

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Can you come to my place? How much space will we need?
I'm happy to do housecalls within a particular range - I primarily serve the eastern side of Los Angeles. Expect to pay/exchange a little extra for housecalls, especially if you live outside of my general zone - gas is expensive...

As for space, if I'm coming to your place I'd need at least an 8x8 to 10x10 space to set up my table and be able to manuever around comfortably...

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What are you doing to me during a massage?
On the grand scale, a good massage therapist simply listens to you...

I listen with my ears - to your questions & concerns, for your personal narrative of past injuries and areas to focus on or avoid, for verbal or pre-verbal feedback during the massage, for sighs of relief, etc ...

I listen with my eyes - for the color of your skin, for the rise and fall of your breath, for any signs of comfort or discomfort, for any visible imbalances or holding patterns, etc ...

And of course, I listen with my touch - for the texture of your skin and muscles, for areas of resistance and tension, for nervousness, for the release that accompanies relaxation, etc ...

And finally, I listen with my intuition - educated hunches guide me through a conversation (or dance) with your body, a process of listening, noticing and responding in the moment, slowly, fully, confidently...

Other than that, I'm technically manipulating your soft tissue - skin, muscles, fluids - and bringing attention to areas of tension with the hope of encouraging relaxation. Massage can be a great reminder that below our neck we have, believe it or not, a body. Imagine that. But in fact, we often forget, and are surprised when with the slightest touch the therapist finds a mega-sensitive area on our thigh that we never knew was there. Through my listening, you will listen too - we listen together, reminding your bodymind of its depth and edges.

Here's an interesting image: Imagine that your mind and the thoughts residing within your head resemble a big lumpy wad of cream cheese. Then, during the massage, I would suggest that it is our job to spread that cream cheese throughout your entire body, so that you've a nice even consistency by the end, lessening the perceived division between cream-cheese-mind and bagel-body by increasing your mindfulness to the variety of new sensations vibrating throughout ...

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Is massage supposed to hurt?
Not at all!
The "no pain, no gain" mentality does not have to apply to massage!
Keep this in mind: your massage is more about you and your body than about your therapist's ego. If you ever feel uncomfortable about anything they are doing, or if anything is ever painful, simply tell them to stop. If they respond with hurt feelings, they are not the right therapist for you - the massage therapist's primary job is to listen to you.

The truth is, if something the therapist is doing really, really hurts, then they are doing something wrong. Period. Most "problems" can be treated by simply [re-]awakening the tissue with a combination of strokes and sustained pressure in the right areas. Some particularly sensitive areas like trigger points can be painful to the touch, and the usual procedure is to apply pressure just below the threshold of pain and then hold for around 60- to 90-seconds (about the amount of time that it takes for your blood to fully circulate through the body and make it back to where it started). This allows your body to stretch, readjust, and unwind at its own pace, rather than forcing it to move before it's ready, and the therapist works more as a facilitator-for-healing than as a healer-warrior.
Trust me when I say to trust yourself - your body is smarter and more aware of itself than any therapist can ever be - trust it when it says something hurts, and speak up loudly and clearly to communicate your needs whenever necessary, without ever feeling embarrassed...

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What does a "full-body massage" consist of?
Well, a standard full-body massage is a head-to-toe procedure (not necessarily in that order), and typically covers the following areas: feet, legs, gluts, arms, back & shoulders, neck, and very top edge of the chest. Depending on the amount of time left, or perhaps after choosing to focus on some areas more than others, additional zones can also be covered: stomach, face and scalp.

It's up to the client and the therapist to determine the scope of the massage beforehand, although in some cases decisions are made when nearing the middle or end of the massage based on what is discovered along the way...

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When and how will I get naked? Do I have to?
It can be funny to sit and watch my first-time clients squirm and ponder this question (while fully clothed) as we introduce ourselves and begin to talk about the expectations of the session. This is the primary question that is often racing silently through everyone's mind, despite trying to seem calm and collected on the outside.

However, rest assured that while many people prefer to wear nothing at all during a massage, it is recommended that you always dress to your own level of comfort - for example, many people keep their underwear on, and it is not unheard of to wear other articles of clothing during a swedish massage. Even if you choose to take the "natural" path, you can sleep easy knowing the following:

In anycase, if nervousness or the fear of exposure is an issue, always honor your needs, and communicate them to me if necessary. And in extreme cases, instead of ruling massage out altogether, I would highly recommend looking into my chair massage services - chair massage (see below for more details) is always performed while fully clothed and can be just as therapeutic and satisfying as any table work.

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Why do you guys always tell me to drink a lot of water?
First off, note also that the body is composed primarily of water: "Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water. Blood contains 83% water, body fat contains 25% water and bone has 22% water." (from Wikipedia). Remaining hydrated is a major concern of the body.

Secondly, massage is primarily a manipulation of the "soft tissue", a category which includes not only the muscles and flesh, but the fluids within your body as well. Note that two of the primary functions of your circulatory system include replenishing your cells by delivering nutrients, and carrying away waste products for disposal. During the process of squeezing and rubbing and applying pressure to the body, the fluids within you begin to move, and circulation increases dramatically; your body is encouraged to start cleaning up after itself and begins to flush out any waste materials, which are deposited directly into your bloodstream. Increased water intake helps to keep up with the process of eliminating waste, and your body is replenished with a fresh stream of fluids. If you become dehydrated following a massage and/or do not drink enough water for the next day or two, you run the risk of suffering from headaches or even illness.

Note that drinking beverages other than water are not the same - anything containing caffeine or alcohol actually works to dehydrate the body. While I don't suggest drinking anything but water following a massage, if you insist on doing otherwise, I would at least recommend matching each glass of whatever you decide to drink with the same number of glasses of water. In anycase beware...

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I got sick with a cold after my massage - WTF?
It's not uncommon for people to occasionally come down with a cold or other brief illness following a massage. If your body is already harboring any pathogens, and/or working to prevent a cold from beginning, a massage might actually speed this process along and force the pathogens right out into the open - the result being the effects of a cold as your immune system begins to attack the previously hidden illness. Note that in my personal experience this primarily occurs in someone who is already coming down with a cold.

This is not necessarily a negative thing, unless of course it's unexpected - but what illness is really ever expected? Just keep in mind that if this does occur, in most cases the massage was simply illuminating and accelerating something that was already starting to happen, and that your body will actually benefit from the increased circulation and relaxation witnessed during the massage...

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Questions About the Modalities I Offer

What is Swedish massage?
Swedish massage consists primarly of gliding strokes and therapeutic kneading of the soft tissue - skin, muscles, and fluids - with the aim of relaxing the body and mind, and increasing circulation and sensation throughout.

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What is Trigger Point therapy?
In Trigger Point therapy, I use my thumbs and elbows to press and hold those tender "knots" commonly found around the body. With gentle, sustained pressure over a period of 1 to 3 (or more) minutes, these trigger points quickly soften, loosen and melt as that area of the body relaxes and repairs itself.

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What is Myofascial Release?
Myofascial Release involves a whole-body view of treatment, where the body exists in a state of balanced, intelligent tension (like a suspension bridge), with the motions and strains of life spread out through the entire body via connective tissue known as fascia. This kind of tension is known as Tensegrity (coined by Buckminster Fuller).

This weblike fascial tissue - the outer and inner coverings of the muscle fibers - challenges our preconceptions of our muscles (and the actions they perform and the pains they occasionally hold) as being independent, localized entities. In actuality, the fascia of the body connects these muscles - to one other, to the skin, and to the organs - so that problems are often more complicated than simply treating the affected area. In other words: treatment of only the symptom (the place that hurts) may actually only be treating half (or less) of the problem. For instance, when too much tension builds up in one area of the body, the effects may create discomfort in a variety of places - or vice versa - tension may build up in a variety of areas, with the resulting pain or system only arising (or being noticed) in one particular area far away.

In a treatment session, then, we might treat the feet in an attempt to help loosen up the calves and hamstrings; or we might knead the psoas muscle (along the insides of your upper thigh) in order to treat lower back pain, and so on. So while something like Swedish massage involves lots of slow smooth strokes over the entire body, Myofascial Release proceeds at an even slower pace, usually focusing only on a handful of locations, and involving deep holds and stretches that may last upwards of 3 to 5 to 7 minutes in duration, allowing the client's fascia to slowly stretch and release to a more relaxed and balanced position and lessened state of tension.

In a certain sense, most all massage could be looked as dealing primarily with the myofascial system, though Myofascial Release focuses primarily on the deep and the slow, with the therapist acts more as a slow-motion facilitator by simply "suggesting" a more balanced a position with holds and stretches, and then waiting for the body to relax, act and reposition itself.

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What is chair massage?
Chair massage is performed in a semi-upright position using a special massage chair rather than a table, and all the strokes are performed on a clothed body. Lately, you may have witnessed somebody receiving chair massage in public at the supermarket, in the office, at the mall, or elsewhere.

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Why might I be interested in chair massage?
Chair massage can take place in public places, and can also be applied while clothed. In addition, chair massage allows for easy gravitational access to the back, gluts, shoulders and elsewhere, which means you can have some mega-therapeutic fun in these areas if desired.

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I got a chair massage at the mall and it sucked - why would I want to get one from you?
Well, chair massage doesn't have to suck, and chances are you were worked on by someone who was either new to the form, or had not really studied the possibilities of what the chair can provide.

I myself have taken several classes dedicated solely to the study of chair massage under the tutelage of teachers who have been doing chair work for 15+ years. With the chair I'm able to do a full-body massage that is incredibly therapeutic, using Trigger Point therapy and some myo-fascial techniques. A real chair massage session can go anywhere from 5-minutes to 1-hour or longer, and can be extremely satisfying when the therapist is really listening to your body's needs.

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What about all the other bodywork modalitities I've heard of?
There's tons of ways to approach the body, and I encourage you to explore. I have a handful of useful leads listed on my Links page, which I try to update regularly - please help yourself! In addition, I have many friends working within a variety of the listed modalities, and would be happy to give you a referral...

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Next: Current Schedule

last updated 26 Dec 2007