Here was a great question from the Face Book party:
Q: Is massage supposed to hurt?
A: Pressure is so subjective. Some people really like the firm pressure that “hurts so good,” and some do not. Tension should not be bullied out. There is always a certain amount of finesse about it, and not just brute strength. Speed and surface area have a lot to do with whether or not the pressure hurts or feels good. There is an edge to a muscle … between the muscle giving way and fighting back. The muscle should give way just ahead of the pressure like a melting butter pad. This is the “hurts so good” pressure. That amount of pressure is different for every person, so the trick is being able to feel that edge.
Lots of people ask about different types of massage. There are different modalities such as Sweedish, Hot Stone, Reiki, Shiatsu, Lomi Lomi, Thai, etc. These modalities use different techniques of manipulating the soft tissues of the body. Typically there is some continuing education beyond massage school to get certified for these different techniques. But often the question is in reference to deep tissue/treatment and relaxation. So here is my soap box about that.
During my brief adventure in teaching at East West College, students would say “I’m only going to do treatment massage.” or “I only want to do relaxation massage.” Here’s the thing. Every massage should ultimately be relaxing the muscle tissue, and thus every massage will have theraputic benefit. The trick is tailor fitting the massage to the individuals needs. So… a treatment massage should be a relaxing massage, and a relaxation massage should be treating the clients soft tissue needs.
Welcome to Bloom!!!
Hope you had a good time on our little face book party tonight. Looking forward to seeing you all at Bloom for your Hot Stone Neck & Shoulder Therapies very soon. Cheers!
