Massages are perfect when you are feeling stressed or tense. They can help your body and mind, and have you leaving your appointment better than ever. The time frame may seem daunting, with it often taking around an hour at minimum, but it is well worth it for the relaxation you get at the end.
But you may be wondering, “What is a full body massage”? Or maybe you are anxious about how it works or how to know if you need one. This article is here to explain it to you.
What Is Full Body Massage?
As the name suggests, a full body massage is aimed at relaxing your entire body. They usually go from your arms and hands down to your legs and feet. This means that everything in the middle, including your back, neck, stomach, and even butt gets massaged. Some therapists will even massage the scalp or pectoral muscles.
They try to focus on areas that need a lot of attention, such as places where you hold your stress and there are a couple of different kinds of massages that cover the full body. The most common one is a Swedish massage, which is where the therapist works the muscle tissue until it relaxes and is warmer, breaking up knots that may form.
There is also a deep tissue massage, which works similarly to a Swedish massage with more pressure. A hot stone massage uses warmed-up rocks on your muscles to relax any tight spots. If you go to a really nice place, you can get a shiatsu, which is when your therapist stands on you and uses their feet to work through the knots.
A lot of people are nervous the first time they go. After all, most people aren’t often touched in private places by complete strangers unless they are doing something very intimate. It can also be confusing to understand the rules, such as whether you will be wearing clothing, if your therapist will be the same gender as you, and what to do if you feel uncomfortable.
Most therapists recommend that if you’ve never gotten a massage before, you can start with upper body massages. This includes your back, neck, and shoulders and is a lot less intimate. However, if you are graduating from that massage to a full body one, there are some steps you can do to make it easier.
For example, you can usually talk to your therapist about modesty. They often have towels so you can keep certain parts covered and they leave you alone while you are getting dressed.
It’s a lot like going to a doctor to get the intimate parts checked out. Your therapist will move the towel as needed, and keep you covered up as much as possible. But if you aren’t comfortable getting undressed at all, your therapist will often be willing to work with you.
You can also talk to them about places to skip. For example, if you aren’t sure about getting your glutes massaged, but want your legs, hands, and shoulders massaged, you can ask them to skip that area. Most are very understanding that it can be stressful the first time, and they also know that if you are uncomfortable or nervous, you won’t get as much out of your massage.
Finally, if you have a preference for the gender of your massage therapist, you can call ahead and ask them to book it with one gender or another. Most often, especially with women or non-binary people, they will ask what gender they are most comfortable with. But if they don’t, you can always ask, as most are very understanding.
