What to Expect When Getting Your First Massage

If you’ve never gone to a professional massage therapist, your first time can seem a little bit intimidating.  Most people tend to get uncomfortable with the fact that the masseuse will want you to remove all of your clothing for the massage.  Don’t worry about this.  Massage therapists are experts at using cotton sheets and towels to make sure that the only part of your body exposed is the part they’re actually working on.

If you’re claustrophobic, you may have a little bit of a problem with the way massage chairs are designed.  Most of them have a hole that your face goes through so that you don’t have to turn your head to the side while you’re getting a massage.  This keeps your spine straight during the massage.  This face-down position may take a little bit of getting used to but, if you just endure the initial surprise, the massage will usually relax you enough so that you’re don’t feel too weird about it once the massage therapist gets to work.

Make sure you communicate to your therapist which parts of your body are giving you trouble.  It may not seem like they’re actually working on those parts of your body at first, but you’ll be surprised to discover how much one part of your body influences the others.  For instance, they may help alleviate pain in your lower back by working on your shoulders, which typically store tension inside knotted muscles, or they may help alleviate pain in your neck and shoulders by working on your arms, as all these muscles are deeply connected.

Oftentimes, your first massage will end up with you falling asleep midway through the procedure.  This is not something that you should worry about.  In fact, some therapists take this as a compliment.  Provided that you have a therapist that you’re comfortable with working with, you should find that the masseuse is able to alleviate a lot of your muscle tension and stress.