Frequently Asked Questions

Who can benefit from receiving massage/bodywork?
Individuals in all walks of life can enjoy the benefits of massage/bodywork. If you are a stressed-out executive, a student, a laborer, a stay-at-home mom, or disabled person, massage/bodywork may be an option to aid you on the road to recovery, well-being or maintaining your level of health. Massage/bodywork can help release muscular tension and pain, reduce mental and physical fatigue, reduce stress, and promote faster healing.

What conditions may be improved by massage therapy?
The basic benefits of massage therapy are that it lowers blood pressure, increases circulation, relaxes muscle and relieves stress. Massage may also relieve symptoms of: arthritis, asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic/acute pain, gastrointestinal disorders, headache, immune function disorders, insomnia, myofascial pain, reduced range of motion, sports injuries, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), etc.

Do I need to undress completely before a massage session?
You are asked to undress to whatever point you are comfortable. This means you may remain fully clothed, you may undress completely, or anything in between. I will leave the room and give you sufficient time to undress and get on the table under a sheet.

During the massage, only the part of your body currently being treated is uncovered. Those parts of your body generally considered private are not uncovered or worked on. If you have any particular preferences about parts of your body you do not want worked on, you may request that before the session. In the case of pain relief work, the matter of undressing and covering will depend primarily on two factors: what and where the problem is and what approach, modalities and techniques will be used. I will let you know where and how I intend to work on your body, and ask you to undress to whatever degree is necessary for effective work to take place.

Does massage hurt?
In the course of a massage, the therapist will probably find areas of tenderness or pain. The level of pain will depend entirely on the therapist’s techniques. Receiving massage strokes in tender areas often creates a very satisfying sensation of "good pain." If, however, a client has to hold their breath, furrow their brow, or tense their body to endure the pain, they need to ask the therapist to decrease the pressure or try a different technique. Severe pain triggers the release of stress hormones into the bloodstream, which is hardly the goal of massage therapy