Massage Story
How do you want people to remember your massage?
When you perform a massage, what kind of story are you telling? When someone describes their experience to their friends, what story do you want them to share? Are you crafting an experience that captivates the mind, body, and soul?
Massage is an adventure; it awakens your senses, strengthens your mind-body connection, and helps you feel alive. When you receive a massage, every second of your session should feel spectacular, so that you rise feeling replenished, rejuvenated, and restored.
Considerateness
The first step in creating a magnificent massage is to think about your audience. What do they want, what kind of adventure do they want to experience, and how do they want to feel at the end?
Asking these questions is the golden rule of massage in action. You are asking how someone else wants to be treated; that’s the very thing we all wish others would do for us. If you want to be a massage therapist who helps people regularly experience the massage of their dreams, the most important trait you can have is considerateness.
Truly, it is one of the most important character traits you can have in life. When people know you think about them when they’re not around, it draws them in, because they want to be around people who consider their welfare without having to ask.
If you take the time to think about the kind of experience people want to have when not giving a massage, how much of an impact do you think that would have on when you are? Think about what you could do today that wouldn’t cost you anything to improve the mystique and quality of your massage.
If you find yourself short on ideas, do what all creatives do for inspiration: see out the artwork of other creatives.
Seek Out Inspiration
Massage is an art, and to practice it joyfully, you must have an abundance of imagination available at your fingertips. When a writer is running on fumes, he seeks out other types of media to refuel. Creatives listen to music, look at artwork, read books, and admire the brilliant minds of those who are making things around them.
As massage therapists, we can do all those things and get a massage. Massages feel awesome, but it’s easy to forget how wonderful they are if you haven’t had one in a while. Generating new ideas to enhance your client’s experience becomes even harder if you can’t remember how delightful they can be.
This is another reason why massage trades are so important. By trading an hour or so of your time, you can be immersed in the story another massage artist weaves.
Writing Your Massage Story
If massage is a story, how do you write it? After you have established your audience, brainstormed the setting, and built the mystique of your massage, you can look at the structure of each session.
Do you have patterns in your session? When you are giving a massage, how many of the techniques are performed randomly, and how many are applied with intent? Do you perform the same techniques on each side equally? Are there any points in your massage where your client could anticipate your next technique?
Patterns in your massage session are valuable because they show the client you have a plan and respect order. Order is important because it provides safety; a massage without safety isn’t relaxing, and if the client can’t relax, then the experience is heightening their anxiety and potentially their perception of pain.
Pattern
The pattern is the process of setting the stage. It communicates to the client that we have a plan and are actively concentrating on what we are doing. It shows we have discipline, order, and an enjoyable degree of predictability. Pattern is essential if we want to reduce perceived chaos in our session.
Every massage should be performed like we are telling a story. A reader, just like a client, must be able to predict what will happen next. If you massage their right arm, the client will want their left arm massaged similarly.
They know each side will not be massaged in exactly the same way, but their subconscious mind searches for a pattern. If you can’t provide some degree of predictability, it will reduce their comfort and trust in you.
Trust erodes because the mind constantly searches for incongruences. Throughout life, the mind quickly learns that when things don’t align correctly, it signals that something is amiss. Order is the foundation of safety, and chaos is the spawning pool of pain.
When performing a massage, our goal should be to encourage safety and peacefulness; one way to achieve this is through patterns. In a full-body massage without a focus, apply all techniques on one side in the same way to the other.
This is the reason I advocate for massage therapists to use the Rule of Three.
The Rule of Three
The Rule of Three is a method for creating a cohesive and predictable application of techniques that helps clients anticipate what the massage therapist will do. In essence, it states, “Every technique must be applied at least three times.”
It helps improve communication
People may not even detect whether they enjoy a technique until its second application. By performing it a third time, you give them the opportunity to tell you that they liked. If they tell you they liked it, double the number of times you perform it to maximize the client’s pleasure and benefit.
It helps us keep track of your techniques
The Rule of Three helps you track your techniques. Far too many massage therapists perform a technique once and move on. This can frustrate a client, especially if the sensation felt really good or directly addressed the issue they wanted focused.
It prevents the potpourri effect
The potpourri effect occurs when your massage seems random, unpredictable, and unplanned. This reduces the client’s confidence in your abilities and lowers their comfort and satisfaction.
It helps a therapist remember their techniques
When freestyling, it helps increase the likelihood you’ll remember how to perform it and use it again in another session.
Variety
Variety is the lifeblood of an amazing massage. It is the twists and turns of a session. Like a good book, a story needs an ebb and flow of fascinating tales. In massage, variety keeps the central nervous system engaged. It creates anticipation and changes things up just enough to keep the session from becoming boring.
How do you add variety to a session? You change things up. Many therapists fall into the pattern of performing the same session for everyone. I call this a macro formula, and it often creates a lackluster experience. Everyone is different, so every session you perform should be unique as well.
Instead of using a macro-formula, you should be creating micro-formulas.
- Micro-formulas are sequences of three or more techniques that are performed in succession. Creating micro-formulas helps improve memory retention of techniques while promoting harmony and balance within a massage. They also help you design effective strategies to improve session results. By nature, a micro-formula creates variety because each technique differs from the previous one.
- Micro-formulas can help prevent the potpourri effect if they are used harmoniously with effective transitions. Any technique or micro-formula can feel like potpourri if it is poorly planned.
You can create variety through lubrication, tools, techniques, and pressure levels during a session. Anything that adjusts the client’s perception of your touch will increase the variety of the massage.
When using variety, integrate the other principles of massage into your session, especially harmony. This is because variety’s enemy is chaos. The more chaotic and unplanned your session appears, the worse your client’s experience will be.
Harmony
When a massage has good harmony, it means the techniques used throughout the session work well together. The determining factor is whether the techniques align with the session’s intent. Using firm pressure in a light-pressure Swedish massage clearly indicates disharmony.
To achieve harmony in a session, every technique must flow or logically interconnect. For example, if your client has fallen asleep during a relaxation massage, aggressive, rapid tapotement would likely create disharmony.
Balance
Balance is whether you massage both sides of the body equally.
Are You Ready to Learn How To Massage?
If you have been searching for “massage classes near me” or “massage schools near me,” you are in luck, because I offer massage classes to people who want to learn how to provide a magnificent massage.
Schedule a class today and learn how to help others feel spectacular in wonderful ways.
Disclaimer
Information provided on this website, including educational materials, pain neuroscience explanations, treatment suggestions, and any other content shared during sessions, classes, or coaching, is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
You should always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical concerns. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information you receive here.
O'Fallon Massage
JB SPA
2717 Hwy K, O’Fallon, MO 63368