It can be very frustrating to finally decide to try massage for the very first time and find out that there is an endless list of different types of massage and each of them seems to make wonders to recipient.
To choose the right one depends on having clarity on what you expect from the treatment, but also knowing your personality, be aware of the condition of your body and your life style.
My advice is to look at the menu for massages, as individual treatments, rather than part of beauty body wraps, rituals etc if you want to experience massage in its purest form.
They will have different names of course but generally they will be divided into several basic categories related to their types, length and parts of the body they will be performed on.
If this will be your first massage, the general rule is do not go for a very long treatment. Massage has a profound effect on the body. It seems passive as you are just laying down and enjoying it, but it deeply involves every biological system and also impacts positively your mental and emotional being. It should be introduced gradually between 45 - 60 min on the first session.
It also relates to your personality. If you worry a lot and have difficulties to switch off your mind, getting caught in a room for a long treatment can be a nightmare! You need to learn how to let yourself relax, how to give up your worries, connect with your body. Its again a gradual process.
Another important aspect is your general approach to touch. You might be aware that you need massage because the tension in your shoulders or neck or back is killing you, but on the other hand you can perceive this whole business with massage as a bit ‘touchy’ and feel deeply uncomfortable about it.
You might be very sensitive to touch and afraid that massage will be too strong for you. You might like your face to be touched, but the idea of somebody touching your body can be very unpleasant for many reasons or vice versa …or you might even accept massage only if you are fully clothed.
All the above need to be taken under consideration and I can’t emphasize enough how important the role of the therapist is in this process of choosing the right treatment for you.
I had so many clients who shared with me that their first massage was such an awful experience that it put them off for years! Sometimes the reason was not only due to a poorly trained therapist, but simply because of the wrong choice of type of massage.
In essence do not rush with your choice. Ask yourself the question: What do I want from this treatment? How do I want to feel afterwards? Take your time because you are about to introduce yourself to one of the most profound ways, a natural way, of taking care of your body, mind and spirit.
Massage should be truly holistic, uniting the three above elements in ‘holos’ ( greek word for wholeness), and should stay with you as a remedy and prevention through your entire life.
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