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FAQs
What
should I expect from my first session?
Can
you describe your massage style?
Should
massage hurt?
Can
you treat medical conditions and injuries? If so, do you accept
insurance?
Do
you accept credit cards?
How
often should I get a massage?
Is
draping required?
Why
Chaotic?
Q:
What should I expect from my first session?
A: When you arrive for your first visit, we will spend some time
discussing your bodywork experience, preferences, health history,
daily habits, and health goals. I may also look at your posture
to help discover imbalances contributing to your pain or tension.
Using this information, we can design our session (or several sessions)
to best address your needs. Please allow an extra 30-45 minutes
in your schedule for this intake process. I will then leave the
room so that you can undress and get under the sheet on the table.
Please undress to your level of comfort. Most clients choose to
completely disrobe, and I will never expose or touch the genital
area or women's breasts. But, if you are more comfortable keeping
some clothing on, please do. In a typical session, I will work on
the entire body, including sensitive areas such as the face, abdomen,
buttocks and feet. Please let me know if you would rather I skip
any areas or work them through the sheet. When you are ready, I
will come back into the room and begin our session. I may give you
directions to help me with a particular technique, but otherwise
please simply relax, breathe and allow me to work and move your
limbs without help. During the session I will check in with you
for feedback on pressure and your general comfort. Please speak
up if you become uncomfortable for any reason. If you feel pain,
if you need more pressure, if the room is too warm or too chilled,
if you prefer different music or a softer volume, if your sinuses
become uncomfortably congested, I need you to let me know! Our work
will be most effective if you are comfortable and completely relaxed.
Q:
Can you describe your massage style?
A: My massage style is often described as deep, intuitive, thorough,
and responsive. Whether the goal is relaxation or long term pain
relief, I believe that the most important qualities I can bring
to each massage are quality of touch, technical skill, and the intuition,
flexibility and creativity to explore with each new client. With
communication and feedback from you, I can accommodate any preference
or request (with the exception of sensual or erotic massage.) If
no preference is stated, I usually use a combination of deep, swedish
and sports techniques with a focus on long term pain and tension
relief rather than pampering or light touch. If you are less familiar
with massage techniques and would like to explore your preferences,
I offer a "Sampler Pack" which allows you to try 3 or
more "pure" modalities at a reduced rate.
Q:
Should massage hurt?
A: Pain is your nervous system's defense system: don't ignore it!
Massage should not cause pain. That being said, there is a difference
between the sort of pain that makes you catch your breath and tense
up, and a sensation that "hurts so good." The latter is
normal, and often desirable, in massage. A knot in your muscle is
typically in a "pain-spasm-pain" cycle: tension restricts
blood flow, which leads to an increased concentration of toxins,
which further irritate the nerves, which causes the muscle to tighten
even further, decreasing blood flow once again. Massage interrupts
this cycle and restores blood flow. The associated "good pain"
is analogous to the pins and needles feeling you get when you shake
out a limb that has fallen asleep. Certain techniques, such as deep
massage, may occasionally be felt as somewhat uncomfortable or intense,
as they deal with connective tissue, deeper layers of muscle, and
in some cases, injury sites and scar tissue. In this case you may
feel a stretching, pinching, or burning sensation. During this type
of work communication about pain is especially important. Please
do not assume that because I am the professional, I know how my
work feels to you: I am sensitive to the changes in your muscles,
and I adjust my pressure according to what I am feeling, but I make
mistakes! Each individual prefers different levels of pressure,
and these may change at different times or in different areas of
the body. Please tell me what you are feeling. After a massage,
you may feel a little sore for a day or two, similar to what you
would feel after a light to moderate workout. Drink plenty of water
to help your body flush out the toxins released in areas of increased
circulation. You should not be bruised or in serious pain, and any
soreness should subside by the third day.
Q: Can you treat medical conditions or injuries? If so, is insurance
accepted?
A: As a massage therapist, I cannot legally diagnose or treat any
condition. However, I do have experience dealing with certain injuries
and medical conditions, and with your doctor's permission I can
work with you to speed your full recovery. Insurance is a trickier
matter, as each company has different procedures for filing claims.
I am willing to work with you to navigate your filing process, but
at this time I require payment upfront. You will then need to file
the paperwork for reimbursement. In general, motor accidents and
job-related injuries are covered, and relatively easy to process.
Few medical insurance companies in Texas cover massage therapy in
their basic plans, but check with your company for benefits.
Q:
Do you accept credit cards?
A: You may prepay for your session or gift certificate using paypal.
I cannot, however, accept credit cards at the time of service. Please
bring cash or a check!
Q:
How often should I get a massage?
A: Massage has a cumulative effect. While a single massage as a
treat to yourself is wonderful, regular massage - whatever the frequency
- can lead to profound and long-lasting changes. Depending on your
personal preference, your budget, and your needs, you may choose
to come weekly, biweekly, monthly, or a few times annually. For
acute issues such as injury recovery or chronic pain, frequent visits
may be required at first. Everyone's needs are different, but generally
speaking, once a month provides "maintenance" of previous
progress, while more frequent visits create more long-term change.
Q:
Is draping required?
A: Draping (the use of sheets/blankets to cover areas of the body
not being worked) is required by the massage therapist's Code of
Ethics. While I recognize that nudity is not necessarily sexual,
I feel it is important to establish professional boundaries with
new clients. I do not offer sensual or erotic services. Some clients
find that the lifting and tucking of draping interferes with the
flow of the massage. In these cases I can practice modified, non-invasive
draping.
Q:
Why Chaotic?
A:
Science has long sought to explain the universe by identifying the
predictable, repetitive patterns within it. But this reductionist
approach ignores the subtle interactions within a system which make
the whole more than the sum of its parts. In the 1960s, mathematical
chaos theory brought about a deep paradigm shift in our understanding
of complex systems, such as weather patterns, which despite recognizable
trends never precisely repeat themselves. Simple mathematical equations
were found to produce infinitely complex results, mimicking patterns
in nature previously considered too complex to be predictable.
The
living human body is another such complex and dynamic system, and
chaos theory has led to breakthroughs in our understanding of health
and illness. In 1987, for example, Richard J. Cohen and his colleagues
at MIT found that patterns described in chaos theory were associated
with the onset of a heart attack. Similarly, it is theorized that
DNA encodes simple formulas for growth and development which follow
principles of chaos theory to produce the intricate and unique,
yet similar, fractal body structures in individuals. Chaos further
provides a lens through which to explore the body system's response
to outside stimuli. With this understanding we can best target those
stimuli - such as massage, or nutrition, or exercise - to most effectively
enhance wellness.
For
an overview of Chaos Theory, please visit
www.imho.com/grae/chaos/chaos.html
or www.mathjmendl.org/chaos/
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