How do you communicate what you need during your session?
Whenever you want to say something in your session, say something.
We know it isn’t always as easy as that. It can feel awkward to say something while you are “supposed” to be relaxing or even when you are in the hands of a professional because they know what they are doing.
Those thoughts and feelings, and others, can feel uncomfortable to push past; however, we want to empower you to say what you want to communicate in every instance.
Your session is for you.
You deserve to feel comfortable in your session.
You deserve to be heard in your session.
You deserve to receive professional care to your standard.
You deserve to honor your voice and expression.
Examples of communicating about pressure preference:
If you prefer more or less pressure, a great way to communicate that to your therapist is, “On a scale of 1-10, your pressure currently feels like a 3, and I’d prefer a 6 right now.”
Everyone feels pressure differently. What may be light pressure to you may be firm to someone else. So when you express to your therapist what the current pressure feels like on a scale, they have a frame of reference for what it feels like to you.
Don’t be surprised if your pressure preferences change depending on the area of your body. The pressure that feels like a 3 on your back could feel like a 7 on your calves. So, throughout the session, if you need to communicate about different pressures in different areas, that is normal, and you should do so.
Here are some other instances in which you may want to communicate and absolutely should; nothing is too big, and nothing is too small:
If the table warmer is on and it is too cold or too warm.
Example: “I’m feeling cold. May you turn up the heat on the table warmer?”
If you are hot and prefer to have the top blanket removed, if there is one, only have the sheets.
Example: “I’m feeling pretty warm. I’d prefer only the top sheet today. Thank you.”
If there are areas of your body you do not want professionally touched.
Example: “I’d prefer not to have my head touched.” Or “I’d prefer not to have my feet massaged during my sessions.” Or “I’d prefer not to have my face touched during this session.”
If a specific professional touch does not feel good to you.
Example: “Kneading with knuckles doesn’t feel good to me during bodywork.” or “I’d prefer not receiving deep bodywork with elbows.”
If you prefer your massage therapist wear a mask during your session (notify beforehand)
Example: “I’d appreciate it if my therapist would wear a mask during the session. Thank you.”
Where would you like your therapist to spend more time as a focused area of care during your session?
Example: “I need extra attention on my neck and shoulders. I’m fine with spending more time there and less on my arms.”
If at any point you experience any pain or discomfort.
Example: “When you touched my arm like that, it hurt in the same place.” Or, “When you moved my leg like that, I felt discomfort in my knee.”
This is not an exhaustive list. As we said in the beginning, say something whenever you want to say something in your session.
Silence can come from the desire not to be too much, not to be difficult, or out of habit. At Evergreen, we want to give you the session you deserve and want. We can do that best when we know what does and doesn’t feel good to you.
If you have never had bodywork before and don’t know what you don’t know, let us know before your session. During your first session, we will walk you through everything, including different pressure levels, techniques, etc., so you can explore what works best for you.
Remember, your session is for you.
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