When people get massage (or energy work), there is always a question of how good the therapist is, and what they do that draws you to them. What moves do they do that you like? Are they caring? Do they listen? How much of what they do is specific to your needs? Do they solely do a routine? Do they solely work off of intuition? What is the percentage of each?
Massage is a specific and individual thing. Every person that gets one likes something different. And every person is drawn to something different. Some therapists do a routine, and that is all they do. That is not to say that this is bad as the routine may be very good. It is just that a routine does not allow for modifications based on needs.
I do a routine which I label “Integrated Massage” (actually, unless something is very specific, everything gets labels as Integrated Massage). If someone comes in with no complaints, and no specification, that is what they get. The routine I use covers a lot of things and combines movements from several styles. I have heard people say that the massage was the best they have had, and unique to anything they have had previously. But even in this routine, I allow for changes based on needs.
You see, everybody’s needs are different. And while this routine can meet most people’s needs, and can be slowed or quickened, or made deeper or lighter based on what they want, it can also be modified for specific problems. Unless the therapist works at a place that makes them do a specific routine without change, they are free to modify it to the client’s needs. The more education the therapist has, the more moves they have in their repertoire to add in. And they do this based on intuition.
A therapist’s intuition is what tells them the right pressure before asking. It tells them what movements would be best. It allows them to follow their guidance to give the client what they need the most within the parameters the client sets as their comfort level.
There are therapists that do massages based solely on intuition. I refer to this type of massage as a “Freeform Massage” because there is no routine at all. The therapist starts moving, and whatever movements come out are what the client needs the most.
Now sometimes certain moves get lumped together making it look like a routine, but that is only because many moves compliment each other and are better put together. When I do arms in a Freeform session, I generally tend to do the same thing, unless other moves are called for, and I use intuition for that.
Intuition is what tells me what moves will work best, and which ones will not. Many times I will see a movement in my head that I have never done before, and it will take a moment or two to figure it out and get it to work. But these moves are what the client needs the most.
A Freeform massage ends up being crafted to meet the needs of each specific client at the time that they get on the table. Now while there is nothing wrong with the regular massage routine, I like the Freeform as it makes me rely completely on intuition, and allows me to give the client exactly what they need. While the massage routine was built around standard draping practices, the Freeform was built around minimal draping (usually one hand towel while face down, and one or two hand towels while face up). This allows the client to experience something that most massages do not... the feeling that they are a whole being rather than a series of parts.
Standard draping is where each part of the body is uncovered, worked, then covered back up, never to be touched again during the session. The therapist basically does parts work. With minimal draping, the therapist is allowed to flow from one part to another, and then return as needed. This makes the client feel like all their parts are connected, a feeling of wholeness. (Although routine driven, Temple Lomi Lomi uses minimal draping so it can constantly move from shoulder to ankle and back.) Of course any change from the standard draping is done within the client’s comfort level and with their permission.
So what draws you? Do you like a routine that you can count on each time, thus knowing exactly what you will be getting? Or do you like something that changes and is crafted to meet your needs? So, how do you pick a therapist?