No two bodies want the same hour. The difference between a nice massage and a perfect one is rarely the therapist's skill — it is the three sentences you say before it starts.
Name Your Pressure, Honestly
Forget "medium" — it means something different to everyone. Instead, describe the feeling you want: "I want to barely feel the pressure, just drift" points to Swedish; "I want that good ache that makes me exhale" means deep tissue; "find the worst spot and stay there" is a medical-massage mindset. Your therapist will calibrate within the first five minutes and check again halfway.
Spend Your Time Where It Counts
A 60-minute session cannot cover everything deeply — so spend it deliberately. Desk worker with iron shoulders? Ask for 70 percent upper body. Training for a race? Legs and hips get the hour. The intake question "where should I focus?" is your steering wheel; grip it with both hands.
- Pick one priority area and one secondary area before you arrive.
- Mention old injuries, even healed ones — tissue remembers.
- Ask about add-ons: scalp, feet, and aromatherapy reshape an hour.
Match the Modality to the Week
Stressed and sleepless calls for Swedish or spa ritual. Locked-up and achy calls for deep tissue. Recovering from injury or chasing a diagnosis calls for medical massage. And on the weeks you cannot decide? Tell us how you feel when you book — shaping the session on the day is literally our job.
Therapist tip
"The best sentence a client can say is: 'My left shoulder is the problem, everything else is bonus.' Clear direction lets me do my best work."
— Elena Brooks, Massage Therapist
