8 Massage Tips to Put Your Clients at Ease

A massage is meant to be a relaxing experience – a time to meditate and alleviate tension, pressure and toxins building up in our bodies – not a stressful experience. Knowing how to handle or avoid some common uncomfortable situations can help you attract massage clients and keep them coming back.

The following eight massage tips can help both massage therapists and their clients to understand some of the common things everyone may be thinking about before, during and after a massage, but are just too afraid to address.

1. Provide Tips for TippingMany times clients simply don’t know if they should or shouldn’t tip a massage therapist for their services. It is up to you to delicately inform your clients, at the appropriate time, about your tipping policies. It may be uncomfortable, but it’s a portion of your salary and deserves some attention. Here are some guidelines:

Spa or Hotel: 15% to 20% tip is standard if your client was pleased with the services. A discrete sign at the reception desk is acceptable.


Self-employed: Be honest and upfront with your clients about your tipping policies the first time they come to see you for services.


Work for someone else: Ask them how they handle informing their guests of customary tipping policies.





Insurance coverage: If a client’s insurance covers massages, they may not know whether or not to tip and are reluctant to ask.


Medical or clinical setting: There are no real ground rules or norms when it comes to tipping in this environment. Some massage therapists and massage associations say that tipping isn't appropriate in this type of setting. If you’re working in an environment where tipping isn't the norm, you can always encourage your clients to show their appreciation by referring friends, family and co-workers if you have your own practice.
2. Create a Peaceful and Sanitary EnvironmentMany clients fall into a peaceful slumber during a massage but when they wake up, they notice a pool of drool on the pillow or massage table. You should always be aware and looking for these types of situations. Subtly offering them a tissue will help to alleviate any awkwardness or embarrassment they may be experiencing.

Furthermore, after every massage, it’s important to make sure you properly clean your massage table and massage chair and change the sheets. This is important to ensure each of your clients can relax in a sanitized, peaceful and safe environment.

3. Talk about Conversation Do’s and Don’tsMany clients wonder if they should or shouldn’t talk to a massage therapist during the massage. At the onset of a massage, it is beneficial to tell them to feel free to close their eyes and relax. This will help to put them at ease. Most of the time clients want to use this time to meditate and forget about all their cares in the world.

However, some types of massage, such as deep tissue massage and sports massage, require more feedback because you are working on deeper layers of muscle and will want to ensure that the pressure is not uncomfortable. Sometimes clients feel like they will be insulting your massage techniques if they have to speak up, but if you advise your client to let you know how the pressure is throughout, this will make them feel more comfortable.

Also, have them speak up if:

the room is too hot or too cold;
they would like different background music playing;
they experience pain; or
they have any questions related to the massage.
4. Keep Your Breath FreshThis may seem strange to think about, but if you are giving a massage after meal time, it is important to be very aware of your breath. If you just ate something like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, your client will know it if you don’t take proper precautions. Even though you enjoyed your meal, bad breath can make getting a massage from you very uncomfortable.

“I could smell the peanut butter on the massage therapist’s breath throughout my entire massage; it made me nauseated and completely ruined my relaxing down time,” says Mary Marika, a Chicago massage client. “I didn’t tip very well and never went back to that massage therapist again.”

Be sure to pop a few breath mints or brush your teeth before giving your next massage. Your client will appreciate it, and by mitigating a negative experience, the size of your tip won’t be impacted.





5. Understand Clients May Feel Self-ConsciousBecause you see clients every day of all shapes and sizes, many massage therapists forget that some people are self-conscious about certain aspects of their bodies. The following are some common insecurities preventing people from getting a massage:

Acne
Excessive hair growth
Scarring
Unique feet and toes
Weight issues
To help in this matter, inform new or potential clients about massage techniques done through clothing such as Shiatsu or Thai massage. By doing this for first-time massage clients, it will help to ease them into the world of massage. Also, if you have clients provide information on their health history, you will be made aware of any precautions or contraindications. In turn, this will help you to determine what services will best apply to new clients.

6) Battle of the SexesStatistically, many women and some men prefer female massage therapists; however, there are also many who have no preference or prefer seeing a male therapist. Although more people may prefer seeing a female, this should not be a deterrent for men wanting to enter the profession. Approximately 83 percent of all massage therapists are female. The fact that there are so few men in the field allows a male massage therapist to frequently build a successful practice.

7) Get a PedicureIf you wear open-toed shoes such as sandals when you give a massage, keep in mind when your client is facing downward, they may see your toes. If your toes are not properly maintained, this may be distracting to your client. Keep those toes manicured, and it will just make the massage world a better place for everyone.

8) Boxers, Briefs or Panties?Many people prefer to keep their underwear on during a massage, while others prefer to be completely nude. It's up to them. Be delicately honest with them in regards to the situation because many times they may not know what the protocol is. If a client has problem areas in their lower back, hips, buttocks, or groin, you might want to suggest to them that tight-fitting underwear can sometimes get in the way of massage work; however, a thong for women or briefs for men would be an acceptable workaround.

For massage therapists, it’s all about keeping your massage clients comfortable, happy and relaxed during a massage. Aside from always being on time (or calling your client when you’re running late) and always being friendly and courteous, if you incorporate these simple guidelines into each of your massages, it will help to increase the size of your tips, increase the number of referrals your clients can bring to your business, and keep your clients coming back - guaranteed.

Shiatsu Massage

In the western world, the massage technique known as shiatsu has come to be known by many names. Some of these names are barefoot shiatsu, namikoshi shiatsu, oha shiatsu, shiatsu-do, macrobiotic shiatsu and Zen shiatsu. However, most of the forms shiatsu has taken in the western world only use the basic principles that make up what the original shiatsu is, and are at times radically different.

Shiatsu is a Japanese massage technique that literally means "finger pressure": the word "shi" means "finger" while "atsu" means pressure. It is a massage technique that has been existence for over 2,000 years, and is actually a derivative of the ancient Chinese massaging and healing method of acupressure.

Just like acupressure – and acupuncture – it is believed in the practice of shiatsu that the body consists of 14 meridians, which each meridian corresponding to a major organ of the body. These 14 meridians serve as a channel through which energy or chi flows. An unhindered and balanced flow of chi in the body translates to good health.



Because chi must flow freely and in balance through the body, it is also believed in shiatsu that when chi is blocked, the body experiences illness. Illness also happens when chi is depleted in certain points in the body while flowing in excess in others.

In shiatsu massage, the aim is to remove the obstacles that block the flow of energy through the meridians of the body. It also seeks to restore the balance in this flow of energy. The removal of these obstacles and the restoration of balance in the body are done by pressing the fingers – and at times the elbows, knees and feet – on the acupoints, also known as pressure points, along the meridians of the body. The shiatsu therapist also manipulates the areas adjacent to these pressure points to further stimulate the body’s capacity for healing and to enhance the feeling of wellness.

Conventional western medicine does not have any proof that the meridians through which chi flows actually exist in the body, and so shiatsu and similar healing techniques are treated as complementary medicine. However, just like the other massages and healing techniques derived from acupressure, it is proven that pressing the acupoints in shiatsu helps in stimulating the release of endorphins and energizes the immune system, coaxing the body to fight against disease. Shiatsu can be used to address various health issues, from muscular pain to digestive pain and even emotional pain.

Shiatsu massage can be intense, and so it is not uncommon for patients to find themselves laughing or crying, wanting to shout out or be still, or display other emotions during the treatment. This is taken to be a sign that the energy flow within the body is being restored to the way it should be.

After a session of shiatsu massage, a client should feel a deep sense of calmness, relaxation and contentment. However, he or she should also expect to feel symptoms of cold and flu after the first couple of sessions; it is a side effect of shiatsu that is also taken to be a sign that the body is well on its way into mending.

Swedish Massage

Most of us experience stress in varying levels on a day-to-day basis. Stress is not good for the health because it makes our muscles tense and bunch up, causing pain. Also, it makes the organs of our body function under duress. That is never good.

Massage is meant to alleviate pain and enhance the body's health.
Swedish massage is considered to be among the most basic methods of massage and is among the first styles of massage that new masseurs get to study. Developed by Henrik Ling in Sweden in the 1700s, Swedish massage is particularly to allow the body to absorb more oxygen, thereby rejuvenating the body. Swedish massage is also geared towards detoxification by increasing the speed by which the cells of the body eliminate their waste materials.
But more than these, Swedish massage brings to the receiver an immense feeling of satisfaction and relaxation.

There are six techniques used in administering Swedish massage. These techniques are the following:

1. Effleurage. Effleurage is the technique most people associate with massage in general and Swedish massage in particular. In doing effleurage, the masseuse makes use of long and sweeping strokes that cover more than just one area of the body. Though it makes the client feel like his muscles are being broken down, the purpose of effleurage is actually to connect one part of the body to the others.

2. Friction. Heat makes the muscles relax and friction is used to make the area to be treated warm up. A masseuse would make use of the friction technique by rubbing the palms of her hands vigorously on the surface of the client’s skin. She can also do this by rubbing her palms together and then laying them on the skin of the client.

3. Petrissage. Petrissage is the act of kneading and squeezing the muscles of the body. Petrissage does not target or focus on any particular part of the body, but the process of kneading the body’s muscles allows for deeper and more penetrating effects of massage.

4. Tapottement. Tapottement are strokes that aim to energize the area of the body that the masseuse is treating. This is done by chopping the area with the sides of the hands. It can also be done by hitting the area being treated rhythmically with cupped or fisted hands. Tapottement is aimed towards energizing the area being treated, yet at the same time making it loosened and relaxed.

5. Traction. Traction involves pulling at the arms and legs of the client, and sometimes also the head. The act of pulling stretches the muscles of the client. Traction is always done as part of the last portion of the massage routine because pulling needs to have the muscles relaxed; otherwise, it would hurt.

6. Vibration. The vibration technique is used by the masseuse to shake up the area of the client’s body that she is treating. This is done by moving the heel of the hand, or sometimes the side of the hand, or even the fingertips, forward and backward across the skin to loosen the muscles of that particular area.

Foot Massage

The feet are the most abused and yet the most neglected parts of our bodies. Our feet support our weight when we are standing, which can be too much if one is overweight or has been standing still for a long time. Whenever we walk or run, the first to feel the shock of the contact between the ground and our bodies are our feet. We keep our feet confined in shoes and socks or stockings for most of the day. The ladies are prone to stressing out their feet more because of the ridiculous necessity of wearing high heels. No wonder our feet hurt so much at the end of the day!

This is why a good foot massage at the end of the day can be an exhilarating experience. Practitioners of reflexology and alternative medicine claim that the nerve endings on the foot correspond to a specific organ of the body, and so massaging certain areas of the foot is like massaging that particular organ to which it is linked. Whatever claims these practitioners of reflexology may have, the simple fact is that foot massage is so terrific that many who get them on a regular basis are ready to state that it is almost as good as getting a full body massage.

Touch Therapy

Touch is a very important part of human contact. It helps us feel connected and loved by those around us.
Massage uses touch through rubbing or kneading of parts of the body to aid circulation, relax the muscles, or provide sensual stimulation.

Massage is one of the oldest, simplest forms of therapy.
The basic goal of massage therapy is to help the body heal itself and to increase health and well-being.

There are many health benefits to receiving massage therapy on a regular basis:


Relieves stress
Encourages relaxation
Improves circulation
Improves posture
Lowers blood pressure
Helps manage pain
Relaxes muscles
Improves flexibility
Improves breathing
Relieves tension headaches
Strengthens immune system
Decreases depression
A good massage is an exhilarating experience.