During Your Session

Relaxation

The more relaxed you are during your session, the better your body can receive the benefits of your bodywork. Our goal, as therapists, is to make your session comfortable for you, so that you can fully relax.

Bodywork is most effective when you are an engaged participant, and your goal, as the client, is to intentionally relax. To increase the benefits of your session, spend your time on the table focusing your awareness on areas of tension, breathing slowly and comfortably, and relaxing every part of your body. You are able to sense your tension more easily when you try to relax and when you are receiving physical contact. Ideally, the awareness and relaxation you connect with during bodywork can translate to all hours of your life, and this can reduce your tension and stress and improve your health and enjoyment.

Finally, your relaxation is also beneficial to your therapist's work. The more relaxed you are, the easier it is for the therapist to "read" your body and discover its structural imbalances and tensions. Then the therapist, with your help, can more easily restore your body to a more balanced state.

Experiencing Pain

During bodywork, especially while receiving deeper tissue work, you may experience some discomfort. We aim to considerately work with painful areas of your body to create positive changes in your tissues, and we avoid working with painful areas too intensely as that is counterproductive.

Our goal is for you to feel comfortable enough to be present with your body's pain and be able to relax painful area(s) and your whole body at the same time. Please tell us if our work makes part of you hurt too much. (On a pain scale of 1 to 10, 1 being lowest, "hurt too much" usually means a 6 or 7, but one’s personal pain threshold can be lower than that.) If our contact is too uncomfortable, we'll change our pressure or technique, or we will work on another area of your body. 

Although humans often reflexively protect ourselves from pain, during bodywork, pain can play a healthy role in relieving your body's chronic aches. Pain is way for your body to communicate with your mind and alert you to where your body needs support and change, and we can use this information to identify areas of your body that need attention.

The physical element of pain often exists because your nerve fibers are entangled or compressed in the surrounding tissues. This can be caused by many things, such as tissue injury from a physical trauma or overuse, structural distortion in an area, or inflammation and swelling. Bodywork can help unravel these painful patterns. Pain can also be amplified by how your brain has interpreted a specific pain. Being present with your pain in the safe and supportive environment of a bodywork session can help your brain downgrade its interpretation of your pain.

Communication with Your Therapist

As your relaxation and comfort is very important to us, we ask that you communicate with your therapist about your experiences during a session. If anything is uncomfortable, such as the pressure of our work, your positioning on the table, or your temperature, please tell us.

You know more about your body than anyone. While therapists can perceive much about your body's structure and tensions, only you can experience your internal discomforts.  When you share this information with your therapist, we can better understand and treat your body. 

Finally, bodywork is an educational experience for your body. You learn from the sensory experience of our physical contact, and a quiet session can allow you to attend to that experience fully. You can also learn from dialoguing with your therapist about your experience, and you’re welcome to verbally process your body experience to help you mentally and physically integrate it. And we, as therapists, can educate you about how your body works or why something feels like it does, so if you’re curious, please ask us. We believe that knowing more about how our bodies work empowers you to better care for yourself outside of our sessions too.

After Your Session

Bodywork releases molecules of wastes and toxins that were being stored in your body. We suggest that you drink lots of water (at least 8 cups) during the next 24 hours to help your body eliminate these wastes and avoid muscle soreness. We also suggest a bath with a cup or two of epsom salts. Add an equal amount of baking soda to soothe your skin, especially if you find the epsom salt slightly irritating.

Deeper tissue work may leave an area feeling sore. Arnica, which can be found in topical gels, is excellent for reducing muscle soreness and stiffness and can be used immediately after a session if needed. Soreness from a session should disappear after a few days just as soreness from exercise does.

If you have received a structural bodywork session that has reorganized your musculoskeletal structure, it is recommended that you don’t intensely exercise for a couple of days afterward. Your nervous system needs to time to learn the new patterns your session revealed. When you return to your exercise routine, we recommend that you approach your movements more slowly and consciously than normal to learn the new movement patterns that are available to you.