What to Do Before, During, and After Your Massage
You should think about massage therapy as an exercise. You need to warm up and cool down after every session, and you need to adjust your routine depending on what you want to achieve. So, after booking your appointment for our massage therapy in Santa Monica, you need to make a mental checklist of things you need to do before, during, and after your session.
Here are our tips for our customers.
Before
Warming up is a crucial part of any exercise routine! It ensures everything goes smoothly and nothing gets hurt. In the same way, you should prepare a couple of things before hopping onto that massage table.
Know What You Want
What your body needs and wants changes every day. For example, last session you might have been sitting on your desk chair for too long, thus needing more attention on your tight back muscles. In this session, however, you might have just finished a vigorous leg workout and need some soothing on your thighs and calves. Let your massage therapist know what you want so they can give it to you.
Prepare Your Body
Don’t come into your session after a heavy meal! You could feel uncomfortable and bloated during your massage, and that’s not very relaxing. At the same time, you don’t want to come in on an empty stomach—you might spend the whole session thinking about what food you’re craving.
The same thing applies to drinking. Don’t be dehydrated, but don’t be so full of water that you need to pee often. Also, never drink alcohol beforehand—it affects how your muscles react to the massage.
Be Organized
You tend to feel extra loose and wiggly after a massage. You’ll also probably be covered in some type of oil or lotion. So, what you don’t want to do is go back into tight, restricting clothing that’ll feel uncomfortable. Make sure you’re outfitted in something comfy so you can slip back into it easily after your massage.
Also, try and be early for your appointment! This will give you time to go to the bathroom, get nice and cozy, and prepare for your relaxing session with us.
During
During exercise, we need to stop and take a breather once in a while and maybe drink some water too. We also need to find the motivation to keep going with our exercises. You need to apply the same principles to your massage session.
Keep Distractions at Bay
It might be tough to do this if you’ve got a lot of things going on, but it’s super important to clear your head of any irrelevant thoughts. You want to focus on the massage you’re getting and feel every touch of your therapist’s nimble fingers. This enhances your experience a lot!
To clear your head, try taking deep breaths or maybe picturing a relaxing image. If you’re finding it difficult, try singing a song in your head.
Let Your Therapist Know Your Needs
Don’t be afraid to let your therapist know what you want! I personally have low pain tolerance in my feet, so I make sure to tell my masseuse to go easy on my feet but harder on the rest of my body. You could also tell them to focus on one area more than others.
If you’re not satisfied with your surroundings, let them know too. You might want your temperature changed, your table adjusted, your position changed, and more. You could even ask for a glass of water.
After
Just like how you need to cool down after an exercise, having proper aftercare ensures you’ll be feeling the effects of your massage for a long time. Here are things you need to remember:
Eat the Right Foods
Try and eat healthy foods after your massage session. Trust us, your body is going to thank you for it! Fast and unhealthy foods leave you lethargic and groggy, while foods packed with nutrients will help you bounce back much quicker.
Hold Off on Washing
Our blood circulation is increased after a massage. This means that if we take a shower or a bath, it can lead to skin damage or muscle inflammation, and we wouldn’t want that. If you really want to clean yourself off after your session, you should do so after a couple of hours.
There’s nothing wrong with just leaving the massage oils and lotions on until morning. Your skin can soak in all of that relaxing goodness, and your bedsheets would probably smell nice too.
Relax
Your body just went through a lot of pushing and prodding, so it’s important you let loose and let your muscles heal. After all, the whole point of the massage was to relax, and relaxing doesn’t just end after the massage.
Treat your body to some nice stretches when you get home. This will prolong the effects of your Santa Monica massage session and is a nice reminder of how much looser your muscles feel. You can do gentle exercises like yoga or pilates for this.
You should also call it a night early. Sleeping is the ultimate relaxation technique, and a good night’s rest will also help the muscles heal quicker.
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