Have you caught yourself talking too much during a session? We massage therapists can all lead with our chins on this one, can we not?
One of my therapist friends believes every session should
be hushed – no talk of any kind, music only, and if the client tries to talk
only answer with “hmmms” and “ah-huhs.” She felt any speech beyond the basic
whispered: “let me know if you want more or less pressure,” disturbed the
energy of the session. The outside world is too noisy, so the massage session
should be the one quiet spot in a person’s schedule.
I like to let the client set the tone, but I notice that
some clients seem too chatty, some too tight-lipped. I will often go with my
instinct to encourage conversation about the session if the client seems too
silent. I try to dampen non-stop chatterers with some wasting Swedish strokes.
Having a bit of chat at the start of a client’s
first-ever massage can also help ease the awkwardness if that is an issue. But
I have had friends who have gotten massages on vacations that they are happiest
when the massage is somewhat anonymous – a silent rub with hands only making
the impression.
If the client tells me they didn’t like their last
massage because the therapist was chatty, I definitely take note and keep it
quiet.
1 comment:
I think it depends, too... I usually let the client set the tone, too. I think it also depends upon what they are coming for... if it is a spa-like massage for general relaxation, I seem to notice they like to talk less. But, a lot of my work has been in clinical surroundings where people have very specific complaints. I found the greatest results and return rate there when I checked in verbally with them to find the most active trigger point causing their pain, remarking when it let go, checking in with them about the pain pattern. They love it and the attentiveness, usually. The more detailed the work needs to be, the more they seem to like and get empowered by the interaction (also takes them out of feeling like they are alone in their pain- they are finally understood)... and of course, that is a generalization.
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