08/21/2026
Thoughts from a Therapist
What to expect from your first ever massage:
Paperwork. You’ll probably have to fill out a health history form. This gives your massage therapist a basic understanding of any medications, health issues, and an idea of any problem areas that you want them to focus on.
A pre-massage chat with your therapist. Gives the therapist a chance to look over your health history, and to clarify information and your goals. Please do not be in a rush to undress while chatting with your therapist, this doesn’t take long and *shouldn’t* take away from your hands-on massage time, and your massage therapist will appreciate it.
You will then be told how far to undress (or the fun “undress to your level of comfort” that was mentioned in a previous post) and whether to start face up or face down on the table.
The massage therapist will then step out for a couple of minutes to wash their hands and to give you privacy to undress and get comfortable on the table. Hygiene and cleanliness are very important in the world of massage therapy.
They will knock before they re-enter the room to make sure you are ready and decently covered with the sheet and blanket. The therapist will only undrape the area that they are currently working. Example: While working on the legs, only one leg at a time should be undraped and the upper body should still be covered with the sheet and blanket.
Please remember that you do have control of how much pressure you’re comfortable with, as well as which areas you’re comfortable with having worked. Communication is key! If you discussed the fact that you’re ticklish and do not want your feet touched during the pre-massage interview and your massage therapist starts working on your feet, say something!! They may have forgotten.
Regarding pressure: some therapists have a specific amount of pressure they prefer to use, sometimes they read your body language and base their pressure off of that, and sometimes a therapist just isn’t a good fit for you as a massage client. But sometimes you just need to speak up and request an adjustment in pressure rather than just enduring a massage that you’re unhappy with.
After the massage, the therapist will step out of the room to give you privacy to dress. Don’t feel the need to rush off the table within 30 seconds. Take a minute and stretch. Sometimes a massage can leave you feeling a bit wonky. We call it massage drunk. Just take your time and please don’t fall off the table when you get up.
When you’re ready, come on out. Someone should be there to greet you with some water and to take your payment (and hopefully to book your next appointment 😉).
Hopefully this helps to de-mystify massage therapy. Every spa and individual massage studio will have their own variation of exactly how the process goes, so your experience will not always be the same. But this should give you a general overview of how a typical massage therapy session goes.
