Silent Massage Request – How to Get one from Your Therapist

It’s a funny thing but the public rarely thinks about the training a Massage Therapist has to endure in school. Yet the countless hours of practicing massage on our fellow students are imbedded day in and day out during our course and what we graduation with is the very basic form, which is a step by step Swedish Massage.

What is a Sequenced Swedish Massage

A Swedish Massage sequence is a classic relaxation massage the you will find in most spas. The objective is for the recipient to relax and drift off into a trance-like state of slumber as your massage therapist works out superficial muscle tension. It’s a massage session targeted towards the top layers of muscles of the body and talking between therapist and client is minimal to none. These types of massages are ideal if you’re sensitive to touch and you’re goal is to relax, hoping to not talk during your session, if you aren’t suffering from a muscular injury or any particular muscle related pain. You can make mention prior to a session that you would like it to be silent as you need this as part of your therapeutic experience. Therapists are accustomed to hearing this request if the person does not have a complicated medical issue that requires verbal feedback. Swedish Massages have a protocol are slow in tempo and may be combined with light feather techniques to soothe your nervous system which creates a pleasant experience overall.

The Timing

What many massage fans are unaware is that a Massage Therapist is often required to time the massage by each body part. Because it is assumed that the person does not require any special attention due to pain or tension, the timing may be distributed equally throughout the body. For a massage that is a relaxation orientated but the customer would like special attention to certain areas, this would be considered a customized massage. You can also make mention of this in the beginning of the session but emphasize that you’d like to rest during the session. Customized sessions takes a higher level of skill so choose an experienced therapist to be able to execute without the massage loosing its fluid-like movement.

The timing of a Sequence Swedish Massage goes as follows (face up):

• 5 minutes neck and head

• 10 minutes hands and arms

• 15 minutes legs and feet

It’s worth noting that some therapists may include a massage on the stomach in their routine but this is rarely taught in basic training programs and not common.

Then, the customer is asked to turn face down and the sequence continues.

• 15 minutes back

• 15 minutes legs and feet

The gluteals or the buttocks may be included during a Swedish Massage but again, it varies on the practitioner. Most recently graduated from their program rarely cover the gluteals and you will usually find this skill set in a more experienced provider.

Purpose of Timing

The purpose of timing is to help the therapist distribute attention equally to the entire body and help the customer feel as though they’ve experienced a complete session. As the provider gains more understanding of their craft they can bend the rules and play with timing and still maintain within the commonly requested hour. Check with the place of business prior to scheduling to ask exactly what an hour massage consists of. For example, in some establishments it may be 60 minutes of hands on massage for others it may be 50 minutes.

When You’re Late

As with any service business, workflow matters and that means the massage industry as well. Some people assume therapists are simply waiting around with nothing to do. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Although the environment itself is relaxing, the schedule is not. By arriving late to your session, you deprive your therapist from giving you the entire time for your session and as you studied the time frame above, an hour or even 50 minutes flies by! Some spas or massage businesses are not able to accommodate your full time due to a busy schedule, so be considerate and arrive at least five minutes early to your appointment.

I hope this post gives you a bit of insight into the fascinating world of how we prepare to ensure a relaxing experience for you.

Some people feel guilty requesting a silent massage session but therapists listen to their request often and are professional and will not take offense. Each session is different and some days you may feel more chatty with your therapist and that’s ok too.

Creating a silent massage is expressing your needs with kindness prior to your session starting, expecting to not have your therapist verbally check in as they normally do and most likely receive a light to moderate pressure throughout.