What A Deep Tissue Massage REALLY Is!
"Part of the reason that therapists do that is because clients don’t understand what a deep tissue massage is," she wrote me. "It isn’t 60 minutes of muscle-pounding, pain-inducing, steamrolling hell. It is a Swedish massage with deep work on specific areas. Many clients don’t understand that 'deep' can be accomplished with more strategy and less brawn! Therapists can use core strength and intention to make a deep impact without beating someone up.
"Most of the bodywork I did was very deep but my initial approach to the body was quite gentle. It was like peeling away the layers of an onion. There is no way to touch the core until you move the layers around the core. The body is smart! If you push it too hard, it pushes right back. My clients would identify their issue and I went to work. Sometimes it could be addressed in one session. Other times, it took many sessions.
"In my massage glory days, I was a big, strong 5’9”, 150 pound, 25-year-old girl with the oomph to go deep, deep, deep. That was my thing. Most of my clients were men and the majority were very muscular. Honestly, if a client felt that his/her money’s worth could only be measured by the pain I could inflict… rarely would I work on that client again. Not only is there something wrong with that mentality, it is also dangerous.
"So, my point is – many therapists can identify that kind of client immediately (you can usually figure it out in the first 5 seconds) – the one who doesn’t understand true technique, the one who wants to see sweat for his $100, the one who has something to prove regarding his ability to endure pain, the one who lifts his head up before the therapist starts and says, 'this is deep tissue, right? You can do that, right?'.
"Those were the clients who would get an elbow drilled straight into the hamstrings because not only would the therapist want to preserve his/her hands and wrists for the day, he/ she would never want to work on that client again. So, now that I think of it… maybe I did do it once or twice!!!
"That’s the whole story!!!"
Comments
Thanks for post a follow up, Anitra. I think this really helps give insight from the therapist side.
Thanks Anitra!
I’m a massage therapist in San Diego, California who has found this to be true. It’s really a shame for the client who is misinformed about what Deep Tissue work really is. They miss out on the real therapeutic benefits that deeper pressure can provide because they’re focused on the ‘wrong’ things.
A massage isn’t really measured in the number of minutes or depth of pressure, but rather in the level of “touch-understanding” that can be reached in a session. Touch-understanding, as I’m calling it, is a direct experience of understanding exactly what type of touch and level of pressure a client’s body is in need of at any moment in a session.
It’s a felt thing that starts first with just making a connection as people. Just talking openly and authentically with the client about the challenges they are experiencing can be enough to create this initial connection that is the pre-requisite for touch-understand to take place.
-Joshua Guffey, San Diego Massage & Bodywork
I have tried to make a reservation at the Corona spa but can’t get through by phone (long wait times) or the web, where there is no obvious way to reserve and pay for a reservation. I hope this is not a typical way potential customers are treated when at the spa.