3 Ways To Prepare For Your First Professional Massage

Whether you’ve been hurt in some kind of accident or simply have a lot of stress and tension in your life, getting a professional massage can be a great way to relax your body as well as your mind and begin the healing process for both. However, if you’ve never had a professional massage before, you might be nervous about the experience and the amount of vulnerability it often requires.

To help you to have a positive experience, here are three ways you can prepare to have your first professional massage.

Learn To Focus On Your Breath

In order for your massage to be enjoyed and effective, you have to be able to relax. But for some people, getting relaxed when a stranger is massaging them can be a tall order.

To combat any feelings of nervousness, unease, or even pain you might feel as part of your massage, Leah Fessler, a contributor to Women’s Health Magazine, advises that you learn to focus on your breath. By channeling your mental and physical energy into taking deep, show breaths, you’ll be able to relax your mind as well as your body. And when you’re able to do this, your first massage can be a relaxing and healing experience.

Speak Up

Since you’ve never had a professional massage before, you might not know how much pressure you can tolerate or what massage techniques will feel good to you. As a result of this, your massage therapist will expect for you to speak up if something is uncomfortable and irritating.

According to Debby Mayne, a contributor to The Spruce, speaking up when they feel uncomfortable during a massage isn’t something that many people like doing. However, if you want to have a useful massage, it’s vital that you inform your therapist of anything they’re doing that isn’t working for your body, be it too much pressure, too little pressure, or something else. Ideally, your massage therapist should also be checking in with you periodically to ensure you’re still doing fine throughout the massage, too.

Make A Plan For Hydration

Jessi Braverman, a contributor to Bicycling.com, shares that when you’re getting a massage, that movement and pressure begins to release a lot of toxins into your body that have been building up in your tissue. So to ensure that you’re about to flush them all out of your system, you’re going to need to keep yourself very hydrated.

To best do this, make sure you plan to start hydrating right after your massage by bringing a water bottle with you and finishing it multiple times throughout the day following your massage.

With these tips in mind, you should be ready to have a peaceful and enjoyable first experience with a professional massage.