What do I think I’m doing?

Before I dive in I want to say that I’m certain that there are elements that are not-the-massage-part-of-a-session that influence a client’s experience and outcomes. It may be a mistake to exclude them here, but I though this was a good place to start.

Massage therapists push and pull on their clients’ bodies in different ways, which creates sensory input (e.g. pressure, movement, support, warmth) that the brain then gets to interpret. Once the client’s brain interprets this sensory input, it may produce a response that is felt in the mind and/or body. Alignment of a massage therapist’s approach and their client’s needs may produce the sought-after outcome, although unexpected outcomes also occur.

So, what does massage do? Two examples.

The perceived sensation of a tight muscle “relaxing”, “softening”, “melting”, etc. is essentially the cessation of a persistent muscle contraction. This is often a desired outcome of massage, and I think it happens when the input from the massage therapist is such that the brain decides “yup, that’s what my body needs” and lets the muscle stop contracting temporarily. For example, if you have a hypermobile joint surrounded by muscles contracting to “guard” it, compression and support from the massage therapist may temporarily alleviate the muscle tension, whereas unexpected or rigorous massage strokes may actually cause the muscles to contract more. As a side note, I’ve noticed that clients are sometimes unaware of what type of treatment their muscles needs to relax. For this reason, practicing body awareness at your massage may be beneficial.

The desired outcome of getting into one’s body (i.e. body awareness, embodiment) may happen when the massage therapist is working at a depth and speed that allows the client to bring their attention to areas of interest, maybe observing the response of their muscles to different types of massage strokes. Similarly, a client may notice tension or other sensations in their body that they may not have been aware of simply because they are given the time to do so during their session. This kind of information can be immensely valuable to a client who wishes to make lasting changes to their posture and movement patterns.

So while my job (giving a massage) is important, it’s how my clients interpret and use the sensory input I provide that ultimatley determines their experience and outcomes.