Yellow Heart Art via Etsy
When you come in for your first therapeutic massage session, we’ll discuss many things, and you may have lots of questions for me. One of them will likely be, “How far down do I undress? Do I leave my underwear on?”.
My first answer is “Please undress to your level of personal comfort.”
Before I can continue, some of you will say, “Okay. I’m good with that.”
But for some of you this is a more complicated question, so here’s the rest of the answer:
1. Your comfort is essential. Whether it’s the pressure I’m using, the temperature of the room, the volume of the music, or anything else, it’s vital that you feel comfortable and safe at all times. When you feel comfortable and safe, you can relax into the work and receive the massage to your best advantage. If keeping undies on helps you feel comfy, safe, secure, and it just feels right to you, then it’s the right thing for you to do.
2. That said, please know that your modesty will be respected at all times thanks to proper draping techniques. “Draping” is my use of the sheet and blankets that cover you. Proper draping enables me to respect and protect your modesty, while at the same time allowing me to access the major muscle groups of your body so that you can receive a great therapeutic massage.
3. A quick anatomy lesson: Our buttocks are home to lots of muscles. You’ve probably heard of the gluteals (maximus, medius, and minimus), but there are many others. These muscles help to keep us upright, and they help keep us moving. So they’re key to mobility and range-of-motion issues. They’re also key in causing and treating lower back pain. If you’re coming in with any of these issues, it will be really helpful to have these muscles tended to. I address them as part of your leg, because they are. No undies helps me access these muscle groups adequately and appropriately, again and as always with the use of proper draping.
If the “undies dilemma” is a biggie for you, this information should help you make your decision more easily. But if you have any more questions around it, please ask me and we’ll discuss them. The important thing is that you always feel comfortable, safe, and respected during the session so that you can receive a great therapeutic massage and that you feel better.
Stairway Healing Arts Center 