[Nemhain]

Hi there! I'm a licensed massage therapist. I'd love to hear from anyone about their first massage. Feel free to answer as many or as few as you want. I always love hearing people's massage experiences and I love learning from them!

What were your expectations?

Did you enjoy it?

What did you like about it?

Was there anything you didn't like?

How much did you pay?

What could the therapist have done different to make it better?

[bluesky]

You know I only got a massage once as sort of a challenge--- I am a person who's been assaulted and I wanted to see if I could trust a stranger to touch me again. I have to say it was a liberating experience from the standpoint of overcoming that fear, however the actual physical experience didn't do much for me, kind of painful, with no real feelings of relief afterwards like they say you're supposed to have.

[zenman]

Esalen massage shortly after getting married. She was a friend of my wife so it was a freebie. Really nice. I really had no expectations.

[zenman]

Originally Posted by bluesky

You know I only got a massage once as sort of a challenge--- I am a person who's been assaulted and I wanted to see if I could trust a stranger to touch me again. I have to say it was a liberating experience from the standpoint of overcoming that fear, however the actual physical experience didn't do much for me, kind of painful, with no real feelings of relief afterwards like they say you're supposed to have.

Just keep in mind that your traumatic experience is locked in your body as well as your mind.

[Spidey's mom]

Never been able to do it . ... too intimate.

steph

[Gompers]

Had one massage in my life, and probably will never have another one. I was way too tense to enjoy myself. It was at a spa, and the massuese made me uncomfortable. I expressed that I was nervous and very modest, yet she still massaged parts of me I would have rather not been touched (buttocks, upper thighs - the sort of thing that I understand is part of a massage but I had implied I didn't want up front). She also took the sheet and instead of folding over just the corner where she was working - she folded the ENTIRE THING in half, from neck to feet, so I was completely exposed on one side of my naked body. I almost complained to the spa manager.

Much preferred the herbal wrap and mineral bath I experienced - very good for a modest person like myself, and both left me relaxing in a room by myself for 20-30 minutes without having to worry about what was being looked at or touched.

[xmaxiex]

I by nature am a cheap person and would never dream of paying for a luxury service . However my friends got me a gift certificate for a massage at a particurly stressful time in my life . I LOVED it ! As a high octane person I never realized how tense I held my body and muscles . I expected to be embarassed but a few rubs and I was in la la land ! I think nurses shoudl recieve a massage a month as part of any company policy !

[Angie O'Plasty, RN]

I think nurses shoudl recieve a massage a month as part of any company policy !

We got 'em free for Nurse's Week last year.

It was SO cool! They set up the break room with soothing water, herbal teas, and a foot massager, and started at 0630, and kept the service going til all shifts were covered. This was just an upper-body type, mostly shoulders and neck, but it was wonderful!

I had a Swedish-type massage (we were asked if we wanted light or deeper), and man! my neck muscles never felt so great. We really do get incredibly tense by the end of a shift.

[Nemhain]

Originally Posted by Angie O'Plasty, RN

We got 'em free for Nurse's Week last year.

It was SO cool! They set up the break room with soothing water, herbal teas, and a foot massager, and started at 0630, and kept the service going til all shifts were covered. This was just an upper-body type, mostly shoulders and neck, but it was wonderful!

I had a Swedish-type massage (we were asked if we wanted light or deeper), and man! my neck muscles never felt so great. We really do get incredibly tense by the end of a shift.

Wow. I'm impressed that your employer did that. I think they should do something like that every month.

I'm assuming it was chair massage (that seems to be most convenient for employers). I looooove massages in a chair, but funny enough, I don't like giving massages in a chair...I don't know why.

[Nemhain]

Gosh, since I started the thread I should have posted my first massage experience. I guess I forgot! Better late than never.

My first massage wasn't too long before I entered school; I'll have to guess about 5 months. I didn't have any expectations other than I new I'd be half naked with someone I'd never met before. Also, I hoped that pain in my back would be relieved for a few days.

My massage was at a beautiful spa and my therapist was a very handsome man. Yikes! I thought, "oh no...a guy"?! Apparently, I had an unconscious expectation that the therapist would be female. I quickly calmed myself down and thought, "he's a professional...I can do this". He turned out to be very nice. I told him that my back hurt all the time while I washed dishes in the sink. So he asked me a few more things and then he went to work. The first 15 minutes were pleasant and then he started going a little deeper (all the while asking me if it was okay and I always said yes). I certainly wasn't in pain, but it was a little uncomfortable. I think it was due to my muscles never being kneaded, stretched, and pulled like that. It did feel good in an odd way.

The session ended (I think I paid $40) and I went home. The next morning I was very sore...really sore, but not in pain. It felt like I had done a huge gym workout the day before. I thought, "good god am I supposed to feel like this?" So I got up and moved around and stretched. I felt really great about 2 hours later. I noticed a big difference! My back pain was relieved for 2 months!!! I was a true believer in massage after that. I thought, "oh wow", I want to go to school and learn how to do that...so I did!