We have paperwork online for you to fill out before your appointment. You can find it in the email that you received when you booked your appointment under the “manage my appointment” tab. Otherwise, you are welcome to fill it out at our office. Come a couple of minutes early if you’d like to do it at Watershed Wellness.
Each appointment will begin with an intake process to understand what you were hoping we could do for you during that session. Please let us know if you’ve had any recent health issues or concerns, or would like us to focus on a specific problem area. We’ll ask lots of questions and get to know what works for you and to understand more about your massage preferences. We’re trained in many different modalities, and are generally adaptable to what your needs are for that day.
If something is not working for you, let us know! We’re not big talkers during our massages, preferring to let you take that time for yourself and the quiet time/relaxation that most of us need. We’ll remind you before your massage to notify us if something needs to be changed. This can include, but not be limited to: pressure, music, temperature, etc. We’re happy when you speak up if something isn’t working for you, and hope that you’ll feel comfortable doing so.
Before the session, we’ll give you a general overview of what we’ll be working on for that session and how we’ll address it. Things can change once we get our hands on you. We may notice that your body is needing something that you didn’t mention, or have a different understanding of how your pain may be caused by another part of your body. We may amend the session from what we initially set out to do once we have a more hands-on experience of what your body is experiencing. Again, if anything is not working for you, let us know!
Once the massage is finished we’ll discuss anything that we feel you might be interested in knowing. We’ll let you know of problem areas that might be helped with a stretch or a postural modification. We might even bring out an anatomy book and show you what we’re feeling under your skin. It’s helpful to have a visual of the basic musculature and skeletal structure so you can have a better understanding of your body and why you might be experiencing pain in a certain area.
We’ll talk about rescheduling for next time. If you are interested in coming in for regular bodywork, consider making a regularly timed appointment each month. We find that it’s nice to have a time that you know is yours that you can look forward to on a regular basis.
After your massage, it might be nice to take a short walk around the neighborhood. If you came in with lower back pain, it’s often a great idea to keep mobility in the area with movement, so a walk is highly recommended. Be sure to drink lots of water and realize that sometimes massage brings up interesting things for people. Some people have reported having strong emotions after a massage, feeling either tired or rejuvenated, and/or having minimal soreness for the next couple of days. Taking a hot bath with Epsom salts can help to relieve any lingering muscle soreness you may be feeling. Be kind to yourself and recognize that you may need a little extra time to reintegrate into your regular life after your session.
If it’s your first time in, we’ll want to know how you feel after your massage. Pay attention to any soreness or any change in your pain or symptoms. We care about your experience at Watershed Wellness, and are very open to feedback. We want you to feel great and have your needs addressed. Let us know if we failed to make that happen. If we made you feel great, let others know of your great experience at Watershed Wellness!
