Before and After a Massage

Drinking extra water after a massage will help remove the lactic acid released from your muscles and will prevent soreness. Avoid too much water the hour before your appointment (to avoid restroom breaks during session), but drink twice as much water as you usually do after the appointment. A hot shower before bed is also a great way to flush waste from the body and may further improve your sleep. Limit heavy foods prior to your appointment, and avoid alcohol the entire day of your appointment. Exercise is okay before or after massage, but you’ll want to further increase your water intake. And always be sure to fill out your intake form completely and accurately to give your therapist a full picture of your health and your needs.

Communication / Feedback

Many people have never experienced professional massage, or have been receiving it for years and still have questions. First and foremost, communication is an essential piece to your satisfaction in any bodywork session. Our therapists will do their best to check in with you about your comfort with the table settings, the room temperature, and the pressure throughout your massage, but unsolicited feedback is always welcome. If your face rest is at a funny angle, if you have an itch somewhere, if you need to use the restroom, if you would like more time with a particular technique or on a certain area, PLEASE let us know. Your enjoyment and comfort is our main concern. As for general chatting, that is completely up to you. If talking during your massage is most comfortable to you, we’re more than happy to chat with you. We learn a lot of interesting things about our clients, and we love it! But if you prefer to really go within and maybe fall asleep, we can completely respect that as well, and will only check in with you about pressure and comfort.

What type of massage should I schedule?

No one massage modality is right for everyone. Athletes or people who are physically active may prefer a massage that incorporates more stretching and / or deeper work (Sports Massage). Often times, people who work desk jobs have a lot of tension in their upper back, shoulders and neck – they may benefit from deeper work in these areas (Deep Tissue), as well as the penetrating warmth of hot stone massage. Those whose primary goal is to relax, release mental stress or improve sleep would do best with Swedish massage. All of our modalities of massage are the same price, and most therapists use a unique  blend based on your individual needs.

How often is massage recommended?

In general, most people would benefit from maintenance massage every 3-4 weeks. Pregnant women, athletes, and those who work out regularly usually need bi-weekly massage therapy. A busy professional looking for a good stress-management tool may want to consider one 40-minute Focus Massage per week. Focus sessions are also great for working with injury recovery. If you’re healing from an injury or chronic issues, you may want to try massage once a week for a few weeks to see if the condition improves. General wellness is best maintained by getting massage at least once a month.

How much time should I book?

The Focus Massage is a 40 minute treatment that works only in the areas of most tension (for most people, this is neck / back / shoulders, but may be different for you). An hour session is like a focused treatment with time to touch on a couple of other areas. Full body massage is possible in an hour, but detailed work in one area and full body work usually cannot be accomplished in an hour. For those who would like a full body massage and to focus on a few key areas, 90 minutes or more is recommended. We also offer two-hour sessions, but keep in mind that more is not always better. Contact the studio to discuss your specific needs. People with serious illness, sensitivity to stimulation or other considerations may not be ideal candidates for longer sessions. Those in good health with prior massage experience usually do best with longer sessions.

Pressure

Each person’s tolerance for pressure is different, and it is inadvisable to endure more pressure than is comfortable in order to increase the results of massage. There is no place for the “no pain = no gain” mentality in the therapeutic massage environment. There is a concept of “good pain” in massage therapy, where the pressure is reaching the edge of your comfort threshold, but not beyond. Never hesitate to communicate about how close the pressure is to your edge. And always inform your therapist about any injuries, ticklish areas, or areas you would prefer to avoid due to modesty or for any other reason.

Draping

Your body will always be draped with a sheet except for the area that your therapist is working on at any given point. Some therapists place the drape more loosely while others tuck the drape very securely, but none will ever expose the genitals under any circumstances, and a woman’s breasts will only be undraped with consent for and discussion about breast massage.  Abdominal massage may be done with a separate breast drape for your comfort. The buttocks are undraped to access the gluteus muscles as each leg is undraped. Work in this area is very common to relieve lower back pain, hip pain and tension in the legs. If you would prefer to only do this work over the sheet or to avoid this area, please note that on your intake form or mention it before your massage. The use of draping is not optional, but minimal, professional draping preferences can be accommodated.

Undressing

It is acceptable to undress completely, as you will be draped with a sheet. If it is more comfortable for you to leave panties or other undergarments on, please feel free. Ladies, keep in mind that wearing thong underwear gives more access to the gluteus muscles, but full panties are ok as well. Please also note that bras will disrupt the long, gliding strokes down the back and some of the shoulder work that many of us need in massage. If there is concern for modesty, please mention it and we can ensure your draping is to your comfort level. If the concern is for breast comfort while laying prone, that can be addressed with support wedges or body positioning.

Jewelry

It is best not to wear any jewelry or a watch during your massage. Small earrings are an exception. Please keep valuables at home, as we are not liable for any lost articles.

Cell phones

This is your massage. If you are expecting an important call, feel free to keep your phone on and near you. If you would prefer to relax and retreat from the world, feel free to silence or turn your phone off. Out of consideration of other guests in session, please keep cell phones silenced and step outside if you need to take a call while you’re in the waiting area.

Hair

To allow optimum access to your neck and shoulders, hair that is long enough for a pony tail should be secured high up on the back of the head. This also ensures minimal lotion transfer to the hair. If you will be returning to work after your massage or if you have a special event that day and you would like to be certain that no massage cream gets into your hair and that your hairstyle stay intact, please inform before the session.

Gratuity

Gratuity, or tipping, is a customary practice that should reflect a client’s satisfaction with their service. If you feel you received excellent service, an additional 15-20% of the service value is a good guideline. While not required or expected, gratuity is always appreciated. However, if the added expense of providing gratuity is a financial burden to you, we would much rather see you again than overextend your budget.

Tardiness / Earliness

Arriving late to your appointment will usually mean that your appointment length will be minimized by the amount of time you were tardy. While we do our best to give you the full session time, there may be another client after you, and we may not be able to extend your appointment if you are late. Please arrive 10 minutes early to fill out your initial intake form if it is your first visit, or to sit and relax before your appointment.

Gift card policies

We understand that things happen, and you may not be able to redeem your gift certificate. Maybe you will be moving away, maybe you would rather gift the treatment to someone else, or maybe you would like a treatment other than the one someone selected for you. All gift certificates are transferable to another person or the value may be used toward another service. However, refunds are not given and each certificate has 365 days to be redeemed from the date of purchase. Also keep in mind that the cancellation policy applies to gift certificates as well. If you no-show for your appointment, you forfeit the value of the gift certificate. If a reschedule fee or any other fees are due, they will be taken from the gift certificate the day they are due, and you may pay the rest of the treatment cost at the time of your new appointment.

Cancellation / forfeiture policy

If you must cancel or reschedule your appointment for any reason, please do so with 24 hours or more notice.  We reserve the therapist’s time just for you, and the less notice we have, the harder it is for us to rebook your therapist. Cancellations made within 24 hours of your appointment will result in a full charge. Please be aware that this policy also applies to appointments secured with a gift certificate. Same-day cancellation or no-shows will forfeit the value of the gift certificate.

“The extras”

You may request luxurious treatments like hot stone therapy and hot towel application, both complimentary when you visit the studio. Some therapists utilize hot stones on the areas of greatest muscular tension to expedite relaxation, but if you would like a full body hot stone massage, please request it when booking. We now offer Lunamy organic essential oils for a transcendent aromatherapeutic treatment, available for just $5. Of the available enhancements, only aromatherapy is available for outcall sessions (i.e. at your home, office or hospital room).

Referrals

Please let us know who referred you so we can give them proper credit. For each client you send to Zalla Massage, earn 10% off your next session, or save up three and get a free session!

Forms of Payment

We accept payment for services or gift cards in cash or with any Visa, Master Card, American Express or Discover card. If you want to prepay for a service for someone, you can either purchase an instant gift certificate or give us your card information to keep on file to charge when they come in. A credit card of valid gift card is required to reserve an appointment, but a different card or cash may be used at checkout.

Terms of Service for Monthly Membership

Your monthly membership dues will be charged on the same day each month as the day originally purchased. Membership gives you one massage per month at the stated rate. An unused session will rollover to the next month until it has gone unused for one year, at which time the value is forfeited. You must use all of your accrued sessions before canceling membership or you will lose unused sessions. You may cancel your membership without penalty by giving at least two days notice before your scheduled charge. There is not a long-term time commitment as with many other massage memberships, so in order to deter repetitive cancellation and reinstatement of membership, an initiation fee of $10 will be charged at first purchase. You may upgrade to a longer session by paying the difference, but unused minutes may not be rolled over if you choose to receive a session shorter than the one your membership allows. You may share the massages purchased through your membership with as many people as you like, but only with the same person once per year.