Hygiene in massage

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Hygiene is very important when you massage, especially in these times where the threat of the new flu is hanging over us. We as therapists are very aware of the situation and take our precautions.

For a normal massage we do the following:

• Wash our hands before and after a massage.
• Change sheets and towels, so a client will always have fresh clean sheets and towels.
  
• Wash towels and sheets at minimum 60 degrees Celsius, which is the temperature normally recommended to avoid the spreading of sickness.
• Change t-shirt if it's been in contact with the client.
• Wiping massage table/chair with an antibacterial cloth between clients.
• Making sure the environment is clean and tidy, as well as ourselves.

When using tools for a massage, these also needs to be disinfected and cleaned properly between massages to avoid the spreading of especially skin-related diseases. For hot stone massage this is even more important as the hot water can provide for a very good environment for bacteria.

Most bacteria and viruses related to human health thrives at a temperature around 37 degrees Celsius. This is why the body induces fever to raise the temperature to get rid of the enemies. Some can withstand higher temperatures and the official Danish recommendation to wash the clothes of sick people in households, is minimum 60 degrees. For hospitals and the like, the temperature need to be 95, close to boiling, to be certain.

Fortunately, sick people normally don't get massages, so the risk of spreading any disease is small to begin with. There can be undiscovered skin-conditions, not to mention, we all carry a load of bacteria on our skin through our daily interaction with our environment. These bacteria can be transferred onto the stones and when placed in warm water, some will die and some will begin to thrive.

Depending on the temperature of the water, more or less of the bacteria will die. The normal temperature range for a LaStone, around 54 degrees Celsius, is hot enough to kill most bacteria, but not all. This is why it's important to ensure proper hygiene with the stones and the water that heats them. For the cold stones, the cold only serves to put the bacteria to sleep, and once they get into contact with the warm skin, they'll wake up and thrive.

To ensure proper hygiene of the stones used in massage, we do the following:

• Sanitation tablets or other antiseptic products is the water of the heater. This way we ensure that bacteria can't survive in the warm water and be transferred onto the next client.
• Sanitation of the cold stones before they return to the cooler. Ethanol (pure alcohol) is one of the best, but other products with antiseptic properties can be used.
• By the end of the day, all the stones are carefully washed with dish washing soap, including the cooler and heater, and left out to dry out during the night.

If you're in doubt if your therapist has changed the water in the heater or use antiseptic products, do ask to be shown what he does and ask into the routines. There are cases in the past where bad hygiene has closed down spas, without it being the fault of the therapy form, but rather the therapists not being aware of the risks and bewares.

Any well trained massage therapists knows these hygiene rules and follow them, keeping the well-being and health of their clients first in mind. It is part of their training and will be incorporated into their daily routines.

Signals sent via the massage environment

When decorating a treatment room and other areas a client might enter, it's important to consider what signals that might be sent. One thing is the subconscious signals via colours, plants, music and scents which affect our emotional state. But there is also the more obvious signals to take into consideration. The types of paintings, statues, religious symbols etc.

Before starting to decorate a massage room you must consider your client base and what type of people they are. The decoration must be appealing to them to have them feel secure, safe and return for more appointments. The decoration must not be offensive to the clients in any way, or they will certainly not return for further appointments.

With the international and multicultural world we live in, it is especially important to give a neutral expression. Unless of course you know your clients will only belong to one group and none from other groups will come. Then you can cater your decoration to suit and fit the group.

Traditional religious symbols are easy to recognize and avoid. A therapist should never impose his or her own religious and spiritual views upon the clients, unless such is obvious from the name, type of massage offered or announcements. A massage therapist is a health professional, even when not officially recognized as such. The same rules apply to massage therapists as to doctors, nurses and dentists. You keep your views, philosophies and religions to yourself and speak generally about matters if they are brought up by the client.

It's also good to keep in mind that many new age and eastern symbols can be offensive to traditional western religions. Some Christians might find the use of crystals and talk of energy and divine love offensive, while a pagan would find a prayer on the wall offensive. There is even the question of cultural norms in regards to how you dress and speak to the client. Some cultures do not allow for a man to see a woman undressed, or finds it inappropriate to shake hand or have naked shoulders.

Even as innocent things as paintings can cause discomfort and be offensive. Typical new age paintings in a very conservative society could cause things to become awkward. Dali's surrealism could offend other groups, pictures of holy places or religious symbols offend those of opposing beliefs and so on.

You have to be critical of what you decorate with. Often things like nature scenery, plants and flowers are safe and universally accepted as pleasing to the eye and mind and non-offensive. Lack of statues, religious symbols and writings is another.

This of course takes away a lot of your individuality if you can't put your personal touch on the place where you work. It is important though to put yourself in the shoes of the client and try and predict and understand what can cause them issues. Then find a subtle way to decorate. And in an inoffensive manner to add your touch to the place and give it the energy and symbolism you wish to convey to your clients.

If you are uncertain, then don't do it, or ask your clients for feedback. It can be as part of a general feedback asking them to list what they like and enjoy about your massages and place, and what they would improve if they could. Let the decoration be a small part of a generally inquiring form for customer feedback and use that as an indication if your decoration is appealing and pleasing.

Related articles:
Décor and Room, Setting the Mood, and Colours and Moods

Massage music

Finding the right massage music can make a big difference in how a massage is experienced by the client. The music played will of course depend on the type of massage given, but in the following I will discuss music that is relaxing and aids the client in letting go and receive the massage.

For the Massage Créatif I like to use music that is flowing and soft, but still a bit rhythmic. Music that supports the strokes and gestures I make. Celtic inspired music such as Loreena McKennit, Enya and Clannad is very good. The music is soft and relaxing, and the voices of the singers add an almost dreamlike quality to the sound. Their voices become another instrument in harmony.

For the first session I often use this playlist for a one hour massage:

1. Loreena McKennit - The Mystic's Dream
2. Sort Sol - Let Your Fingers Do the Walkin
3. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
4. Loreena McKennitt - The Mummers' Dance
5. Enya - On My Way Home
6. Jeff Beck - Declan
7. Gus - Don't Fear The Reaper
8. Clanned - I Will Find You
9. Loreena McKennitt - Skellig
10. Porcupine Tree - Collapse The Light Into Earth
11. Enya - A Day Without Rain
12. Secret Garden - Nocturne
13. Era - I Believe
14. Dream Theater - Eve
    

The tracks are ordered so the music will match the part of the body I likely will be working on. Of course, since all clients are different I might spend more time on one part than another. The tracks are not set with a specific part of the body, but rather a general mood suiting the entire massage.

The backside will often benefit from a more rhythmic style of music, something more energized. While soft slow music is best suited for the front. This is where the client will reach the most relaxed state and the music should support that. The two last tracks are very suited for the conclusion, floating away on thoughts, drifting and dreamy while the client slowly returns to the present.

I have more than one playlist so there is variation for the client during a Massage Créatif. I add more tracks by Loreena McKennit, Clannad and Enya, but also tracks like Jade Or - Bielka Nemirovski, Ishtar - Comme Toi, Frédérick Rousseau - La Fille De Pékin, Tibet Project - Tibet and Emma Shapplin - La Notte Et.

As alternative I also enjoy using Vangelis' sountrack to 1492 - The Conquest Of Paradise or just putting on CD's with my favourite Celtic artists. For a more quiet and slow massage Jean Michel Jarre -Waiting for Cousteau and Kitaro's Silk Road series are good options. While for a more energetic massage Era and Enigma are good artists.

The music played during a massage session should match the type of massage and the aim of the massage. Energetic music for a massage aiming at energizing the person and quicken the bloodflow. Slow relaxing music when the aim is to bring the client to complete relaxation.

The music will also be a reflection of the massage therapist and her personality and style. A sort of fingerprint and clue to her philosophies and ideas about relaxation and massage.

Colours and moods

Colours can affect our mood and influence our well-being, not to mention that studies have shown a clear connection between colours and health when used in hospitals.

It is accepted that colours affect our mood and can be used to increase energy or make us relax. Colours also hold a high symbolic value and send clear messages to people. The meaning and symbolism of colours vary from culture to culture and this must be considered as well when decorating a massage room.

For most massage rooms you would want colours which are warm, comfortable, encouraging trust, relaxing and peaceful. One colour can easily become dominating and counter-productive, which means to consider complimentary colours which can break the dominating colour and add to the messages that are sent.

When a colour is muted by either adding white or black it still has the same energy, but acts on a less dominating level.

As a quick reference the following keywords can be attached:

• Red - Activity, energy, movement
• Orange - Happiness, enjoyment, play
• Yellow - Objectivity, liberty, thought-patterns
• Green - Balance, hope, healing
• Cyan - Cool, comforting, immunity
• Blue - Relaxation, calming, security
• Violet - Dignity, meditation, mental activity
• Magenta - Letting go, completion, self respect

Many colours used for painting are composed of several basic colours and this must also be taken into consideration when paints and decoration is chosen.

Inspiration: The Book of Colour Healing - Theo Gimbel

Setting the mood

Lighting, candles, scent and music plays a great influence when setting up a room for your massages.

Candles and lighting can make a big difference to a room. Candles provide a warm light that increases the temperature of the room both physically and mentally. There has been a primitive acknowledgement in the fire element of protection, warmth and survival since the earliest days of man. Controlling and using fire is one thing that truly set us apart from the other animals, and even today fire tends to captivate us and embrace us.

With modern lighting it is possible to create this atmosphere of protection and warmth without the risk of live candles. Coloured light bulbs and special lamps further expand the possibilities.

Scented candles can serve not only the purpose of providing light, but also to give the room a fragrance. You need to be careful in choosing which candles you buy as some are very perfumed and will become overwhelming for the client, as well as yourself. The larger a room is, the more strong scents can be used as it'll be diffused. Incense and aroma lamps of various sorts can also be used.

Fragrances affect us much more than we're aware of and moods can be changed rather profoundly. Just think about how the scent of fresh bread can make your mouth water, the fragrance of a flower make you remember a romantic situation, how the scent of foods or washing powder make you recall your mothers home, or how the smell of sewer can make you feel ill.

I'll cover scents and aromatherapy at a later time and explain more about scents and their affects on our mind and mood.

Finally music is important for the setting as well. It serves several purposes. First off, it helps shut out all outside sounds that might disturb a massage session. Be it a car passing by, a child shouting, rain on the windows, a door slamming. All these are sounds that can distract the client from letting go and accepting the massage fully. They can bring the client out of her relaxed state and make her unconsciously tense her muscles or even become stressed.

Music also aids in setting a mood. It can support the massage in several ways.

Music helps finding the best rhythm for the massage and the techniques employed, it supports the massage style you use (for instance Hawaiian music for the Lomi Lomi massage), and give you an idea of how long is left before the time is up (provided you know the compilation/album you're using) and allow you to focus on the massage instead of watching the clock.

Lastly, there's a lot of music out there which aids with meditation and relaxation. As such the music can help the client with relaxing fully on all levels as well as helping you obtain and maintain a balance of positive energy and calm mood. This will ensure that the client gets the best massage possible.

All in all, there are many things to take into consideration when giving a massage, and the environment is at least as important as your health or the massage oil you use.

Related articles:

Décor and Room and Colours and Moods

Décor and room

Setting the mood is important when you give a massage. The surroundings influence how we feel and is the first step in creating a good massage for your client.

The room in which a massage takes place should be warm and welcoming. It should be so warm that the client can lie naked on the massage table without feeling cold, but cool enough that the practitioner doesn't get too hot and is incapable of performing a good massage. In general this means a room with a temperature around 25-26 degrees Celsius.

Tidiness is another important aspect to creating a welcoming atmosphere. The room should be clean and ordered. Cleanliness increases your credibility and professionalism. It supports the statement that it's a proper business you're running and that there's nothing dirty going on behind the scenes.

By having your room tidy and ordered you give the impression that you have the situation under control, that you're organized in your business and you remove unnecessary distractions that might cause unease or confusion for the client.

There is a practice originating in China called Feng Sui which has now spread to the rest of the world. It deals with how to arrange objects in order to create harmony and improve the energy of the room. Though common sense does take you a long way and it's not necessary to become an expert in Eastern philosophy to create a welcoming environment.

What furniture and objects you have in your practice depends on your personality, the types of massages you give as well as which signals you wish to give to your clients. The decoration should match who you are and reflect yourself at least on a professional level.

Giving a massage is a very personal exchange and your credibility and trustworthiness will be questioned if you clash with your surroundings.

The same is true for the massages you give. It is hard to set the mood for a nice Oriental massage if all the décor is Manhattan style. If you offer several different massages which doesn't fit into one style, you should look at your overall theme instead. Do you work with a holistic approach or a more physical one, are they inspired greatly by Eastern or Western ideas, is there a lot of alternative health in your massages, or are they more beauty and wellness minded etc.

Finding what your general massage theme is will aid you greatly in choosing a decoration and set-up that corresponds with what you offer to your customers.

Related articles:
Setting the Mood, Signals sent via massage environment