I have had the humble honor of working on many people who have never experienced therapeutic touch before, and some yoga newbies as well. I know many of these folks were nervous, hesitant, unsure, as they should be in a new experience. Maybe they heard stories about “no pain, no gain” from a deep-tissue massage, or thinking they somehow had to bend in a pretzel before they could possibly try doing yoga.
The reason I love working with this population is because I love the work that I do, and I believe it is accessible to everyone, no matter their physical health or flexibility. Certainly there are people who just don’t like to be touched at all, so maybe bodywork isn’t your thing (unless you wanted to try off-the-body reiki). But if you have been curious to try bodywork, I suggest the following:
- Trust your instincts and speak up. If you are being asked to do something that doesn’t feel good or makes you uncomfortable, please tell your therapist. A good therapist should be cued in to your responses but it’s not always clear if you aren’t enjoying the work. In pain? Cold? Don’t like the music? Please tell your therapist so they can make you as comfortable as possible.
- If you are holding your breath or tensing up, then your body is telling us both that the pressure/technique is a little too much. Sometimes just backing off 5-10% can allow the body to breath/relax again and accept the work. Please speak up! (are you sensing a theme here?)
- Speaking of breathing, it’s a wonderful thing to focus on during your session. Try breathing into your belly, and exhaling the same length of time that you inhaled.
- Ask questions. If you are curious about what your therapist is doing, then it’s great to ask questions (although there are times when silence is better; I’ll cover this in a later blog).
- Please do drink water after your session (I also believe many of us are chronically dehydrated) and try to plan to relax afterwards to allow the bodywork to continue to help your muscles and body.
I hope this helps! In Part II, I will cover the Top 5 things you can do to enhance your first yoga session.
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