Protocol for Couples Massage

Seasoned spa-goers are not generally the ones who book couples massages. Guests who book couples massages view it as an afternoon activity to spend time together much like going to dinner or a movie. They are not likely to make spa-going a habit. A couple’s massage is more like an event for them.

You and your massage therapy colleague need to keep this in mind when servicing both partners. Your approach should be straight forward: greet the guests, show them to the couple’s suite and indicate which massage table you and the guest will be working.

Allow them to take a sensory journey and smell the aromatic oil blends. Let them decide which scent appeals to them. Let them know if they choose different scents, the aromas will not clash while they are receiving their massages. Have a consultation with the guest and find out if this is their first massage. Instruct them how you would like them to lie on the table. If they kept under garments on, draping should be modest around these areas. The wife does not want to look over at her husband whose briefs have been pushed down exposing his rear end when he purposely kept them on for a reason.

Remember, this is not a competition between you and the other massage therapist as to who can become the diva of the treatment room. It is not a contest as to who can elicit more sounds of relief (moans) coming from one partner or the other. I performed a couples massage with a massage therapist who had never done a couples massage. She clearly went overboard on the husband who was new to massage. She was performing Thai massage and stretching him into a pretzel to the point where his gasps and moans were embarrassing for both his wife and I. The wife did not enjoy her massage and scowled the entire time. The movements you perform should be on the same wave length as the other massage therapist so as not to cause distractions while the guests are trying to relax.

The techniques used should be standard Swedish or Deep Tissue with the added benefit of aromatherapy. Hot stone massage is another favorite but I do not schedule them in the same room as it becomes too hot and uncomfortable for the massage therapists who are working. It can also be disruptive to each guest if a massage therapist is retrieving stones from the heater.

You and the other massage therapist need to coordinate the couples massage so that each partner feels as though they received the same quality service as the other. Warm towels, tapotement, and the ability to address all areas of concern both supine and prone will be discussed by the couple after the treatment. The treatments do not have to be synchronized but you should take notice of anything that stands out from the other services provider’s technique and your own. Communicate. Tapotement is loud and can be heard by the guest at the adjacent massage table. They may wonder why they weren’t “chopped” like their partner was.

Conversation should be kept to a minimum and all communication with the guest should be in a whisper tone. Couples massage may be someone’s first introduction to massage. It may be something they have always wanted to experience but parts of it may be foreign to them. It is your responsibility to give a safe and comfortable treatment as you are the voice of this profession and your touch will influence this guest as to whether they will return.

by Cara Solomon

Make each clients feel Special

Each client deserves to feel special. Always create a welcoming atmosphere for them, they will truly appreciate it. It adds value to your service! Unlike Chiropractor's office, my clients are seeking relaxation in a clean and beautiful setting. I trust all of you to create that atmosphere for them. Clean sheets, scented candles, rose petals, just be creative. Guess what??? next time they are booking an appointment, they will ask for you by name. You also look more professional!

That was my massage room from my 1 bedroom apartment 3 years ago. I turned my dining room into a massage room LOL. I can be creative!!!

My office at Southpoint (super clean)

Performing Chair Massage At UNF

Sharing how I used Facebook to market my business

I am grateful for all of you!

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.
-- Cicero


At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
-- Albert Schweitzer

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.
-- Oprah Winfrey

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.
-- Author Unknown

Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping stones to greater experience. Perhaps someday you will be thankful for some temporary failure in a particular direction. When one door closes, another always opens.
-- Author Unknown

Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.
-- A. J. Cronin

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-- Melody Beattie

Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.
-- Author Unknown

Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.
-- Brian Tracy

Every time we remember to say "thank you", we experience nothing less than heaven on earth.
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.
-- Christiane Northrup

Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.
-- Eileen Caddy

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
-- Epictetus

I am grateful for all of my problems. After each one was overcome, I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. I grew in all my difficulties.
-- James Cash Penney

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
-- Meister Eckhardt

If you can't be content with what you have received, be thankful for what you have escaped.
-- Author Unknown

If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
-- Rabbi Harold Kushner

If you haven’t all the things you want, be grateful for the things you don’t have that you wouldn’t want.
-- Author Unknown

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
-- Albert Schweitzer

In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.
-- Naomi Williams

It isn't what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.
-- Author Unknown

Just a "thank you" is a mighty powerful prayer. Says it all.
-- Rosie Cash

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
-- Marcel Proust

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.
-- Buddha

Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it.
-- Ralph Marston

No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.
-- Alfred North Whitehead

None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of Bankruptcy.
-- Fred De Witt Van Amburgh

People who live the most fulfilling lives are the ones who are always rejoicing at what they have.
-- Richard Carlson

So often we dwell on the things that seem impossible rather than on the things that are possible. So often we are depressed by what remains to be done and forget to be thankful for all that has been done.
-- Marian Wright Edelman

The grateful mind is constantly fixed upon the best. Therefore it tends to become the best. It takes the form or character of the best, and will receive the best.
-- Wallace D. Wattles

The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.
-- William Blake

The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.
-- Henry Ward Beecher

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.
-- Ralph H. Blum

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.
-- Author Unknown

Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.
-- John Wooden

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.
-- Albert Schweitzer

To live a life of gratitude is to open our eyes to the countless ways in which we are supported by the world around us.Such a life provides less space for our suffering because our attention is more balanced. We are more often occupiedwith noticing what we are given, thanking those who have helped us, and repaying the world in some concrete wayfor what we are receiving.
-- Gregg Krech

What if you gave someone a gift, and they neglected to thank you for it--would you be likely to give them another? Life is the same way. In order to attract more of the blessings that life has to offer, you must truly appreciate what you already have.
-- Ralph Marston

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.
-- Willie Nelson

You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.
-- Sarah Ban Breathnach

You won't be happy with more until you're happy with what you've got.
-- Viki King