Gung Hay Fat Choy (that's "Happy New Year" in Chinese)! Today is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and this is the year of the Water Dragon. According to this epic lunar calender, the year of the Dragon is a time of positive change and enterprise. Chinese New Year is traditionally a time of great celebration, a clear-out-the-old, bring-in-the-new kind of event. Usually families use this week to give their houses a thorough sweep and clean, and to ring in the new year with a bountiful family dinner. The color red is very important, as it is a color of fortune, so family members give and receive money in red envelopes as an emblem of a prosperous and abundant year.

In honor of the promise of abundance this year, I have decided to start taking credit cards once again. I know, I know, who DOESN'T take credit cards already, right? It's about time, I KNOW! Many of you have been asking about credit cards, so I found a great new way to run cards that is super easy for you and for me. It's called Square, and you may have seen other service businesses, food trailers, and lots of other folks using it. It's really simple and you will have the option to have a card on file if you choose, so you don't have to get the card out at each appointment and swipe it every time. Then, a receipt is e-mailed to you, and voila, no stress, no writing checks, etc. For more information, just ask at your next appointment.


My sincere thanks for your friendship and patronage...
Love to all,
Andrea Fleming

Not if you don't want to. The "therapeutic" part of therapeutic massage is that you don't have to do anything you are uncomfortable with. Everything that happens during your session should be working to put you at ease, not making you wheeze with fear. Of course, sometimes it is easier and faster to get to certain body parts (such as your low back and hips) if you are not wearing lots of heavy clothing. If you would like to be massaged with clothes on, it's a good idea to wear workout or yoga clothes, so that your muscles are easier to access, and you can be moved around on the table unencumbered.

That being said, even though you are disrobing for your massage, you are not exactly naked. You always have privacy to get dressed and undressed, and once you are undressed, you get right under the massage sheets. Then, you are mostly covered with the sheet (and cozy blanket) for the entire massage. The only body parts being uncovered are the ones that are being worked on. And, you ALWAYS have a right to speak up if something spontaneously bothers you.

Have no fear, there is no need to feel worried about this part (or any part, for that matter!) of your massage session. If you have reservations, I would advise you to just try it and see for yourself how simply "okay" you feel with being disrobed. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I've seen every body type, every syndrome, and every embarrassing thing you can possibly imagine. So, don't worry about your unshaven legs or that little tummy roll you don't want anyone to see. We're all friends here!

*A note for children receiving massage: the level of clothing depends on the age and the maturity level of the child, and this will be discussed with the parent or guardian of the child upon making the appointment. For most children under the age of 18, parents will be in the room and the child will be massaged with clothes on. In this case, it is recommended that the child be wearing shorts and a tank top, unless they are wiggly babies, and then they may wear a diaper or nothing at all, since the massage style is a bit different, and the parent will be close at hand. As for teenagers, every teen is different. Talking with you as a parent, we may decide together that your 15-year old son comes in for massage on his basketball-injured calf wearing shorts and a T-shirt, while you stay in the room with us. Or your 17-year old daughter who has received many relaxation massages may come in by herself and get undressed as she sees fit. Rest assured, you will be consulted along the way, and your child's best interests will always be first priority.

If by sore, you mean that the part of your body that received massage is tender to the touch and a little puffy, you are experiencing something totally normal. It is common to have some mild pain and even slight swelling after receiving deep corrective massage. This is called therapeutic inflammation. It happens when new white blood cells come to the area to clean out all the old, dead, nasty junk (waste products) in your tissues. Unfortunately, sometimes that can cause a little discomfort. But look on the bright side -- at least you can feel it! Sometimes when muscles are tight for a long period of time, your brain can actually shut off sensation to that area. Massage re-awakens your brain's awareness of those tissues. That causes tons of new working blood cells to come in and clean everything out that has been building up for so long. 

There is a 3-Day pattern after a massage, and it goes like this:

Day 1-- you get a massage. It feels great, everything feels loosened up, even if some times the massage was painful (in a good way). You feel a little tired or slightly loopy.

Day 2-- you wake up in the morning feeling like a truck ran you over in the night. You check under the bed, no truck... It must have been the massage. You may feel stiffness in the limbs that were worked, and tightness or fullness in the specific muscles that were massaged. You may even feel slightly sick if you have never received massage before, or if you smoke cigarettes or drink a lot of alcohol on a regular basis. You take a hot shower, ice the swollen areas, and drink lots and lots and lots of water. You may even take a smidge of Ibuprofen if it's just too much to bare (this is extreme).

Note: even though the surface of your body may feel sore and tender, you should not be bruised. Bruising is not required in deep tissue massage to get the muscles to release, and it is usually a sign that your massage therapist went too deeply, too quickly into your muscles and surrounding tissue. Next time, tell your therapist about the bruises, and make sure that they know that that is not okay. The exception to this is if you are susceptible to bruising easily. A lot of women in particular tend to bruise very easily, as well as people who are taking blood thinning medications or who have certain health issues. Please let your therapist know before the massage that you think you may bruise and she will be able to take that into consideration during your massage.

Day 3-- you feel fantastic! Everything that hurt yesterday feels much better. The swelling is gone, and with it, went the pain. You drank 16 gallons of water and you feel ready to run that marathon you haven't started training for yet. You have range of motion back in that previously tight body part, you can stretch it further, and it somehow even feels stronger. If it has been a long-term chronic issue, it may not feel 100 percent cured, but it should feel significantly better than before the massage.

As far as any other feelings of discomfort, you should feel free to contact your massage therapist if you have symptoms that you are worried about. If you received a full body massage, there are a lot of effects and benefits that you may experience, and your individual cocktail of pain versus bliss just depends on your daily lifestyle, overall health, and what you put into your body. If you have chosen a conscientious and well-informed massage professional, they should know how to answer your questions and help resolve your issue.