Well Being Bodywork

FAQ

What is the best frequency/timing of sessions?

People often ask how often they should come in. Realizing that everybody’s time/money priorities are different and not wanting to add pressure, I used to say it is up to them. It felt to me like big changes in the tissue happened every session and I didn’t want to weigh in on what that should be in that person’s life. However, while true for people who have less of an accumulation, many people need to get enough therapy under their belt to start to feel fundamentally better without reversion, and not going after that quickly enough just leads to resignation. It can take 6-8 hours of therapy just to start to feel better and my laid back attitude was not serving them. I recommend coming in weekly.

What should I expect during my session?

At the outset of the session, we will talk about your symptoms. Initially I will be looking for ways to gauge our progress. I'll ask you for specifics about what you are feeling, where and when and how much. This is to hear what your body is saying so we can begin to make sense of it. It is ok if you haven't paid attention yet. Any starting point works. I may do some range of motion testing or a posture check as well, so it is helpful if you come with clothing you will be comfortable in for that: underwear, bra, bikini, short shorts all work well for me to be able to find visual and movement cues for where the tissue is shortened and whether it is restricting a joint.

During the session, you will be entirely professionally draped except the area I am working on and people either undress completely or leave on their underwear. When working on hips or gluts, underwear can be a little harder to work around. Remember that communication about what you are feeling is key. We don't want to miss what your body is telling us. Whether we are silent or chatting, ongoing communication about this takes priority.

When you are off the table and dressed, we will have a brief check in and may revisit one of the symptoms mentioned pre-session to note any difference.

Is the therapy working?

Every session is an opportunity to hear from your body. Was it effective? Success generally does not show up as symptoms entirely disappearing overnight, even if the therapy was spot on. Most people expect that, however, and when I ask someone what they experienced subsequent to a session, they will often start with “It’s still there”.

The body generally expresses progress differently. Often, it will show up in other indicators – the symptoms do not come on as quickly, last as long, and are not as intense. These are signs that we are on the right path.

Every session should feel throughout like tissue is releasing/changing.

It can happen that it feels like there are new aches or pains and people’s interpretation of that understandably might be that the therapy is not working and that they are developing new problem areas. Occasionally that is true where the shortened tissue was secondary and protecting the body from a more primary problem. What is far more common, however, is that the “new” areas were also tight, but were not crying out the loudest, and are the next thing the body is pointing at to be addressed. When our tissue is shortened and tight, it limits our range of motion. When we have more movement, areas that have problems can become irritated in a way they weren’t. This does not mean a setback, though it can be disheartening. In such cases, it can take a number of sessions and a certain amount of progress to feel like we are not playing whack-a-mole.

Occasionally bodywork can feel like one of these puzzles. Seemingly new areas of discomfort can appear and symptoms can feel like they are shifting, not resolving. This generally happens when there is not much play or space in the system and gains in one area feel like “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. It can take a number of sessions to get enough tissue release for the lengthened tissue to have somewhere to go and to feel improvement.