Updated: Oct 1, In a full-body massage , a therapist will massage the entire body during a therapeutic massage. Sessions typically last a minimum of 50 minutes which allows enough time to work over all the major areas of the body like the back, shoulders, legs, feet, arms, hands, and neck.
Generally, the session starts with the client disrobing completely with draping or wearing only undergarments and lying face down on a padded table under a sheet. The therapist will begin with the back and shoulders before moving down the body. Once the client has flipped over about mid-way through the session time, the therapist works back up the body, usually ending with neck and shoulders and sometimes the scalp.
Men may also receive a pectoral massage. If there is a problem area that needs extra attention, such as a sore back or tight shoulders, request that the therapist spend more time focused on those trouble spots but the trade-off may be less time spent on other areas of the body. To ensure the full treatment of every body part, as well as a focus on specific issues, make an appointment for a longer session time.
Spas can offer a full-body massage in a wide variety of specialized formats. Among the most popular is the Swedish massage , which focuses on warming the muscle tissue to releasing tension and breaking up muscle "knots.
A hot stone massage uses heated rocks placed along the body to relax tight muscles and allow the therapist to release pressure points. There are even treatments like shiatsu, in which a therapist uses his feet and stands atop the client to knead out the stress from the back. The modern full-body massage was unheard of prior to the s with its origins coming from the infamous Rest Cure for "neurasthenia," a debilitating melancholy common among society ladies in the late 19th century.
