If you love getting massages, you can enhance the experience even further. From ensuring that you have the right environment to taking care of your skin beforehand, here are some basic tips to optimise your next massage.
First, choose your own space for your massage - a quiet, private space where you feel totally secure and comfortable. This could be your own home, a friend's house, or even a hotel room. Make sure the temperature is comfortable and the lighting is soft. You may want to play some soothing music to create a calm atmosphere.
Next, undress completely or partially, depending on how comfortable you feel. It's important that you are able to relax completely during the massage, so if you're uncomfortable with total nudity, simply leave your underwear on or opt for a pair of loose shorts. Your massage therapist will be properly trained in draping techniques to ensure that your modesty is always respected.
Finally, be sure to communicate with your massage therapist about any area of discomfort or pain you may be experiencing. This will help them tailor the massage to your needs and make sure you are getting the most out of it. If at any time during the massage you feel uncomfortable or in pain, don't hesitate to let your therapist know.
How to ask your therapist to give you the massage your body needs:
- If you are experiencing pain, please let your therapist know where it is.
- Describe any activities you performed (playing sports, driving, carrying bags, etc.) or how you slept prior to experiencing this pain.
- There is a range of pressure the therapist uses, from light to deep. If you feel the pressure applied is not firm enough, ask for deeper pressure. If the pressure is too deep, ask your therapist to adjust the pressure.
- You should ask your therapist to revisit an area if it has not yet received any relief.
Sound Healing: the new self-care trend
If you’ve tried conventional massage therapies and yoga, aromatherapy and meditation are not cutting it for you either, how about trying something new? Sound massage is a type of massage that uses sound waves to relax the body. It is a relatively new type of massage, but it is becoming increasingly popular as more people learn about the benefits of this type of massage. Sound massage has been shown to be effective in reducing stress, anxiety, and pain. It can also improve sleep quality and increase energy levels.
The sound therapist may use a variety of instruments, including crystal bowls, gongs, and tuning forks. The therapist may also use their hands to create different sounds.
Here is our recommended list of places in Singapore to go for Sound Healing:
The goal of sound massage is to relax the body and mind and to promote healing. The therapist will often choose music that is calming and soothing. The therapist may also incorporate aromatherapy or other relaxation techniques into the session.
Aromatherapy & Essential Oils for Relaxation
There are many benefits to incorporating aromatherapy into your massage routine. Aromatherapy can help to relax and de-stress the mind and body, and can also be used to relieve pain and tension. Incorporating essential oils into your massage can also help to boost your immune system, improve circulation, and promote healing.
Here are some essential oils for your aromatherapy:
- Relaxing Oils: Lavender, clary sage, palmarosa, geranium, rose, and most other floral oils have the power to bolster, and rejuvenate vitality through improved sleep and rest. In Western herbalism, these plants would be categorized as relaxant nervines and mood-elevating nervine tonics.
- Cathartic Oils: Valerian and dream-inducing herbs like clary sage help release repressed emotions and traumatic memories stored in the subconscious by the limbic system.
- Inspiring Oils: Essences of agarwood, tulsi, sandalwood, frankincense, palo santo, rose, lotus, and most exotic florals evoke spiritual moods that uplift the mind and heart.
- Nootropic Oils: Clarifying herbs like lavender, tulsi, and lemon balm, and stimulating herbs like peppermint and rosemary, help sharpen the mind. These essential oils enhance cognitive functions in general, promoting concentration, learning, and memory while combating neurological degeneration.
Using a diffuser is the best way to disperse essential oils, but you can also drip oil into a pot of steaming hot water instead. In either case, use one or two drops of one oil at a time. Stand a few feet away and take ten deep breaths, then breathe normally. If you are at work or inside your car, place one drop of essential oil on a cotton ball and put it under your nose, and inhale normally for 2mins.
At Home
Try a footbath from Balance Brew while sipping a regenerative brew from their collection of herbal teas. Put on some relaxing, healing (we found some YouTube instrumentals that offers music at optimal “healing frequencies”.)
Spa Scents
Some roll-ons and room sprays re-create that lovely, soothing spa-like atmosphere purely on scent alone. The olfactory sense is a powerful one often tapping into our subconscious and generating emotions and moods by association. Some of our favourites:
1. Spa Essence Reed diffuser from Tangs.com 
2. Alo Breathe Spa Essential Oil blend from available on aloyoga.com.
3. Jo Malone London Lavender & Moonflower Pillow Mist
4. Lavendar Leaf Candle by Diptyque
5. Muse Apothecary
6. Aromatherapy Associates De-Stress Roller Ball
