Ideas For Making Massage Easier When You're Undersized
If you're interested in getting into the massage field but you have an undersized physique, you may be concerned about your lack of physical strength. On one hand, you might think that you won't be strong enough to apply deep pressure to your clients and, on the other hand, you could be nervous about straining your body excessively to the point that you're unable to work. There are plenty of successful undersized massage therapists, so there's no need to worry. You will, however, need to adopt a specific strategy to compensate for what you may lack in strength. Here are three ideas.
Keep A Stool Beneath Your Table
When it comes to applying significant downward pressure on a client who enjoys deeper massages, you may lack the strength to do so. This can especially be true if you're on the shorter side. A simple strategy is to keep a small stool beneath your massage table. When there's a need, you can quietly slide out the stool and stand on it. In doing so, you'll immediately have more of an ability to push downward with more ease and pressure.
Don't Wear Out Your Hands
While a large-stature massage therapist with big hands may be comfortable using them to knead his or her client's muscles, you may struggle in this regard if your hands are small. Undersized massage therapists commonly use different parts of their bodies in cooperation with their hands. While your hands will still be your most valuable tool during treatments, don't be afraid of giving them a break to use your forearms. Downward pressure with your forearms is easy and can feel pleasant for the client. When you need to more specifically direct pressure on the client's muscles, using your elbows can even work.
Be Selective About Your Clients
You don't need to treat absolutely everyone who wants to be a client. If you perform a massage treatment on someone for the first time and realize that he or she requires a significant amount of pressure that is physically taxing for you, there's no harm in telling the client afterward that you won't be able to treat him or her again, and that you'd like to refer the client to a practitioner you know who is more skilled with deep-tissue massage. Don't feel as though you're doing the client a disservice; the other therapist may be able to administer a better massage for the client.