Your first visit we’ll have you complete a health intake form. Recurring visits entail a brief check up for paperwork and progress sake. After a thorough health intake with your massage therapist, we will be able to best suit the needs of your session for the day. Knowing a history of your aches, pains, diagnosed conditions, past surgeries, trauma, medications, etc. gives us a safe point of reference to start from. Please read this page on our website regarding if Barefoot Massage is right for you at this time.
You must be at least 18 years of age and weigh over 130 pounds. Texas state massage law dictates that minors may receive massage therapy with the guardians consent and they also state that the parent/guardian be in the same room during the session, however, we chose not to work on anyone under the age of 18. This gravity assisted deep tissue massage can be too aggressive for smaller framed humans who are still growing. Due to the fact that our massage therapists are at times 2-4 feet off the ground working hard to balance and focus, we choose not to allow a second person in the massage room, as it can be a distraction and a safety concern to all parties involved in the massage.
We’ll leave the massage room to give you time to undress and settle in beneath the sheets on our deluxe w-i-d-e, padded and warm massage table. If you are receiving an Ashiatsu or Chavutti massage, it is imperative that you undress completely. Yes, I said it, there’s not much “undressing to your comfort level” here at Heeling Sole. We need to work directly with the tissue in your booty, legs and your feet, so please, remove your undies and socks as well as all the usual clothing, and we PROMISE that we will keep you covered where it counts with a sheet. Professional draping is required by the state of Texas except with written permission – and we at Heeling Sole never work without draping, even if you want us to. This is a professional massage therapy session, and exposed nudity is NOT our thing. We haven’t ever, and don’t need to see that side of you! Underwear is almost an insult to us. For some reason we have no issues pushing through your lovely skin to engage the muscles, but we do get weirded out when our toes get tangled in underwear or when we simply have to step on your skivvies. It becomes a safety issue, and honestly does remove some beneficial work from the massage if we have to skip an area or work through fabric, rather than glide and slide through the skin. HOWEVER if you are receiving just an Ashi-Thai, Fijian, Shiatsu, Thai, or Rossiter stretching session, not blended with Ashiatsu, please wear flexible clothing – like what you would wear to work out in. We don’t mind stepping on normal clothes. (We’ve got some spare scrub pants and tank tops you can borrow if needed!)
While you undress, we’ll clean, sanitize and warm our feet, and start the session as soon as we return to the room.
You are in control of your massage, and we need you to give instant feedback on the pressure level – we are looking for no deeper than the “hurts so good level”, and your comfort is always most important to us. We want almost a play-by-play from the horse’s mouth as we get to know your muscles and your bodies response to our work. Let us know if it needs to be lighter, deeper, a hair to the left, etc, and we’ll adjust right away! Your feedback does NOT hurt our feelings, it’s encouragement for us to give you the best massage possible that day.
If it helps you to relax by having a little conversation outside of the feedback aspect of our communication, go ahead and talk about your great second cousin’s crazy encounter with aliens, or your friend’s amazing food, but don’t feel obligated – we love to hear your stories or the sounds of your snooze. On the flipside, if your body and mind need silence, we are ninja’s, and we don’t mind working in stealth mode. (Just don’t forget to speak up when pressure needs adjustments!)
Your job during the massage is to focus on your breathing, be heavy, and physically melt into the table. If we try to move your limbs, don’t help. It’s actually better if you are dead weight. So think ~heavy~, be a bag of bones on our table, and we’ll position, stretch or place your limbs exactly where is best for the moment, or if we need you to help, we’ll definitely let you know!
Sessions will incorporate as much “massage time” as possible, however, your session may require 5 minutes of pre-session interviewing, post-session follow-up and/or self-care suggestions to better enhance your massage experience. We’ll take the massage right up to the last minute possible, and will let you know when the session is over, so don’t worry about the time.
You can choose to end the massage at any time during the session if it’s not your thing – but we bet you’ll be more likely to want to lengthen the session!
