Prior To Your Visit

Fill out your intake forms and bring them with you to your appointment.

Click the buttons below to download and print your intake forms.

What to expect upon receiving your first massage at
A Valley of Vitality Wellness Studio.

Your First Visit/ Arrival

Please arrive 10-15 minutes prior to your first scheduled appointment. This allows you time to fill out our brief health intake form & enjoy the space for the first time without feeling rushed. If you are unable to arrive early, please print and complete the client intake form ahead of time.

Arriving Late

If you are late to your session you are welcome to receive whatever time is left in your appointment. Due to our tightly booked schedule we are generally unable to extend your session beyond your original appointment time. Regardless of the length of the service actually given, you will be responsible for payment of the full service you scheduled.

1. Prior to your Massage:

If at all possible, prepare yourself mentally for a massage prior to arrival. It is best if you can avoid eating 1-2 hrs prior to the massage. (unless you have diabetes and or low blood sugar).

2. What to expect before your Therapeutic Massage:

Once you arrive for your massage session, We will give you a client intake form to complete. To save time please click on the appropriate intake form on the right and print the form and complete it prior to your visit. Please do not be anxious about this process, it is the initial means by which we may better assist you. We will do a review and assessment of your medical history to develop a comprehensive treatment plan. We will discuss your goals for the session, whether you just want to relax during the massage or if you have muscle tension/adhesion’s that need focus.

There is a brief intake form that you will complete, detailing your confidential personal health history, past and present, this will let us know if there are any contraindications, or reasons that massage may not be advisable. As emphasized, we consider every aspect of your session, beginning with the interview, as completely confidential.

After you fill out the intake form, we will talk about your goals and what you hope to achieve from your massage session, including any long-term health goals. In this way, we can assess which massage modality/style would most benefit you and which approach is most suitable.

For most table work, you will disrobe to your level of comfort. In either instance, we will leave the room allowing you complete privacy to prepare for the massage. You will disrobe to your level of comfort and lay on the table under the sheet and or blanket. We will knock prior to entering the room.

3. What to expect during your Therapeutic Massage:

During your massage treatment, we will remove the top sheet to expose the area of the body being worked on, while the remainder of the body is covered with the sheet. This is called draping. Proper draping is used to respect the privacy of the client.

We will typically begin the session by feeling the tissues and getting a feel of how the structure is, We will begin with lighter strokes and movements to determine which areas may require greater attention. For deeper work we will ask you to participate by first informing you that we are ready to go deeper and asking you to provide honest feedback. We will be use a rating scale of 1-10 with 10 being most intense, what level of pain you experience with this technique.

We will keep the talking to a minimum during the massage to promote peace and relaxation. During the massage, it can be helpful to close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Really focusing on taking slow inhales and exhales can help you relax and help release the tension in your muscles. If you prefer to talk, that is fine but you may be trading relaxation for conversation.

Please try to practice relaxation breathing (deep, full inhalation, long, slow exhalation) through deeper work especially, though relaxation breathing will greatly enhance your experience.

The massage should feel comfortable and we will check in with you to make sure you are comfortable. Working in an area of injury or chronic pain or tension may cause some discomfort. This discomfort can be intense for a moment, but should never be beyond your pain threshold or should continue after the tension is released. Don’t hesitate to ask questions during the session or request adjustments during the massage for your comfort.

4. What to expect after your Therapeutic Massage:

Please note that there is no set routine that we follow as we consider every session unique and specific to each client. We will gently inform you that we are at the end of our massage session and that you may take your time to get up from the table.

Again, we will leave the room so that can dress in private. You may be profoundly relaxed after the treatment, so give yourself time to reorient before sitting up. Upon return, we will give you bottled water.

We would like to visit with you briefly after the massage so that we may discuss how you are feeling, feedback from the massage session, and what requests you may have for a future visit.

5. Massage after care:

The most important element to massage after care is re hydrate, drink plenty of water, (especially at high altitude) for the next 24 hrs. Massage releases toxins that were stored in the muscle tissues and drinking lots of water can help flush these toxins out of the body.

Since massage promotes lymphatic movement, it is essential that you further promote the movement of toxins out of your system (through the kidneys) with sufficient water intake for the next day. If we have done deeper work, it may be necessary to use an ice pack for 20 minutes on the treated area to reduce inflammation; this will minimize soreness you may feel the following day.

Before the next session, feel free to let us know how you felt after the treatment so that work can be adjusted if needed. Any suggestions or feedback is welcome.

Finally, give yourself enough time to enjoy the benefits of the massage and treat yourself with loving kindness so that the benefits of your massage session are extended beyond the session.