Atmosphere and Environment of Massage Therapy Sessions

The ambiance, atmosphere, and environment in which a massage session is given may significantly influence the way a massage treatment is experienced by the receiver. Moreover, the client very often expects a rather specific setting to be able to fully appreciate the session.

It goes perhaps too far to claim that the proper ambiance is half of the work done, but it definitely plays an important role, and a professional massage therapist should take this into consideration.

For instance, when the massage session is intended for pampering, relaxation and pleasure purposes, you would typically see a spa-like setting with dimmed, quiet, pleasantly heated and decorated rooms or curtain-separated sections, small mattresses or massage beds (or comfortable massage tables), a bunch of heavenly smelling towels and soft pillows in a myriad of colors, burning incense or candles, and spiritual background music.

The cherry on the cake of such a “pleasure dome” is of course serenely smiling personnel that welcomes you happily, and wears the proper clothing adapted to the type of massage.

Then again, a therapeutic healing massage session would typically take place in a more straightforward “medical” setting, like in a hospital, clinic, or sterile museum-like practitioner’s cabinet, usually in a room decorated with a respectable number of specialized massage and anatomy books, and bones, organ models and skeletons hanging all around the place.

Okay, maybe a bit exaggerated, but the look and feel of a clinical setting is much different, let’s say, more “to the point” than in a spa or massage parlor, of course. In fact, clients don’t come to be pampered, no, they need healing or relief, and therefore also expect the proper trusting environment and ambiance that reflects such an intention.

In any case, the goal of any massage treatment environment or ambiance, may it be for relaxation purposes or medical therapy, is to have a client who is able to feel at ease and unwind: an out-of-place ambiance or, like, for instance, a noisy construction-site that neighbors the massage session location, is not the thing anyone would appreciate in any given situation.

---

---