Before & After Care
Suggestions for supporting tantric massage benefits and integration
Session Preparation
What can I expect from and how do I prepare for a session?
Your session time includes an initial discussion to clarify your needs and focus for the session, guidance for connecting with the body and receiving the most out of the session, the massage/bodywork itself, a debrief at the end of the session, and a check in email within one week after the session to support integration, if needed.
To prepare for the session:
Have a decent night's rest before the session day and try to avoid mentally or physically taxing activities prior to the session.
Please arrive freshly showered. Alternatively, you are welcome to shower at the premise, which will be included in your session time.
Please abstain from tobacco, heavy foods and excess fluids for at least 3 hours prior to your appointment.
Do not arrive intoxicated or influenced by alcohol, micro-dosing or other drugs. Please abstain from non-medicinal substances like cannabis, liquor or sleeping pills the night before.
Please arrive on time and not early, as there is no waiting room and it is not always possible for me to receive you before the agreed time. If you are running late, please notify me by text message. Session times cannot be extended if running late.
As much as possible, arrive with an attitude of openness, curiosity and as an opportunity to relax and receive. Consider any intentions or questions you wish to share.
If possible, schedule an appointment where you can give yourself unhurried time after your session to go gently and allow the experience to settle in its own time.
Switch off your mobile phone during the session and do not wear/remove any jewellery that can get caught/tangled or that you don't want coming into contact with oil.
Session Aftercare
How might I feel after a session and what can I do to support integration?
By the end of the session most clients feel deeply relaxed, nurtured and nourished. In the immediate period after the session, some people are very energised and others feel very tired and need to rest. The energy and experience of the session can be present in your awareness for hours or days afterwards. The purpose of these sessions are to guide the client into an open, surrendered state, which means you might feel more sensitive than usual afterwards. It's helpful to be mindful of this, choose supportive environments to expose yourself to and allow time to ground and centre. It is common to not have words and/or be able to describe your experience afterwards. This happens when people enter altered brainwave states and switch off from the everyday cognitive states of thinking, analysing, solving, and planning. They are immersed in and deeply communing with the inner realms (i.e., the feeling, sensing, intuitive, non-linear and non-verbal modes of being). It's encouraged to stay in your body and bathe in this relaxed, receptive state as long as you can after a session.
As the energy/body integrates in the days to week after the session, aftermath experiences are varied and unique to the individual, including from session to session. Examples include:
Afterglow bliss state
Delayed emotional release
Tiredness
Rush of energy
Body shaking or tremors
Sensations, emotions and/or memories related to the experience/s a client has had on the table
Temporary detox-like effects (e.g., headaches, body soreness)
Openness, desire to connect with others, burst of creativity, sense of expansion/liberation
Quietness, reflective and calm state
The following points are general principles/suggestions for aftercare:
~ Drink plenty of water to flush toxins from the system.
~ Try to create some free time after a session to breathe, feel, appreciate and relax before emerging back into daily life. This could be as simple as spending some time in the sunshine, eating a light, nutritious meal or taking a rest.
~ Avoid environments that over stimulate or switch you immediately into an alert state, such as fluorescent lighting and busy malls, work responsibilities or high intensity exercise.
~ Reflecting on the meaning of the experience through, for example, debriefing with someone you trust or journalling. You may like to touch on what you felt, thought and experienced in the session, any key moments that led your body to contract/expand, and any insights, questions or themes to further contemplate.
~ Listen to your body and offer it the self-care it needs. Ideas include a bubble bath or warm shower, walk in nature, listening to relaxing music, yoga or stretching, connecting with a loved one, spend time with a pet, take a nap or practice yoga nidra.
~ If desired, there is an opportunity to receive individualised integration support in the debrief at the end of the session. Please reach out if you need additional support and feel welcome to utilise the check in email that is sent within a week of your session to ask questions or share your experience. The check in is an opportunity to receive tailored support for your integration.
