Top to Toe

[Carissa]

On the second visit I made to the therapist I’ve now been seeing for a good 18months, I had what she calls a top to toe treatment. Since the first time I experienced it, virtually all but a couple of the treatments I’ve had from her have been the top to toe treatment she does, or an abridged version of it. It’s based around a full body Swedish massage, but it also has elements of Reflexology as she does my feet, plus elements of Indian Head massage as she does my head and face too, she also does all of my arms and my hands. The whole experience is very relaxing and makes sure that any knots or tight muscles get found and worked upon. I’m male, my therapist is female and while drapes are used I undress fully for the treatment.

Yes there are questions in this post, but; let me detail the treatment I receive so there is a baseline and relevant context to them - should you want to respond to any of the questions at the end.

Let’s start with the recipient on their back as that’s how the treatment, that I have, starts.

A thorough foot massage first.

Next its legs with thighs treated to the top of all muscle groups on outer, front and inner thighs with the abductors being fully treated.

Having finished on my legs, the stomach is the next area to be treated and a line just below where the waist band of my underwear would sit defines the lower limit, with the upper limit being the start of my rib cage.

Arms are next with hands also treated at this point before the shoulders and neck are treated.

Some gentle pressure point treatment on the face before some gentle treatment on my scalp that, if I’m not already, puts me into that wonderful state that is a shade away from being completely asleep.

Having turned over, my therapist uncovers one side of me at a time, so she can work on the back of one leg, one buttock and one side of my back. When treating the thighs during this part, the inner thighs not accessible from the front are fully treated, as is each buttock in turn.

After working on each side from legs to back, the back is then fully treated in its own right, with the movements extending down to the top of the gluteus muscle group.

Shoulders and neck are then treated, before further gentle treatment of my head finishes off with me once more a shade away from being completely asleep.

I feel that I'm very fortunate to be able to benefit and enjoy what I consider to be a very extensive massage that; because of it's thoroughness, I find more relaxing than the massages I experienced before from therapists who were not so thorough.

Ok, on to the questions ...

Therapists:
If you were to, or do provide, a top to toe treatment like that outlined above, what would/do you consider appropriate boundaries and why do you consider them to be at the point you do, rather than a different point?

If the areas you treat are different for male/female clients due to them being the same/different sex to you, why do you treat each sex differently?

Recipients:
Do you find that, the more thorough the massage, the more relaxing it is, or vice versa?