1st time in?…What to expect. Whether you’re new to massage or just new to RAIZ here is what you should know.

CALL TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT: (406) 560-1299

1. Massage is amazing! Plan to come and be renewed. Relax and let your tension go. The lobby is gorgeous so come early and sit a while, while you unwind with a hot herbal tea and wait for your session. Please arrive 10min early for your first appointment to give yourself time to complete paperwork. 5min early is sufficient for subsequent appointments.
2. RAIZ is a private-practice therapeutic massage office, so I, Cynthia Fullmer, LMT will be your primary therapist every time. We will work together to target the “WHY” reasons for your chronic pain issues. A good health intake and lots of info from you will help me do my detective work and find those “roots”. So listen to your body. When does it hurt? Where? What makes it worse or better? I’ll be asking lots of questions like this so arm yourself with awareness.
3. Intake: Yes, there is a little bit of paperwork, but this is a health care office, not a fluff-and-buff spa, so we are here for some serious work. Let’s get you feeling better! After paperwork, we will talk in-depth about your pain and tension areas. We can’t usually address every issue in one session, so you will prioritize where we need to start first. We may also do an orthopedic and/or postural assessment before we begin.
4. Dressing: YOU WILL BE MODESTLY DRAPED AT ALL TIMES! Whether you choose to go completely undressed, or leave an undergarment on is totally up to you. Not comfortable even there? Leave EVERYTHING on, that’s ok too! I have worked on, over, or around anything you can come up with and we get the job done. So you decide what you are comfortable with. I even offer chair massage for those who wish to stay fully dressed, or have trouble laying flat.
5. Will it hurt? That seems counter productive to me! It should NOT be painful during your session. There is a fine line between hurts-so-good, and just-plain-hurts. We don’t want to cross that line! At any time during your session please ask for more or less pressure as desired. I will NOT be offended, upset, or less effective. I’ll be happy we are getting just the right treatment for you. Remember, we are looking for muscle release and balance. If you are bracing, holding your breath, or thinking “Oh dear GOD!” at anytime, then you are holding that muscle and preventing the release. Take a deep breath and relax the area. If you can’t, THEN I NEED TO LIGHTEN UP so please tell me!
6. What to expect AFTER your session: Drink lots of water, your body needs it! During our session, we worked on re-hydrating tissues that were hardened with tension, and adhesions. You must replace the fluids we borrowed to maintain your results, flush toxins, and prevent soreness or a headache. You may be lightly sore for the evening or next day. If soreness lasts longer than that, WE DID TOO MUCH AT ONCE. Please let me know if this happens at your next appointment so I can stay within your best zone for your tolerance level. This will help optimize your healing results.
7. How often should I receive massage to help? We will discuss this after our first session so that I’ve had a chance to do a proper evaluation of your needs. There are different complexities to certain conditions as well as a range of severity. Not everything can be resolved with massage, but so many things can be! Most people are surprised by just how much it CAN do, including old injuries that have caused trouble for decades!! Often the body still has the potential to heal if we only remove the obstacles in it’s way. As a general rule, if we are trying to resolve a specific issue, I want to see you again 1-3 weeks later. My goal is to help you find real, sustainable results. By removing the root cause of your suffering, I hope to restore healthy function so your pain stops chronically coming back.
8. Tipping: I get asked about tipping a lot. So here goes…Tipping is fairly standard in the massage industry. But just like all tipping, it is TOTALLY OPTIONAL! It is NEVER required, NEVER expected, but always appreciated. As far as etiquette and percentage go, anything goes. Please don’t feel either obligated or embarrassed about what you do or don’t know. There is no hard and fast rule.

I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU! Together we will *Dig deep* to *Discover* the roots of your pain so you can *RAIZ up* to living a better life!