Intuitive Massage?

I often see Massage Therapists refer to what they do as “Intuitive Massage,” for some that conjures up images of mind reading and clairvoyance and some people are actually put off by that term, but what is Intuitive Massage really?

First lets begin with the fact that a majority of Massage Therapists when asked “do you consider yourself empathetic?” will reply “Yes.” People who go into fields where they are helping others are often the kind who care deeply and feel deeply for others. Some are more in touch with the experiences and emotions of others and able to read the subtle body language of others.

There are many things that your body can tell people about you, when I am working on someone things about them are revealed in the massage, a subtle hint of chlorine and well defined lats tip me off that you are an avid swimmer. The condition of your skin can also tell me things about you as well, there is a certain feel to the skin of people who have diabetes and tension in certain areas on people who are teachers. Your body gives you away.

When I am working on a new client it can sometimes take a few moments for my hands and their body to begin communicating with one another, but that is exactly what is happening. It is not that I am “intuitive” in as much as observant of what your body is relaying about you to my hands.

There was a woman whom I had been working on, she had been back and forth to many doctors to get to the root cause of her constant neck pain and stiffness, they had been unable to find a cause. As I was working on her neck I was first struck by how very hard she was pushing her body, every day pushing herself to exhaustion. In that moment as I was working on her scalene muscles I explained to her that those muscles connect to the first and second ribs and may be effected by heavy breathing and panting in her work outs, but then I added “or heavy sobbing.”

That was when it happened, her eyes opened wide and she admitted she had been going through a very stressful time and had been uncontrollably sobbing often. I let her talk it out as I could feel her muscles softening under my touch. For the first time in a long time she walked out of the session pain free and aware of the real cause of her pain.

Moments like that are not rare in the massage room. When you are holding stress and emotions it builds up in your muscles. As I often tell my clients “your body cannot tell the difference between a real threat and a perceived one, your body will react to stress the same way it will react if a bear is chasing you, only there is no bear and you are not running away.”

For me it is not so much a matter of “intuition” as it is a matter of observing the subtle things your body is telling me. It is your body that tells me that although you are feeling the pain on the right side the muscles on the left side are pulling harder and riding higher. I listen to both what you are telling me is the source of the pain and also at what your body is trying to tell me, its a lot like putting together a new puzzle.

Yes, there may be a level of intuition in what we massage therapists do, but I personally think it has a lot more to do with an awareness of how your body is communicating with us. Every therapist has their own approach to treatment and some may be more empatheticly aware in their touch. As a recent client had stated “there is a mindfulness in your touch” I think that more accurately describes it.


Yours in Health and Wellness,
Kristeen Kish
CAMTC Certified Massage Therapist