Deep Tissue Massage

A targeted massage using slow strokes and sustained pressure to work into deeper muscle layers. Tell your practitioner where you would like attention and how the pressure feels throughout your session.

• Slow, deliberate strokes
• Focused muscle attention
• Pressure guided by your comfort

What happens in a Deep Tissue Massage

1. Naming the placesBefore anything starts you point out where you want the work. Your practitioner asks what you do all day and how long the area has felt this way, then plans around two or three places.
2. Warming firstNothing goes deep straight away. The opening stretch of the session uses broader, slower strokes over the area so the muscle warms and settles, which makes the firmer work that follows far easier to receive.
3. Sustained pressureThen the pace drops again. Your practitioner leans into a smaller area and holds there, waiting rather than pushing, while you breathe out into it. Pressure is adjusted as you speak, so keep talking.
4. Moving onOnce an area has had what it needs, the work travels to the next with lighter strokes in between. Places you did not ask about still get a brief pass so the session feels whole.
5. A gentler finishThe last few minutes are deliberately softer. You may notice the worked areas for a day or so, rather like the morning after unfamiliar exercise. A warm shower afterwards is a pleasant ending.

Who Deep Tissue Massage suits

• Suits you when one area has been asking for attention for weeks and general relaxation has not answered it.
• A good fit if you have asked for firmer pressure before and found it still was not quite enough.
• If firm pressure sounds uncomfortable, the Swedish Massage covers the whole body with a lighter, steadier touch.
• Wanting depth and movement together, the Thai Combination Massage adds assisted stretching to the firmer work.

Should you choose the shorter or the longer session?

Focused work is the one case where the shorter session genuinely holds up. One area, warmed properly and given real attention, fits comfortably inside it. Choose the longer session when your list runs to three or four places, or when you would rather the whole thing stayed slow and unhurried.

What to tell your practitioner

Tell your practitioner exactly where, how long it has been that way, and what firm means to you. Some guests want pressure that stays just short of uncomfortable. Others do not. Say so during the session, not only at the start. Anyone who is pregnant, recovering from an injury or managing a medical condition should speak to their doctor first and tell the practitioner before the session begins.

For those who prefer focused muscle work and a firmer touch.