Getting a massage for the first time can be intimidating, and with so many different massage styles it’s hard to tell exactly what you need to do to prepare. While every massage is different, there are a few things you should keep in mind before taking the leap and booking your appointment—hopefully after reading this, you’ll feel comfortable, prepared, and ready to improve your health with a professional massage!

Our biggest piece of advice is to check in with your massage therapist. Many massage businesses will have directions on what to do to prepare and, if they don’t, you should be able to contact them and ask ahead of time. Because massage procedures can have very different preparations associated with them, it’s always best to check. If for some reason you can’t find appropriate information or if you haven’t chosen a therapist yet, there are some general rules and tips that should get you through just about any massage style.

• Wear flexible or loose clothing. Some massages require you to strip down to get the best possible massage—which is something you shouldn’t feel embarrassed about!—but for those that don’t, loose clothing is essential. As you can imagine, it is difficult for a therapist to work on your muscles through rougher materials like jeans or thick sweaters. Coming in loose clothing ensures that, no matter if your massage will happen with or without clothing, your therapist will be able to efficiently work on relaxing your muscles.
  
• Hydrate—but not too much. Keeping yourself hydrated before and after a massage is crucial to how much the massage will benefit you. Think of it like this: if you’re going to run a 5k race, you’re going to want to drink water both before starting the race and after it’s over. It’s the same with massage. Though you aren’t doing the work, your massage therapist is working out your muscles, sometimes in extreme ways. Water is so, so important for this process. However, don’t try to drink a huge amount of water right before your massage, because having the urge to go to the bathroom can be quite unpleasant while getting a massage! (If you do find yourself desperately needing to go, be vocal with your therapist. Let them know so they can find a good stopping point to allow you to use the restroom before continuing.)
  
• Don’t eat a huge meal before your massage. Some massages require fasting to a certain degree, but if you do happen to eat food, make sure it isn’t something big and greasy. Because massage can stimulate your organs—including your digestive system and intestine tracts—having a ton of food before getting one can be a bit unpleasant.
  
• Book your appointment for a time when you can go home and rest after. Though it may be tempting to pop in for a massage during a long lunch break at work, we encourage you to plan ahead and pick a time that leaves you space to relax when it’s over. Just like when you participate in a heavy workout, getting a massage can be taxing on your muscles—in a good way! Regardless, it’s always a good idea to go home and take a load off after a muscle workout, and your body will feel much better if you give it some time to rest.
  
• Have an open mind. Though it can be easy to feel stressed about your first appointment, it’s best to just let it go. Take a deep breath and know that you’re doing something great for your body. Your therapist will not judge you for your body type, skin condition, or any other part of you that you feel self-conscious of. They are there to help you heal from the stresses of daily life—let them work their magic while you relax!
  

We hope that these general tips help you with your first massage, or even your fiftieth! You’re on your way down a road of better health, better movement, and a more relaxed life, and with these rules you can be prepared for whatever procedure works best for you and your needs.

Sources:
https://www.thealternativedaily.com/tips-before-getting-a-massage/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/massage-tips_n_1587787
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a19947320/getting-a-massage/
https://medium.com/@susangorecki/what-to-do-before-your-massage-appointment-faa0f3289370
http://billingsmassagetherapists.com/massage-therapy/

There are dozens of massage techniques out there, each with their unique health benefits. Today we’ll be looking at one of these techniques unique to Thai Massage—Tok Sen. Tok Sen massage involves a wooden hammer being tapped along your Sen energy line, relaxing the muscles, healing chronic pains, and improving the pathways of the nervous system. This isn’t just any old hammer—the Tok Sen hammer is made from auspicious wood, often blessed by a Buddhist monk, and is commonly made from tamarind trees. The deep vibrations of this special hammer striking against the Sen energy line has incredible healing effects, and the massage is often tailored to your specific needs.

But where did Tok Sen come from? Though there is no concrete history, many believe that Tok Sen originated from Thai farmers , who needed work done on their bodies after long, rigorous days in the fields. Tok Sen massages may have been performed by their wives or fellow workers, and, due to the auspicious wood and monk’s blessing, the Thai workers believed that the tapping was not only healing their external ailments, but also their internal energy disfunctions. Tok Sen quite literally heals from the inside out!

Nervous about booking a Tok Sen massage? Don’t be! Tok Sen is wonderful for your body, and usually has no pain or bruising. If you’re looking for a safe, trusted place to have a Tok Sen massage, we would love to see you drop by. Book an appointment now here or call us at 720-385-4840.

We’ll see you soon!

This weekend—April 13th through the 15th—we celebrate the Thai New Year, otherwise known as Songkran. Full of dancing, floral apparel, and widespread “water throwing,”  Songkran is one of Thailand’s most vibrant and exciting festivals. Over these few days, Thais and tourists alike will partake in fun, water-soaking activities, dumping buckets of water on each other and breaking out the super-soakers to make sure no one person comes out dry. This water, the Thai people believe, is capable of washing away the dirt and grime of the passing year to enter the new year clean—and everyone manages to have fun along the way!

On the surface, Songkran may seem like it’s all about festivities and water fights, but the true tradition of the holiday is all about Buddhism—more specifically, Songkran at its core is a celebration where the Thai people cleanse Buddhist statues with scented water and bathe the hands and feet of their honorable monks and family members to bring good fortune and prosperity in the year to come. The holiday is one centered around the cleansing of karma and attachments, and many Thai families partake in the physical cleaning of their homes and neighborhoods to prepare for a fresh year. Songkran is a time of family, preparation, and prayers for a bright future.

Songkran derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “passage,” and much of the celebration is built off the Buddhist and Indian concept of smoothly passing not only into the new year, but also into a new
astrological cycle . As flowers start to bloom and the cold nip of winter finally dies away, Buddhists in Thailand and the surrounding areas rejoice in the opportunity for a fresh start. Bad luck is pushed away, good luck is invited in, and everyone gives thanks for their blessings in the year that has passed. In cleaning statues of Buddhas and sprinkling water on the hands of monks and novice monks, Thai Buddhists also accumulate merit, an incredibly important aspect of the Buddhist faith. Amid all of the water and fun festivities, these Buddhist ideas are the true root of Songkran.

We wish you good fortune in this new year!

Getting work done on your body can be stressful, particularly when you don’t know where to turn to get the best possible service. How do you know you’re getting a quality massage? More importantly, how can you know that your money is going to be well spent at a place that is actually going to introduce change into your life? Many look to the credentials of the therapist, but often the most trustworthy sources come from other clients—people just like you! Reading reviews online is incredibly important, both for us and for you. Studies show that consumers are increasingly relying on reviews to ensure they get the very best product, and with so many different options out there thanks to the internet, those reviews are vital in deciding if a service is for you or not.

Here at Siam Sensation we are proud to say that we have five-star reviews across multiple sites. We pride ourselves in our work ethic and ability to help change the lives of everyone who walks through our door, and we’re overjoyed to receive such positive feedback. It means a lot to us to hear from our clients—thank you for your quality and genuine responses to our services!

But we won’t just sit here and talk about how good our service is—just check out our pages on Google , Yelp , Facebook , and TripAdvisor  and let the reviews speak for themselves!