What to have ready

Move the coffee table, shift a chair. The table needs roughly the footprint of a dining table with walking room on three sides. That is the only physical preparation required — and no, you do not need to clean the house.

This is the single decision that most affects how the session feels. A back bedroom, study or flex room with a door that closes beats a bright open-plan living area with a line of sight to the kitchen and the front door, even when the living area has far more floor space.

The most useful thing you can do. Even a very well-behaved dog will investigate a stranger setting up furniture, and cats find a warm massage table irresistible.

A closed door helps; people who know not to knock help more. It is worth a thirty-second conversation before the appointment.

You will be still, and mostly undressed, for 45 or 60 minutes. A room that feels slightly warm when you are moving around will feel about right on the table.

Actually silenced, not face-down. A buzzing phone on a hard surface is remarkably effective at undoing the first twenty minutes.

For afterwards. It genuinely reduces next-day tenderness.

A gate code, a guest-registration desk, a service elevator that needs reserving, a narrow stair, where to park. None of these are problems — they are just better known in advance.