Your first studio visit

Before you arrive

Two things happen in advance. You book the appointment online, and you complete the intake form and waiver through the link that comes with your booking confirmation. Those cover health history, medication, injuries, allergies and anything else a therapist needs to know — which means there is nothing to fill in when you get here.

A card on file is required for first-time clients. That is standard for a single-practitioner practice where an unfilled slot cannot be reassigned to another therapist.

If it is your first visit, read finding the studio first. The studio is a suite inside Mattison Avenue Salon & Spa and the building has two separate entrances — it is easy once you have done it, and mildly confusing the first time.

Arriving

The studio is Suite 720, Studio 271, on the second floor. There is no reception desk to check in at, because this is a private treatment studio inside another business rather than a retail spa. You come to the suite at your appointment time.

Restrooms are on the left as you come into the building, before the stairs — worth knowing, particularly if you are booking prenatal massage. Prenatal massage is performed in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters only.

The conversation first

Every session starts with a short conversation: where the tension is, how long it has been there, what has changed since last time, what you want from the hour, and whether there is anywhere you would rather was left alone. It takes two or three minutes and it is the single biggest determinant of whether the session does what you wanted.

If you are not sure what to ask for, say that. Describing the problem is genuinely enough — the approach gets chosen from it. If you would like to understand the options in advance, deep tissue vs Swedish massage covers the two main directions.

Getting comfortable

You undress to your level of comfort, privately, and get onto the table under the drape. Most people undress to their underwear; some keep more on. Either is completely ordinary.

You are covered for the entire session. Only the area being worked on is uncovered at any moment — so when the work moves from your back to a leg, the back is re-covered first. Draping is not a courtesy; it is a professional standard and it is not negotiable.

During the session

Say something about pressure early, and be specific. “That’s fine” is the least useful sentence spoken on a massage table and it is also the most common. A number helps enormously: “that’s about a 7, I’d like a 5”. If you find yourself holding your breath or bracing, that is too deep — say so immediately.

Beyond that, do whatever comes naturally. Talk if you want to, and do not if you do not. Falling asleep is common and is taken as a compliment. Stomach noises are a good sign — they mean your nervous system has shifted out of alert mode. And if you need the bathroom, say so and go; nothing is lost.

Afterwards

You get up in your own time. Stand slowly — feeling briefly light-headed after lying still for an hour is common and passes quickly. Drink water; it genuinely reduces next-day tenderness.

Try not to schedule anything demanding immediately after, particularly following a hot stone massage, which is the most sedating treatment on the menu. Mild tenderness the next day is normal after deeper work, similar to the feeling after a workout.

If you want to make the next appointment, doing it before you leave is the reliable way — availability is finite in a single-practitioner practice, and the good slots go first.