This post is really about draping (using sheets and blankets to cover and warm a massage therapy client) but to show you why this is on my mind in the first place, I have to take you back to my time in class. When I was in massage therapy school, we spent half a day learning about a type of Hawaiian massage therapy called Lomi Lomi. It is a very unique type of massage that utilizes long, flowing, full-body strokes with the therapist using their forearms for much of the treatment. There is a strong spiritual aspect to the native roots of this modality, but over the years that has been relegated to the background and the focus is more towards the physical touch and healing that takes place on the massage table. I frequently watch massage videos on Youtube to better my skills, and one day in my scrolling I ran across a few lomi lomi videos. Watching, I was reminded that the draping I often employ is somewhat similar to lomi, allowing me to do full body strokes. I shared the lomi video to facebook, where a member of my family saw it and private messaged me that it was basically “soft porn”. The video was a demonstration taking place in a public setting, and I began to think on how different Americans are, from the rest of the world, regarding nudity and modesty.
In massage therapy, draping is used for two main reasons: modesty, and to keep the client warm. To do gliding strokes with cream or oil, obviously the skin has to be uncovered, and that doesn’t raise anyones eyebrows unless it involves an intimate body part or is observed in public. For ACCURATE public demonstrations of lomi lomi, you’re going to witness minimal draping. As you’ll see from the pictures and video links I’ve included here, this type of draping is very different from what the general American public pictures in their mind when thinking of massage therapy. However, it needs to be addressed and brought to the public attention so they understand what they may experience during some forms of massage health care. As massage therapists, we’ve seen it all: tall, short, fat, skinny, hairy, hairless, smelly and…such. And it’s all the same to us. We’re considering the work to be done, not the canvas. If you have body issues, are self conscious or shy, knowing what’s involved in a massage session beforehand may be helpful to address your concerns. Hence the purpose of this post: to share what goes on in private (and public demonstrations, obviously) and to show you minimal draping and the reasons behind it. And those reasons do not include titillating the public, exposing their ethics, or shaming them into change.
This is kind of like “Fox News: We report, you decide.” I’m simply relaying information and allowing folks to make up their own minds. So you may ask, “why do you need to uncover someones glutes to work on their piriformis?” The answer is, sometimes we don’t. But, if the injury requires more than compression, or lifting and pulling the tissue away from the close fascia, tendons, and ligaments, then gliding strokes need to be applied, and that requires lubrication (creme, gel, or oil), and obviously it can’t be accomplished THROUGH the sheet, the sheet needs to be removed, exposing the body part that needs healing. As massage therapists, if we had our way, most of us would use the bare minimum of draping needed, because it’s cumbersome for us to work around, and inhibits our ability to provide the strokes that give the client the feeling of full body continuity.
So, here are some ashiatsu and lomi massage therapy videos for your consideration. Be aware, we’re discussing minimal draping here, so don’t be surprised at what you see. Search Lomi Lomi on Youtube for yourself, watch ashiatsu continuing education videos on Youtube with Bret Rogers, and private message me with your observations. The bottom line is trust: my clients trust that I will keep them warm, protect their dignity, and still work on intimate areas if it will enhance their health. AND I WILL NOT LET THEM DOWN.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCa861jQsjQ
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