Does the thought of crawling under the heated sheets of a massage table while listening to the soothing strains of stringed instruments make you long for your next hour at the spa or does it make you want to put on your oversized sweats and pull a blanket up to your chin? If you’re one of the latter who finds it difficult to have even a professional in contact with your physique, these thoughts from clients and therapists may help ease your fears and get you onto the table for a relaxing, therapeutic massage.

Sandy is 5’ 7” (1.7 m) and 128 pounds (58 kg). By anyone’s standards, she’s in great shape. She works-out at the gym three days a week, rides her bike at least ten miles every weekend and prefers organic food to fast food. Her muscles are long and lean. Her skin is healthy. She gets a one hour massage from the same therapist every other week and this is what she had to say. “I don’t have a problem being in front of people with my clothes on. In fact, I’m a public relations specialist and I do introduction speeches for politicians at the national level. But, put me on that massage table and it’s a whole different story. Because my career is about image, I’m always worried that my therapist will notice when my weight fluctuates or if I missed a session on the stair climber. While I love and need my massages, I have to psych myself up for the moment when [my therapist] pulls back the sheet and sees my thighs.”

Adrianne is 5’ 3” (1.57m) and weighs 172 pounds (78.02 kg). She has cellulite from the top of her hips to just above her knees and on the back of her arms. She admits to having poor eating habits – her diet consists mainly of simple carbs, Coke and salad with full fat dressing. She’s struggled with her weight for years and sees her massage therapist as a result of the strain her large breasts put on her back and shoulders. Here’s what she had to say. “Every time I hear [my therapist’s] footsteps coming down the hall, I feel a little queasy because I know he’s about to see my fat. But it passes quickly because I remind myself that I’m made up of more than fat. We laugh a lot while I’m getting my treatment. I asked him once if he would rather I went to another therapist because my legs are so jiggly. He laughed and said, ‘No way.’ I said, ‘That was your chance. You’re stuck with me now.’ So I go every week and enjoy it. I leave feeling better and that’s all that matters.”

Antonio is 6’ (1.82 m) and weighs in at 150 pounds (68 kg). He says he drinks protein shakes and eats all the cookie dough he can get his hands on, but he can’t gain any weight. (Adrianna hates him.) Here are his thoughts. “I feel my face get hot every single time my massage therapist works on me. I wonder if her fingers hurt from rubbing my bones. No matter what I do, I’m still a stick.”

Five therapists said very close to the same thing when asked how they felt about massaging clients of all weights. The consensus was that their first thoughts are not on the client’s physique (although they do notice,) it’s on their health.  If they feel a client’s weight may play a part in their well-being, they may discuss it as part of a health plan. All five therapists said that they’ve trained on so many body types that it doesn’t matter any more. Each said that body odor was more offensive than size.

*Names were changed.

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