How to Book a Group Event at The Good Life Massage

We do a lot of treatment work at GLM, fixing people’s bodies and promoting a healthier lifestyle. But massage walks a line between medical treatment and spa treatment. Massage can be both of those things, but today we’re emphasizing the spa aspect of massage, and how a good thing can be made even better when experienced as a group event.

The only thing better than a day at the spa is a day at the spa shared with friends.

Bring your friends!
Imagine you and your group of friends going out, not just for dinner or drinks, but for a spa experience you can share. A spa night or a big group massage can be just the thing to kick off a wedding celebration, celebrate a birthday, or just ring in a long-awaited weekend. You and your group can have a fantastic experience at GLM, but there are some things you need to be aware of first.

Plan ahead
The single most important thing you can do to help us make your evening a memorable one is to plan ahead. We want more than anything to fulfill your request, but we have limits. Depending on the size of your party, your event could essentially shut down our business for a few hours. This brings with it some commitments and obligations you need to be aware of.

Groups of three or fewer require minimum planning on your part, generally. If all three of you want to have a massage in the same treatment room, that’s the easiest possible event to arrange. We’ll need about a week of notice to ensure we can get three practitioners to work on your group at the same time, but for the most part this kind of event proceeds like a normal massage booking.

For groups larger than three, think of it like this: if we were a restaurant, you’re not reserving just a banquet room, but possibly the entire place.

Commit! (for groups of 4 or more)
You may know about our 24 hour cancellation/no-show policy. Similarly, if you’re reserving our space and services for more than three people, we’ll need you to commit to the event at least a week in advance.

A deposit is required amounting to half of the total bill. If all the services you and your party are planning to purchase total $500, for instance, you’ll need to pay $250 up front to secure the reservation. This will go towards your final bill and can not be refunded or returned.

If you need to cancel or alter the event between a week and two days prior, you’ll lose your deposit. If you cancel or alter the event less than two days in advance, you’ll lose the deposit and be charged for the full remaining balance on the bill as though everything had gone forward as planned.

If this seems drastic, remember that you’re asking us to clear the schedule for several of our tables and rooms all at once. We often bring on extra staff. All that comes with a cost, and a risk, which you’ll be expected to take on. This kind of policy is typical of events of this nature, whether you’re talking about a spa, a restaurant, or an event hall.

Services
With the technicalities out of the way, let’s talk about what you and your guests can enjoy when you arrange a group event.

Massage
Massage is our specialty, of course, and most of our requests are for massage. You and your group will all walk away feeling deeply relaxed and ready for even more fun together.

Session enhancements
A few of our great session enhancements can be taken alone, but most are intended to supplement a regular massage session. Adding these can help the event feel extra special, and help you and your guests feel even more pampered and relaxed.

Keep in mind that while all our enhancements are intended to improve your massage experience, some are more suitable for treatment work than for relaxation, so keep this in mind when selecting the services you want. An example would be ice treatment. This enhancement is ideal if your event is taking place after a friendly game of basketball, but not if you’re just looking to relax for the weekend.

Spa treatments
Thanks to our partnership with aesthetician Natasha Allen of Rain City Beauty Bar, we are able to coordinate with her for your event and offer even more services, including facials and eyelash extensions. These can be a great way to keep your guests occupied if your event is too large for everyone to be having their massages at once.

Is there a discount?

Yes! We can discount our services by as much as 15%. It all depends on what services you want and how many people are in your party.

Talk to us!
If you have questions about the event you have in mind, we would be more than happy to go over the options, costs, and terms with you in detail.

The best way to start is to contact us by email at thegoodlifemassage@gmail.com and include the phrase Group Event in the subject line. And again, the more time before you event you contact us, the more we can do to ensure you and your party have an unforgettable experience.

We look forward to seeing you and your group soon!

Tom Gunn is the director of marketing and blog editor for The Good Life Massage. Find him on Twitter @tomgunnpoet.

Warning: Do You Recognize These 5 Signs of Burnout?

Are you a hero, falling on your sword for the good of the people around you? Maybe it’s time to hang up your cape.

You may have this heroic narrative about yourself that feels satisfying in many ways, but that narrative might be slowly killing you each day as you try to live it. You could be

You could be burning yourself out and not even know it.

burning yourself out and not even know it. But if you learn how to listen to your body, you can learn to tell when it’s time to stop, to slow down, to change course.

 

Ignoring these signals could be perilous in the long term, and could cost you far more than a little rest.

“But vacations are expensive!”

Yes, but so is hypertension. So is heart disease. Letting stress overwhelm you in the long term reduces your productivity and puts you at risk for serious disease, and even death.

Burn-out is beyond the stress and hassles of a bad day. We all go through those sometimes. But how do you know if you’re headed for burnout? None of the things below should be a reason to declare red alert or panic, but two or more of these signs together could be a signal to make a change.

Changes in personality
Are you snapping at people? Are the people around you avoiding you because they don’t want their heads bitten off? Are you a normally extroverted person who’s suddenly staying home instead of going out with friends? If your personality is dramatically changing and the people around you are giving you that feedback, this might be a warning sign.

Emotional zilch
Your emotional responses may also be dulled or blunted. You may come off as being constantly distracted, as always having something heavy and pressing on your mind. Can you still share the joy of a special occasion or an accomplishment with someone you care about? If things are going badly for those around you, are you still able to listen with compassion, or are you too distracted to stay emotionally invested?

No sense of purpose
Is it hard to get out of bed in the morning because … well, what’s the point? Meaning is important. It keeps you going through stresses. Having something to fight for allows you to do, as Winston Churchill said: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” When burnout is on it’s way, or already here, you’re unable to keep going because nothing seems to matter.

This is the stage where you feel that no matter what you do, there’s just never any payoff, never any way to “win” at what you’re doing. When stress overcomes you, the things that would normally serve as a payoff in your daily efforts no longer seem to deliver the rewards you need to carry on. When you feel like this, every day feels like a bad day.

Flat tire
When was the last time you were “pumped”: excited to dig into getting some work done, to work on a personal project, to seize the day (or even just the weekend)? If it’s been a while, you could be well on your way to burnout, if you’re not there already.

The new normal: sick
Are you constantly getting colds or the flu? Are you at the point where feeling normal and healthy is the exception rather than the rule? Constant, on-going stress with no payoff can weaken your immune response. Getting sick, on its own, does not mean you’re on the road to burnout, but it could be a warning sign you should pay attention to.

Unstring your bow
The string of a bow is under constant stress, which is how it drives the arrow when loosed. All the bow’s power is in its elasticity. But if that elasticity is over-taxed over a long period of time, it will lose all it’s spring, no matter how strong the bow is. And for that matter, bows aren’t invincible. Sustained stress on a bow can cause it to crack and break. If you don’t unstring the bow from time to time, in order to preserve the bow and the string, all it’s power is threatened and will inevitably be lost. You’re a lot like a bow–good under stress, elastic (or resilient), but also prone to being over-taxed, even broken.

You’re a lot like a bow–good under stress, resilient, but also prone to being over-taxed, even broken.

Just how you unstring your bow will be covered in another post, but basically, you have to make relaxation a skill you’re actively cultivating and getting better at. In our busied, hurried society, it’s more important than ever to stop, let go, and even allow yourself to be bored from time to time.

In fact, we recommend you set aside an entire day each week devoted to resting and reconnecting with yourself and those people closest to you.

Regular therapeutic massage can also be a valuable tool in combating burnout and keeping your resiliency high.

You can book your next massage here, or give us a call at 425-243-7705.

Regular exercise, a good diet, and regular social interaction are some of the best tools in your self-care toolbox.

If you recognize yourself in any of the warning signs above, you might want to consider revisiting these fundamentals of self care.

Swedish Vs. Deep Tissue Massage

What is Swedish massage?
Swedish massage is a basic massage used primarily for relaxation, but which also delivers a multitude of health beneifts, many of which we’ve covered here.

This kind of massage works the superficial muscle groups, or in other words, the muscles closest to the skin. It helps to circulate blood and lymph throughout your body using strokes that will move those fluids back up to the heart. The result is that some people report feeling like they’ve just had a good workout after a massage, only they didn’t have to do anything.

The intensity of this massage can vary broadly, from intense and uncomfortable to light and smoothe. It all depends on your taste and what you feel is most beneficial to you. For this reason, it’s crucial that you keep the lines of communication open with your therapist both before and during your session.

Why is it called Swedish massage?
Like many successful innovations, Swedish massage has many fathers.

For several years it was believed that a Swedish practitioner, Henri Peter Ling, was the originator of Swedish massage as we know it. It is now believed, however, that a Dutchman named Johan Georg Mezger bears more of the credit. But there’s really nothing particularly Swedish about it, as such. It incorporates techniques and methods that have been used in different parts of the world, and which go back much further than either Mezger or Ling.

In Europe, what we know as Swedish massage is referred to as a classic massage. If you think about it, this label makes a lot more sense, but for some reason, the “Swedish” name has stuck in our culture. It may be that since so much of our culture is dictated by marketing and advertising, calling it a Swedish massage makes it sound more exotic and continental. In any case, be aware that the name is just that: a name.

Deep tissue massage
This kind of massage is intended as a treatment to help improve posture or soothe chronic pain. Deep tissue massage aims to work down below your superficial muscle groups to treat muscles and tissue deep inside your body.

Contrary to the popular misconception, this kind of massage is not merely a high-pressure version of the ordinary Swedish massage. Rather, this is designed for treatment of a specific area or muscle group. It is not intended for work over your whole body, nor would you want it to be. This kind of massage over your full body would actually be harmful.

Our LMPs have been thoroughly trained and know human anatomy extremely well. As they work on you, or even as they watch you walk in the door, they’re able to identify areas that could use extra help or attention. But they’ll only treat you if you ask for it.

This kind of massage is often used as a medical treatment, and we tend to see a lot of that for those clients who have been referred by their physician. Are you billing workers comp or making a claim against an auto insurance policy? This may be the kind of massage you need.

Which should I choose?
If you’re like most people, Swedish massage would suit you just fine. If you have chronic pain or posture problems that you want resolved, we may choose to use some deep tissue therapy to address those, but only if you discuss it with us first.

It’s important to start your session with a detailed conversation with your therapist. This should be more about what kind of pressure you like or what music you want to listen to (though that’s important too). This conversation is your chance to ask for help.

• Are you having a pain in your back that just doesn’t go away, no matter how you adjust or try to get comfortable?
• Is there an injury they should be aware of?

Even if you’ve mentioned something on your intake form, it’s a good idea to address it with your practitioner verbally to make sure your concerns are heard.

If you have questions about any of our treatments, please feel free to email us at TheGoodLifeMassage@gmail.com and a licensed massage practitioner will address any concerns you may have.

To book a massage, please visit our website or give us a call at 425-243-7705.

Tom Gunn is the marketing director and blog editor for The Good Life Massage. Find him on the Internet at http://www.tgunnwriter.com