FAQ 12: What should I wear when I receive manual therapy sessions?

Please wear something that feels comfortable, keeping in mind you get the best results when you provide easy access to all body areas where we'll be working.  Rolfing® and osteopathic work rely on direct contact with bare skin.  However, you should never feel more exposed than you like. 

Visual cues on your body's surface help guide the work.  It's easier for me and I can contact subtle tissue layers more effectively without a cloth layer in the mix.  Clothing can even make the right kind of manual contact impossible.  That would limit how effectively I can work with you. 

Continuation:

For your manual therapy sessions, minimized but appropriate clothing is best.  For men, a Speedo swim suit or briefs would be preferred.  For women, a bikini or 2-piece underwear is best.  Alternatively, loose, baggy gym shorts also work for either gender, plus a tube top or bra for women.

In massage, you are draped during the whole session. Manual therapy is different.  I ask you to stand from time to time for visual assessment of the session's progress.  Please don't be concerned about how good you look while we work.

The following things that just don’t work well.  Jog bras make accessing the spine difficult.  Spandex or similar materials are too slippery.  Tight boxer shorts limit access to key areas around the hip joints.  Tops with long sleeves, or long legged pants hinder access.  

Please wear or bring something that works which you like.

Though it's true some old school Rolfers and clients used to work in the buff, this is not Esalen in the 60's.  You and I will will be most comfortable if you follow suggested guidelines.  We're here to do some beneficial therapy, not to demonstrate how liberated we are.  I'm experienced enough to see your structure through minimal clothes.