22/01/2026
Last night I had the privilege of working with a new client who felt she needed some intense therapy and went for not one but two full body massages in the same appointment. Two very different styles, one a Himalayan salt massage, and the other a Swedish holistic.
We all know that full body doesn't actually mean full body. There are obviously areas we don't work on. If you suffer with things like sciatica, you might expect some work on hips and glutes if the client is comfortable with it, but that's the limit.
So a full body is typically back, probably including neck and shoulders, maybe the collar, then the arms and legs.
But did you know the abdomen can also be included? The Swedish in which I trained, with the Beauty Guild/Guild of Holistic Therapists, also includes a section on the abdomen.
Quite a short section compared to the overall massage, but potentially useful. It has the advantage of working the bowels in their natural direction and helping the natural rhythm. And my client last night fed back that she found it really soothing, particularly with the warmth of the hands.
How do we maintain modesty in this case?
Normally the client is covered by one sheet, revealing only the part being worked on at any time. But the abdomen is in the middle, so how do we achieve this?
Simple. We bring up an additional sheet from feet upwards, as the main sheet rolls up with it. The new sheet has now covered your lower half. Now you can roll up the main sheet until you have a secure bandeau, and now you have the abdomen all ready to work on!
Covering up is simply a reversal of the above.
It's optional, it's not for everyone, but this client is already very familiar with massage and had no hesitation in having the full experience.
So that's about as true to being a full body as you can get, without the abdomen getting the neglect it sometimes does with some therapists.
How do my lovely followers feel about that?
