As a UK qualified holistic massage therapist I have been following some online discussions with great interest. A debate that will likely continue ad infinitum is, “to what extent is nudity acceptable/necessary for a full body massage?”

I qualified with ITEC, which sends a clear message that “handling towels” is very important and that “customer modesty must be protected at all times”, keeping panties or pants on and only massaging the part of the body exposed at all times. In other words, the client is covered in towels at all times, except for the part of the body, perhaps a leg or back, that is being massaged. Opinions on whether or not this is the best approach seem to be very divided among my professional colleagues.

It seems that, in other parts of the world, it is considered quite normal for the client to be naked, although usually covered with a sheet, or perhaps a ‘loincloth’ in the case of lomi lomi (Hawaiian massage). In the UK, it seems that the word ‘massage’ has, for many, sexual connotations and that is where the problems start. Perhaps not surprisingly, the ‘female therapist, male client’ scenario is the scenario in which most difficulties arise.

There are several possibilities regarding the issue of nudity in massage;

clothed therapist and partially clothed and draped client,

clothed therapist and naked and covered client,

clothed therapist and naked and exposed client,

naked therapist and naked and exposed client (naturist massage).

Of course, there may be other scenarios that I haven’t included (maybe my imagination isn’t up to it!). But as far as these scenarios are concerned, the potential issues include,

clients who expect more than ‘just’ a massage,

therapists who are uncomfortable with a client who wants to be naked

therapists who doubt the client’s motives,

therapists and/or clients who feel that a “full body” massage is compromised if underwear is worn and most of the body is covered,

some therapists are comfortable with naturism while others are not

As I said before, I am sure that this debate will continue and there are many different and far-reaching opinions. My point of view is that the client should feel comfortable and accommodate his preferences whenever possible, but this should never be at the expense of the therapist’s own comfort. The therapist’s intuition is probably the best indicator of what is and is not appropriate.