How to Prepare Your Home for a Massage Session: A Ten-Minute Guide
A practical room-by-room checklist for an in-home massage: where to set up, what surface works, towels, lighting, temperature, pets and children.
Choose the spot before the therapist arrives
The earliest slot you can book on LEGA is 30 minutes from now, so in most cases you have at least half an hour to get a room ready. Ten minutes of that is enough. Start by choosing where the session will happen, because every other decision follows from that.
What you are looking for is a rectangle of clear floor with walking space on all four sides. A therapist needs to move around you — standing at your head, at your feet, and at each side — and they need to be able to shift their own weight without bumping a wardrobe or a bed frame. A bedroom usually works. A living room with the coffee table pushed against a wall often works better, because the floor is more open. Avoid a space where the only clear area is wedged between a bed and a wall.
Move anything breakable out of the room, not just to the side: a lamp on a side table, a glass of water, a vase. Also think about privacy. A room with a door you can close is better than an open living area that faces the front gate, especially if other people in the house will be awake. If you live in an apartment, note how the therapist gets in — lobby, lift, security desk — because they will only receive your full address once they have accepted the booking and you have paid. Until then they see the district only, so a clear building entrance is worth a thought in advance.
The surface you lie on
If your therapist brings a folding table, your job is clearance: around 2 metres by 1 metre of floor, plus standing room on each side, and a doorway and corridor wide enough to carry a folded table through. Check the stairwell too if you are on an upper floor without a lift.
If the session will happen on a mattress on the floor, a futon, or a thin kasur, the main requirement is that it is firm. A soft surface absorbs pressure, which means the therapist has to work harder and you feel less. A yoga mat with a folded blanket on top is better than a plush mattress. A sofa is not a workable surface for a full session.
A regular bed is a compromise. It is usually too soft and too low or too high, and the therapist cannot reach across it from one side. If a bed is the only option, say so when you book rather than at the door, and expect the therapist to adapt the session. Whatever surface you choose, clear the area directly above it: a ceiling fan running at full speed over a massage table is a nuisance, and a low-hanging light fixture is a hazard.
Towels, linens and a few small things
Have two or three large bath towels clean, dry and stacked within arm's reach of the setup. One goes under you, one covers you, and the third is spare. Add a smaller hand towel for wiping oil from hands and feet. If you have an old bedsheet you do not mind getting oil on, put it down first. Massage oil stains, and it does not always come out.
Put a bottle of drinking water next to the spot for yourself, and offer the therapist one as well — they may have travelled across the city to reach you, and the minimum session is 90 minutes of physical work.
Think about what you will wear. Loose, comfortable clothes to change into afterwards, and somewhere to put the clothes you take off: a chair, a hook, a clean corner of the bed. Tell the therapist directly about any area you want avoided, any recent injury, or any pain that is new or unexplained. LEGA therapists are graded on skill by our team in person, but massage is relaxation and tension relief, not treatment. If something in your body is worrying you, ask a doctor first, not a therapist.
Light, air and sound
Bright overhead light is the single most common thing people forget. You will spend a long stretch face up with nothing to look at but the ceiling lamp. Switch the main light off and use a bedside lamp, a floor lamp, or a lamp turned to face the wall. The therapist still needs to see what they are doing, so do not work in the dark — one soft light source is the target.
Temperature matters more than most people expect, because lying still under a towel with oil on your skin makes you cool down fast. Set the air conditioner a degree or two warmer than you would normally keep it, and make sure the airflow is not blowing directly onto the table. If you are using a fan, point it at the wall or turn it off and open a window instead.
Sound is a personal choice. Some people want music, some want silence, and some find the street outside is enough. If you want music, queue it on a speaker, not on the phone you will need later.
Phones, children and pets
Keep your phone charged and near you. On arrival the therapist checks in through the app with a photo of the location and their GPS position, and the session cannot start until you read out a 4-digit code from your app. If your phone is dead or in another room, you are holding up your own session. The SOS button is in the app throughout the session too, so keep the phone within reach rather than in a drawer. Then silence notifications and put it face down.
Pets should be in another room with the door shut, not simply told to stay. A dog that pushes the door open mid-session, or a cat that jumps onto the table, ends the quiet you just spent ten minutes building. Put food and water in that room so you are not interrupted.
Children need a plan, not a hope. Ninety minutes is a long time. Arrange for another adult to be with them in a different part of the house, or book a slot during school hours or after bedtime. Tell anyone else at home what time the therapist is arriving so nobody is surprised at the door. If you would prefer a female or a male therapist for reasons of comfort at home, you choose that when you book — the rate you see on the profile is the rate you pay, with no additions. A tip afterwards is cash, given directly, and the therapist keeps all of it.