Some people think, "no pain, no gain." They believe you should work them as hard as you can until they cry "Uncle!"

What exactly is deep tissue massage, anyway? Here's the definition from About.com.

• Deep tissue massage is a type of massage therapy that focuses on realigning deeper layers of muscles and connective tissue.
• It is especially helpful for chronically tense and contracted areas such as stiff necks, low back tightness, and sore shoulders.
• Some of the same strokes are used as classic massage therapy, but the movement is slower and the pressure is deeper and concentrated on areas of tension and pain.

So why is a deep tissue therapy such as Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, Bamboo-fusion, Trigger Point, etc. good for you? Because sometimes that "fluff and buff" massage doesn't do enough for the underlying causes of tension.

Does one need to get a deep tissue massage on one's entire body if only, say, the neck and shoulders hurt? Absolutely not. Have your therapist concentrate on the areas and sources of pain (and remember that they're not necessarily in the same place) and do a more relaxing massage for the rest of your body.