Crying or trembling during a massage is described in the massage books and is not a fault in you or the therapist. What Downing, Hoyme and Berry actually say, with page references, what to do on the table, and why a hotel spa is not the place for trauma work.
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Guests do not ask us this before they book, but people search for it the night after a massage that went somewhere they did not expect: tears, a shake in the stomach, a sudden wave of sadness. The short answer is that it is described in the massage books, it is not a sign that anything went wrong, and you do not have to explain or apologise. We are Nghê Prana, a riverside hotel and spa on the Thu Bồn in Hội An. This page sets out what three books on our shelf say about it, with page references, what to say to your therapist, what nobody has measured, and where a hotel spa massage stops.
| It happens… | Normal? | What the books say | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tears, or a sudden wave of sadness | Yes, it is described | You may find yourself "crying, or wanting to cry"; the advice is to pause and let it run, and after a few minutes people usually want to carry on and find the rest "unusually calming and soothing". Massage "can invoke emotional responses like tears of joy and a feeling of relief" | Downing pp. 110–114; Hoyme, Introduction |
| Trembling or vibrating, usually in the stomach or thighs | Yes, and different from nervous shaking | Downing calls it "a highly beneficial physical and emotional release that should be considered a part of the massage itself"; it can go on for minutes | Downing pp. 110–114 |
| Tightening up, or a strong unease at being touched | Yes; it is nervousness, not a fault | It "manifests itself sometimes as an extreme tightening and pulling in of the body"; moving to the back and slow breathing can help, but Downing warns not to "expect miracles" | Downing pp. 110–114 |
| Distress that does not pass, or memories that overwhelm you | Not a massage question | Feelings released "outside of a safe emotional environment" can "overwhelm or control you" | Berry p. 136 |
Downing's The Massage Book (1972) and Hoyme's The Complete Guide to Modern Massage (Althea Press, 2018) are guides to massage at home, written for friends and partners; Hoyme has no printed page numbers, so we cite his introduction. Berry's Is Your Body Trying to Tell You Something? (1997) is a book about massage and bodywork as part of emotional recovery. The pages in Downing's chapter on nervousness are not individually numbered in the copy we read, so we give the chapter's range, pp. 110–114.
The books give one explanation between them, and it is an idea, not a finding. Downing's version (1972) is that trembling comes from "a quick release of body energy that previously had been dammed up in constricted muscles and tissue". Hoyme's is that "touch has the power to awaken and release emotions stored in the body". Berry builds a whole book on the same idea. Not one of them reports a measurement. We also searched Ruth Werner's pathology textbook, the Davies trigger point workbook and Mumford's Massage Bible on 30 September 2026, and none of them discusses crying or emotional release at all. So the honest position is: it happens, the massage books that mention it treat it as harmless and worth accommodating, and why it happens is not settled.
A plainer reading, ours and not the books': a person lying still, warm and touched with the day's guard down, after a flight, a long trip or a hard few months, may simply let go of something they had been holding. That is a reasonable thing for a massage to do, and no reason to stop it.
Say so, in words or with a hand raised: "pause", "less", or "I need a minute". They are the same words you would use for pressure, and nobody minds being told during the treatment. That is the whole of what is asked of you. Downing's advice to the person giving the massage is to stop, let the guest cry for as long as they like, and resume only if they want to; most do, and he says the rest of the massage is often calmer for it. If you would rather have the room quiet and the lights as they are, say that too. The consultation form you fill in before the visit asks what to focus on and what to avoid, which is the right place to note that you are tired, grieving or having a hard month.
Berry's book is the most sympathetic of the three to the idea that bodywork can bring feelings up, and it is also the clearest on the limit. She writes that a skilled body worker holds feelings "within the strong walls of the body work relationship or container", and that "you will not be helped if information is uncovered or feelings are released outside of a safe emotional environment and allowed to overwhelm or control you" (p. 136). An hour with a therapist you meet once, in a hotel on a holiday, is not that container. Our spa is a hotel spa: our live menu on 30 September 2026 has oil, Vietnamese herbal, hot stone, Thai, bamboo and pregnancy massage, foot treatments, facials, nails and a body scrub, and nothing sold as emotional release, somatic or trauma work, and our therapists are massage therapists, not counsellors. If you are looking for that kind of work, or if what came up on the table is still with you and distressing a day later, speak to a doctor or a qualified counsellor at home; that is better care than a second massage.
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If you already know you are fragile this month, choose the gentlest thing on the menu and say so when you arrive. The oil massage (450,000₫ for 60 minutes) is the medium-pressure, flowing one, and less likely to feel like work than firm treatments. Tell your therapist anything physical before the massage as usual. If you are coming as a pair, the couple spa means your partner is beside you, and our page on what to expect at a couples massage walks through the hour. Afterwards, tiredness, a light head or a heavy mood for the evening are all normal; our page on what feels normal after a massage covers the physical side, and the wellness menu has the full list with prices.
We are a hotel spa, not a clinic, and our therapists do not diagnose or treat emotional conditions. The books here are guides to massage, not psychology, and their explanation of emotional release is an idea rather than a measured result; we have said so where it matters. Nothing here replaces a doctor or a counsellor.
Nghê Prana Riverside Hotel & Spa, Hẻm 384 Nguyễn Tri Phương, Cẩm Nam, Hội An, Đà Nẵng 51312 — on the Thu Bồn, a few minutes from the Old Town. Phone or WhatsApp +84 896 687 961, or email sales.nghehotel@gmail.com. An hour's notice is enough; walk-ins are welcome when a therapist is free. You do not need to be staying with us.
Sources: George Downing, The Massage Book (Random House, 1972), chapter "Nervousness, Discomfort and the Tickles", pp. 110–114 (chapter range; the pages between the printed 109 and 114 are not individually numbered in the copy read); Ryan Jay Hoyme, The Complete Guide to Modern Massage (Althea Press, 2018), Introduction, "The Importance of Touch" (no printed page numbers); Carmen Renee Berry, Is Your Body Trying to Tell You Something? (1997), p. 136. Ruth Werner, Clair and Amber Davies and Susan Mumford were text-searched for the topic on 30 September 2026 and do not cover it. Prices and menu read from our live spa menu on 30 September 2026. We are a hotel spa, not a clinic; nothing here is a diagnosis or a substitute for care.
23 rooms on the quiet south bank of the Thu Bồn River, ten minutes by bicycle from the Ancient Town and a world from its noise.
Book your stayYes, it is described in the massage books. Downing's The Massage Book (1972, chapter on nervousness, pp. 110-114) says a person may find themselves "crying, or wanting to cry", advises pausing and letting it run, and says the rest of the massage is then often "unusually calming and soothing"; Hoyme's Complete Guide to Modern Massage says massage "can invoke emotional responses like tears of joy and a feeling of relief". Say "pause" or "I need a minute" to your therapist; you do not have to explain or apologise.
It is the idea that tension held in muscles can bring up tears, trembling or sadness when released. Downing (1972) calls trembling "a highly beneficial physical and emotional release", and Hoyme says touch can release emotions "stored in the body", but neither reports a measurement, and Werner's pathology textbook, Davies's trigger point workbook and Mumford's Massage Bible do not discuss it (text-searched 30 Sep 2026). It is an idea, not a measured finding.
No. Our live spa menu on 30 September 2026 has oil, Vietnamese herbal, hot stone, Thai, bamboo and pregnancy massage, foot treatments, facials, nails and a body scrub; nothing is sold as emotional release, somatic or trauma work, and our therapists are massage therapists, not counsellors. Berry (Is Your Body Trying to Tell You Something?, p. 136) warns that feelings released outside a safe emotional environment can overwhelm you; for that kind of work, see a qualified counsellor at home.
Choose the gentlest option, the oil massage (450,000 VND for 60 minutes, medium pressure), say so on arrival, and note it on the consultation form. If crying starts, say "pause" or "less"; if distress is still with you a day later, speak to a doctor or counsellor rather than booking another massage.
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