No one else seems to have said this yet, so here goes. My initial bodywork training was in Thai massage, and I was taught to start *in general* on the left for women and on the right for men,due to a natural energetic affinity between each side and gender. If you study eastern philosophies and medicine, you'll notice the correspondences yin/yang, female/male, left/right, dark/light, etc.
So, as a habit, I generally follow my sessions through in this way. Example: male client - start prone right back, left back, left leg, right leg, supine right leg, left leg, abdominal, left arm, right arm, neck, head, face. Sorry for the lack of diagram
![Wink ;) ;)](/styles/default/xenforo/ani/itd_3d_ani_w60_smiles_003.gif)
However, if a client presents with a complaint on one side over the other, I tend to start work on that side just to bring them a sense of peace that I am addressing their concerns, and also to give me enough time to assess and work out what I can in that area. Personal experience too. I know that I hate it when I go for a massage and complain of my left levator hurting, and that's not at the top of the list of areas the therapist touches.
Original question - I have no idea why anyone would be taught to always start on one side of the client. It seems rather random to me. Or perhaps misunderstood. Perhaps the teacher/therapist meant that to be a guideline as one is learning massage therapy? Don't know. The energetic correspondences have always made sense to me.