Monthly Archives: October 2017

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Tuesday TOESday: another easy way to add ashiatsu cream

Recently, Jeni wrote a blog post about how to re-apply lubricant to her ashiatsu client by applying it to her shin. Today I’m sharing another easy way to add ashiatsu cream. Sometimes I wear long leggings or stretchy jeans (Must. Have. Stretch.) that come down to my ankles and so I can’t keep extra cream on my shins.

Why does this whole applying cream thing matter?

If you put cream all over your hands like you do for hands-on massage, the bars will get slimed up. When the bars are slippery, you need to grip them tighter. Because you grip the bars tighter, your forearms get sore. And then you’ve taken away part of the reason why you’ve learned ashiatsu in the first place: to save your hands and forearms from undue stress.

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(Barefoot) Massage Therapy Awareness Week: The many styles of Barefoot Bodywork from around the world

The American Massage Therapy Association promotes massage awareness in the public with “Massage Therapy Awareness Week“. We’re going to add the word “barefoot” since, well, that’s what we do. 😉 Barefoot massage has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but it’s really been popular in the US for a comparatively short while.

We wrote about Daniel Nowozeniuk winning 2nd place in the Freestyle category at the World Massage Championship this May (2017). While technically he wasn’t barefoot since he wasn’t allowed to shed his shoes, he gave a fantastic rendition with his feet on the table while wearing Vibrams. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and intuitively inventive people from all around the world have dipped their toes into the world of barefoot bodywork because it was more effective than using hands, thumbs, and elbows.

A big part of what we at the Center for Barefoot Massage stands for is the growth of the ENTIRE niche field of barefoot massage. We want every massage therapist to learn how to use their feet to massage, in some form or another, at some point in their career. We want the massage industry to know what barefoot massage is. We want the term BAREFOOT MASSAGE to be as recognized as hot stone and sports massage. #BarefootMassageWorldDomination!!! It starts with simply knowing about some of the staple styles: so here we go!

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Tuesday TOESday: FasciAshi Levitation

levitate-your-clients

Today we’ll show you how to levitate your clients.

Jeni made an Instagram post explaining this earlier in the summer, so some of you may already have practice with this magic trick…

All you’ll need is an Earthlite Ellora electric table – a bamboo stick, and your feet! It’s not just a Halloween trick, it’s a treat for you!

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Update to our Intermediate FasciAshi class!

Center-for-Barefoot-Massage-Intermediate-barefoot-massage-CE-courseWe are proud of the strokes and theories presented in the Intermediate FasciAshi course, and we get so excited at the potential this particular workshop offers for your growth in the technique! It’s a class favorited by our instructors, and an important step towards bringing the skill level of your feet up to par with your hands.

Our Intermediate course, where you’ll learn the supine and sidebody FasciAshi material, has been a 12 CE hour course since it’s release early this year. Feedback from our students and faculty has shown that the amount of information provided within this 12 hour long class is too much for the time span allowed. The Center for Barefoot Massage is listening to you! We are extending the class to allow more time to allow you to experience the class without feeling rushed.

Starting in March, 2022, you’ll see the FasciAshi Intermediate: Supine & Sidebody course listed for $500, which is our standard price for all two day, 16 CE classes. You’ll see this change reflected soon on our website – it is already in place for any 2018 Intermediate class listed.

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7 electric massage table tips

{Today’s post has been brought to you by our Durham instructor Julie Marciniak, who is under 5′ tall.}

It’s been 15 years since I learned ashiatsu! Learning ashiatsu was a career saver for me.  There’s no way I’d be able to maintain a practice of 25+ years without it.

I still remember how excited I was to come back and put up my eyebolts and get my feet on clients. I had a taste of what it was like to be able to REALLY go deep without hurting myself. Nothing could hold me back now! Except…table heights.

Ughhh…. When you’re short, it’s all about height. ?

The first ten years of my massage practice I learned that I needed a low table for me to deliver deep pressure. But when I came back from learning ashiatsu I realized that for me to work at my current table height, my bars had to be low.

The only system of overhead support back then was using eye bolts, only available when you could locate at your local home improvement stores. Eventually, I figured it out and made it work with my current table but I knew an electric table was in my future.

15 years later, I now own four electric tables. I still have my original Oakworks table(she’s ten years old!), and I also have 3 Earthlite Elloras. (Read our post about the Earthlite tables here.)

So I know a little bit about working with electric tables. ?

There’s one thing I recommend to students learning ashiatsu.  You NEED an electric massage table. If you are in this for the long haul, then make it a priority. It’s THAT important, and you WILL thank me later. Here are a few tips I recommend for your current or future electric table and these tips are more specific with ashiatsu therapists in mind.

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FAQ: Am I too big to learn barefoot massage?

In our FAQ series, we’ll be going over all of our Frequently Asked Questions in depth. We’ll address questions therapists often have prior to attending class, but also give helpful information to educate the public on the benefits of barefoot massage. Today’s question is a popular one: “Am I too big to learn barefoot massage?”

Massage therapists, and actually clients too, often wonder if there is a weight limit for massage therapists. I’ve actually been asked how much I weigh prior to giving a barefoot massage. Quelle horreur! Do not ask a lady (or an ashiatsu therapist!) her weight. Rule for living #1. 😉

Let’s be frank, though, shall we? While there is technically no weight limit per se, we all need to be honest about our ability to move with grace on the table. If you can move like this yoga lady, let’s talk.

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Tuesday TOESday: Warm Soles

Hot Feet, Warm Soles, and Toasty Toes: Winterize your FasciAshibe-fearless-in-the-pursuit-of-what-sets-your-sole-on-fire

With autumn upon us, it’s time to start thinking about how to melt your chilly soles into warm soles on first touch. There are many ways to get your toes toasty and heat up your feet before you step foot on a client. Nothing is worse than cold hands beginning a massage – except maybe for cold feet!

How do you warm your feet before a barefoot massage?

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Is FasciAshi the same as Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage?

What’s the difference between the AshiatsuBarefoot Massage that you’ve heard of for years and our new FasciAshi?! ↫ Do you see the word “Fascia” in there? That’s the key to our work.

We teach anatomy based, Fascia-focused strokes that have been developed by a team of experienced and highly trained barefoot massage specialists. FasciAshi (our nickname for MyoFascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage) started in San Antonio at Heeling Sole, but quickly found a collective movement of barefoot massage therapists across the country who wanted MORE out of their cookie-cutter feeling sessions, and it grew into its place as part of the myofascial barefoot massage movement you see today.

Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage is a growing niche in the massage industry – and just like there are many different styles of sports massage or hot stone courses in the Continuing Education market, we are presenting a drastically different new style of Ashiatsu.

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What makes you a remarkable massage therapist?

Why would we ask you what makes you a remarkable massage therapist? The word “remarkable” comes from France in the early 17th century: remarquable, from remarquer means to “take note of”. In other words, what makes you different from other massage therapists?

If you are not remarkable in some way, why should clients pay to have you massage them?

Have you given it a thought?

From a marketing standpoint, we need to know what makes us different from another massage therapist. If we don’t know how we stand out above the competition, we have no inclination of why people would prefer our services.