Why should you start to consider using your FEET to massage with? I can think of a million reasons, but I boiled it down to just enough to count on one foot. 5 reasons to learn FasciAshi Barefoot Massage. Just five. Read on to see if we can further romance you into learning our favorite way to do deep tissue, myofascial release and trigger point work with our FasciAshi style of barefoot massage therapy.
Reason # 5
5-7 Year Long Career?
“They” say that you are lucky to make it to the 7th year practicing massage. It definitely takes 2 years to hone in on your craft and create a solid following – so that leaves you with just 5 years to survive and thrive? That’s not enough to pay off your massage school loans!
Adding Barefoot Massage as the main power tool in your massage tool belt can lengthen your career, save your body, and gain you a strong following of clients as you continue to massage f-a-r beyond the 7 year predictions. Just take a look at how long our instructor team have been practicing:
- Jeni Spring: since 2002
- Mary-Claire Fredette: since 1998
- Julie Marciniak: since 1992
- Sara Newberry: since 2008
- Dawn Dotson: since 2003
- Erin Poovey: since 2002
- Hillary Arrieta: since 2003
- Sharon Bryant: since 2008
- Ashley Shears: since 2009
- Missy Anderson-Fritch: since 2009
+ an army of Foot Soldiers who follow us who’ve been “in the biz” past their supposed expiration date.
- Marcey Kozsey of Remedy Massage Studio in Toledo, Ohio: 13 years as an LMT, and 2.5 as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Abigail Ohlson of Big Shoulders Chicago in Chicago, Illinois: 13 years an LMT, and 13 years a barefoot massage therapist.
- Julie Gregory of Essential Therapeutic Massage in Owasso, Oklahoma: 12 years as an LMT, 11 years as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Donna Kopf of Marble Falls Massage Therapy in central Texas: 14 years as an LMT, 10 years as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Mary Soisson of Iron Clad Bodywork in Killeen, Texas: 16 years as an LMT, and 3 weeks as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Carrie Lessard of Healing Hands and Soles in Boscobel, Wisconsin: 14 years as an LMT, 4 months as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Carla Harless of Carla Harless Movement & Massage in Fredericksburg, Texas: 22 years as an LMT, 5 months as a barefoot massage therapist.
- Danae Rae of Wimberly Massages in Wimberley, Texas: 15 years as an LMT, and 1 year as a barefoot massage therapist. And there are SO many more!
Reason # 4
4 Different Core Classes Available
Licensed Massage Therapists will start with our FasciAshi Fundamentals then progressively increase their barefoot massage technique vocabulary through our Intermediate, ROM, and Advanced levels of training.
You start with single footed strokes, because learning to massage with your feet is like learning to massage from scratch all over again. You had 6-12 months in massage school to learn how to massage with your hands, and we have only 3 days to kick start this process with your feet! So you won’t want to dive in with both feet ~just yet~. Take it one step at a time.
If you find out that FasciAshi is exactly what you KNEAD, then you can choose to either dive into deeper detail and control, using less lubrication, with material taught the Intermediate course, or learn how to add a full body, 3-dimensional stretch component to your sessions in the Range of Motion class. Then it gets real: we combine that knowledge into our Advanced course, where you have the option to apply your full body weight, and learn creative, safe ways to get more effective depth and consistency while working with structural alignment.
We only provide live training – no online courses.
However- our Alumni Membership website provides free post-class videos of the strokes learned in class for your study and review. We want you to marinate in the information and encourage our students to learn in layers – always by touch and feel first. Then, through a mindful approach of practicing on bodies, reviewing notes and videos, studying blogs, reports and resources from those who’ve come before you, you’ll be able to trail blaze your way forward.
Reason #3
3 (likely more) Specialty Tracks of Training
Find your footing the deeper you get into training. SOON you’ll be able to niche down into your area of expertise and stoke your interests with a focus.
A series of classes in customized “tracks” of study will be rolled out bit by bit over the coming years. Our Hot Ashi specialty Barefoot Massage class is available after attending FasciAshi Fundamentals. A Barefoot Sports Massage track of specialty courses open up after you attend FasciAshi ROM. After passing the Advanced FasciAshi class, then the Clinical Barefoot Massage specialty classes are an option.
Need to adapt your work to the floor? No prob: we’ll be carrying on the legacy of Lolita Knight by offering her floor-based Barefoot Bodywork technique, Fijian Massage, soon, too!
Once you’ve stepped up your game by learning FasciAshi and completing the required extra levels of training, these specialty classes allow you to cater your training to your clients. We’ll be releasing new classes to these specialty courses each year to help continue your growth and the growth of the barefoot massage industry!
Reason #2
2 Feet Deep
We jump in with both feet to help you! Train with any FasciAshi instructor in our live classes, and open up your opportunities to travel to any Center for Barefoot Massage instructor across the nation and be eligible to attend upper-level courses.
Continue to train with those who practice what they teach – we dive in deep to the art, science and love of barefoot massage.
We can help you skip past the hang-ups and obstacles that we’ve encountered along the way.
PLUS, as soon as you join the FasciAshi family, you’ll have access to our entire team of instructors so you can consult with them based on the needs of your business and practice.
As your feet get trained in the technique, we’ll help you stay grounded, focused and inspired to continue to take steps towards your goals to specialize in barefoot massage.
Reason #1
You are #1.
If it’s one thing that massage therapists are not consistently good at – it’s taking care of themselves. We give and give, but our own self-care can take a hit.
- With FasciAshi, you’ll be saving your hands by reducing the grip, extension, and compression.
- You’ll be limiting the amount of compression forces in your wrists and shoulders and the repeated weight bearing extension of fingers and wrists.
- You’ll get to stand up straight and work on your own posture while massaging – rather than hunching over.
- Although you aren’t doing pull-ups all hour long in your bars, the micro-movements of lift will help to strengthen and tone your upper limbs, while also creating traction in your wrists.
- Your glutes, adductors and core will activate as you dance through your massages.
- Your feet will be constantly stimulated and strengthened as they bend and contort to mold into the uneven shapes of your clients body.
- The ease of providing deep tissue with the help of your body weight and gravity will conserve your physical and mental energy so that you can have a life outside of work.
YOU.
You are the #1 reason to learn FasciAshi.
So let’s do this!
The picture up there ↑ with all those cool people is our current list of instructors across the country – 11 and counting! We are definitely growing, even since that image was made we have ANOTHER instructor to add to the roster soon! We will have training sites in more locations as we expand. We’d love to help you take the next step in your career with barefoot massage training!
- Check out the Center for Barefoot Massage schedule to find a class near you, or near somewhere you’d like to visit.
- Follow us on Facebook and Instagram – and follow each instructors local massage businesses (linked above at the top of this post with each of their names) to get to know the instructors individually, and start to see who you resonate most with.
All awesome reasons to learn FasciAshi barefoot massage!
I am SO STOKED to learn Fijian with y’all someday! (As well as all of these new tracks!)