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!

Oldies but goodies

Popular in India for centuries, Chavutti Thirumal is a form of barefoot massage where the practitioner uses his feet, lots and lots of oil, and a rope overhead for support. Passed down through generations, this barefoot bodywork originated primarily for soldiers involved in combat and for those whose work was strenuous. Imagine a swinging rope overhead or a clothesline from one end of the room to the other. This barefoot massage requires physical strength, coordination, and concentration. Chavutti Thirumal can be performed on a firm mat on the floor. We’ve also seen it being done on either simply a sheet or a woven mat.

“Chavutti” translates as “massage by foot pressure” in Malayam, an Indian dialect spoken in Kerala.

Benefits: their main focus is to increase the client’s flexibility, and the work is done at a very fast pace. When done correctly, it opens up energy channels, nadis, and is thought to open the hips and thoracic areas as well as to strengthen postural muscles. Traditionally, this work is done with the client on the floor and no draping. That’s right, kids, and it’s done both prone and supine. Now, Chavutti has been modernized and brought to the US by Helen Noakes, who spent years adding her personal flavor and experience making it a fusion suitable for Western practitioners – so it’s morphing and coming into the future as we speak.

Japanese ashiatsu ( 足圧 ), otherwise known as barefoot shiatsu, or Traditional Ashiatsu.

足圧 (Ashiatsu) means “foot pressure”, and it’s what many people associate with “back walking”. Traditional ashiatsu practitioners would work through clothing on the client’s body while he lay on a floor mat. The original shiatsu masters focused on moving chi, and worked with diet, diagnosis, and so much more than just the perceived back walking.

Shizuko Yamamoto, the author of Macrobiotic Shiatsu, is often cited as the source of barefoot massage here in the US. You can find Yamimoto’s book, Barefoot Shiatsu, here. From Japan, she had realized that while she could do perhaps 6 traditional shiatsu sessions a day. Her numbers increased to be able to work on large American clients up to 10 hours a day, every day of the week.

I worked seven days a week and sometimes would treat ten people a day. American people can be very big and have stiff muscles from eating so much meat! If I used only my hands I could treat no more than six people a day. So I used my feet to treat the Yang part of the body. In that way during the next 20 years I developed Barefoot Shiatsu.

HOWEVER, there are different lineages and styles of shiatsu that take on different approaches. Namikoshi, Shizuto Masunaga, Michio Kushi, Bo-In Lee, Wataru Ohashi, and others were early pioneers in the west as they brought their shiatsu lineages to the forefront of the bodywork community.

Our colleague and friend, Randy Cummins from Chicago, teaches Shoshin Shiatsu and offers an east-meets-west barefoot shiatsu course that utilizes the feet to interact with muscle, bone, fascia as well as meridians.

~Technically~ Barefoot Shiatsu can be called Ashiatsu. If you are using your feet to provide shiatsu sessions in line with Traditional Chinese Medicine practices, then THAT is Ashiatsu. To further clarify their roots, if you are practicing traditional ashiatsu in the USA, the terminology commonly used would be either “Japanese Ashiatsu” “Traditional Ashiatsu,” or “Barefoot Shiatsu,” and a lineage name may also be included for further distinction.

What has happened over the years in the United States is that the word “Ashiatsu” has become mistakenly associated with all styles of barefoot massage/bodywork. It all had to do with branding of that word, and the westernized image associated within the massage industry since around 1995. But not all barefoot massage is ashiatsu. An oversimplification of the terminology has made things muddy and confused not only the public, but the massage and bodywork industry itself. It is important to remember that if you are using a lubricant as you massage with your feet while standing on a massage table and holding onto bars, that you are actually providing a westernized style of Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage…. (such as what we teach, Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage!)

Thai massage

True, traditional Thai massage is done through clothing while the client lies on a mat. This work is considered to be a part of the 4 pillars of Thai medicine, and it’s regulated in Thailand by the Thai government.

Some experts and historians place the recognizable formation of the practice now known as ‘nuad paen boran’, or traditional Thai massage, in the period 800-1200 AD. The Story of Thai Massage

Many modernized styles of compression based massage and assisted stretching have stemmed from Thai Bodywork roots. Barefoot Thai and stretching have become more popular in the US as therapists have realized there is a better way to get deep-the feet. In fact, we have developed our ROM class to help clients with their range of motion and to increase mobility in their joints. Benefits to therapists can include protecting shoulders and wrists from overuse. Therapists can work with less energy and yet still focus on grounding their clients and themselves.

Fijian Massage

Fijian massage evolved as in the village of Kadavu on the island of Fiji, and like Chavutti Thirumal, the knowledge was passed down through the generations.

With patients lying on a woven mat, the island’s doctor would work on his patient using his feet and hands to dissolve their day’s aches and pains from walking many miles at a time. Adjusting and adapting this modality to make it easier on the therapist, Lolita Knight has become synonymous with bringing this work to the forefront of modern culture, keeping a focus on all the footwork, not so much the hands-on maneuvers. Therapists do not use any lubricants, and the client may remain fully clothed. (Except in modified Fiji-Oil adaptations.) It’s also important to note that one of the therapist’s feet always remains on the floor, and can often be done while the therapist is in a seated or reclined position themselves. Benefits: according to Knight, clients often realize gains more quickly than with hands-on massage, Fijian is effective for scar treatment, and the work is easier to do with less possibility of injury than with hands-on massage.

Kua Lua Lomilomi.

While Lomilomi is not strictly barefoot massage, there is a lineage of native Hawaiian medicine called Kua Lua Lomi Lomi, where the use of the feet and knees can all be part of this beautiful massage. Barefoot Lomi Lomi practitioners tend to hold onto a staff as their balance tool.

Lomilomi therapists also use upper arms, forearms, fingers, knuckles, palms, and elbows. “Breath, presence, aloha and sacred space” are honored aspects of loving touch involved in various lineages of Lomilomi. Like Chavutti Thirumal, draping is minimalistic, but you may get a little towel or sarong for your bits and parts.

Benefits: this modality is known for its flowing strokes, like ocean waves. Traditional hands-on Lomilomi may also incorporate therapeutic applications of pectoral and breast massage, which has been recognized in western medicine to effectively treat conditions such as scar tissue, lymphedema, and other cancer-related issues, recovery from mastectomy, recovery from breast reduction or breast augmentation procedures, problems with lactation, and swelling related to women’s cycles.

New kids on the block

The Rossiter System

Here in the US, Richard Rossiter evolved his work with feet (using clean socks-technically, bare feet are not allowed BUT if you take a look at the photo, it looks like there’s a rebel) based on the work of Ida Rolf. Rossiter company top producer Chuck Lubbock wrote for us this interesting 2-part blog. The work is done with the client fully clothed and on a mat-they are called the “PIC” or “Person in Charge”. While you don’t have to be a massage therapist to take their classes, the work definitely could be categorized as a combo of part PT, part massage. (Note: it’s not considered a “massage” but rather a “workout”.) Benefits: (from their website) The Rossiter System is a two-person stretching modality that not only alleviates pain but can prevent its occurrence. It offers a series of powerful and effective techniques for addressing structural pain and restriction of movement at its source – the connective tissue system. You will experience noticeable looseness in your joints with every session.

Fix Pain

Fix Pain authors John Harris, an international sports massage and Olympic massage pioneer, along with his mentee, Fred Kenyon, were introduced to barefoot techniques all over the world: Australia, Thailand, and through Japanese therapists. Because the massage therapy industry is fraught with injured bodyworkers, John developed this westernized compressive deep tissue barefoot work to alleviate overuse injuries. He stated it as a potent new tool for powerfully satisfying, effective deep tissue massage, sports massage and Trigger Point Therapy regardless of the client’s size or builds. This work is done while the client lies on a mat (side body positions are common), and the client wears comfy clothes like leggings and a T-shirt. Now although training in this style is not easily found, Jeni studied with John Harris and the essence of this form of barefoot massage is respectfully included as a part of FasciAshi. Benefits: their barefoot work offers protocols for myofascial pain syndrome.

Sarga Bodywork

image by Ryan Sakamoto (www.ryansakamoto.com)

In Sanskrit, the word sarga may refer to a natural creation. The Spanish translation is “tapestry” or “silk”. Sarga therapists use their feet on the client’s lubricated body. The massage table on which the client resides may be either set up as usual or lying flat on the ground. A long fabric strap, similar to aerial silks, is attached to the massage table from one side to the other allows the therapist to use not only gravity, but tensional force as well.

A significant degree of focus, patience, physical fitness, and bodywork experience are prerequisites for practicing this work.

The work looks graceful and beautiful. You’ll use the fabric attachments while either seated or with one foot on the table and the other on the client. Benefits: therapists can use their feet and gravity alongside with tensional force. This “oblique pressure” allows them to provide deep tissue myofascial therapy.

Reboot™

When worlds collide and techniques blend, sometimes it takes one person to put their foot down and say THIS IS WHAT I DO. A form of barefoot massage that doesn’t want to be defined is bubbling up to the surface out of Texas, and it’s called Reboot™… bodywork that is a step apart from Traditional Thai and yet something beyond massage. From a western vantage point Robert Gardner added myofascial release, trigger point therapy, MacKenzie rehab exercises, chi nei tsang, anatomy, physiology, yoga, yoga therapy, common sense and pranayama to his Thai sessions in a way that was unfamiliar to many massage therapists and his clients. Reboot ™ is an amalgamation of his best bodywork available and allows Robert to teach more easily to those who can use this work for the benefit of the public.

We’ll let him explain Reboot further to you!

FasciAshi

And then there’s us, the FasciAshi rebels. FasciAshi is Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage, and was launched into the massage industry on February 15th, 2017. There are other companies that preceded us who teach their style of westernized ashiatsu barefoot massage with bars overhead, too. Their styles are all based on a deep swedish effleurage applied with the feet. Like with the Model-T, though, the original doesn’t mean it can’t be evolved and improved upon – which is how we, The Center for Barefoot Massage, came into existence! But this post is long enough, so you can just toddle on over to our site to see what we’re all about, or read this post to see the difference between FasciAshi and Ashiatsu.

Quickie barefoot massage style recap:

👣 Chavutti Thirrumal ↬ India, lubricant, little to no draping, on the floor. Uses a suspended rope for balance.
👣 Barefoot Shiatsu ↬ Japan / USA, no lubricant, through clothes, usually on the floor. Sometimes uses under-hand parallel bars, or a staff, for balance.
👣 Thai ↬ Thailand, no lubricant, through clothes, on a thick mat on the floor. Sometimes uses an overhead or shoulder height beam for balance.
👣 Fijian ↬ Fiji, through clothing, on the floor. Uses a chair for balance – or the FasciAshi version utilizes the overhead support strap.
👣 Kua Lua Lomilomi ↬ Hawaii, lubricant, scant draping or through clothes, on the floor. Uses a staff for balance.
👣 Rossiter ↬ USA with socks, no lubricant, through clothes, on the floor. Uses ski poles for balance.
👣 Fix Pain ↬ USA, no lubricant, through clothes, on a mat. Sometimes it uses a staff for balance.
👣 Reboot ↬ USA, no lubricant, through clothes, on a mat. Sometimes incorporates a suspended overhead strap.
👣 Sarga Bodywork ↬ Hawaii, lubricant, draping, on a massage table (or a table on the floor). Uses tension fabric anchored below.
👣 Ashiatsu Bar Therapy ↬ USA, lubricant, draping, on a massage table – deep swedish effleurage. Uses overhead bars.
👣 Myofascial Ashiatsu: “FasciAshi” ↬ USA, some lubricant, draping, on a massage table. – deep myofascial, trigger point, stretch therapy. Uses overhead bars and overhead support strap.

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