Any ashiatsu therapist who loves to do seated work will tell you that you need to make sure you stretch your hip flexors. I personally often can spend 20-30 minutes doing seated work during a 90 minute session (depending on the client’s needs.)
This move is like your typical runner’s stretch, but it has an added component: the side stretch.
This time of the year, many of us are struggling with warm hands and feet when we do our barefoot massage. In fact, I often have a problem in the summertime too when the air conditioning is cranking. Today, we’ve got a cheapo heating pad to the rescue.
Firstly, the directions tell you not to lie on the heating pad, but that’s because the manufacturers don’t want you to fall asleep on one and burn yourself. I’ve had an unlucky client who lost her match with the heating pad this way (at home).
Standing on it is ok because you’re really on there for a short while. Plus, you’re awake. And you can tell if it gets too hot. By that time, you have been happily massaging with those hot feet.
If you’ve ever had a barefoot massage client who is so tall that they have to duck to get through your doorway, then you can bet they’ll be so tall that they’ll dangle off the ends of your ashiatsu massage table, too! Today’s tip tells you about a little-known massage table accessory – the head rest extender.
You can also use a footrest extender at the other end of the table – but in both cases DON’T STAND ON THEM!! (They really only can hold enough weight to support the client, not also your bodyweight.) We’ve previously shared a barstool trick that allows you to stand off to the side or on a diagonal if you need more leverage to lunge into those larger clients.
As of 2022, the Center for Barefoot Massage has chosen to no longer serve as a direct vendor with Earthlite, and we will not be taking orders moving forward. You can order directly through Earthlite, Massage Warehouse, and even Amazon. Check with your massage association(s) to see if you qualify for a discount through them, and follow their process for ordering at their reduced rate.
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.
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!
{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.
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.)
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.
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!
The gear you use in an Ashiatsu Massage makes all the difference, especially once you start to figure out how to use different options to your benefit! When I first started offering Ashiatsu, I used those typical circle-shaped bar stools. (I actually still have the first pair that I bought for class!)
I think I waited too long to upgrade my barstool to a different shape. I’ve got long limbs and long toes, I had no issues reaching my clients, so why fix something that ain’t broke!? Well, turns out that getting closer in proximity during the supine neck work will open up more options to how you massage with your hands and feet simultaneously!
In almost every massage I receive, I adjust the preset face cradle position as soon as I lay down in it. Sometimes it’s still set to the person who was on table prior to me, or maybe the LMT just snapped it into a random setting right before my session. Most of the time, I adjust the face cradle postioning because I know that an uncomfortable pillow can RUIN my entire experience during the massage.
…I can’t be the only massage therapist who does this, right?!
Read on, and watch the video below to see how we position a face cradle for an Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage.
Where do your start your massage? At the feet? Perhaps at the client’s initial complaint area? At their upper back or in their neck? With their breath?
There’s not a wrong answer here, it all has to do with the theory you choose to approach the massage with.
Having procedures and protocols can produce results – but every client and every condition is different. Learning a routine massage and always sticking to it is like being on autopilot: it might always produce the same results, but you may be bored, uninspired… and your clients progress may plateau.
Read a few of the ideas below, and see if changing up the sequencing of your next massage helps you and your client get the results you are looking for!