Why did we break free and create FasciAshi classes? Our first wave of instructors have been team members for quite a while. The dedication to our craft and passion for the work, along with the intricate skills that our faculty possesses for teaching quality Ashiatsu is strong. We’ve wanted room for growth for years, but we were in a space that wasn’t expanding in ways that we felt supported the integrity and core principals of touch-based massage therapy education. Mainly: focus on high quality live, in person training, for the betterment of massage therapists careers.

Sometimes you have to separate yourself to produce what is needed

We honor the original barefoot massage innovators and would never ever copy-cat their material. We literally stand on the shoulders of greatness to bring you the new generation and the future of barefoot massage.  There has been a need for new ashiatsu material for a while. We’ve been eagerly awaiting the day when we would be valued and supported enough to be encouraged to share our innovative discoveries in the art of our favorite massage modality. The time was overdue for us to release this plethora of knowledge from our varied approaches and backgrounds – so in February 2017, FasciAshi and the Center for Barefoot Massage were born!

The years of experience that our company’s creative forces and instructor team at the Center for Barefoot Massage have under their feet validate the direction, focus and carefully cultivated content that this new company presents and promotes. We support the growing barefoot massage field as a whole and support massage therapists who work through their feet, whether they happen to use overhead support like us, underhand support, or practice on a massage table or on a floor mat. It’s not a competition, it’s education, and we’re here to raise your expectations on how barefoot massage is presented, practiced and performed. Read more about our point of view on the value of live training for massage therapists below.

We love that the field of massage is a touch-based industry. We recognize that Massage Therapists need to touch, feel, experience and be in the moment for all the components of a high quality, safe massage to come together, especially with techniques as potentially dangerous as Ashiatsu. Our emphasis on live training and a commitment to only teach massage technique in person is still the focus for FasciAshi. Regardless of the hype on convenience online/video training running wild in our industry- we feel that the integrity and essence of massage therapy is based on physical touch. If massage therapists want to progress the profession and gain more respect within medical and fitness realms, we cannot cheapen our education or decrease its therapeutic potential through forms of virtual technique training.  We’ll save e-learning for massage theory, topical presentations, business tips or marketing training, so that we can attract the dedicated massage professionals who want to literally get their feet wet, dig their heels in, and learn barefoot massage in an environment that exposes all their senses. We want you to plug into your “feet-on” skills, rather than plugging in your laptop.

We also feel strongly that ashiatsu’s specific application of gravity assisted, bodyweight-based barefoot massage needs to be nurtured within the scope of practice for a licensed/certified/registered massage therapist. We do not sit well with the idea that ashiatsu could be taught outside of the massage profession – LET ALONE also taught by video. That is completely irresponsible in our eyes. Some forms of massage and bodywork can cross boundaries and allow other health care professionals, fitness trainers, and sometimes even the public to learn their material. Some very amazing forms of floor-based barefoot bodywork do a great job of crossing these boundaries – but we choose not to.  In order to support the massage industry and to maintain safety in the technique, our FasciAshi classes are designed to be taught only to professionals specifically within the massage realm.

The symbolism behind Fascia’s inner-connectiveness relates back to our company name, the Center for Barefoot Massage: as we aim to support, network, connect and grow the entire field of Barefoot Massage, showcasing unique approaches to massaging with your feet. (And if you notice the “infinity” symbol in our logo, we like to think of that little touch as a “Barefoot Massage 4-Evaaarrr!” statement… or at least a visual reminder that barefoot massage can infinitely enhance and lengthen your career in massage therapy.)

Our instructor team is a family of Sole-Sisters who believe in maintaining these principal factors when it comes to revolutionizing ashiatsu, and the growth of barefoot massage as a whole. We made the bold decision to step away from our mentor, we picked up our entrepreneurial feet, we focused on a firm vision that ourselves (and many dedicated Ashiatsu practitioners) are rooted in, and we grounded our practice over here at the Center for Barefoot Massage instead.  If you trust our knowledge, experience and understand our passion for this material and want to learn from the collective expertise that the “FasciAshi” Faculty has to offer, you are welcome to take the next step in your massage career, join the future of ashiatsu, and attend our upcoming classes across the nation!

Keep your toes on the pulse and stay tuned to our evolving website, we can’t wait to get you ankle deep into more training from the Center for Barefoot Massage.