2017 has been a big year for barefoot massage – a lot of changes have hit the scene, all to the benefit of the massage therapy profession, and ultimately, the public! We dropped a lot of knowledge this year when we released the 1st wave of FasciAshi classes, and we can’t wait for the heavy deep myofascial ashiatsu massage training we’ll be footing out in 2018! In light of this, I thought today, the last day of the year, would be a great day to get down with ‘Part 1’ of this weighted blog post… Give weight, then wait. Enjoy! ~Jeni.

I was fortunate enough to train with John Harris, the author of every barefoot massage therapists favorite book to display on their bookshelf… Fix Pain. Of the many aspects of his work that I studied before I met him, plus what I picked up while training with him in Santa Barbara, the thing that stuck most with me was his easy, yet heavy concept of “give weight, then wait.”

So much wisdom in those four words.

In November, I sat in on Gil Hedley’s “Whats the Fuzz” presentation in Austin, Texas, where he enthusiastically discussed his discoveries into the “perifascial” layers of fascia, with confirmation of how everything is connected. “One body with many textures, differential movement without separation.” His explorations showed us how much pressure or force it would actually take to create a structural change in connective tissue. Newsflash: it’s a lot, and it’s making anatomy nerds from all disciplines stop and think.

He dropped the mic and we left our jaws there on the floor.

A lot of newer information on the scene points towards how it’s actually the nervous system we are affecting with our touch – not the physical muscle or fascial tissue. Which is interesting, because there is also a plethora of pain science education that explains how the pain response and pain sensations are a complex experience completely calculated in your brain – NOT in the tissues where you “feel” it.

Where it is, it isn’t, but where we are pushing goes straight to their head. The changes in soft tissue tone we feel may not even be thixotropic, even though that is what massage therapists, bodyworkers and Rolfers around the globe have been visualizing all along.

(OOH, now THAT is deep.)

Oh and here’s something that might leave you shook: holding sustained compression plays a big part in FasciAshi, but don’t think of it as just trigger point work, and don’t worry about consulting your Travell referral pattern charts (because those are being questioned, too!)

The idea underneath our FasciAshi feet ultimately is about being in the moment, having the intuition, patience, knowledge, confidence and muscular control to impact your client with a deep intention on communication, presence and pressure.

But most of all, be open to change, and never stop learning. Take in what makes sense, stay curious to figure out what doesn’t, and be ready to roll with the punches as new research comes out.

This blog post so far is the beefy part and the heavy topic of what I really want to share with you. This is the weight. Now you’ll have to WAIT to read Part 2, when I let the 2nd foot drop and share how FasciAshi embodies the whole “give weight, then wait” thing that I keep talking about.

Stay tuned – I’ll post “Part 2” NEXT YEAR in 2018, hahaha!

(Don’t worry, you’ll only have to wait until #TuesdayTOEsday )