The benefits of side-lying barefoot massage are plentiful. Once you get past the “my client only wants to lie face down to receive the massage” mentality, you’ll find that you can access a number of muscles more easily when they lie on their side.

Why side-lying barefoot massage?

Providing side-lying barefoot massage allows you as a therapist to have better access and angles to work on shoulders, hips, quadratus lumborum, IT band, adductors, and abductors, to name but a few.

(You can learn side-body barefoot massage in our Intermediate class. We also teach side-lying barefoot work in our Fijian barefoot mat class.)

Sometimes you’ll find that your client (typically women, who are more curvy than men) may have trouble lying on their side as their 11th or 12th rib feels like it’s close to or hitting their iliac crest.

This makes it tricky for even the most skilled barefoot therapist to find the QL, as there’s often not enough space for even the heel. Resorting to the lateral edge of the foot may be a solution, but there’s something super simple you can try instead.

Bolstering with a small pillow

It’s easy fix- small toddler or travel pillow placed under their waist in between their body and the table.

Watch the video to see how Mary-Claire uses the pillow and how it flattens out the client’s torso. This makes barefoot side-lying massage much easier (and more comfortable for both the LMT and the client).

The client simply rolls over when you’re ready to work the 2nd side-the pillow should stay pretty well in place.

If you’re going to use the pillow under their stomach for prone work, they simply roll onto their stomach and adjust as needed. (See this video on how to do that.)

Are they rolling on their back next? Just have them lift up a little, grab the pillow and hand it to you or toss it onto the floor-whatever’s easiest.

Let us know what other bolstering techniques are in your grab bag (or you’d like to see!) in the comments.

Where you can find more info…

Visit our main website to find out more about all our classes at the Center for Barefoot Massage.

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