Hot Ashi
Specialty Course: Barefoot massage with heated flax seed packs from Mother Earth Pillows!
Learn to use heated flaxseed pillows to perform specific barefoot massage protocols for the client in both a supine and prone position, in Hot Ashi, one of our specialty classes for FasciAshi Fundamentals trained Barefoot Massage Therapists. Hot Ashi is performed through clothing on a massage table with overhead bars and a flexible strap for balance and shearing ability.
Heat is an effective way to relieve both chronic pain and new aches, as well as for calming the autonomic nervous system. Its use is non-invasive and non-addictive, inexpensive and easy to incorporate into existing barefoot massage services. Using therapist’s feet in conjunction with heat produces almost effortless results in reduction of client anxiety, stress and pain.
Scroll down to read more about the research
Prerequisites: FasciAshi Fundamentals
Prerequisite: FasciAshi Fundamentals.
Class Price
Tuition: *$250
You can choose to pay in full upfront or make two payments. A non-Refundable 50% retainer is required to hold your spot in class - the remaining balance is due before class starts.
Class is 1 day, and you’ll earn 8 Continuing Education credits. (NCBTMB and some select states)
Travel fee: *If the instructor is traveling to a location to teach this class, rather than teaching at their home base, then the tuition rate may increase by 36%,
Please plan your schedule to allow time to be present and punctual for the entire training experience. Partial attendance is not permitted. Any hours missed in class must be made up with the instructor, and will be charged at their hourly rate. No CE’s or access to Alumni resources are granted until the class is completed in full.
Sensory Track Specialty Course
This class teaches you how to layer thermal input, fascial decompression, and nervous system regulation—making it a powerful integration into any Myofascial Ashiatsu session. It’s especially suited for clients experiencing stress, trauma-related tension, or chronic pain.
Client Benefit Highlight
The combination of heat, weight, and stillness speaks directly to the nervous system. Hot Ashi helps melt protective tension, increase tissue hydration, and re-establish sensory safety—without overwhelming the client’s body or mind.
Research & Science Resources
Predictable, warm, and non-threatening touch can down-regulate the nervous system and reduce pain. Hot Ashi gives you a structured way to deliver just that.
🔗 Pain Revolution – Pain Facts
2. Effects of Heat on Fascial and Neural Tissue:
Heat increases tissue pliability, boosts circulation, and calms sensory nerves—especially when paired with consistent, non-invasive compression.
🔗 PainScience – Heating and Pain Relief
3. Sensory Integration & Trauma-Informed Bodywork:
This modality supports clients with sensory sensitivities or trauma responses by offering safe, soothing input through indirect touch. Inspired by the original Pillossage method developed by Karen Kowal.
🔗 Pillossage Overview
Hot foot it on over to our class schedule, because your clients “knead” this!
Therapists will learn:
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How to combine barefoot massage techniques with heated golden flaxseed pillows to deliver full-body myofascial integration
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Physiological benefits of thermal therapy, including increased blood flow, tissue elasticity, spasm relief, and nervous system down-regulation
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Critical contraindications and pathology guidelines, including acute inflammation, circulatory conditions, and medications that impair sensation or temperature regulation
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Best practices for pillow maintenance, heating protocols (hot cabi and microwave), steam avoidance, and sanitation using washable covers
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Structural endangerment sites, bony prominences, and vulnerable areas to avoid with direct heat or deep barefoot compression
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Methods to deliver Hot Ashi as a standalone clothed treatment or seamlessly woven into draped table sessions
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A comprehensive, full-body protocol (supine and prone) combining heated pillows with compressions, shearing, and fascial stretching from the sinuses to the feet
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Body mechanics and sensory modulation skills to let heat soften tissue first, delivering effortless depth without overworking your body
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Therapists will practice on and receive feedback from:
- 1-2 other therapists in class
- In class, you will:
- Give 3.5 hours of massage during this class
- Receive 3.5 hours of massage from other students
Attendees are provided with:
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- Course Workbook with pictures
- Discounts to Mother Earth Pillows
- Easy access to retail Mother Earth Pillow products as added value for your clients, and extra income for you!
- Access to the free Alumni Membership website with videos of the strokes learned in class
Don't get cold feet! Sign up now
When and where is this class offered? Click the button below!
Make sure you use a laptop or desktop computer to register for classes, as the MindBodyOnline system we use will not allow mobilie devices to select certain options (such as payment plans or waitlists.)
What's next?
To attend this class, you must have attended one of the following classes:
- FasciAshi Fundamentals
- Fundamentals Converge (this class is now discontinued, but still honored as a prereq.)
Retake this course for $125 / day!
Change is hard, learning is a process. Maybe you couldn’t find a good deal on a hot towel cabi, or didn’t order your Mother Earth Pillows right away, and you are forgetting the details… maybe it’s been a few months and you’ve got cold feet! For best retention of the concepts, theories, strokes and adventures we experience in class, you are always welcome back to review everything all over again. No CE’s or course materials are provided, but we’ll partner you up with either a client or another #AshiatsuTherapist who is also reviewing the class, and you’ll get to give and receive FasciAshi all day long while being guided, and tweaked, by the instructor. (Get a three hour massage for $125?! Not bad!)
Attend any Hot Ashi class for a review of everything.
Email your instructor to see if any space is available for you to take this class refresher course
This Hot Ashi class is the 1st of many Relax Track Specialty Barefoot Massage courses to come! As more classes within this track are released, we’ll link them as a “next step” here. For now, you are free to roam over to the Fijian Barefoot Massage class if you haven’t taken it yet, or FasciAshi Intermediate and FasciAshi ROM!