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Footnotes by 01/05/2019 0Comments

How can I teach for the Center for Barefoot Massage?

Thank you so much for your interest to teach for the Center for Barefoot Massage! We are honored that you would even ask! Before we ever consider bringing anyone into our business to represent FasciAshi, we do require candidates to attend the courses themselves, and fully experience the work we have to offer within the learning environments we’ve created.
We are happy to consider the perfect candidates for the team but will need to see them complete all of our training beforehand. We don’t believe in the idea of just promoting and endorsing someone to a teacher status because they are in the right place, or they were the star student, or it’s the next perceived step, or it’s another way to create income so that they can massage less. We are looking for someone who is a born teacher, a self-starter who is a total nerd for Barefoot Massage, and who isn’t approaching this responsibility like it’s a hobby or an early retirement plan. We require our instructor team to continue massaging so long as they are teaching for us, so that they are teaching with integrity and their experience is relevant, fresh, and most of all, authentic. Although no two people are alike, we also prefer to see anyone interested in teaching with us to have 5 years of experience using our technique regularly in practice, so they can teach from real-world experience in addition to the details that they will undoubtedly embody after completing our instructor training and mentorship program.

The goal of our team is to nurture a team of barefoot massage super star into subject experts, and let them lead the new wave of barefoot massage therapists into the future.

FasciAshi Faculty Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage Instructors
Sole Sisters – leaving their footprints on the massage industry
  • We are specifically choosing instructors based on their influencer status in the massage community.
  • We love to see our possible team members act as active participants in massage organizations, associations, boards or schools, and interact with a strong knowledgeable, respected presence in online massage groups.
  • Sparks of leadership is something we look for in those looking to join our team. Whether you manage a staff of massage professionals or you regularly cultivate a supportive network within your local massage community – skills like these will help us move the barefoot massage field forward.
  • We want to see potential instructors who are marketing mavens, ranking high in online searches for ashiatsu and barefoot massage in their local area.

Being accepted to teach for the Center for Barefoot Massage starts with your passion for barefoot massage.

The Center for Barefoot Massage is a growing company with an ever-expanding enthusiastic alumni base, and we are honored to be followed by curious, intrigued and excited fans. The future is bright, and we will have something for everyone in our circles to look forward to!!!
If you are seriously interested in helping us to spread our toes and expand our footprint on the massage industry, if you resonate with our philosophy, please make sure and attend at least 1 FasciAshi class with Jeni Spring ASAP, and fill out this form!
Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Barefoot Massage in the News by 01/03/2019 0Comments

Introducing the world’s first Hot Ashi barefoot massage training

On Wednesday, I wrote about the deliciousness of using heat during a massage. Because of the multitude of benefits that the combination of heat and massage can provide, instructor Sara Newberry and I  (Mary-Claire Fredette) teamed together to create the world’s first…

Hot Ashi!

It’s a combination of heated Mother Earth Pillows and, you guessed it, barefoot massage! It’s first in our specialty class lineup.

A little history on how this came about…

I’ve been doing barefoot massage since 2002. The trouble is that my hands and feet were always cold after washing them. A heating pad has been my feet’s friend since about Day 1. When I learned “thermal connective tissue release” Pillossage with Mother Earth founder Karen Kowal back in 2011, I knew I had found the answer to my cold hands.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by 01/02/2019 0Comments

Using heat in conjunction with barefoot massage

Almost ALL of us love to be warm when we get a massage. There’s something so comforting about even just lying down on a heated massage table. It’s like stepping into a warm bubble bath, knowing you relaxation is going to commence immediately.

Have you ever dabbled with using heat for a massage? Maybe you’ve played around using a heating pad to keep your clients feet warm, or set a small oscillating heater to blow warm air on your clients.

Perhaps you’ve draped warm Mother Earth pillows over an aching joint or shoulders, because you know how good that feels.

(As I write this, I’m alternating a Mother Earth flax pillow between my lap and my shoulders. Ahh…)

Let’s talk about the benefits of heat.

Footnotes by 12/31/2018 0Comments

What is Barefoot Massage?

what is barefoot massage definitionWhat is Barefoot Massage?

It’s not a foot massage – this is when the massage therapist massages YOU with their feet!

Barefoot Massage is simply the act of using feet as tools to professionally massage with.

Part of our mission here at the Center for Barefoot Massage is not only to cultivate a tribe of smart, educated and informed barefoot massage therapists within the massage industry, but also to educate the public on the benefits of barefoot massage, and what it is. We want to normalize the terminology of “barefoot massage” and make styles within this genre just as recognized and sought after as the typical “sports massage” or “hot stone” massage services are across the nation.

‘The public is just now learning about the difference between a foot massage, reflexology and bare foot massage – and the massage industry is starting to recognize the differences between techniques and styles within the genre.

A trained Barefoot Massage Therapist can use different aspects of their feet to recreate similar sensations that a “Hands-on” massage would deliver. Heels, arches, toes, calves, shins, and knees are employed in various Barefoot Massage techniques, just as fists, palms, fingers, forearms, and elbows are in your average massage from someone’s hands. Similar goals are achieved from each element, but the larger surface area of these tools allows for a diffused, yet distinct pressure that can be less triggering to a person’s pain tolerance.

Just like there are many different styles of massages provided by the upper extremities, there are many different styles of Barefoot Massages.

We teach two different styles of Barefoot Massage: Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage – lovingly nicknamed “FasciAshi” (that’s more of an industry term, though. We don’t expect, or really want the public to use that hard-to-pronounce name!) AND we also teach Fijian Barefoot Massage.

Give it weight, then wait is a pretty heavy theory that we’ve found to be important throughout our entire barefoot massage approach to impact the Neuromyofascial web. Working with fascial integration, navigating the contours of muscle and bone while applying broad, consistent pressure on varying angles, the techniques we teach aim to address the body as a functional whole. The further you get into our courses and specialty track classes, the more you’ll see the importance of sustained pressure and anatomical specificity to best impact your client’s interoception.

Here’s our definition of the Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage that we teach in any “FasciAshi” class:

This style of work is a modern massage approach to barefoot massage where the Licensed Massage Therapist is specifically using their feet to slowly glide along the skin, addressing muscles and interconnected layers of fascia throughout the body. Additional focused tracks of training help the practitioner to specialize in different niches – offering theories and protocols that use a myofascial massage approach but also add in a deep relaxation vibe, a sports massage vibe, or even a more clinical style for pain/injury rehabilitation.

In order to apply variable angles of weighted pressure through different techniques taught in our series of classes, a Barefoot Massage Therapist trained at the Center for Barefoot Massage will just happen to need overhead bars to hold onto, and a suspended strap to lean back into… in addition to their feet. A portion of the working therapist’s body weight up to their entire body weight can be applied in this technique, based on need, safety, the ratio of weight between the client and therapist, and the professionals level of FasciAshi training.

Here’s our definition of the Fijian Barefoot Massage/Matwork that we teach:

We also teach a neuromuscular sports barefoot matwork massage. Fijian Barefoot Massage gets it’s name from it’s country of origin – and when it was first brought to the US, it was not taught with a Neuromuscular, Trigger Point or a Sports Massage intent – but those are the theories that we layer on top of the technique to give insight into each stroke. It’s a faster-paced form of bodywork where the receiving person wears comfortable clothes and lays in various bolstered positions on a floor cushion or Thai/Shiatsu mat.

The working Barefoot Massage Therapist can sit on a chair, sit on the floor, or stand while applying this technique, and the same suspended strap used in our FasciAshi technique is employed to help offer more confidence in balance and leverage. No overhead bars, no lubricant, and no “back walking” are a part of Fijian Massage – it is an aggressive technique but does not ever utilize the therapist’s full bodyweight.

Barefoot Massage styles include, but are not limited to:

Luckily, we’ve written blog posts on every interpretation of the question – so read these posts, and share the video below with your clients!

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by 12/25/2018 0Comments

Our barefoot massage team wants to tell you something!

No matter what you’re celebrating today – “Merry Christmas!”, “Happy Holidays!”, “Happy Kwanzaa!”, or even “¡Feliz Navidad!”, we hope you’re having an awesome time with family and friends.?

Each one of our team members took a few minutes out of our busy schedules to send you a message. We hope you like it.  ❤️

What are you doing this week? Pop your answers into the comments! We’d love to hear from you.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips by 12/22/2018 0Comments

Sucking at table etiquette: and how to turn a duckling into a swan

If you’re not aware of how you use both your feet and hands (applying lubricant, moving sheets or limbs, etc.) then it’s quite possible you aren’t giving your clients the best massage ever.

And that’s our goal. Every. Dang. Time. 

You may be amazing in treating your clients with the appropriate pressure and perfect moves, but if everything else isn’t spot on, fuggedaboutit.

From Jiffy Lube to Sheet Shredders, here’s what to look out for:

Footnotes by 12/18/2018 0Comments

What do I need to bring to FasciAshi class?

What kind of things should you bring to your FasciAshi or Fijian Barefoot Massage class?

 

The list of items to bring ~could vary~ between locations, instructors and classes. Check your email after you sign up for FasciAshi class!

fasciashi-class-suppliesYou will receive a registration confirmation email immediately after signing up for class from info@barefootmassagecenter.com, and another one from your instructor 2-4 weeks prior to your class.

In those emails, you’ll be provided with a specific list of things you’ll need to bring – as it could vary slightly by class and location. Make sure to read everything.

Check with your Instructor directly, as each Training Campus may require you to bring different items, and some of our instructors list exactly what to bring on their biography page here on the website: go check!  You will ~for sure~ need to bring face masks as these are required in our courses, as well as clean sandals that can be sanitized between each client.

 

In the meantime, here are some ways to prepare for class!
Footnotes by 12/13/2018 0Comments

Do you offer webinars, or e-learning online video ashiatsu training?

Do you offer webinars, or ashiatsu e-learning online video training?

No. The Center for Barefoot Massage does not, and will not, teach barefoot massage technique through webinars, or e-learning online video ashiatsu training.

e-learning-online-video-ashiatsu-training
No e-Learning, or Online Video ashiatsu training here.

Down the road we will offer online training and webinars for topics that are not teaching any feet-on techniques, but will be offering invaluable lessons for other aspects of your massage therapy career.

Please read our blogs to learn more about why we hold this stance. We respect the massage industry too much to remove the element of touch therapy from the training process. Even after the pandemic when EVERYTHING pivoted to online training, we continue to believe in the value of live training, and we will not be offering any technique courses online.

We want to train therapists in person, look them in the eyes, touch them with our SOLES, and pass our knowledge onto the next generation of barefoot massage therapists.

Footnotes by 12/07/2018 0Comments

After I take the class, can I train my staff?

We get asked this question a lot – “Can I train my staff when I get back to work?” Or, “My spa director wants me to attend class so that I can train the employees everything I learned!”

Long story short – you cannot teach the work you learn in our classes UNLESS you are accepted into our instructor training program.

By attending our training workshops you will be a part of our professional family, and you’ll represent our work with every step you take.

As such, we have quality assurance and maintenance considerations to prevent any misrepresentation of the work itself, and to halt any unauthorized instructional programs. It is essential that the purity and safety features of our myofascial barefoot massage work, as well as the high-quality teaching standards established for the Center for Barefoot Massages curriculum, be upheld and honored for the continued respect of this lineage, as well as for the growth and support of our loyal FasciAshi practitioners.

This training we provide does not qualify or certify you to teach our protocols, sequences, techniques or methods in any environment, in any capacity. Attending our workshops or acquiring our materials does not qualify you, or give permission to teach any aspect of the technique, or present the FasciAshi format.

Implying that you are an instructor, trainer, a Certified practitioner, or any similar designation in any format is unethical, and goes against the Training and Use Agreement that every one of our adult learner students sign. 

The FasciAshi courses you attend are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the “knowing” the work. While in class, we encourage you to focus on learning the material for yourself, and retain what you can – without any agenda to teach this to your staff or other massage friends. Studies do show that there is never 100% retention level of material presented in adult learning – as humans, we learn what we can, and we take away what is most relevant to us at that time. Attending the course once as a student is not sufficient experience or training to represent any professional technique well. Don’t be come this student.

We want the best training for you, and for the sake of the future of the growing barefoot massage industry, we want the best possible representations being echoed across classrooms. To help our profession grow, as well as our little niche within it, we work very hard to deeply train our experienced staff in many nuances and elements of myofascial barefoot massage and curating a successful learning environment. We do not feel that this work should be passed down by word of mouth, so to speak. Let your staff and friends experience the same depth of information and resources, and encourage them to attend a live training with us. The benefits they will reap will equal yours, and you can continue to grow on your own path at first, and then together as a team.

Unless you have successfully passed our FasciAshi instructor training program that leads to status as a FasciAshi Instructor, and have written consent from the creative forces behind The Center for Barefoot Massage, LLC, you cannot teach what you learn in our classes. If you are interested in teaching FasciAshi, and want to help us spread our toes and expand our footprint on the massage industry, if you resonate with our philosophy, we welcome you to email us your resume and letter of interest to info@barefootmassagecenter.com

The Center for Barefoot Massage and FasciAshi as brands are comprised of a proprietary set of trademarks, logos, and designs. These, along with its copyright materials such as handouts, manuals, posters, media, online resources and other intellectual property is and shall remain in full ownership of The Center for Barefoot Massage, LLC. Any reports that show proof of our intellectual property being reproduced and taught without authorization will be met with legal consequences.

Thank you for understanding and respecting our commitment to barefoot massage excellence.

Footnotes by 12/01/2018 0Comments

What Ashiatsu Massage Table do I need?

You need to have an ashiatsu massage table that will hold your body weight, plus your heaviest client, plus a few hundred extra pounds breathing room within the working weight capacity of that table.

DO YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT THAT WILL SUPPORT THIS WORK?

We ~tend to~ recommend the Earthlite Ellora or the Earthlite Spirit – or something comparable. No aluminum legged portable massage tables.

Barefoot Massage Tables for Ashiatsu, Fijian and Sarga
Our classrooms are stocked with 32″ & 35″ Earthlite Spirits, and many of our instructors have one of the two versions of Earthlite Ellora’s in their treatment rooms – so you can try the tables out during your myofascial ashiatsu training.

There are also other tables that work great to stand on… if your table checks these boxes, then it’s more than likely good for Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage:

  • 32″ wide OR WIDER
  • Double decking (2 or more layers of plywood under all the padding)
  • Wide-set frame around the perimeter of the table, and support beams that cross the width or length for better weight distribution
  • Sturdy, Strong single hinge @ center of table if portable (No extra moving parts, like a tilt)
  • 2 knobs on each wooded leg if a portable table (Aluminum/metal portable tables are not safe)
  • Scissor lift if electric/hydraulic table (not center stand: these will tilt.)
  • 500+ pound working weight capacity (different than static weight capacity)

 

What won’t work?

  • Convertible Lift tables that are a hybrid of an electric lift frame with a flat-folded Portable table on top ARE NOT SAFE and standing on them is not recommended by those manufacturers.
  • Electric/Hydraulic tables with a pedestal lift: look for a scissor lift that is balanced in the center to prevent tipping and motor performance issues.
  • Tables with a tilt: the more moving parts the weaker the table is to stand on
  • Aluminum/Metal legged portable tables: these may not sustain our diagonal vectors of pressure.
  • Lightweight portable tables with a hammock or mesh (non-wood) decking/platform: your foot will sink through the padding!
  • Skinny (less than 30″ wide tables) due to tip hazard and less area to safely stand

TABLE TUNE UP! If your table passed those tests, here’s some tips to give it a quick tune-up before you stand on it:

Portable tables:

  • Flip it on it’s side and tighten EVERY screw. (Including hinge screws, leg-pulley screws, decking screws/bolts.) Don’t tighten so much as to strip them, just make sure there’s no wiggle left.
  • Notice if any plastic washers are broken, or the plastic pulleys. Most of the time these are covered by your table’s lifetime warranty and can be replaced free or cheaply just by contacting the manufacturer. Replace any broken plastic parts ASAP.
  • Notice if the elastic bands are still suspending the cables, and still have elasticity. Contact manufacturer if not.
  • Always make sure that the adjustable table legs are securely attached: if not completely screwed on at each setting, once you stand on the table that bolt can bend, and it will lessen the stability but also make it really tricky to get the adjustable part of the leg on and off later.

Stationary/Electric/Hydraulic Tables:

  • Make sure it’s been leveled out. Most models have adjustable feet, so that you can make sure there is no wobble or tilt. Many models of the Earthlite Ellora are sensitive to this, and after some use, if not properly leveled, will develop a “ping” sound when raising/lowering the height, especially when a client or you are also on the table. The tables can easily get moved with clients getting on and off of them, and with you pushing on them in all directions, so recenter them under yo
  • ur bars regularly, and check the levelness of the entire table often.
  • Make sure no cords are in the way of the moving parts – so they aren’t pinched, kinked, or run over.
  • Check with your table manufacturer about any maintenance that can be done to prolong the life of the motor.
  • Clean and safely position any height adjustment pedals so that nothing interferes with it’s function.

MOAR Table tips, tricks, hacks and ideas:

electric-ashiatsu-massage-table
electric “hydrolic” ashiatsu massage table

 

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.