fbpx
0 items - $0.00 0
0 items - $0.00 0

Author page: Mary-Claire

HomeAuthor page: Mary-Claire
Massage, Pro tips by 08/08/2017 0Comments

Tuesday TOESday–help your massage client cover their stuff!

One of the benefits of teaching is that we learn every time we teach. It may be what NOT to do 😉 but sometimes it’s something cool. One of my students in my last class showed us this cool tip as to how to effectively (and we’re all about effective) cover their bits and parts when they get up off the massage table. This trick is good for any massage therapist!

Normally, they’d get up off the table when you’re not in the room. But say they need to go to the bathroom and time’s short, so they don’t want you to have to step out for them to get dressed or wrapped up.

OR you’re taking a massage class and you don’t feel comfortable being all butt nakedy in a room full of strangers when you get up off the table.

Read on (or save yourself some time and just watch the video)!

The client needs to be lying on his / her back for this to work

  • Cover up their shoulders with the corners of the fitted sheet.
  • Have them sit up, holding the flat sheet against their chest. The fitted sheet should stay put on the shoulders.
  • Ask them to put one leg on each side of the table–make sure their feet are uncovered.
  • Pull up the bottom corners of the fitted sheet and have the client pull them through his / her legs.

Voilà!

They have on the biggest cloth diaper you’ve ever seen, and all the private parts stay private.

As they say in the film biz, “It’s a wrap!” (Get it? A massage client wrap! 😉 )

Happy Tuesday TOESday!

 

 

Massage, Pro tips by 08/04/2017 0Comments

Who’s your ideal massage client?

Many of us niche down pretty well after we’ve been doing massage for a long time. All of our instructors specialize in Ashiatsu barefoot massage. Some add in a little this or that in addition (like Pillossage or cupping), but we are, in essence, barefoot therapists. Who’s your ideal client for your massage?

When we first start out, our answer is usually, “EVERYONE!”

Massage therapists have a tendency to massage the way they’d like to be worked on. Love cranial? That’s probably your jam. NMT? You’ve likely taken a lot of classes.

What clients do you want to have?

You can’t determine who your ideal client is if you don’t have a firm handle on what your business is and what it does best. -Stephen Sheinbaum, Founder, Bizfi

My ideal client when I started massage is not the same as it is now.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips, Tuesday Toesday, Why FasciAshi? by 08/01/2017 0Comments

Tuesday TOESday – using twin sheets for ashiatsu

My flannel massage sheets are the bomb. They are perfect for ashiatsu for several reasons.  The fitted sheets are nice and snug, so my toes don’t get stuck in them when I move around, and they’re super comfy. Other massage sheets work well also (some of our instructors love Comfy Co.), but I’ve worked mostly with the flannel.

Twin sheets from anywhere work great for hands-on massage or for barefoot massage if you’ve got a wider table (like the 35″ Earthlite Spirit and Ellora that we love). However, my table I use regularly is 32″.

So when I recently purchased some lightweight twin sheets for summertime use, I had a little ashiatsu conundrum. My toes got stuck in the sheets whenever I turned, and the extra fabric got in the way, twisty and pulling when the client rolled over.

If you use flat sheets on the bottom, it’s easy to pull the corners into a knot to keep the sheet snug on the table, but it doesn’t work for extra loose fitted sheets. While I did consider cutting the sheets and resewing, that seemed like a waste of time and effort, so I pulled an old trick out of the bag that I hadn’t used in years–rubber bands.

How to fix your sheets so they work for barefoot massage:

You just need 2 regular sized rubber bands (you can use hair ties too if you have those handy.) Pull the sheet super snug in one corner, wrap a rubber band around it a few times until it stays put, and tuck the extra fabric under the sheet.

Do the same thing on the other side, and voilà! You’ve got a snug sheet for your barefoot massage, and you won’t trip on the extra fabric.

Just make sure you take the rubber bands off before you wash the sheets, or your sheet won’t get clean. Plus, the bands may melt in the dryer. Can you say “messy”? 😉

Do you have any favorite tips you’d like to share?

 


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.
Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Why FasciAshi? by 07/28/2017 0Comments

Look ma, no hands! (on massage)

I have raved about Ashiatsu for 15 years. “Save your hands!” I’d cry. “Take a class and learn barefoot massage! Extend your career! Give your clients the deep tissue massage they crave without hurting yourself,” I’d urge.

I don’t do hands-on massage. Ashiatsu barefoot massage is the name of the game.

Last week, a client whom I  haven’t seen in years called me to ask about massage.  “I see on your website you don’t do house calls or hands-on massage anymore,” she started with. Correct. I don’t do hands-on massage, with the exception of the occasional pregnancy massage.

So she scheduled a one-hour barefoot massage at my office for her and one for her husband the following day.

A few days later, she called me back to tell me that she had misplanned, and was there any way I could go to her house downtown (a 25-minute drive) and give her husband a hands-on massage for his birthday?

I don’t do hands-on massage, I protested internally.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by 07/21/2017 0Comments

Whose Ashiatsu photos and videos can you use?

So you’re marketing your barefoot massage biz but haven’t had time to get your photos taken or videos shot. And, man! It’s so expensive. The internet has some amazing ashiatsu photos and videos–they’re online, so you can just use them, right? Wrong! Today we’re going to talk about what you can legally use and what you can’t.

Can I use a photo I found off the internet?

  • Did you ask the photographer for and receive permission? Yes.
  • If the photographer asks for photo credit / website link and YOU DO THAT, yes.
  • Did you screenshot it and figure you could just tell people where it came from? No.
Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Massage, Pro tips by 07/05/2017 0Comments

Deeper barefoot massage using one foot

If you use your feet like your hands to massage, with intention, then your ashiatsu massage will not only be more therapeutic, but you’ll find your session time fly by faster. Getting specific in your barefoot massage and paying attention to details will make your ashiatsu session stand out from others’.

When I worked at a chiropractor’s office years ago, there were 2 other ashiatsu barefoot therapists there.  Doc told me once that my barefoot massage was way deeper than the others’ – and it had nothing to do with our strength or size.

How could that be?

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips, Tuesday Toesday, Why FasciAshi? by 07/04/2017 0Comments

Tuesday Toesday – are your heels soft for barefoot massage?

Up until 2002, I was one of those people who walked around barefoot whenever possible. While my feet were prettier looking than Frodo’s, no one would have wanted for me to use them to massage them. My entire life I had struggled with dry, cracked heels that were painful in the winter time and were mildly better in the summer.

That changed when I decided to learn barefoot massage. I got my first pedicure ever. There’s only so much you can do with Hobbit feet, though, I guess. I started wearing shoes instead of sandals and regularly scrubbed my feet with a foot file, testing the softness with my hands.

Miracle of miracles, this all helped to make my feet soft enough for barefoot massage, or so I thought.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Massage, Pro tips by 07/02/2017 0Comments

Create your own massage pathway

According to the AMTA industry fact sheet, it is estimated that there are 325,000 to 375,000 massage therapists and massage school students in the United States.*

So, how do we set ourselves apart and stand out from the sea of LMT’s in the field? It’s becoming more and more crucial to do so, as there are not only more massage therapists but also massage chains and franchises popping up everywhere.

If you’re an independent LMT like myself, it’s impossible to compete with a $39 massage from a franchise. Instead of contending with rock bottom rates, try and differentiate in distinct ways.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips, Tuesday Toesday, Why FasciAshi? by 06/20/2017 0Comments

Tuesday Toesday – using a meditation pillow

Having an electric massage table solves a lot of problems for barefoot massage therapists, one of which is the ability to use only one stool instead of two. You simply raise or lower the table according to your needs. When using a portable massage table, ashiatsu therapists typically need 2 stools–that is, until now, for we’ve got a meditation pillow to the rescue.

Typically when an Ashiatsu therapists does work while the client is on the table and she’s seated, she will need a taller stool. Proper alignment calls for the therapist’s hips to be about the level of the client’s back when she’s doing seated work.

However, we don’t recommend standing on the tall stool because the higher you go, the more unstable your stool will be. Plus, you end up with crummy body mechanics-you’ll end up hurting yourself or tipping the stool forward onto the client’s head. I’ve been on the receiving end of that and definitely don’t recommend that.

Having an electric table resolves the need for a taller stool because you just raise and lower your table as needed. Doing seated work, lower your table. Standing? Raise it. Jeni’s got a quick video explanation of how she does it using a bamboo stick.

The problems with having to switch out stools in the middle of your session are:

  • you have to pick up or slide the stool out of the way and then
  • pick up / slide the other stool into place

The difficulty lies in that the client’s head is only a couple of inches from your stool. If you’re not extremely careful, you’ll either hit the wall with one of the stools, which makes a big “clunk” or you’ll hit the face cradle.

Add into the time involved in switching out your stools, and the client may wonder what’s going on.

Using a meditation bolster completely resolves this issue. Now, the ashiatsu therapist can just use the short stool. When she needs to be higher, she quickly and quietly can simply place the bolster onto the short stool.

[youtube id=”dMOhGpJcC-s”]

I’ve tried a couple of different kinds-one was filled with flax seed (or maybe buckwheat hull) and is squishy. It made a lot of noise when I sat on it, and it wasn’t terribly stable.

The kind that I’m using now are filled with cotton, are 6″ thick and are super stable and quiet.

An added bonus is that my SITS bones aren’t sore from sitting on a hard surface.

I tell you where I got this bolster in the video. They have lots of different colors. I simply chose paisley because I figured it would help disguise any random ashiatsu cream or oil drips. Students tend to be a little messy sometimes. 😉

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips by 06/16/2017 0Comments

Extending your massage career-avoiding burnout

Learning Ashiatsu was, by far, the best choice I’ve made in learning how to extend my massage career. However, after making a big financial and time commitment is when most massage therapists discover that their career may only last 3-5 years. Massage burnout and injury are the 2 biggest reasons.

Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals has reported that the burn out rate within the industry has been estimated at 50% to 88% within the first 3 to 5 years after graduation.

Massage Therapy Schools Information reports that “enrollment statistics seem to support this with over 50,000 students enrolling per year with 45,000 that leave the field annually.”