Are you tough enough to challenge the way you massage? Can you question the way you think about WHY you do what you do during each massage? Step up to our 5 week massage challenge that will change your massage game. Last week we had you start at the clients feet and see how that changes your perspective. How did…
Are you tough enough to challenge the way you massage? Can you question the way you think about WHY you do what you do during each massage? Step up to our 5 week massage challenge that will change your massage game.
To coincide with the Crossfit Open, a 5 week long worldwide online challenge with a different workout every week, I thought we’d do one of our own!!! Whether you massage with your feet or not, whether you know FasciAshi or not, it doesn’t matter: this Ashi-Challenge is open to every massage therapist! Shake things up, push yourself and try to incorporate the challenge into whatever massage you have on the books – lets see what happens.
If you are already massaging with your feet, you’ve probably spoken with clients who perceive “Barefoot Massage” to be some kind of foot massage, like reflexology.
“Oh I LOVVVE to get my feet rubbed” is one of the top responses I get when I introduce myself as a Barefoot Massage Therapist.
::eyeroll:: <
Just laugh it off and show them this video:
Is Ashiatsu the same as Barefoot Massage? What is the difference between a Barefoot Massage and a Foot Massage?
WOW! So many questions, and we get them often from our clients as well as from massage therapists. I’m sure you’ve either asked, or have been asked these questions, too. So lets break it down!
Barefoot Massage is a growing specialty in the massage therapy industry where the massage professional utilizes their FEET as tools to give the massage rather than hands. A foot massage is where the clients feet are being massaged through techniques such as Reflexology, Acupressure, Thai Foot Massage, or a general foot rub – like what you may receive from a Nail Technician during a pedicure. A Bear Foot massage is another thing entirely, ha!
“Give it weight, then wait” to impact the fascia (but really, the nervous system) is a pretty heavy theory that we’ve found to be important to our FasciAshi technique. Addressing the deep fascial bands, navigating the contours of muscle and bone, and applying a great amount of pressure directly to specific tissues creates a form of myofascial release that your hands only WISH they could achieve with such consistency and accuracy. The broad pressure from a Barefoot Massage is a no brainer for deep bodywork. Moving slower, OR NOT AT ALL, helps you get to that “deeper than deep tissue” feeling so many clients are looking for.
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.
Mindfulness in massage is all about being present, focusing on the experiences happening in the current moment. In FasciAshi, even though you are “using your feet to massage,” you are honestly utilizing your whole body. Experienced ashiatsu therapists will start to dance across their clients bodies, focusing on where the clients fascia and their own intuition leads them within a session. The mindfulness of their massage becomes a sort of movement meditation.
We know learning how to massage “from scratch” all over again is a huge change. It can be humbling to your ego when your ease and natural hands-on massage skills don’t immediately translate all the way down to your feet.
Confidence and competence while applying FasciAshi techniques starts in class. A mindfulness approach that flows into your practice bridges the gap between classroom and clinical knowledge.
If you’ve ever had a barefoot massage client who is so tall that they have to duck to get through your doorway, then you can bet they’ll be so tall that they’ll dangle off the ends of your ashiatsu massage table, too! Today’s tip tells you about a little-known massage table accessory – the head rest extender. You can also…
The American Massage Therapy Association promotes massage awareness in the public with “Massage Therapy Awareness Week“. We’re going to add the word “barefoot” since, well, that’s what we do. 😉 Barefoot massage has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but it’s really been popular in the US for a comparatively short while.
We wrote about Daniel Nowozeniuk winning 2nd place in the Freestyle category at the World Massage Championship this May (2017). While technically he wasn’t barefoot since he wasn’t allowed to shed his shoes, he gave a fantastic rendition with his feet on the table while wearing Vibrams. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and intuitively inventive people from all around the world have dipped their toes into the world of barefoot bodywork because it was more effective than using hands, thumbs, and elbows.
A big part of what we at the Center for Barefoot Massage stands for is the growth of the ENTIRE niche field of barefoot massage. We want every massage therapist to learn how to use their feet to massage, in some form or another, at some point in their career. We want the massage industry to know what barefoot massage is. We want the term BAREFOOT MASSAGE to be as recognized as hot stone and sports massage. #BarefootMassageWorldDomination!!! It starts with simply knowing about some of the staple styles: so here we go!
Today we’ll show you how to levitate your clients.
Jeni made an Instagram post explaining this earlier in the summer, so some of you may already have practice with this magic trick…
All you’ll need is an Earthlite Ellora electric table – a bamboo stick, and your feet! It’s not just a Halloween trick, it’s a treat for you!