The Center for Barefoot Massage currently offers four different FasciAshi classes- and if you haven’t had a chance to read about them on our website, or experience them first FOOT in class, then here’s a quick overview – and a visual teaser to get you excited!
What’s the difference between the AshiatsuBarefoot Massage that you’ve heard of for years and our new FasciAshi?! ↫ Do you see the word “Fascia” in there? That’s the key to our work.
We teach anatomy based, Fascia-focused strokes that have been developed by a team of experienced and highly trained barefoot massage specialists. FasciAshi (our nickname for MyoFascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage) started in San Antonio at Heeling Sole, but quickly found a collective movement of barefoot massage therapists across the country who wanted MORE out of their cookie-cutter feeling sessions, and it grew into its place as part of the myofascial barefoot massage movement you see today.
Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage is a growing niche in the massage industry – and just like there are many different styles of sports massage or hot stone courses in the Continuing Education market, we are presenting a drastically different new style of Ashiatsu.
It wasn’t until after I had become a massage therapist that I began to understand the benefits of stretching in a massage session. My friend Dave had gotten a massage internship of sorts with a semi-pro hockey team, and he specialized in stretching and sports massage to keep the guys limber and injury free.
Up until that point, I had thought that most clients primarily wanted to lie there like a pancake, flip over, and be pried up off the table when “done”.
So you’ve taken the first step and learned a beginner’s level ashiatsu barefoot massage. Practice and feedback make perfect, so you’ve listened to your practice clients’ constructive criticism and have achieved a certain level of comfort in your barefoot bodywork. But how do you transition your clients to barefoot massage?
Many of us hate the thought of marketing ourselves because we hope that the public will somehow know how fantastic we are (because we put out good vibes, right?).
Maybe you’re worried that because you live in Podunksville that people will think you’re weird for using your feet to massage.
But in your heart and sole 😉 you know that barefoot massage is the best way to give your clients the deep tissue massage they need without hurting yourself. It’s the only way you’ll be able to successfully continue your massage practice for years to come.
Are you excited about the work? Clients will quickly absorb your enthusiasm! Here’s what Sara Newberry Clavenna had to say about her transition.
I went full on ashi all the time. My clients were mostly excited/intrigued which really fueled even more of my excitement. It really helped that I was super stoked before I went to the training.
Dawn Dotson had the same approach, saying she “started the hype” before she went to class proceeded to incorporate it with her clients right away. Importantly, she also “proceeded to get feedback. I spent a good 30 extra minutes on feedback and follow-up after each session.”
Another experienced massage therapist did the same, “I simply told my clients we were doing a new thing and that was that.”
Importantly, they did not charge more for barefoot massage, because they had already figured out it was the key to career longevity.
Most of us can figure out that ashiatsu barefoot massage is going to be deeper than hands-on massage simply by seeing that gravity does a lot of work for the massage therapist. How much pressure can you get with barefoot massage versus hands and forearms?
Today we have an easy-to-do cool little trick is for you. All it takes is your massage table (you can use your dining room table to check your hand/forearm pressure if you’re at home), a scale, and a board. The board simply gives a solid surface for the scale. I used a cutting board. (You can skip the board if you’re checking this out on your eating table.)
Put the scale on the floor to see how deep you can go with your foot if you don’t have ashiatsu bars!
Have you gotten sucked into the Pinterest vortex yet? It’s is such a great place to learn about amazing products and projects, to reference articles that you’ve seen but don’t have time to read just yet. Ready to learn more about all things barefoot massage? Head on over to our FasciAshi boards! If we get started on Pinterest, time flies,…
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…
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.
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.
The FasciAshi faculty is lucky to be rooted in a strong network of “Sole Sisters”, as many of us have been friends, colleagues and online buddies for years. Even though we are all about a half days travel away from one another, we talk almost daily, so when we do get to meet up it’s as if no time has passed at all! With Jeni, and 4 other instructors all in the same place at the same time this week at the Barefoot Massage Summer Camp in San Antonio, we thought we’d make today’s “Tuesday TOESday” tip all about how you can combine forces with another massage therapist friend to grow BOTH of your businesses and careers in Barefoot Massage!
Sole Sisters and FasciAshi Ashi-Friends can help your Ashiatsu business succeed!
…read more by clicking on the “continue reading” link below~