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.
Any ashiatsu therapist who loves to do seated work will tell you that you need to make sure you stretch your hip flexors. I personally often can spend 20-30 minutes doing seated work during a 90 minute session (depending on the client’s needs.)
You need to make sure you keep your hip flexors loose in order to do this or you’ll end up walking like Quasimodo.
This move is like your typical runner’s stretch, but it has an added component: the side stretch.
This time of the year, many of us are struggling with warm hands and feet when we do our barefoot massage. In fact, I often have a problem in the summertime too when the air conditioning is cranking. Today, we’ve got a cheapo heating pad to the rescue.
Firstly, the directions tell you not to lie on the heating pad, but that’s because the manufacturers don’t want you to fall asleep on one and burn yourself. I’ve had an unlucky client who lost her match with the heating pad this way (at home).
Standing on it is ok because you’re really on there for a short while. Plus, you’re awake. And you can tell if it gets too hot. By that time, you have been happily massaging with those hot feet.
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…
Recently, Jeni wrote a blog post about how to re-apply lubricant to her ashiatsu client by applying it to her shin. Today I’m sharing another easy way to add ashiatsu cream. Sometimes I wear long leggings or stretchy jeans (Must. Have. Stretch.) that come down to my ankles and so I can’t keep extra cream on my shins.
Why does this whole applying cream thing matter?
If you put cream all over your hands like you do for hands-on massage, the bars will get slimed up. When the bars are slippery, you need to grip them tighter. Because you grip the bars tighter, your forearms get sore. And then you’ve taken away part of the reason why you’ve learned ashiatsu in the first place: to save your hands and forearms from undue stress.
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!
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.
The gear you use in an Ashiatsu Massage makes all the difference, especially once you start to figure out how to use different options to your benefit! When I first started offering Ashiatsu, I used those typical circle-shaped bar stools. (I actually still have the first pair that I bought for class!)
I think I waited too long to upgrade my barstool to a different shape. I’ve got long limbs and long toes, I had no issues reaching my clients, so why fix something that ain’t broke!? Well, turns out that getting closer in proximity during the supine neck work will open up more options to how you massage with your hands and feet simultaneously!
In almost every massage I receive, I adjust the preset face cradle position as soon as I lay down in it. Sometimes it’s still set to the person who was on table prior to me, or maybe the LMT just snapped it into a random setting right before my session. Most of the time, I adjust the face cradle postioning because I know that an uncomfortable pillow can RUIN my entire experience during the massage.
…I can’t be the only massage therapist who does this, right?!
Read on, and watch the video below to see how we position a face cradle for an Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage.