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Tag: ashiatsu

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Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips, Tuesday Toesday, Why FasciAshi? by 07/18/2017 0Comments

Technique TOESday: The power of SOLE sisters!

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~

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 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.”

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips by 06/02/2017 0Comments

Simple homemade scrub for ashiatsu feet

One of the key factors that can make or break your ashiatsu massage is the softness of your feet. Now that the sun’s out and the temperatures have gotten warm, we all want to go barefoot. Unfortunately, that will make your tootsies unpleasant for barefoot massage. After all, our clients are not coming in for an exfoliation, right?

Whether you are getting ready to take your first ashiatsu class or you’re a seasoned barefoot massage therapist, you’ve got to keep those feet baby butt smooth.

Sure, you can pay for a pedicure. Some accountants say it’s even tax deductible. (Check with your own to see if she thinks the IRS will allow that.)

But you can make your own foot scrub to get your feet super soft with just a couple of ingredients and it will cost next to nothing!

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips by 05/26/2017 0Comments

7 reasons why your barefoot massage approach matters

One of the great things about our ashiatsu barefoot massage class is that we bring in outside clients for the students in a class to work on. These are not random people picked up off the street, but rather ashi-experienced men and women who give excellent feedback on technique, approach, dismounts, pressure, etc.

Other than improving pressure and consistency, which definitely takes practice, I universally hear these things from the class clients after having received a full body barefoot massage session in ashiatsu class:

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Pro tips by 05/15/2017 0Comments

Specialty massage–should you charge more?

When I first learned Ashiatsu barefoot massage, my instructor told our class that we should definitely charge more for the modality. The theory behind it was that people would pay more for a specialty massage.

I had been working at a day spa, and we were supposed to charge more for deep tissue and hot stone. “Supposed to” being the key words, as no one ever booked the pricier massage but simply asked for more pressure.

Paying more for hot stone massage–I get it! There’s a lot of prep time and clean up time, so there’s the massage time plus a good additional 15-20 minutes of extra work. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to include the time spent trying to fix my frizz ball hair I had after sticking my head over a hot pot of steaming water. 😉

Bringing ashiatsu to paying clients, the problem I first encountered was that I worked for a chiropractor who did insurance billing. Massage is massage is massage in the land of billing. No upccharge for craniosacral, trigger point, ashiatsu, etc.

On my own–let’s charge more!

So when I started to take my own ashiatsu clients, I decided to charge just $5 more. At the time, my fee was $50/hour, so an extra 5 bucks seemed reasonable. But then my first client, who is 6’3″ and 240 lbs, said he’d love to try it but couldn’t afford $55.  He could barely squeeze out the $50.

“Nevermind!” I answered. “I’ll do ashi anyway because it’ll be easier on me and I know you’ll love it!”

Online Vs. In Person by 05/12/2017 0Comments

Massage classes online?

Where I live in Ohio, massage therapists are not required to acquire continuing education at all, unless you belong to a professional membership, like AMTA or ABMP. The State of Ohio Medical Board, through whom I’m licensed, does not require CE hours.

While there are currently efforts for the Medical Board to require 24 hours of massage continuing education every two years with renewals, I’ve seen some interesting reasons why we “shouldn’t” have to do continuing ed:

  • The human body doesn’t change, so why should we learn more?
  • Classes are too expensive.
  • Massage therapists don’t make enough money-the cost is unjustified.
  • 24 hours is a ridiculous amount. 12 would be – well, okay.
  • I don’t want to waste time on classes that don’t interest me.
  • It’s too hard to leave my business to take classes.
  • Therapists who have been licensed for 10 years + should be exempt.

This, friends, is frightening to me. Not only do some massage therapists not want live classes, but they don’t want classes at all.

For some time, there has been a push for online learning for massage therapists. On the surface, it seems like a good idea. Therapists can take classes at their leisure, in their own time frame, can save money by not having to take off time and work due to live class time and travel.

Online continuing education classes for massage therapists are typically significantly less expensive too. Don’t therapists may feel like they get their best bang for their buck when fulfilling their continuing education requirements online? Probably.

Is this best for the massage industry or for massage therapists, though?