Ashiatsu barefoot massage, business by Mary-Claire 04/15/2021 0Comments

Knowing your ideal client

Whether you’ve learned barefoot massage already or are pondering your possibilities, it’s important to decide who your ideal client is for barefoot massage.

Really, you should know this even if you haven’t even considered the possibility of taking our classes!

1st consideration

You can’t serve everyone.

Think of big chains.

While it may seem like they serve everyone, they’ve probably narrowed it down something like this-the person

wants the convenience of a membership
doesn’t mind seeing a wide variety of therapists
wants a less expensive massage
is willing to buy products

2nd thought

In trying to have everyone as your client, you are missing out on those who want to find someone who specializes in XYZ.

This brings us to specializing in a modality.

You don’t have to be a barefoot nerd like we are. Some massage therapists love taking a wide variety of CE classes, and we’re into that as well.

But when you offer 37 items on your massage menu, it:

creates confusion with your potential clients
it makes it harder for them to make a decision
ultimately, they’ll probably leave your site
you aren’t seen as an expert in any one field-you look more like a dabbler in modalities.
Just pick a couple of things and get really good at them.

Be known for something specific.

3rd idea

Now that you’ve chosen a thing or 2 to specialize in, who do you want to work with?

My ideal client used to be someone like me (Mary-Claire)-a parent who didn’t have a whole lot of money but wanted to take care of themselves. As a result, I didn’t charge a whole lot.

While noble, that’s not a great idea if you actually want to make a living doing massage therapy.

When deciding your ideal client (also known as an “avatar”), get super specific.

Do you want to work with:

men or women
athletes or wanna be’s
someone who’s working from home and is stressed out
car accident rehab patients
oncology patients (not for barefoot massage, though)
etc. (you catch my drift, right?)

What’s their name?
Do they have kids? How many? Ages?
Pets?
What are their hobbies?
What kind of work do they do?

Be specific as you can. For instance, mine looks something like this:

Bob is a 54-year-old married dad of 2 whose kids are out of the house. He has a Labradoodle named Sals who he takes on walks twice a day. He is an upper-level executive of marketing with Procter and Gamble and likes to hike on his days off. He loves deep tissue massage and is a foodie.

What 3 important facts does this tell me?
1. He has a reasonable amount of disposable income with his job and his kids being out of the house.
2. Bob likes being outdoors and getting exercise.
3. Being a foodie, he is open to new experiences.

Therefore:
1. He would probably like stretching added into his barefoot massages (which I want to do)
2. Bob has enough money and time to take care of himself with regular massage.
3. As a matter of fact, Bob is an ideal client who can afford to come 2x a month to receive massage.
4. He is willing to try new-to-him techniques such as side-lying,

Knowing your ideal client will help you target your social media and marketing to the right potential client.

Interested in learning more about barefoot massage?

Visit us at www.barefootmassagecenter.com

We have tons of Tip and Tricks on YouTube!

And check out our Facebook page

Don’t forget Instagram!

2021 reSOLEution #BarefootMassageChallenge

Join the challenge!

GOAL: Create NEW content that educates YOUR community

Who needs help creating new content for your Barefoot Massage social media accounts?! Over the next 3 months, we will be providing you with coaching prompts and we want to see you adapt it to fit YOUR business. We want to see you create content on your social media account that is unique, engaging, and accurate. We want you to think about creating content that would bring your clients in and connect with them. We want to see you use our examples as inspiration, but not use them as verbatim – change up the idea to fit your voice and branding. THIS CHALLENGE IS FREE and is meant for Center for Barefoot Massage alumni. You can do it live with us and win prizes, and/or you can pick up this challenge anytime and use the prompts as content starting points just to have a fresh take on how you talk about your work. Our goal is to help you create 9 pieces of new, focused content that you can reuse over time in your rotation of posts. In fact, these 9 posts – just 3 a month – can easily become 18 different items thru the bonus challenges! WHO COULDN’T USE 18 NEW THINGS TO POST?!

What you’ll get

3 months worth of focused topics to create NEW social media content, with guidance from the Center for Barefoot Massage Instructors & their local businesses
3 specific assignments each month
End up with 9-18 new pieces of content that are true to your brand AND uses updated Barefoot Massage information: no more re-using outdated, overused lingo or old posts.
Earn points as you post and you can win a free Center for Barefoot Massage shirt, collectible stickers from our instructors across the nation AND an upgraded directory listing on our website to boost your SEO rankings and help more potential clients find you.

CLICK HERE to have your posts counted into the challenge!

SCROLL DOWN TO FIND THE CONTENT YOU NEED TO CREATE EACH MONTH ON YOUR OWN. >>>

Footnotes by Jeni Spring, LMT, BCSI 06/29/2020 0Comments

Does Massage Liability Insurance cover Barefoot Massage?

Great question! Many insurance companies have additional waivers and education requirements to offer services such as Hot Stone therapy, Prenatal Massage, and even Cupping. While no mainstream massage insurance company is currently requiring extra waivers or testing through their own means for Barefoot Massage coverage, it is still something that you’ll want industry-approved training in before providing to the public. (Because after all, that insurance and your license are in place to protect the public as much as yourself!)

To our knowledge, every professional massage liability insurance company currently on the market covers Barefoot Massage techniques that stay within the scope of practice for LMT’s. We recommend that you call to verify with your specific insurance company if they cover ashiatsu, fijian and other barefoot massage styles in general. Our team of instructors have a variety of different coverages, ranging from ABMP to AMTA, MMIP and others – we have each been covered on our professional liability insurance after our initial training with no hassle.

You are essentially doing myofascial release, trigger point therapy, deep tissue, and various models of stretch therapy in the barefoot massage sessions you provide once we have you trained up: you just HAPPEN to be doing these techniques with your feet!

Work within your scope of practice and training.

Do you have the training and a paper trail of proof to show that you are providing the appropriate standard of care for the massage services you offer? That’s VERY important.

Most massage insurance companies will cover barefoot massage services, provided that your are working within your scope of practice and are providing the appropriate standard of care: So if you stick to what we teach you in class, you are set.

Listen to this podcast talking about a comparison of massage insurance companies, from Massage Business Blueprint

Looking for an insurance company that proudly states upfront that Barefoot Massage is covered?

Check out Massage Magazine’s Insurance Plus (MMIP). We even have a $10 off deal for you!

Here are questions to periodically ask yourself on how you stay protected throughout your long massage career:

Are you following ethical guidelines as set forth by your state license and professional massage associations you are a member of?
Are you practicing the techniques as taught in class, as referenced in the study guides provided by that instructor?
Was that instructor an approved CE provider with the state or NCBTMB?
Does that instructor have specialty training in that topic/technique, and have they gone the extra mile with Educator Certifications or affiliations with associations in the field?
Did you learn the technique online or in-person?
If online, can you follow up that training with some in-person, documented mentorship or additional training?
How long has it been since your training – and could you use a refresher to stay on par with its standards of care?
Are the services you provide coming from a place of professionalism and integrity?

The lineage and paper trail of your training could matter if a serious injury or malpractice claim is filed on you.

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by Mary-Claire 03/10/2020 0Comments

Barbicide, Lysol, Beach, oh my!

The world is going through the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

It’s typically spread by people who come in close contact (within 6′) of an infected person or through respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

To protect yourself, (at the time of this blogs posting) the CDC recommends:
1. To clean your hands often-wash with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (especially after you’ve been in a public place, have blown your nose, coughed or sneezed).
2. Use at least 60% alcohol hand sanitizer if soap and water aren’t available.
3. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unclean hands.

And now, onto our GUEST POST, written by a past Center for Barefoot Massage instructor who taught with us for a very short time, but is no longer with the company.

So, this photo is probably my most least Instagram/Facebook worthy. It may, however, be one of my most important posts to date.
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My sanitation practices have not changed since the outbreak. I leave an hour in between each guest so I can clean and disinfect.

I do this *FOR EVERY* client.

I wash my hands
✔︎for 20 seconds before I know you’re arriving
✔︎ for 20 seconds before I begin your treatment
✔︎ again if I need to step away and
✔︎ post-treatment.

Between every client
✔︎I clean the bathroom with disinfectant
✔︎I wipe down my computer, cell phone, iPad, hot towel caddies with Barbicide wipes
✔︎ I spray soft surfaces and door knobs with Lysol
✔︎ I use a fresh Ashi strap for each client and soak them at night

✔︎ I wash my feet and sanitize them with wintergreen alcohol for barefoot massage

✔︎I wear rubber flip flops that are sanitized if I step off the table
✔︎I wash with soap and soak all coffee mugs in bleach water
✔︎I wipe my bars with disinfectant
✔︎ I wash and disinfect any and all tools used during facials and body rituals
✔︎I clean the floor (even though y’all wear slippers to move around in the space)

I have an air purifier to clean the air of viruses, bacteria and impurities.

All linens are washed on a sanitary cycle every night. All whites are bleached. (Pro tip, splashless bleach is not a disinfectant!!! Read the label!)

All blankets, towels and sheets are fresh and are used only on you. I have fresh towels, blankets and sheets for my other guests, there’s no cooties passing around here.
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I’m also asking each client to wash their hands before their treatment begins.
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I know many of you are afraid and many are not.

I will tell you that I do have geriatric clients, I have clients with autoimmune disease, diabetes and some clients who are smokers. People falling in this particular demographic are being hit the hardest, just because you don’t fall in those categories doesn’t mean you’re not susceptible to spread the disease.

Please, I beg you…if you are ill, if a family member or someone in your inner circle is sick…please stay home. I will turn you away if I feel you’re contagious.
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All this being said, the biggest thing you can do to make an impact is by practicing good hygiene by washing your hands.

Also, please be kind ♥️✨ to others while in public spaces. I’ve been reading article after article about rampant xenophobia. We are in this mess together y’all. A little kindness, compassion for others and plain old common decency goes a long, long way.
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I also want to encourage other Massage Therapists, Estheticians, Stylists & Nail Artists to share their sanitation practices here on social media so we can all put our clients’ minds at ease.

We are, have and always will be doing our part to protect you and your health.

The author of this guest post was _{K r i s t y P o u x}

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by Mary-Claire 03/03/2020 0Comments

Using a small pillow for Sidelying barefoot massage bolstering

The benefits of side-lying barefoot massage are plentiful. Once you get past the “my client only wants to lie face down to receive the massage” mentality, you’ll find that you can access a number of muscles more easily when they lie on their side.

Why side-lying barefoot massage?

Providing side-lying barefoot massage allows you as a therapist to have better access and angles to work on shoulders, hips, quadratus lumborum, IT band, adductors, and abductors, to name but a few.

(You can learn side-body barefoot massage in our Intermediate class. We also teach side-lying barefoot work in our Fijian barefoot mat class.)

Sometimes you’ll find that your client (typically women, who are more curvy than men) may have trouble lying on their side as their 11th or 12th rib feels like it’s close to or hitting their iliac crest.

This makes it tricky for even the most skilled barefoot therapist to find the QL, as there’s often not enough space for even the heel. Resorting to the lateral edge of the foot may be a solution, but there’s something super simple you can try instead.

Bolstering with a small pillow

It’s easy fix- small toddler or travel pillow placed under their waist in between their body and the table.

Watch the video to see how Mary-Claire uses the pillow and how it flattens out the client’s torso. This makes barefoot side-lying massage much easier (and more comfortable for both the LMT and the client).

The client simply rolls over when you’re ready to work the 2nd side-the pillow should stay pretty well in place.

If you’re going to use the pillow under their stomach for prone work, they simply roll onto their stomach and adjust as needed. (See this video on how to do that.)

Are they rolling on their back next? Just have them lift up a little, grab the pillow and hand it to you or toss it onto the floor-whatever’s easiest.

Let us know what other bolstering techniques are in your grab bag (or you’d like to see!) in the comments.

Where you can find more info…

Visit our main website to find out more about all our classes at the Center for Barefoot Massage.

Or visit us on Facebook and Instagram!

Ashiatsu barefoot massage by Mary-Claire 02/25/2020 0Comments

Using a small pillow for bolstering the stomach

Have you ever had a client who has back pain while lying on their stomach to receive barefoot massage or even hand-on deep tissue massage?

This is often caused by hyperlordosis. An excessive curve in the lumbar (it’s sometimes seen in the cervical dish as well) can be caused by structural issues such as:

1. kyphosis AKA “dowager’s hump”
2. discitis
3. obesity (especially with a large stomach)
4. spondylolisthesis

Muscular imbalances:
1. weak glutes, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles
2. tight erector spinae, quadratus lumborum (QL), and hip flexors (especially iliopsoas)

If your client is not comfortable lying on their stomach, try using a small pillow between their pelvis and rib cage.

You can use a travel pillow (mine has feathers, which makes it squishy and moveable) or a toddler pillow (with cotton/polyester fill). The toddler pillow is a little smaller.

Check out our Tuesday Toesday Tip video to see how Mary-Claire uses a small pillow to make her clients more comfortable. (It’s just 3 minutes, 35 seconds.)

Next week will be another tip for when you need to bolster women for side-body massage (you do work on clients on your side, don’t you? )

If you haven’t learned sidelying massage, definitely look into our Intermediate class, where we’ll teach you amazing anterior barefoot massage (mmm..quads! pecs!) and super effective side-lying barefoot massage-you’ll reach muscles your clients may never knew they had.

Footnotes by Jeni Spring, LMT, BCSI 08/18/2019 0Comments

How do I find a FasciAshi trained Barefoot Massage Therapist Near Me?

Want to get under our Alumni’s feet? Did you do a google search for “ashiatsu massage near me” but wish the results had myofascial ashiatsu barefoot massage therapists singled out? Let us help you find where they are at!

We know the feeling – once you try Myfoascial Ashiatsu, (AKA FasciAshi) you won’t go back to normal massage – and our Sole Provider directory is how you’ll find those we’ve trained across the nation.

Now, not every barefoot massage therapist will choose to list in our virtual yellow pages – but those who do want to be found will be there.

Here’s how you can get centered under our Sole Providers feet:

3 ways to find the Sole Provider Directory:

Main Menu:

Desktop/Laptop: Hover on the “About Us” section of the menu, then pull down to the “Find a Barefoot Massage Therapist” option

This is what it looks like on a Desktop/Laptop Computer

Mobile Devices: Touch the Hamburger menu (the 3 horizontal lines!) and then touch the arrow next to the “About Us” section…. then touch the “Find a Barefoot Massage Therapist” option!

This is the “Hamburger Menu” on mobile devices

Once you open the Hamburger Menu, this is what it’ll look like on a Mobilie Device!
Scroll down! Look towards the bottom of our page for this image, and click on that! (For all devices!)

On any device, near the bottom of our page, you’ll see this image: CLICK IT!
OR, just follow this link: https://centerforbarefootmassage.com/business-directory/ to find an ashiatsu barefoot massage near you!

I’ve also got a great massage blog post about this topic, here and also here!

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, Barefoot Massage in the News by Mary-Claire 01/03/2019 0Comments

Introducing the world’s first Hot Ashi barefoot massage training

On Wednesday, I wrote about the deliciousness of using heat during a massage. Because of the multitude of benefits that the combination of heat and massage can provide, instructor Sara Newberry and I (Mary-Claire Fredette) teamed together to create the world’s first…

Hot Ashi!

It’s a combination of heated Mother Earth Pillows and, you guessed it, barefoot massage! It’s first in our specialty class lineup.

A little history on how this came about…

I’ve been doing barefoot massage since 2002. The trouble is that my hands and feet were always cold after washing them. A heating pad has been my feet’s friend since about Day 1. When I learned “thermal connective tissue release” Pillossage with Mother Earth founder Karen Kowal back in 2011, I knew I had found the answer to my cold hands.

Footnotes by Jeni Spring, LMT, BCSI 12/31/2018 0Comments

What is Barefoot Massage?

It’s not a foot massage – this is when the massage therapist massages YOU with their feet!

Barefoot Massage is simply the act of using feet as tools to professionally massage with.

Part of our mission here at the Center for Barefoot Massage is not only to cultivate a tribe of smart, educated and informed barefoot massage therapists within the massage industry, but also to educate the public on the benefits of barefoot massage, and what it is. We want to normalize the terminology of “barefoot massage” and make styles within this genre just as recognized and sought after as the typical “sports massage” or “hot stone” massage services are across the nation.

‘The public is just now learning about the difference between a foot massage, reflexology and bare foot massage – and the massage industry is starting to recognize the differences between techniques and styles within the genre.

A trained Barefoot Massage Therapist can use different aspects of their feet to recreate similar sensations that a “Hands-on” massage would deliver. Heels, arches, toes, calves, shins, and knees are employed in various Barefoot Massage techniques, just as fists, palms, fingers, forearms, and elbows are in your average massage from someone’s hands. Similar goals are achieved from each element, but the larger surface area of these tools allows for a diffused, yet distinct pressure that can be less triggering to a person’s pain tolerance.

Just like there are many different styles of massages provided by the upper extremities, there are many different styles of Barefoot Massages.

We teach two different styles of Barefoot Massage: Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage – lovingly nicknamed “FasciAshi” (that’s more of an industry term, though. We don’t expect, or really want the public to use that hard-to-pronounce name!) AND we also teach Fijian Barefoot Massage.

Give it weight, then wait is a pretty heavy theory that we’ve found to be important throughout our entire barefoot massage approach to impact the Neuromyofascial web. Working with fascial integration, navigating the contours of muscle and bone while applying broad, consistent pressure on varying angles, the techniques we teach aim to address the body as a functional whole. The further you get into our courses and specialty track classes, the more you’ll see the importance of sustained pressure and anatomical specificity to best impact your client’s interoception.

Here’s our definition of the Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage that we teach in any “FasciAshi” class:

This style of work is a modern massage approach to barefoot massage where the Licensed Massage Therapist is specifically using their feet to slowly glide along the skin, addressing muscles and interconnected layers of fascia throughout the body. Additional focused tracks of training help the practitioner to specialize in different niches – offering theories and protocols that use a myofascial massage approach but also add in a deep relaxation vibe, a sports massage vibe, or even a more clinical style for pain/injury rehabilitation.

In order to apply variable angles of weighted pressure through different techniques taught in our series of classes, a Barefoot Massage Therapist trained at the Center for Barefoot Massage will just happen to need overhead bars to hold onto, and a suspended strap to lean back into… in addition to their feet. A portion of the working therapist’s body weight up to their entire body weight can be applied in this technique, based on need, safety, the ratio of weight between the client and therapist, and the professionals level of FasciAshi training.

Here’s our definition of the Fijian Barefoot Massage/Matwork that we teach:

We also teach a neuromuscular sports barefoot matwork massage. Fijian Barefoot Massage gets it’s name from it’s country of origin – and when it was first brought to the US, it was not taught with a Neuromuscular, Trigger Point or a Sports Massage intent – but those are the theories that we layer on top of the technique to give insight into each stroke. It’s a faster-paced form of bodywork where the receiving person wears comfortable clothes and lays in various bolstered positions on a floor cushion or Thai/Shiatsu mat.

The working Barefoot Massage Therapist can sit on a chair, sit on the floor, or stand while applying this technique, and the same suspended strap used in our FasciAshi technique is employed to help offer more confidence in balance and leverage. No overhead bars, no lubricant, and no “back walking” are a part of Fijian Massage – it is an aggressive technique but does not ever utilize the therapist’s full bodyweight.

Barefoot Massage styles include, but are not limited to:

Shiatsu
Thai
Swedish/Deep Tissue Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage
Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage: Nicknamed “FasciAshi” THAT’S US!
Fijian
Sarga
Rossiter
…and more!

Luckily, we’ve written blog posts on every interpretation of the question – so read these posts, and share the video below with your clients!

Footnotes by Jeni Spring, LMT, BCSI 11/29/2018 0Comments

Do I need to be a Licensed Massage Therapist to learn FasciAshi?

Do you need to be a Licensed Massage Therapist to learn FasciAshi?

Yes. Attendees in our courses MUST be Licensed Massage Therapists who are legally eligible to provide paid, professional therapeutic massage therapy services to the public in accordance with the laws in their state. Since we are massage therapy educators, we are here to “solely” teach massage therapists.

The Center for Barefoot Massage is working to help support and grow the massage industry, and is only training Licensed Massage Therapists within the field of massage therapy, to those who have the license to touch.

Read the Cancellation Policy

barefoot-massage-ninja — Licensed Massage Therapist can be BAREFOOT Massage Therapists!

MASSAGE STUDENTS who are still attending their entry level, pre-licensing training are not eligible. Those who have attended and completed massage school are also not eligible until you are licensed by the state you are practicing in. This is a new rule as of 2023.

BODYWORKERS who are not licensed but are allowed to practice Rolfing, Shiatsu, Thai, etc, ARE NOT ELIGIBLE to attend our courses without first obtaining a massage therapy license.

If the practitioner resides and practices in a state that is not currently regulated, then prior to registration or within 15 days of the start of class, we will need you to provide a copy of your massage school transcript, showing completion of a minimum of a single 500 hours in-class massage therapy training program. We may also require proof of professional liability insurance.

Tag: barefoot massage