1. Lengthen your massage career. How long did it take you to discover that the average career span of a massage therapist is 3-5 years (or 5-7, depending on the source)? They certainly didn’t tell me (Mary-Claire) about that in massage school. I think I found out somewhere along the way. Maybe it was when I started having tendonitis in…
“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.
This question of “how do I go deeper in a massage so I don’t hurt myself” recently came up in a massage group in which I belong. Of course, my obvious answer to learn barefoot massage and directed her to our website.
Sometimes it’s just not possible to take an ashiatsu class anytime soon. Maybe the kids are back in school, your rottweiler just had a hip replacement, or perhaps taking time off work and traveling simply isn’t an option at that moment.
Where do your start your massage? At the feet? Perhaps at the client’s initial complaint area? At their upper back or in their neck? With their breath?
There’s not a wrong answer here, it all has to do with the theory you choose to approach the massage with.
Having procedures and protocols can produce results – but every client and every condition is different. Learning a routine massage and always sticking to it is like being on autopilot: it might always produce the same results, but you may be bored, uninspired… and your clients progress may plateau.
Read a few of the ideas below, and see if changing up the sequencing of your next massage helps you and your client get the results you are looking for!
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?
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?