fbpx
0 items - $0.00 0
0 items - $0.00 0

Tag: massage therapist

HomeAll PostsTag: massage therapist
Ashiatsu barefoot massage by 05/11/2021 0Comments

3 Reasons to Learn Barefoot Massage

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 my right elbow and pain in my left pisiform.

After a while, I would drive home from work and grasp my steering wheel at a traffic stop, stretching my forearm flexors and pounding on my extensors.

Had I not learned barefoot massage in 2002, my career would have been over. I might have lasted until 2003, but I certainly wouldn’t be going for 22+ years.

If you do barefoot massage correctly (yes, you can do it wrong and injure yourself!), you’ll have unlimited years to work in your field

One of Mary-Claire’s classes. (pre-pandemic)

2. Clients love it

I have never had a client ask me to get off the table and switch to hands-on the 1st time I’ve given them barefoot massage.

But you have to have the right client on the table.

First, there are people who hate feet. It’s not your feet, but everyone’s. Don’t try to convince them to try barefoot massage. It’s a lost cause.

Next, you have the client who needs the work, but they’re reluctant, because it’s “weird”. BUT they’re desperate for results and are afraid that surgery will come next. So they’ll try it.

Sara Newberry is using our strap for excellent body mechanics, heat and joint movement.

Lastly, you have the people who think barefoot massage is going to be the most amazing thing ever. They walked on their parent’s back, they have their kids walk on their back, or maybe they’ve gotten another form of barefoot massage somewhere else.

I have found that clients who try ashiatsu barefoot massage NEVER go back to “regular” hands-on massage if they can help it.

(Of course, you need to practice and be good at your barefoot massage craft.)

Most of my clients have also reported that the results of barefoot massage last longer than traditional deep tissue.

PLUS ashiatsu barefoot feels wwwwaaaaayyyy better than pointy thumbs and pokey elbows!

3. You’ll differentiate yourself from other massage therapists

Once you try barefoot massage, you’ll never go back to “regular” massage. Shirt design by Jeni Spring.

✔️How many massage therapists are there in your city?
✔️How many do deep tissue?
✔️What percentage do barefoot massage?

I am one of the few in a large city (Cincinnati) who specializes in barefoot massage. I have trained others, but they have moved or didn’t get comfortable with it or closed their business (or whatever).

Regular clients drive up to 45 minutes to see me.

In fact, I drive 45 minutes to see MY barefoot massage therapist. Why? Because there’s no one else around, and it’s what I want.

What are 3 reasons massage therapists learn barefoot massage?

  1. Lengthen / save your career
  2. Clients love it
  3. You’ll differentiate yourself from other massage therapists

What’s stopping you from learning?

Or if you’ve already learned, do you specialize! Let us know.


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!

Mary-Claire Fredette has been licensed as a massage therapist in Ohio since the last century.

Seriously.

She learned barefoot massage in 2002 and hasn’t looked back, beginning teaching in 2004.

You can find her classes in her natural light studio in Cincinnati.

She co-founded the Center for Barefoot Massage with husband Paul and the barefoot massage idea-preneur Jeni Spring in 2017..

Ashiatsu barefoot massage, business, Massage, Pro tips by 05/04/2021 0Comments

Are you working to your detriment?

Most of us went into the field of massage because we wanted to help people.

Maybe we already were giving out shoulder rubs on everyone we could get our hands-on. Perhaps we just knew that we weren’t meant to be a counselor (ahem, Mary-Claire here, speaking from experience).

But we had the heart to serve, to help others, to make them leave our offices happier than they were when they came in.

Into massage school we ran, eager to have the license to practice.

Did they tell you that the average career span of a massage therapist is 3-5 years (or 5-7 years, depending on the source)?

Or did you find out later?

Why do you think that is?

While there are a number of factors in play, one of the big reason is injury, pain, and burnout.

Simply stated, we work to our detriment.

What does that mean, exactly?

Most of us do/did our best to provide the massage experience that the legit client wanted.

More pressure? Sure!

Deeper in that spot! No problem.

Can you hang out here for a while? My pleasure.

In the meantime, our backs started to act up. Or maybe we discovered a little tendonitis or tenosynovitis.

We start cracking our knuckles a little more, pounding on our forearms while we sit at a traffic stop, gripping the steering wheel so we can have the added stretch of a bent wrist.

I have a client who was a massage therapist for many years, longer than I have been (and it’s 22+ years for me).

While she had learned barefoot massage years ago, she never got really comfortable with it, was clunky, and the clients didn’t love it.

So she continued to do what she’d been doing-providing her clients with awesome deep tissue massage via her hands.

Until she couldn’t.

She couldn’t push past the pain anymore. Actually, she had to see a doctor because she couldn’t grip things anymore and was starting to drop the items she held in her hands.

Permanent damage, friends.

Permanent damage was caused by overworking herself to make her clients happy.

This is preventable.

If you’re going to offer deep tissue massage as a career, please get good at barefoot massage.

And it’s not going to happen if you take an online class. It may not happen if you only take 1 live class.

You may need to retake your 1st class (especially if it takes a while to get the bars up).

And you will certainly be better with each continuing ed class you take.

Is there anything preventing you from a long lasting deep tissue massage career?

The ball’s in your court.


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!

Mary-Claire Fredette has been licensed as a massage therapist in Ohio since the last century.

Seriously.

She learned barefoot massage in 2002 and hasn’t looked back, beginning teaching in 2004.

You can find her classes in her natural light studio in Cincinnati.

She co-founded the Center for Barefoot Massage with husband Paul and the barefoot massage idea-preneur Jeni Spring in 2017.

Massage by 08/11/2017 0Comments

What do massage therapists really think about my body?

“I’d never get a massage,” a friend once confessed to me. “You’d see how fat I really am.” And “I’m SO SORRY! I didn’t shave my legs!” another confesses when you’re about to start the massage. Do massage therapists care about extra cush or stubble? What do we really think about your body?

Most massage therapists are honored that their clients trust them to touch them with healing intent. It doesn’t matter what color you are, if you’re bloated from that big burrito you ate during lunch (yes, gas happens. It’s ok.), if you broke your razor or if you’re chunky.