Have you ever noticed that barefoot massage therapists and their clients talk about barefoot massage like it’s something even better than massage? There’s a reason for that! For all the claims we make about it being great for pain and stress, sometimes we forget to talk about why we believe our work is head and shoulders above the rest.
First, we stand on the table while we work so we are literally, physically “head and shoulders” above most other therapists. Second, barefoot massage is, by its very nature, deep tissue massage.
Because we have access to all of our body weight when applying pressure, we are uniquely positioned to offer a targeted and much deeper deep tissue experience than a hands-on massage therapist can deliver.
Good News!
Research supports what we barefoot massage therapists already know. A 2011 study by Romanowski, Romanowska, and Grzeskowiak compared the effects of Therapeutic Massage techniques to Deep Tissue Massage techniques for chronic low back pain. It found that Therapeutic Massage techniques were good, but Deep Tissue Massage techniques offered significantly greater results in pain relief.
In case you want to dig down into the numbers or the very specific techniques that comprise Therapeutic versus Deep Tissue massage, you can read A Comparison of the Effects of Deep Tissue Massage and Therapeutic Massage on Chronic Low Back pain here or the full study can be found here.
And yes, we can do all those things with our feet. Excepting the parts about fingers, we just use a different part of our foot to accomplish the techniques they’re referring to in the study. Our training also teaches us how to very carefully and specifically use our body weight and feet to safely access muscles, tendons, and ligaments to deliver a very deep pressure massage.
And this isn’t the only study that shows massage therapy is good for low back pain. Another study comparing massage therapy versus relaxation techniques concluded that massage therapy is effective in reducing pain, stress hormones and symptoms associated with chronic low back pain. It also found that massage therapy improves range of motion in the same study.
It’s great to see more research being conducted on massage therapy and its benefits. It’s even better that we finally have scientific proof that massage therapy works!
Barefoot massage is a collection of styles of massage performed with the therapist’s feet. In addition to using their hands, barefoot massage therapists use their feet to deliver a deeper massage than what can safely and comfortably (for both) be achieved with the hands. That might look like a therapist on the table using overhead support during the massage or it may be you on a mat on the floor as the therapist is standing and/or seated to deliver the massage. You may be clothed or unclothed depending on the style of barefoot massage you’re about to experience.
I am trained in several different styles of barefoot massage and regularly offer three unique barefoot services. Why only three if I’m trained in more than that? Because learning many different methods and skills tend to inform all of my work and I chose to simplify the offerings into three distinct categories.
What is Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage?
I offer what I call Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage. This method has the client lying unclothed and draped on the table while I use my feet to compress, glide, and distract the client’s tissues to achieve a therapeutic, myofascial, deep tissue massage. I will also use an overhead support structure for balance and support as well as a suspended strap to lean into for lateral body work. This style of massage offers a comfortably deep experience that addresses muscle, fascia, and joint function. Other barefoot massage practitioners may define ashiatsu as something different depending on when and where they were trained.
What is Barefoot Stretch Therapy?
I also offer Barefoot Stretch Therapy which involves the client on the table, typically clothed unless it’s integrated with other massage sessions. During Barefoot Stretch Therapy I will again use my feet to guide the client’s body through a series of Thai Yoga stretches, range of motion movements, and muscle compressions. Barefoot Stretch Therapy is a very effective method for keeping joints moving throughout their healthy range of motion, encouraging synovial fluid to flood and nourish the joints, and easing pain associated with arthritis.
What is Fijian Barefoot Massage?
Fijian Barefoot Massage is the third barefoot service I regularly offer. It is what you’ll see me doing if you find me at an outdoor event or a health and wellness fair. This massage finds a fully-clothed client on a mat on the floor where I’ll use my feet to perform a compressive, neuromuscular, sports-style massage. This technique is a faster paced massage that I perform seated or standing using a chair or suspended strap for any needed support. It’s an aggressive technique that is deep, but you won’t find a therapist using their full body weight or both feet during this massage. This style of barefoot massage is a great option for massage anywhere and benefits athletic recovery as well as weekend warriors who have overdone it.
So as you can see, barefoot massage is, simply, massage. We just happen to do that massage with our feet!
So in this next edition of Learning in the Time of COVID-19, I want to tell you about a correspondence course that I took early on in our shutdown phase. It’s called the Roll Model Method and it’s something I’ve been interested in for a while, but just never had the time to really dig into.
Time definitely hasn’t been a problem with this Stay at Home and now Safer at Home business so when I discovered they had a correspondence course I jumped at it!
The correspondence course came with a textbook and a complete set of the balls that you need to make your way through the coursework. Which is a plus since it comes right to your door and you don’t have to be traipsing all over the place looking for equipment.
What is it, exactly?
Good question! It’s a self-care modality using squishy, grabby, rubbery balls to give yourself a myofascial “massage”. I’m using those quotation marks (#quotationmarksmatter) around massage because it’s NOTHING like what happens on a massage table with a professional, trained massage therapist. But it does give you some of the benefits of a massage – like pain and stress relief. Is it going to “fix” an issue? Maybe, maybe not, but it gives you some agency over your healing in a time when you can’t get to your massage therapist.
Why do I want to give myself a “massage”?
Because right now, if you can find a massage therapist who is working, they’re swamped and you can’t get in to see them. And because you probably have some sort of pain that could be helped with a little bit of attention. And if you can’t identify any pain, you probably have some stress, anxiety, or grief happening.
Wait, these balls can help with stress?
Yep, I was skeptical at first too, but as I made my way through the coursework I started to notice that the time I spent with with the squishy orbs became meditative and was activating my parasympathetic system (rest and digest). And if you’ve been around me at all you already know there’s a lot of science behind meditation and parasympathetic activation. Oh! AND, I learned a body hack to activate the parasympathetic system while taking this class. It makes so much sense and I already knew it, but had never put the science with the actions until I was talking to a colleague who was also taking the class. If you want to learn more about that, take a look at my Idle Sole Wellness Series where I talk about a lot of body hacks (including this one) for taming stress and anxiety.
Want to learn more?
Well, you can go get your own correspondence course or you can call me and we can customize a plan for you that targets your specific issues. And, best of all (for right now), we can do it virtually so no worries about transmitting those COVID cooties to one another!
But…I’m having trouble concentrating right now
Totally normal. No, really, there’s a lot of evidence that when we’re in states of high stress it’s really hard to concentrate. That’s why I’m introducing you to this form of self-care and giving you the option of working with me versus having to read the whole textbook. Anything that helps us drop out of that sympathetic (fight, flight, freeze) nervous system state into the more relaxed, rest and digest state is a good thing to learn!
Peace, y’all! I hope everyone is well and safe and learning in the time of COVID-19 in whatever form those lessons may be.
This last year has been a, “Blink and you missed it,” kind of year. I can hardly believe it’s been an entire year since Alabama Barefoot Massage Training Center opened its doors to students!
Sadly, we are still closed due to COVID-19. In fact, we should be teaching Fijian Barefoot Massage this weekend, but nothing is normal right now.
Check out the schedule below for other opportunities for training this year! We are hoping it will be safe enough to run our classes as soon as July.
So it’s not that I wanted to spend even more money on learning in the time of COVID-19. What with still not being back to work, but I figured it would be less stressful to get my NCBTMB Board Certification requirements done. Last night I spent a couple of hours getting my Ethics hours done, filling out the NCBTMB application, and of course paying the fees.
I got my paper saying that I passed the test, the email saying my application was accepted and under review, and now I wait for my new certificate to come in the mail.
What are you learning during the time of COVID-19? If the answer is, “I can’t concentrate on anything right now,” there’s a reason for that and it’s perfectly ok. I had a hard time getting through this ethics course because it’s so hard to concentrate right now.
If you’ve been following along over on my Facebook page, you’ll have seen the video that I did talking about this new project I’m developing to help everyone experiencing stress, anxiety, and pain right now. I decided to call it Idle Sole Wellness because, well, my soles aren’t working right now and I need something to keep myself busy!
I wanted to go ahead and get this information out into the universe even though not everything is in place yet. This is just a sample of the kinds of bite-sized, actionable wellness tips that I’ll be pushing out regularly for you to use to manage and hopefully improve your life!
These decade challenges that are making the rounds got me thinking about what I was doing 10 years ago… I was a student, still learning barefoot massage (who am I kidding, I’m still learning barefoot massage).
I recently ran across a meme that said, “If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream.” I shared it in a Facebook post because so many of my clients come to me the first time with their body screaming or complaining loudly. Regardless, waiting until you’re in pain before seeking help is not the greatest of ideas. Convincing your body it can heal itself is much easier and results occur much more quickly if you learn to listen when your body is whispering.
The idea of the body whispering intrigued me because you don’t often see hints and tips on how to identify the pre-emptive rumblings of physical malfunction. So, I spent some time talking to my regular clients and asking them what they considered whispers that prompted them to schedule a massage. Then I spent some more time with a couple of my massage communities asking the bodywork experts what they considered the early, early warnings. The following list is what I learned from exploring this idea.
How to tell
when your body is whispering…
Hello, Listen!
First you have to tune in and actually start listening to your body. So many of us ignore the small aches, pains, rumblings, and grumblings that our body has. Start tuning in to those things. Here are a couple of articles that talk more about this subject.
Unexpected Emotions
If you’re normally a pretty even keeled person, but find yourself weepy for no good reason or losing patience with people or situations that normally would be no big deal, that’s a pretty loud whisper. Maybe you’re suddenly angry at situations that normally wouldn’t bother you or you feel the green-eyed monster creeping in when your friend gets some good news. Unexpected emotions are sure signs of stress whether it be work-related, family issues, or not getting enough rest. In cases like this, a good massage can help take the edge off and down regulate the nervous system allowing you to get back to your normal self.
Poor Quality Rest
There are a lot of reasons people have trouble sleeping or getting good rest. If you find yourself feeling tired or just generally lethargic then it’s time to take action. Check out your sleeping area. Make sure it’s quiet, dark, and free from attack kitties. Consider an herbal sleeping draught before bedtime. If these things don’t seem to be working it might be time to get some bodywork to see if it’s low-grade pain or stress keeping you awake. Click here to read more about creating bedtime rituals.
Discomfort
You know when your hip sort of catches when you get up from a sitting position and you have to stand there and let it unwind before you can take off, that’s the kind of discomfort I’m talking about. Or if you catch yourself absentmindedly rubbing that troublesome spot on your neck. I’m talking about those little aches and pains we ignore so we can get a little further through our day. Then there’s the restlessness that won’t let you sit still. A lot of times that is caused by discomfort that we’re not even aware of. These types of discomforts are the harbingers of real and sometimes very painful soft tissue and even structural issues. What most of us consider small, inconvenient pains can be eliminated by receiving regular bodywork and may head off looming issues that can keep us from working and enjoying life.
Reduced Function
Maybe nothing is hurting, but one day you notice you’re just having more trouble bending over to tie your shoes. Or there’s an activity you have been doing forever that suddenly is much more difficult than it used to be. Or maybe one day you just can’t do something that you did just fine yesterday. This is where your massage therapist can really shine by getting you back into fighting shape.
Apathy
When you stop caring about people, pets, your home, or activities that used to bring you joy, it’s time to sit up and really pay attention. This can also manifest as a lack of motivation, feeling overwhelmed, lack of joy, feeling fried, done, or burned out. All of these feelings are serious clues to something being wrong in our world. Perhaps we just need some downtime away from the usual stressors where we can take care of ourselves and our mental health. But sometimes it can be more serious than that and we need to see a doctor or mental health professional to guide us through it.
Where do we go from here?
So what do you do if you’re reading this and realize that your body is whispering to you? I believe there’s no magic bullet when it comes to fixing tissue issues; it takes a multi-disciplinary approach. Massage therapy is going to be one of the first things I recommend for almost everyone who has a whispering (or screaming) body. It’s minimally invasive and helps to relieve all sorts of physical, emotional, and mental issues. I usually recommend massage therapy first before seeing other bodywork and medical personnel unless someone is clearly injured, sick, or showing tendencies of self-harm.
For learning to listen to your body I recommend some form of meditation. There are an avalanche of studies being published almost every day about the benefits and value of meditation. For other more active relaxation techniques, movement, flow, and binaural beats music are invaluable tools. And finally, plant medicine, don’t forget the beautiful herbal tonics and remedies that are available to us for relaxation and healing. If you don’t know where to start with herbs, let me know and I’ll give you a referral to an herbalist.
Maybe you read the post I wrote a while ago about how you get what you pay for when you search for massage therapy services. If so, you probably already know what my opinion is going to be concerning cheap continuing education. *This post may be more directed at massage therapists, but massage therapy consumers can benefit by knowing a bit more about how to find a better massage therapist.
Recently, I’ve
been seeing a lot of chatter on social media about how expensive massage
therapy CEs are and how massage therapists really want to stop, “Paying an arm
and a leg,” for continuing ed. I’ve seen comments concerning giving up their
first born, pints of blood, and other ridiculous exaggerations on the costs of
classes.
Continuing education classes cost money, some more than others. Online classes are a lowest common denominator situation with canned curricula that leaves a lot to be desired when learning hands-on techniques. They are however good for ethics, business classes, and refreshers for book work. Live, in-person classes cost more than online classes with good reason. Having an instructor prepare, teach, demonstrate, observe, troubleshoot, and correct deserve money and respect. Specialty classes, those that involve certifications in specific methods that not all other massage therapists offer, cost even more.
If you want to learn a new technique or improve your current skills, your computer is best used to find an instructor and their teaching schedule. Evidence is mounting that learning is best done when we are engaging with the world and without screens.
There’s
Nothing Wrong With a Bargain
Don’t get me
wrong, I like bargains and there’s nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, as
professionals, the continual seeking of bargains when it comes to continuing
education leads to stagnation and sometimes degradation of our skills. Imagine
graduating from massage school and never taking another hands-on class again.
How do we expect to progress and mature in our profession if all our continuing
ed is done online for the cheapest cost possible? And without being
professional and discriminating in how we spend our CE dollars, how can we
expect to be taken seriously by the community, medical or otherwise, and also
be valued and paid for our experience?
And what about our clients?
Now imagine
what our clients think. Maybe they don’t care? Maybe they care a lot that the
person they pay to be an ally in their healthcare cares enough to spend the
money to be the very best.
I simply can’t
afford it…
Check out
your local AMTA chapter. Members get a discounted rate on CEs and even
non-members get a pretty good rate. Most chapters host nationally certified
instructors once or twice a year. Check out your local massage schools. They
also bring in nationally certified instructors occasionally and while the cost
is usually more, you can save by not having travel expenses.
You Can’t Afford
Not To
I know it’s not what we want to hear, but it’s important and it’s what sets the good massage therapists ahead of the bargain hunters. You simply cannot afford not to budget for and spend your CE dollars on quality, continuing education.
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