Did you know that the average career lifespan for a massage therapist is under seven years? Bending over at the waist and doing deep tissue work with thumbs and fingers can cut short the career of many massage therapists.

I learned Ashiatsu barefoot massage after I'd been a massage therapist for 3.5 years. Already my wrists ached, my forearms throbbed, and I had developed tendonitis in one elbow. I loved to do massage, but I wasn't sure I could continue to do deep tissue work forever. Eureka! Ashiatsu was the answer to my prayers. I learned how to feel with my feet, to work deeply with my heels and balls of my feet, and my clients loved it! I have had many clients, former fans of hands-on work, transition to barefoot massage and never go back.

Why do I love doing it? Because I no longer hurt! When I first went a week doing only Ashiatsu, I didn't realize that I wasn't in pain, I simply felt like me. Then, about 1/2 hour into a deep tissue hands-on massage, my elbow started aching. I realized then that I would no longer continue to do deep work, especially on large clients, with my hands.

Why do my clients (and many other barefoot clients throughout the states) love barefoot massage? Because deep tissue work no longer hurts. No more of those aggressive little thumbs and elbows into the piriformis or QLs--but the heel feels amazing! My clients love feeling dopey afterwards--they are so relaxed that they often don't want to get up off the table. And the results of barefoot massage tend to last for many days.