Well, it's a bit too hot today for me to be clever. A/C is out in the house, and it's 91.5 inside. I do have working A/C in my office, but I'm not there now, so my brain's a tad, well, slow. That's my excuse anyway.

Someone I don't know called and left a message on my massage line today. It went something like this:

    " I was referred to you by Dr. Eric. He says you're amazing and give one hell of a massage. I'd like to schedule an appointment!"

So he scheduled a 90 minute deep tissue ashiatsu barefoot massage session. Gotta love referrals, hey? (I can say "hey" 'cause I'm from northern Michigan where the Canadians hang out).

When I first learned Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy barefoot massage, I was almost a little hesitant about doing the work on paying clients. Cincinnati is a bit conservative, and I thought people would think it was weird. So I didn't push it for a while.

But Ashiatsu was MY favorite style of massage, and it was my chiropractor's too. He was getting great results from his clients receiving the barefoot work. And I was starting to have pain in my left hand as well as trouble with my right elbow. I realized that: Ashiatsu feels great and gives fabulous, lasting results. Ashiatsu barefoot therapy makes life easier for the therapist by utilizing body weight and gravity.

If you think feet are disgusting, then Ashiatsu bar therapy is NOT for you. But if you love a good, relaxing super deep tissue massage that is going to make you feel better for days, then you should try it!

Thinking of ordering the Bamboo-fusion massage tools? They're a great way to relax your clients and do therapeutic work all at the same time. Make your life easier! And the clients adore it...

We offer free shipping for the Bamboo-fusion table and Visage (facial) massage tool kits within the United States!

International shipping for the bamboo tools is $46 for the table kit and $28 for the facial kit. We can combine the 2 sets into one box to save on shippping for international orders!

Shipping is via USPS with insurance.

I added a new date to my schedule, for Dallas, TX. I'll be teaching Barefoot Basics (beginner's barefoot massage class) and Anterior/side-lying on November 11-13 and 14.

25 CEUs are for the Barefoot Basics class and 8 for Anterior/Sidelying. Class runs from 9-6 each day.

Whoops! I acidentally had the original dates for my August Barefoot Basics massage class in Cincinnati.

The CORRECT dates are Weds-Friday for Barefoot Basics, August 10-12, 2011. Anterior/Side-lying is August 13.

You can still sign up online under the Ashiatsu class at www.affinitymassages.com and look for the Ashiatsu class registration tab.

Well of course, "bar" therapy is really Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy.  A new client of mine did a search for "Cincinnati bar therapy massage" and my site came up! Call it "bar therapy," "barefoot massage," "Ashi," "AOBT" or whatever!

My August barefoot massage CEU classes normally fill, but I do have some spots for class this coming month in Cincinnati, which is really unusual. So if you're thinking about taking the class and need CEUs for AMTA, ABMP, National Massage Board, etc. feel free to join us!

You can sign up for class online http://www.affinitymassages.com/ashiatsu_registration .

What kind of massage do you think you need?

If you're coming to my massage office for therapy in Cincinnati, you have a few choices.

• Want to relax? Try the warm bamboo massage.
• Therapeutic/trigger point? Hands on--I offer medium pressure and do some deep trigger point work. Bamboo is great too.
• Deep tissue/chronic pain relief? Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy--fabulous for low back pain, tight shoulders, hamstrings.
• Stretching? Ashi-Thai is the gig for you. You don't even have to undress, and I do all the work, stretching you to your comfort level.

Pretty easy, isn't it? You can even schedule your massage online at www.affinitymassages.com on the "schedule an appointment" link.

About a year and half ago, I did a Groupon. They were just rolling out in Cincinnati, and I had never heard of them. My deal was set for the 3rd day of the Cincinnati market.

My offer: a 75 minute massage of your choice with a foot scrub/hot towels. Time alloted for massage service was 90 minutes. Normally $100, the consumer could get it for $39. Yes, you heard it, $39. (And most people don't know that Groupon keeps 50% of what they sell it for, often adding in another 3% for credit card fees).

The person I was dealing with at Groupon told me I could sell "as many as 200." I thought it would probably be 80-100, which was fine. After all, I teach continuing education for massage therapists as well as have a regular client base for massage.

Well, all told, originally 492 were sold. I didn't know there was a 500 limit. Apparently, 3 people didn't know what they were doing and hit the payment button twice, so I ended up getting paid for 489. Keep in mind that this is an hour and a half service, totalling 733.5 hours of massage!

What I discovered, firstly, is that online booking for massage is critical. The phone was ringing off the hook. My operations manager did nothing but answer calls and return calls and book appointments for the 2 days following the Groupon. Not a good use of time! Once I put on my answering machine that you could book your massage appointment online, the calls slowed down. (I still have that message on my phone today, and my clients LOVE booking their massages online!)

I learned how to say "no" to clients. We as massage therapists have a tendency to say "OK" to them, even if it's to our detriment. We work on them when we feel like we're too tired, work too deeply and then end up icing our hands/wrists.

I limited my apointments most days to 6 hours a day, although in the beginning I did work entirely too hard. I still had my "old" clients! I did 37.5 hours of massage sometimes in a week. So I learned to block myself off my schedule so that I could spend time with my family. The few exceptions I made were for pregnant women who were about to give birth.

I discovered that, although I read every detail about something before I buy, most other people don't. The number of people that tried to schedule "couple's massages" was ridiculous. And the deal on the Groupon even said something along the lines of "available for a single massage only." And people tried to use more than one Groupon, although that was excluded. So I learned to say "NO!" to those people, where previously I may have been a sucker. (OK, I was a sucker in the past).

Was it worth doing the deal for massage? Overall yes. Will I do it again? No. I have retained some really good repeat clients from the Groupon who would not have heard from me otherwise. And some of those people referred their friends to me. Others were interested in only getting an inexpensive massage. A number of people remarked about what a great massage I gave, much better that a massage-crank-em-out-for-cheap-superstore. And I have a client base much larger than it was before, I can do my own deal if I want, just marketing to the people I've worked on previously.

Well, yes, I do give a really good massage. And I've been doing massage for over 12 years and have a vested interest in my company, so I always do the best I can do.

So what was the most popular massage? Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy barefoot massage was the resounding top seller. Bamboo-fusion next, pregancy massage after that, and just a handful of traditional hands on massage.

If you are interested in periodically receiving discounts for massage in Cincinnati, make sure you visit the "sign up here" on the right side of the pages. Once in a while, my earstwhile operations manager decides that I'm not working quite hard enough, so he sends out coupons for my Cincinnati massage studio.

One of the most recent ones was for $49 for an hour massage, which is quite a savings off my usual $65 price.

Speaking of disounts, a number of people have asked me when my next Groupon massage sale is. It's never, so don't hold your breath! You're better off just signing up for our discounts. ("Why?" you may ponder? Did you know that Groupon takes 50% of the proceeds from the offer? This means that the business owner is making 25% of their regular price.)

I'll save my Groupon musings for another day.

Ok, so it took a little while to get the photos, but I managed it! Self portraiture involving a self timer, massage table and pull ups isn't the easiest!

At any rate, I now have a new page to the site, (click here), which has 3 photos and ideas of how to prepare your body for the advanced 2 footed strokes class.

If you're interested in the massage CEU class, you need to have already taken Barefoot Basics and sent in your certification paperwork. You're finding that your clients really love your work but want it even deeper! Yes, now you can do it! I have a few spaces left in my August class.

Yes, you need to be an ashi superwoman to take Advanced Ashiatsu!

No, really you need to be in pretty good shape. If you're thinking about taking the class, work on your core and biceps, lats, etc. I'm putting together a little document with a couple of pictures for those who aren't sure what type of exercise would help get them in shape for our advanced two footed ashiatsu barefoot massage class.

Looking for a deep tissue Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy massage in Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky? Due to a cancelled trip, I have some appointment slots available next week, July 5-10. Mention this blog at receive 15% off your massage (an hour or longer) July 5-10 ONLY.

This is the first time I've offered a discount like this, so make sure you take advantage of the opportunity. My schedule usually books up pretty quickly, so schedule your massage online ASAP!

Looking forward to seeing you for your next deep tissue massage. Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy is, after all, "the deepest most luxurious massage on the planet!" And I've been told I give a great massage...