The Kentucky chapter of AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) will be having it's annual conference in Lexington this year. The conference will be held at the Crowne Plaza Campbell House on Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9, 2008.

Local vendors from both Kentucky and Ohio, as well as nationally known educators, will be present to show off wares and more.

My assistant Naomi and I will be there with Ashiatsu bars giving out free demonstrations all weekend. Well, actually, only I will do the demonstrations as she's only 12. Hope to see you there!

Barefoot Basics class for the end of March is almost full! If you are interested in learning Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy in the Midwest, give me a call. We won't be offering class again until May. That class is scheduled for May 15-17, and Barefoot Anterior/Side-Lying will be held on May 18.

Our class held this week in Denver was fabulous, and the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Thanks to all the therapists (especially those from Omaha, NE) for making the trip!

Traditional deep tissue hands-on massage can be injurious to the massage therapist due to small, repetitive movements. With the Bamboo-Fusion massage, the bamboo tools can allow you to easily adapt to pressure changes. Ms. Cecilia explains that she has noticed that during a bamboo massage, the client's skin can actually become more supple.

"There is a beautiful quality to the material; both you and the client feel very energized and revitalized, but also more relaxed."

Petite in stature, Nathalie began to experience pain in her hands within only 2 months of doing traditional massage. As a Thai therapist, Nathalie sometimes did back walking while using a bamboo pole for balance. She discovered the hands-on approach with bamboo when one of her larger male clients kept asking for deeper pressure in his upper trapezius.

"As I was working on this gentleman in a sitting position, my eyes caught the two bamboo poles that I used for back walking. I had the idea to use one of the poles for tapotement on his upper trapezius. So I stood about six feet from him, tapping on his shoulders with this long stick, and he told me it felt really great!"

We as massage therapists have responsiblities for many things as we work on our clients. Safety, comfort and pain relief are a few things that come to mind. But another large responsiblity is one of information--letting the clients know what's going on with their bodies.

Of course we tell them about knots, kinks, trigger points, referred areas of pain and more. But what about fatty deposits, unusual skin patterns or large moles? Many times, the client doesn't know about these. Sometimes they do, but they just don't mention them.

Like one of my clients years ago, an elderly widow. I was quite suprised to see the largest fatty deposit I'd ever seen (and have yet to see). Running lengthwise over his spine, the area raised was at least 6" wide and 12" long. When I mentioned it to him, he said that he knew it was there. The man's doctor wasn't inclined to take it off as it didn't bother the client. But he was glad that I had mentioned it and asked if I found anything else unusual (which I didn't).

Another client just recently came in after having a mole removed. I inspected it closely as he wanted to know what it looked like. The following week, I discovered an unusual pattern of what looked to be blisters around the mole. As it looked worse than the previous week, I urged him to check with his physician.

Turns out that he was allergic to the ointment that had been prescribed, and a simple change of medication soothed the itchiness and blistering.

Massage therapists have pointed out moles that have been malignant, thereby saving clients' lives. Let's keep up with the tradition of informed responsibilty. You never know who it'll benefit.
 

"The small wood pieces that I have cut in half are made with rattan since rattan is solid. They fit in the palm of my hands which makes it easy to apply deeper pressure. For the larger sticks, I use bamboo, which is a great tool to deliver long, soothing strokes," Nathalie explains.

I have a client who needs such deep work that no other massage therapist has been of much use to him. He originally contacted me to see if barefoot massage would be deeper than hands on work. 

A prime candidate for Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, "Sam" (not his real name) has extraordinary tension in his upper body. His job entails very specific work for hours at a time. Although not a large man, he requires deeper work than most massage therapists are comfortable giving.

We found recently that the sidelying work was especially beneficial for really working deeply into the upper traps and levator scapulae. Patience is a virtue, as the saying goes. Really sinking in with my foot and holding position while he lay in a sidelying position slowly released tension in the needed areas.

Could I have done this work with my hands? Maybe. I probably would have thumb/wrist injury. And he more than likely wouldn't have gotten the results we've been seeing. I know this because he told me so!

So if you're wondering if taking our classes may be beneficial, I would say, resoundingly, YES!

Imagine a skilled therapist using warmed bamboo and rattan to dissolve knots and kinks throughout your body. These hand crafted tools are custom designed so that even the smallest therapist can give an easier deep tissue massage. This ecologically sound and sustainable product is currently made by a woodworker. When Ms. Cecilia first began bamboo massage, she actually made the pieces herself by hand.

As an innovative creator of bamboo massage, Nathalie was sought out by various private resorts and spas and taught them her Bamboo-Fusion modality. This exotic treatment is in demand at high end spas such as the Ritz Carlton in Jupiter, Florida and Preston Wynnn in Saratoga, California.  Ms. Cecilia has trained numerous therapists from top spas at the famous Hakone Gardens in California.  (This beautiful Japanese garden is abundant with bamboo foliage and is also the location where many scenes were filmed when making the movie Memoirs of a Geisha).