Can you really have a decades-long deep tissue

massage career without being in pain?

Why Learn Barefoot Massage?

Traditional deep tissue massage can be exhausting for therapists and unsatisfying for clients. Your hands, wrists, and elbows take a beating, leaving you sore, overworked, and wondering how long you can keep going. Meanwhile, clients either grimace under sharp elbows or walk away disappointed, still searching for the deep, effective bodywork they need.

If this continues, you risk burnout, injury, and a shortened career—while your clients may start looking elsewhere for the relief they crave. Worse yet, you cut back on your hours, get a part time job or fear losing the career you love altogether.

What if there were a way to deliver consistent, therapeutic pressure without hurting yourself in the process?

Enter Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage—a career-saving modality that allows you to work smarter, not harder. Using your feet instead of your hands, you can apply deep, broad pressure effortlessly, helping clients experience profound relief while preserving your body. The rounded surface of the foot feels better than pointy elbows, and gravity does the work for you—so you can give an incredible massage without the strain.

I love seeing my massage therapist students' eyes light up when they realize they CAN continue the work they love, for a very long time.

When you train with us, you won’t just learn a routine—you’ll master the art of using your feet with intention, just like you do with hands-on massage. You’ll be able to work on both the posterior and anterior sides of the body, ensuring a well-rounded and deeply therapeutic experience for your clients.

I co-founded  the Center for Barefoot Massage, and we’ve redefined how barefoot massage is taught.

With over 3 decades of combined barefoot practice and teaching, we created a program that goes beyond cookie-cutter routines. We’re an NCBTMB-approved provider, so you can earn CEUs for AMTA, ABMP, and state requirements while learning a modality that can transform your career.

Are you ready to protect your body, extend your career, and give your clients the deep tissue massage they’ve been searching for?

Join us and start your barefoot massage journey today!

FAQ: Can I learn barefoot massage online?

As a massage therapist instructor, I believe that while online learning can be a valuable component of barefoot massage education, it should not entirely replace hands-on, in-person training for massage modalities.

There's absolutely no way an online course can accurately :

• teach massage therapists what they're supposed to feel
• help fix a student's body mechanics
• offer guest clients for masssage students to practice on

With that being said, there are benefits of online learning (not for the hands/feet-on portion, but other necessary skills)

Online courses can provide several advantages for massage therapists interested in barefoot massage:

1. Accessibility: Therapists can access course materials from anywhere, making it easier to fit education into their schedules. The subjects that would lend themselves well to online learning: contraindications for barefoot massage, marketing ideas, and implementation of ethics. 

2. Theoretical knowledge: Online platforms could provide excellent resources for teaching the principles, anatomy, and theory behind barefoot massage techniques.

3. Visual demonstrations:  video content can demonstrate proper body mechanics and techniques, giving students a visual reference. However, it cannot replace the ability of an instructor to perfect the massage student's body mechanics. Where it's perfect? After learning ashiatsu barefoot massage. Video training for barefoot massage as a refresher or simply as a visual reminder can increase retention of barefoot massage skills.

Limitations of Online-Only Training

However, barefoot massage (ashiatsu) presents unique challenges that are best addressed through in-person training:

1. Safety concerns: Proper body mechanics and balance are crucial for both therapist and client safety. These are best taught and corrected in person. Barefoot massage is more complicated than it looks. A working knowledge of anatomy and what part of the therapist's foot works  well is best discovered in person.

2. Hands-on practice: Barefoot massage requires developing a new set of skills and sensitivities that are difficult to master without direct feedback from an experienced instructor. In our continuing ed classes, we:

• work on each other
• work on the barefoot massage instructor
• massage experienced guest clients, and they offer feedback on each of the student's barefoot massage moves.

3. Equipment setup: Learning to properly set up and use specialized equipment, such as overhead bars, is an important aspect that's challenging to convey fully online.

In my classes, I work with each student to not only verify they understand the bar setup, but we tweak it for each massage therapist's barefoot massage room.

The dropdown menu doesn't work on mobile-we're working on that!

In the meantime, follow the links to the pages:

❀ ASHIATSU CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

❀ BAREFOOT CLASS SCHEDULE

❀ REGISTER FOR BAREFOOT TRAINING

❀ LEARN BAREFOOT MASSAGE

❀ INTERMEDIATE-LEARN SIDE B0DY & SUPINE BAREFOOT MASSAGE

❀ 2 FEET DEEP-ADVANCED BAREFOOT MASSAGE

❀ Our YOUTUBE channel-lots of helpful hits about using your feet for massage!

In class, therapists will learn by receiving, performing on each other, working on the instructor and on experienced guest clients. Small class size allows for individualized attention. Therapists will learn safe body mechanics and bar construction, marketing and will have access to an active, supportive graduate group. It’s $670 and 24 CE hours.

After class, you’ll be able to integrate Ashiatsu barefoot strokes to your existing massage or complete full sessions. We also have a self-study certification process where the therapist will document sessions performed with vital written feedback from practice clients. 

This 3 day class combo will give therapists enough knowledge to easily perform a minimum of a 90 minute session. This barefoot ashiatsu class is perfect for therapists who can't take more than 3 days off in a row and helps to save on lodging expenses. 

FasciAshi class is available in Cincinnati (home of the Bengals, Reds, and tons of micro-breweries) with Mary-Claire Fredette. 

FasciAshi Barefoot massage is an adaptation of ancient forms of barefoot massage. In our style of barefoot massage, bars overhead the massage table are used for balance and support.

Why use the foot? The surface of the foot is much larger than the hands, and the heel is wider by a LOT than the thumb! So it's more comfortable for the client. Plus gravity assists the therapist in providing pressure that's deeper than traditional hands-on massage with less effort from the therapist.

Deeper + More Comfortable + Easier = Win!

The client lies comfortably on a massage table, and lubricant is applied. Barefoot massage Ashiatsu can be very deep and yet feel astonishingly relaxing to the client.

In FasciAshi ROM (Range of Motion), the therapist moves the client through a series of stretches meant to elongate and relieve muscle tightness in commonly used muscle groups. She works with the client, always maintaining a "feels so good" stretch. Comfortably lying on a massage table, the client wears loose fitting clothing, and lubricant is NOT used. However, I often incorporate many of these movements with careful draping into my barefoot massage sessions.The ROM class schedule is here.