August 2024 Newsletter
What is underfoot at the Center for Barefoot Massage!?
Hello and happy late summer to us all! For those of you who joined us recently in our spring and summer trainings, welcome to the world of Barefoot Massage - and for those of you already ankle-deep in FasciAshi, keep up the good work!
What’s in this message?
Update from the AFMTE Congress in July
Latest blog posts
FEETured class & where to take it
New instructors & training locations
Reminder of new classes available
Upcoming class dates & links showing back-to-back, immersion + Intensive options
2024 AFMTE Educator Congress Update
Last month, four of our instructors (Jeni, Sara, Hillary and Dawn) represented the Barefoot Massage community at the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education national massage educators convention in Kansas City, Missouri. We had our own kind of dorky fun dressed up as Swifties, but we were really there to enhance how we show up while teaching you.
This conference gave us insights to the industry as it pertains to the education realm, plus we learned great teaching tips and best practices for helping learners in our classes thrive. We had idea-inspiring convos with other CE Instructors, school owners and teachers about the future. A few of us will be volunteering with the AFMTE and COMTA to help make sure that the perspectives and interests of Barefoot Massage Therapists are involved in shaping what they are doing for the future of massage.
The best resource we were reminded of that we’d like to share with you is this: Joe Muscolino’s library of almost 3,000 anatomical videos!
Latest blog posts
Long reads for deeper feets: here’s what you may have missed:
7/29: Certification is not real in massage continuing education
5/21: Barefoot Massage versus Foot Massage: What’s the diff?
FEETured class:
This month we’d like to “FEETure” the FasciAshi Advanced class! Have you made it past our Intermediate class and this deep into your Barefoot Massage training? This is where your massage skills transform from great to absolutely amazing! 💥
If you are looking for ways to get deeper without trying so hard, (whether that means with 1 foot or 2), if you are looking to find multitasking strokes that help you get the job done more efficiently, or if you are looking for more variety in movements to keep your sessions and your body healthy, fresh and effortlessly useful, THEN AIM TO TAKE THIS CLASS!
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?!
Single & Double-Footed Strokes: Understand the difference between using one foot vs. two with different uses of sustained compression, along fascial pathways
Benefits of Two Feet: Discover when and why to use two feet and who benefits the most as you learn to vary pressure from medium to full body weight.
Full-Body Experience: Deliver massages in supine, prone, and side-lying positions.
Advanced Biomechanics: Get deeper without overusing your upper body or gripping bars, with structural modifications for every move
Strap Length Adjustments: Achieve effortless, powerful strokes with proper strap settings, hacks and new ideas.
Diverse Techniques: Apply gliding, broad deep tissue, sustained compression, friction, and specific fascial techniques from all angles.
Bony Landmark Recognition & Palpation: Perfect your foot placement and anchor points.
Efficient Use of Lubrication: Use less lubrication (or none!) without overworking yourself or overwhelming your client’s skin.
Pro-Tip To Prepare: Although this next suggestion is not ~currently~ required, it really benefits you to have also attended our Fundamentals class, or even attended it a second time as a refresher, before attending Advanced. (If you are a transfer student from another beginner Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage lineage, the Advanced FasciAshi material will blend backwards to what you’ve learned elsewhere, but there are gaps of information missing due to the big differences in techniques. Because we don’t have enough hours in the class to teach you our Fundamentals strokes during this 2-day Advanced class, we highly recommend that you consider learning our foundational strokes for the best possible understanding and application of our more advanced work.)
Who teaches the Advanced class?
Jeni Spring in San Antonio, Texas - usually offering it 2x/annually + 1 Intermediate/Advanced Intensive class. (1 spot open in the October class!)
Julie Marciniak in Durham, North Carolina - usually offering it 2-3x/annually - coming up later this month, 8/22-23 with Clinical Neck back to back!
Sara Newberry in St Louis, Missouri - offering 2x/annually, the next class is November 14-15, 2024
We will occasionally take this class on the road and travel teach at another instructors location: we’ve done this special event in Dallas and Colorado Springs - honestly it’s easier for us to teach this at our local studios because we have the clients for you to practice on, so don’t wait until we come to your town. Take a trip and learn from our Advanced FasciAshi specialists!
New Instructors & Training Location!
We would like to welcome two Instructors-in-Training to our team, both from northern Idaho: Chancy Gill and Jaclyn Cosper!
These accomplished women will soon be offering the Fundamentals and Intermediate courses out of their studio in Hayden, Idaho, not far from Coeur d'Alene.
You’ll be able to meet Chancy at these classes:
She’ll be co-teaching with Sara Newberry in St Louis on September 21-23,
Chancy is co-teaching with Mary-Claire Fredette in Cincinnati September 26-28.
Don’t miss Chancy’s 1st Fundamentals class at the new Idaho studio, scheduled for November 7-9th!
Jaclyn will be co-teaching Intermediate with Jeni Spring and Julie Marciniak early next year, then will bringing the next level Intermediate classes back to Idaho ASAP in 2025!
Stay tuned to our Instagram account, as soon as we launch their Idaho profile it will be shared there for you to friend and follow for funsies!
»Do YOU want to be an instructor on our team? Fill out this form
Reminder of new classes available: Touch-Ups & Clinical Neck!
These new classes were announced and outlined in our last newsletter - if you want to know more about them, please read this!
Classes scheduled for the rest of 2024
These dates may change based on real life circumstances, so sign up early! Our Instructors assess 30-days before classes if they are going to keep or cancel the event as planned, so if you know you want to attend, don’t wait till the last minute! Sign up ASAP, or at least let the instructor know of your interest and plans for attending.
See a list of all classes coming up across the nation here!
Specialty Classes
Clinical Neck: Durham, NC: 8/24 (Back to back with Advanced)
Hot Ashi: St Louis, MO: 9/28 (Back to back with Intermediate)
Fundamentals Touch-Up: Decatur, AL: 10/7 (Back to back with Intermediate & ROM)
Fundamentals Touch-Up: Dallas, TX: 11/15 (Back to back with Intermediate)
Hot Ashi: St Louis, MO: 11/16 (Back to back with Advanced)
Hot Ashi: Dallas, TX: 12/8 (Back to back with Fijian)
Fijian
Decatur, AL: 9/6-7
San Diego, CA: 9/30-10/1
St Louis, MO: 10/17-18
Dallas, TX: 12/6-7 (Back to back with Hot Ashi)
ROM
Colorado Springs, CO: 9/13-14
San Antonio, TX: 9/25-28 (part of a 4-day Intensive mixed with Intermediate)
Durham, NC: 9/27-28
Decatur, AL: 10/10-11 (Immersion week with Fundamentals Touch-Up & Intermediate)
Tustin, CA: 10/12-13
Albany, NY: 11/1-2
Tustin, CA: 12/7-8
Intermediate
Albany, NY: 8/16-17
San Antonio, TX: 9/25-28 (part of a 4-day Intensive mixed with ROM)
St Louis, MO: 9/26-27 (Immersion week with Fundamentals & Hot Ashi)
Cincinnati, OH: 10/7-8
Decatur, AL: 10/8-9 (Immersion week with Fundamentals Touch-Up & ROM)
Colorado Springs, CO: 10/18-19
San Antonio, TX: 10/18-22 (part of a 5-day Intensive mixed with Advanced)
San Luis Obispo, CA: 10/21-22 (Back to back with Fundamentals)
Albany, NY: 11/3-4
Dallas, TX: 11/16-17 (Back to back with a 4-hour Fundamentals Touch-Up)
Durham, NC: 12/6-7
San Luis Obispo, CA: 12/13-14 (Back to back with Fundamentals)
San Antonio, TX: 1/24-25/2025
Advanced
Durham, NC: 8/22-23 (Back to back with Clinical Neck)
San Antonio, TX: 10/18-22 (part of a 5-day Intensive mixed with Intermediate)
St Louis, MO: 11/14-15 (Back to back with Hot Ashi)
Fundamentals:
Colorado Springs, CO: 8/15-17
Dallas, TX: 8/22-24
Tustin, CA: 9/6-8
St Louis, MO: 9/21-23 (Immersion week with Intermediate & Hot Ashi)
Cincinnati, OH: 9/26-28
San Luis Obispo, CA: 10/18-20 (Back to back with Intermediate)
St Louis, MO: 10/23-25
Dallas, TX: 10/24-26
Durham, NC: 10/31-11/2
Decatur, AL: 11/7-9
Hayden, ID: 11/7-9
Tustin, CA: 11/8-10
Cincinnati, OH: 11/14-16
Colorado Springs, CO: 12/5-7
Albany, NY: 12/6-8
San Luis Obispo, CA: 12/10-12 (Back to back with Intermediate)
That’s all for now!
Don’t forget to check out the Frequently Asked Questions (we call them Footnotes) on the website for links to info you need to know. AND, don’t forget to find a Barefoot Massage near you (or get yourself listed) on our Sole Provider Directory here.