Class Name Update: Fijian Barefoot Massage is now "Barefoot Matwork"
A Name Change That’s Been a Long Time Coming
What’s in this message?
Changing the name of our “Fijian Barefoot Massage” class
Latest articles & Deep Dives over in the paid subscription area
If you’ve been around our community for a while, you already know this work has history. And if you know me, you also know I care about telling that history in a way that feels honest, respectful, and true to the people who carried it before we ever touched it.
For years, we taught this class under the name Fijian Barefoot Massage. That name came directly from the lineage we inherited from Lolita Knight. She learned from healers in the South Pacific, adapted what she was taught, and brought those foot-delivered techniques to the United States. When she retired in 2018, she handed that work to us, openly and generously. We have always held that with gratitude.
But over time, something became clear.
Language shapes how people understand what we do. It shapes how they imagine the cultures the work came from. It shapes how they imagine us. When a name stops lining up with the truth of what is actually being taught, it is time to pause and look at it closely.
So after a lot of reflection, conversation, years of “getting ready to do this”, and permission from Lolita herself, we have renamed the class:
Barefoot Matwork
This change comes from respect, clarity and from the understanding that this work has evolved several times across several continents, long before it landed in any of our classrooms.
Lolita always taught only the foot-delivered portions of what she learned. She was very open about the fact that what she brought to the U.S. was already an adaptation. Her version had been shaped by what she was taught, what she chose to pass forward, and what made sense for the students she served.
Once we inherited it, the work continued to evolve organically. That happens any time you pair cool stuff with curiosity and intentional, clinical massage experience. At the Center for Barefoot Massage, we teach it through a modern lens that includes anatomical palpation and tissue recognition, fascial and pain science insights, interoceptive awareness cues, and the kind of grounded movement strategies that support longevity for the therapist. We also added our best friend forever: the suspended support FasciAshi Strap, and, as “kneaded”, the walking staff. (Which is a tool that was directly introduced to us and influenced by our friend and Shiatsu instructor, Randy Cummins.) Those were not cosmetic changes. They were safety choices that help LMTs use their bodies with less effort and more confidence.
So keeping a geographic name no longer felt accurate. The title suggested something frozen in time, when in truth this method has grown in many hands over many years. Barefoot Matwork gives the work a name that matches its reality: a mat-based, foot-delivered method rooted in its lineage and taught with clear respect for where it came from, without claiming cultural ownership we do not have.
A name change doesn’t erase anything. It simply helps the story make more sense.
I hope this opens the door for more honest conversations about how barefoot massage has traveled, changed, and taken root around the world in this day and age. That matters. Massage therapists understand what it feels like to be mislabeled. Most of us have been called a “masseuse” by someone who meant well, but still missed the mark. We all know the importance of naming things clearly so the work can be understood for what it truly is, right?!
Plus, like I love to explain oftenly, Barefoot massage has always been bigger than any single lineage. Barefoot Matwork honors the piece of that story that we were entrusted with, while giving us the language to teach it responsibly today.
Thank you for caring about this work enough to grow with it.
And thank you, always, for trusting us to keep its history safe while we move it forward.
We invite you to come learn this work!
Our 2-day, 16 CE Barefoot Matwork class is a great way to learn more footwork adaptations, challenge and improve your balancing skills through different body mechanics options while working on a floor mat, and experience how to give pressure without the bars overhead. These skills enhance what your feet can do!
See the schedule and training location options here.
…And since this is the one class we can take on the road and travel with, if you’d like us to bring this class to your town, email us at info@CenterForBarefootMassage.com! We’ll need a conveniently located classroom environment that can accommodate 4 massage tables, and it would help if you already have a handful of LMT’s committed to attending.
Latest articles & Deep Dives
I had another deep-dive planned for today… but past-Jeni already said it best. Before I risk a Mercury-retrograde foot-in-mouth moment, please go revisit my April 2024 Cultural Appreciation for Barefoot Massage post. It’s all in there.
Barefoot Massage Belongs in your Life for Longevity (Share this with your clients. It breaks down why Barefoot Massage helps people feel younger, steadier, and more capable in their bodies.)
Skill, Safety & Adaptability in Barefoot Massage (Spoiler: Just because you can give more pressure, doesn’t mean you should. How to adapt Barefoot Massage to fit you and your client.)
Our Values in Action (Standing for something: The steps we take as a company toward the future of massage.)
October 2025 Newsletter (free) (Discusses the end of the Transfer era)
Over in the paid subscription area of our Substack universe is where you can find more long-reads and insight from our insoles. I am posting a new article about every 6 weeks, and if you are a paid subscriber ($50/year or $8/month) you’ll get them emailed to you and/or you’ll be notified in the app.
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Hack #1:
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Hack #2:
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The catch?
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A paid subscription just takes the hustle out of it. You can read at your own pace, revisit posts anytime, and even listen to narrated versions like an audiobook.