WHAT IS ASHIATSU?
Barefoot Massage is a style of bodywork where massage therapists incorporate their feet as their main tool and weight. Utilizing the feet and gravity allows for broader more consistent pressure to be applied through the length of the muscles. Traditional Ashiatsu, an early type of Barefoot Massage, can be traced back centuries in both traditional Japanese & Chinese medicine. Though there are various related styles of Barefoot massage dating back thousands of years throughout Asia, India, Africa, and the Pacific Rim. As these styles spread to the West, over time they have melded with Western bodywork techniques such as Swedish and Deep Tissue among others.
Our Barefoot Massage
The Barefoot Massage technique we use today at BareFoot BodyWorks in San Luis Obispo utilizes an integration of various styles and methods.
Ashiatsu goes deeper into soft tissue than your average deep tissue session by providing held pressure and compression to tissues. This method of holding pressure through our feet, with the weight of our body, supports the release of adhesions and soreness while allowing for the loosening of holding patterns of the body. Through centrifugal foot movements, clients experience improved circulation through the muscular system. The long massage strokes stimulate the lymphatic and parasympathetic nervous system, improving general health and giving clients a sense of well-being.
