JoyWalker Massage
Would you pay someone to walk on you?
BY JANE BIANCHI
Letting people walk all over you is usually a bad thing; but in the massage world, letting people walk all over you is a treat.
Getting its name from the Japanese words "ashi" (foot) and "atsu" (pressure), Ashiatsu massage is an ancient type of Asian bodywork that is done solely — no pun intended — with the massage therapist's feet.
Traditionally, only those with expertise in Eastern medicine could perform Ashiatsu, and the client lay fully clothed on the ground. In the early 1990s, Ruthie Piper Hardee, a U.S. massage therapist, created the Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy (also known as Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy), which blends elements of the original method with newer, more Western techniques. ...read more
Ashiatsu, The Healing Power of Heels
By Toby Osborne
Originally published in Body Sense magazine, Spring/Summer 2005.
Copyright 2005. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
When Nancy Sinatra sang "these boots are gonna walk all over you," perhaps she was describing ashiatsu. This ancient practice -- which involves a massage therapist literally walking on your back -- has been performed by Buddhist monks for centuries and is now available in various forms across America.
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By Leah Theil, BS, LMT
This is an article from the holistic magazine Pattern Pieces I published from 1997 until 2001. When I decided to include her article in the magazine, I went for a treatment. It was the total treatment of hot and cold stones applied to the body for release of tension in the muscles due to stress. It was wonderful!!! I have never experienced anything like it since. Now there are variations of this original style, which I have tried, but the I still enjoy the original form best. When you get an opportunity to experience “Hot Stone Massage” please do so ... read more