11/22/2025
Repost from
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Just because you use your feet… and just because “ashiatsu” literally translates to foot pressure… does not mean the work you’re doing is “Ashiatsu.” 👣
For years, The Center for Barefoot Massage has been working to normalize Barefoot Massage as the umbrella term that honors the wide range of global traditions that use the feet as therapeutic tools. That includes Japanese barefoot shiatsu, Indian Chavutti Thirumal, Hawaiian lomi, Thai barefoot lineages, and the modern Western styles that developed here in the U.S.
𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 = any professional massage therapy technique performed with the feet as tools, not hands.
The word “Ashiatsu” belongs to a very specific cultural context — and the Westernized version many LMTs practice today is not the traditional Japanese form. The 1990s American technique was deep-tissue/Swedish-based and used overhead bars, oil, gliding, and tables. Traditional Japanese ashiatsu does none of that.
If you trained with us, you learned Myofascial Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage (FasciAshi) — a modern, evidence-informed lineage rooted in fascia research, biomechanics, pain science, and interoception. That’s not “Ashiatsu”… and it’s important to call it what it is.
So when you’re naming services, educating clients, or using hashtags, remember:
Not every Barefoot Massage is “Ashiatsu.”
And if you must use the A-word to specify a style, use a full qualifier like:
👉 𝘔𝘺𝘰𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘶 𝘉𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦
👉 Myofascial Barefoot Massage
👉 Or just Barefoot Massage
Better language = better clarity = better respect for every lineage that contributed to the global history of Barefoot Massage.
Let’s keep raising the standard — educators included. 👣✨
What’s your definition of Barefoot Massage? Tell us below!
