After being an Ashiatsu therapist for 7 years, I gotta say, it's not like I know everything! Back when I learned "Barefoot Basics", the double footed strokes were mixed in there too. Three intense days of learning everything that is still in the beginners course, plus about half of what is in the "DF2" or "Advanced Ashiatsu" course. When I took the "Fusion" class, probably about three years later, I learned even more doubles and the flow that makes it all come together. How did I ever remember all that after taking each class only once!??! Yah, well, I didn't!

Would you ever take a class from someone who took a course only once, or even worse, learned it from just a DVD, and thought they are good enough to teach the same material to the masses? Uhh, NO! Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy's founder Ruthie prides herself on teaching her instructors in person, in detail and in depth so that we can bring the real stuff back to our classes.

As an instructor for AOBT, we first go through an intense 6 month apprenticeship program and learn Barefoot Basics and Anterior/Sidelying inside and out directly from Ruthie. I re-learned the basic strokes and figured out everything that goes on behind the scenes for each workshop. There was a black eye, lots of sweat and tears while I trained to be an instructor last year, but there's just as much fun, good times and great massage too!

When we are ready to teach a new level class, the instructors are required to re-train with Ruthie on that particular subject. So, I went out to Denver last week and immersed myself into all things Ashiatsu all over again to learn how to teach Advanced Ashiatsu course! We study, practice and re-hash every detail all night, and teach it to the class under her supervision all day. I was there for almost a week, and came back more in love with Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy than ever before. (As if that is possible!)

After showing Ruthie my foot work and watching me teach, she helped to perfect every possible thing you could think of so that I can pass that knowledge onto my students. How to explain what is happening, how to demonstrate it, how to modify it, how to make it fun, how to make it safe, ect. I brought back an oldie-but-a-goodie and taught Ruthie how to explain the "Cowbell" move as it was taught by my first Ashi Instructor Janette - Ruthie had forgotten all about that little gem! I was proud to see that I had pretty much maintained the correct body mechanics and application all these years for those tough strokes. (I just need to shrink the travelling distance that my big 'ol feet naturally want to take during the Butterflies!) You should have seen Ruthie pour her heart out while teaching, it's amazing. Ashiatsu really is her baby and it shows, she loves this work more than anything.

Anyways, I had a blast and am more proud to be a part of this awesome modality working with such an AMAZING team of instructors than ever before. We rock. I did learn a new stroke that wasn't in the book back in my day... or maybe I forgot it (There, I said it, I admit that I forgot a stroke!) the "Wing Walkers"! Thats a fun one.

Here's the class from Denver last week with Ruthie, Kina and I teaching. I learned more from y'all then you know!

Need to take a gander at my Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy workshop schedule? Did you forget what Ashiatsu is!? Here's the general info flyer that is going out as part of an AOBT info package to all the massage schools in Texas. I figure'd you should be "in the know" too! General Ashi info flyer with Jeni's schedule
Keep your toes on the nose - all classes thru mid July are now FULL!
Advanced Ashiatsu in San Antonio has openings, so does Ashi-Thai in Dallas. These are the only times this year that these specific classes are offered in these locations. Get on it and register ASAP or you might just miss your spot.
~Jeni Spring, LMT, CAOBT
Texas AOBT Instructor
www.HeelingSole.com
210.967.4400 for massage appointments
210.623.0026 for workshop info

***REPOST from December, but great info about the Advanced class in 3 weeks! Some openings remain, but since the founder is coming, registrations need to be in by 2/11, so sign up now! The next Texas course won't be until September!***

I am about to bring more awesome Ashiatsu to Texas - you've all been waiting for it, now it's coming! Some of you know might remember seeing this class listed as "Deep Feet 2" back in the day, some of you know it as "the doubles"... well now it's vamped up and has been combined with the Fusion class, ready to be unleashed on Texas as "ADVANCED ASHIATSU"!!

I currently have one of these amazing and awesome Advanced Ashi classes scheduled in San Antonio on February 26-28th, 2010. Ruthie's coming! She and I will teach you how to safely apply the deepest most luxurious massage, with two feet! Get double the instructor attention, feedback and demonstrations, double your fun! You've seen me do these advanced techniques, now you can too. I'm going to have an army of 20 guest clients for us to practice on over the course of those 3 days. Yes, I did say 20. Practice practice practice, and practice some more. You will be made of steel after graduating this workshop!

If you still find yourself needing to go deeper even when you are using what you've learned from Barefoot Basics, then come take this one. Register now and click here!

OK, so what's NOT to like about this class? Well, for one, you need to have the strength to safely release your body weight into the clients body and be able to pull, twist, thrust, propel and slide yourself ever-so-gracefully between strokes to create a peaceful session. Gotta make this stuff luxurious you know, it's not "NO PAIN NO GAIN" for the client. (But maybe for you!) Go get strong!

Here are some exersize ideas to slip into your New Years resolution:

1: Pull ups and push ups are your friend. Go try some!
2: Pilates must be your sidekick, not your nemesis. Get that core STRONG LIKE BULL!
3: Grip strength is important - no cheater moves here with yoga straps supporting you up, no resting your wrists on top of the bars, its all hands on deck this time. Practice squeezing stress balls, and give strong handshakes! Guitar Center has a rad grip strength doo-dad that I like.
4: Use your bars for the ultimate test: condition your body by holding onto your bars, palms facing in, Rhomboids, Traps and Lats held strong, neck long, spine straight, and raise both legs straight out at the same time to be parallel with the floor, your body is in an "L" shape: hold that for 2 minutes!
5: Confidence comes from within - train your mind that you can do this! Think positively, eat healthy, sleep well, drink more water, and practice what you preach.

Read more about Advanced Ashiatsu on my site and on Ruthie's. And remember: If you don't see someone listed on deepfeet.com as one of the modalities Associate Instructors, they aren't teaching you what they claim. Study from the source, train with the original, and learn it for real.

Later!
-Jeni

Are you a dude? Do you like deep tissue massages? Would you volunteer your body to education? If so, we need YOU at our next San Antonio Ashiatsu workshop! This could be YOU:

Please click here to read more and sign up.

Massage Therapists: The February Barefoot Basics class is full! There is room in the Anterior/Sidelying class on Valentines day, and also room in the Advanced class at the end of the month. Read this post to learn about the Advanced class, and sign up quick, spots are flying fast!

On a really fun night out with my husband, I broke my wrist roller skating. Every massage therapists worst nightmare, right? Maybe not so bad for me, because unlike most massage therapists, I'm not dependent on my hands! Being a barefoot massage therapist rocks! There are some draw backs with this whole situation, but honestly, my feet were always the ones meant to massage, not my hands.

I broke the head of my right Radius, and chipped off the Ulna's Styloid Process. I go into surgery on Monday, and throughout the next 4 months I'll be getting better and better. "We can rebuild her, better, faster, stonger than she's ever been before."

Luckily my big happy Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy family is coming out to help me! The Barefoot Basics and Anterior/Sidelying workshop in February is still happening - I'm bringing in Rhonda Cachilla, an AOBT therapist out of Austin who taught AOBT classes with me early last year. As my TA, she can demonstrate the work that my cast prevents me from doing, and together we'll rock out a fun Valentines Day weekend Ashiatsu style! For the Advanced Ashiatsu course at the end of February I already had Ruthie Hardee scheduled to fly in and give you the opportunity to learn from the founder - guess that was perfect planning! She'll teach, and I'll watch you all like a hawk so I can tweak your body mechanics and help you perfect the work. So in both classes, you'll have 2 instructors, which doubles your learning, doubles your fun! Currently there are 2 spots left in each class - so sign up now online, and sign my cast when you come to class!!!

Unfortunately due to the nature and timing of my Ashi-Thai workshops, I will have to reschedule those next two classes - they are meant to happen January 25-26th and March 13-14th. Once I heal and am back to 100%, which will be soon, I'll put all the classes back on the menu and we'll be good to go!

As for my clients, I do need a short break. Depending on how I feel after surgery, I can start massaging again about a week later - expect me back around February 1st. I'll only be offering Fijian Massage, http://heelingsole.com/services-fijian.html, another form of Barefoot Massage that I am trained in. It doesn't need my hands at all! It is still an awesome massage, and lucky for you, it's cheaper!

In the meantime, please make sure that any Ashiatsu course you look into is taught by an authorized Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy instructor, we are all listed here! You'll still see me and the Ashiatsu crew @ the Texas AMTA convention in Galveston! I will be back to teach you and massage you ASAP - but I need to take care of myself so that I can continue to do what I love.

Think happy thoughts & have fun,
~Jeni Spring, LMT, CAOBT
www.HeelingSole.com
Texas AOBT Instructor

Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy workshops are all about learning a wonderful new modality of gravity assisted massage with your feet to deliver luxurious deep pressure. We understand that the only way to make more money as a Massage Therapist is to do more massages. But how can you do more if you are already performing your best massage day after day, exhausted, hurting, and dreading that session with another client who wants DEEP work? Well, this is definitely the modality for you! With Ashiatsu, you can take your massage to new heights and easily perform MORE deep tissue massages in a day without hurting or exhausting yourself. Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy® (AOBT) will lengthen your massage career, strengthen and revive your mind, body and spirit, while literally putting you a step above the rest - standing up on the table!

Our workshops attract bodyworkers from various backgrounds - some with years of experience, and some fresh out of school. Our small classes ensure tons of individual attention and practice for the best possible learning experience. The amount of one-on-one instructor/student time is unlike any other CE workshop in the massage industry. The methodologies in which we developed to teach therapists how to be safe & proficient in a short amount of time is our greatest achievement. During your study with us, you will feel every single stroke from your instructor. You will have an opportunity to work on the instructor and receive precise feedback specific to your application of the technique. We provide a public practical for the ultimate in learning retention – you will work on real clients and receive feedback from real people to improve even more. Making sure you are safe and comfortable in the modality before you leave the workshop has been our acclaimed reputation for years. We set the standards when it comes to barefoot bar work, and we deliver the first and best “feet-on” seminar in the industry. More benefits are listed here: http://heelingsole.com/workshops.html.>

We are honored to be the first to have a nationally approved “barefoot-bar dedicated” course study of which others now try to imitate. Our research on compression massage, body mechanics, safe technique application, and development of safe and efficient bar construction is unsurpassed. We hope students will be on their toes when weighing out their options for continuing education. Barefoot Basics and Advanced Ashiatsu are accredited for 25 Continuing Education Units (CEU), Anterior/Side-Lying is accredited for 8 CEU’s, and Ashi-Thai for 16 CEU’s. Each are approved by state massage boards, including Texas, in addition to the NCBTMB, AMTA and ABMP. Your instructor, Jeni Spring, LMT is a Certified AOBT therapist trained directly by the founder, Ruthie Hardee, is the only approved instructor for Texas and its surrounding states to teach this modality. Jeni is a Licensed Massage Therapist in both Texas and Washington states, she is a Texas State Massage Instructor, and also a Texas State Continuing Education Provider. She teaches AOBT courses out of San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix and Seattle throughout the year, and in 2010 she'll be traveling with the founder to massage conventions presenting Ashiatsu nationwide.

Visit Jeni's website to view the official video's of Ashiatsu in action and complete course descriptions. Schedule a massage session with Jeni at her San Antonio office, so that you can feel the difference Ashiatsu can make in your massage and your life.

Ready to step up and start your registration? Register online here. Keep in mind that we take only (8) lucky therapists per class. Spots tend to fill up quickly and it’s best to make your deposit and reserve your place ASAP.

I am about to bring more awesome Ashiatsu to Texas - you've all been waiting for it, now it's coming! Some of you know might remember seeing this class listed as "Deep Feet 2" back in the day, some of you know it as "the doubles"... well now it's vamped up and has been combined with the Fusion class, ready to be unleashed on Texas as "ADVANCED ASHIATSU"!!

I currently have one of these amazing and awesome Advanced Ashi classes scheduled in San Antonio on February 26-28th, 2010. Ruthie's coming! She and I will teach you how to safely apply the deepest most luxurious massage, with two feet! Get double the instructor attention, feedback and demonstrations, double your fun! You've seen me do these advanced techniques, now you can too. I'm going to have an army of 20 guest clients for us to practice on over the course of those 3 days. Yes, I did say 20. Practice practice practice, and practice some more. You will be made of steel after graduating this workshop!

If you still find yourself needing to go deeper even when you are using what you've learned from Barefoot Basics, then come take this one. Register now and click here!

OK, so what's NOT to like about this class? Well, for one, you need to have the strength to safely release your body weight into the clients body and be able to pull, twist, thrust, propel and slide yourself ever-so-gracefully between strokes to create a peaceful session. Gotta make this stuff luxurious you know, it's not "NO PAIN NO GAIN" for the client. (But maybe for you!) Go get strong!

Here are some exersize ideas to slip into your New Years resolution:

1: Pull ups and push ups are your friend. Go try some!
2: Pilates must be your sidekick, not your nemesis. Get that core STRONG LIKE BULL!
3: Grip strength is important - no cheater moves here with yoga straps supporting you up, no resting your wrists on top of the bars, its all hands on deck this time. Practice squeezing stress balls, and give strong handshakes! Guitar Center has a rad grip strength doo-dad that I like.
4: Use your bars for the ultimate test: condition your body by holding onto your bars, palms facing in, Rhomboids, Traps and Lats held strong, neck long, spine straight, and raise both legs straight out at the same time to be parallel with the floor, your body is in an "L" shape: hold that for 2 minutes!
5: Confidence comes from within - train your mind that you can do this! Think positively, eat healthy, sleep well, drink more water, and practice what you preach.

Here's the bit of news you ~may~ not like: I don't think I'll teach this class outside of San Antonio for a w-h-i-l-e. Why? I've got to come up with your meat, the guest clients, to massage for 3 days straight! It's hard to coordinate 20 men with the appropriate body type and no contraindications to come receive this work at very specific times in my own town, let alone in Dallas or anywhere else I teach. Most other AOBT instructors stick to one city to teach anyways, and being that I'm a multi-city instructor, this is where it gets tough. SO, I know I said I'd try to get up there ASAP, but it honestly isn't going to happen for a long while. And by long I mean, maybe not in 2010. I'll bring Ashi-Thai, Barefoot Basics and Anterior/Sidelying whenever I teach out of San Antone, though! (Hey Pacific Northwest, I'm looking your way!)

So for my dear Dallas and Houston area AOBT therapists, your consolation prize is this: $50 off my February Advanced Ashiatsu workshop if you live closer to Dallas or Houston than you do San Antonio.

In the meantime, go get strong to prepare for Advanced Ashi! As for me, I'm taking Aerial Dance lessons to get my muscles in gear:

Read more about Advanced Ashiatsu on my site and on Ruthie's. And remember: If you don't see someone listed on deepfeet.com as one of the modalities Associate Instructors, they aren't teaching you what they claim. Study from the source, train with the original, and learn it for real.

Later!
-Jeni

I've got one workshop nailed down for next year "fo sho", it's the Advanced Ashiatsu (Formerly known as Deep Feet 2 & Fusion) scheduled for February 2010. I'm working on planning out the rest of the year in San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, and ~hopefully~ the Seattle area, with lots more Barefoot Basics, Anterior/Sidelying, Ashi-Thai and Advanced Ashi, so keep your toes on the nose and watch my new site for the listing of next years Ashi dates!
Check out the all new www.HeelingSole.com

We always receive feedback from our students saying how much fun they had in our Ashiatsu workshops, and how much they loved receiving the work. Most therapists who come to our workshops are the first in their area, or the only therapist in their spa/clinic, offering Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy, which has great advantages! But what about when you want to receive an Ashiatsu massage? Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend trained in this modality that you can practice with, and even better, TRADE with?! I had my Ashi-friends Dari and Julie in Seattle with me, and it was a blast - there was no competition between us, we just helped each other grow and received amazing Ashi massages in the meantime! Even if you and your friends work at different locations, you can still help each other with marketing ideas, work events together, maybe split the costs of buying or renting the Hardee-Ashiatsu Portable Bar System so that you can both set up ~together~ and show your community what Ashiatsu is!

Announcing the "Ashi-Friends" deal!

For each friend you refer who enrolls in your Barefoot Basics, Advanced Ashi, or Ashi-Thai workshop, you will all receive:

You plus 1 friend enrolls: Free Promo DVD (Save $15 each)
You plus 2 friends enroll: Free Ashi body Butters (Save $17 each)
You plus 3+ friends enroll: Free Barefoot Basics DVD* each (Save $25 each) (*If registered for Advanced Ashi or Ashi-Thai, then you'll receive $25 off the DVD set instead)
PLUS: You and your friend(s) enroll in Anterior/Sidelying = Free Anterior/Sidelying DVD! (Save $20 each)

So round up your friends and get your dvd's for free! You'll be a step ahead, able to continue developing the quality of your Ashiatsu strokes at a faster rate since you will be able to massage your Ashi-trained friend, receiving feedback consistent with the information and experience gained in your Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy workshop! Receiving the work helps you remember how it "should feel" or how the experience could be improved. Supported by your official Ashiatsu DVD library and friends, you can put your best feet (not just foot) forward!

New update to this deal! Would you rather take the dollar amount of each DVD off the price of your workshop tuition? Times are tough and I can understand. If you refer a friend(s) you'll have the option of either accepting the DVD/Ashi Butter offer as outlined above, or I can subtract the same dollar amount from your tuition. That means you have the potential of taking $15-$45 off your tuition costs depending on how many referrals you send in, and then you can just save buying the DVD's for later.

Check out HeelingSole.com for the workshop schedule! Remember only 8 to a class, so spots are limited.

(Offer only valid on workshops taught by Jeni Spring in either San Antonio or Dallas now through May 2010. Workshops are for Licensed Massage Therapists only)