The First Challenge Facing You as a Practitioner of Barefoot Deep Tissue Massage

So you’ve taken the Barefoot Massage course, you’ve practiced on your friends, now what?

The first challenge you face when you’re ready to start giving barefoot sessions is that your clients may not necessarily be ready to receive barefoot sessions! In my experience, except for a few of those stocky, muscley clients, most people are afraid to try the barefoot if they hear a description of it. It sounds like it can’t possibly feel good. Most people are absolutely convinced that it will hurt. So… Don’t describe it! In fact, if possible, don’t even mention it at first.

The first step is to just ask the client what his reason is for wanting to schedule a massage. If what you hear tells you that barefoot work would be a bad or inappropriate choice (“Hi, I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. We had a death in the family, and…”), then they don’t need to hear about the modality anyway. They can hear about the barefoot work after the fantastic, nurturing table session you’re going to give them. (Everyone’s more receptive and open after a good massage session, anyway…)

If on the other hand, what you hear tells you that barefoot might indeed be a good modality to use on this client (“Hi, I’m an athlete and I’ve got a big competition coming up in a few days…”), just schedule his appointment, adding “…And wear some comfortable clothes.” But don’t make your final decision yet. Things can change between now and your session.

Let’s assume that your client is the type who seems from the phone conversation to be well-suited for barefoot work. The next step will be to set up for the session on the day of the massage. If you’ve got enough space, your job will be much easier. Set up and prepare for both a table session and a barefoot session in the same room. Make sure the client can see the table. In other words, two work areas, as if two therapists were to work simultaneously – one giving a table session, the other giving a barefoot session – in the same room. When the client arrives, check in again to see if anything has changed since your phone conversation.

Now after doing the intake in person, if you still feel that the client would appreciate and benefit from the barefoot, then invite him to start with the barefoot. (I like to say lightly, “Well, from what I’m hearing from you, I’d like to at least start over here. If we get even five minutes into this and it’s just not ﾔfor you’ let me know and we’ll switch you right over to that table over there.”) This gives the client an easy escape route so to speak, and your light-hearted invitation tells him that you’re not totally invested in him receiving barefoot – that he’s only committing to starting with the barefoot and perhaps not continuing with it for the full 60 minutes. Then keep your word. Be sure to check in after 5-10 minutes, asking if the client is ok with the modality you’ve chosen.

These days I have a small space to work in, which doesn’t allow me to set up for both modalities. But the 3 or so years that I did have the space to set up for both, I had only two people ask to switch to the table. Of course I had some people who I decided to start right away on the table, instead of the barefoot. On the other hand, I had a woman come in who was eight months pregnant. I of course had the table set up for her, with lots of pillow. She was so disappointed to find that I wasn’t going to give her one of my barefoot sessions that she had heard about. She finally convinced me to at least start with the barefoot, assuring me that she would let me know if she was uncomfortable in any way. I did and she loved the session. The next day when I called her to check in, she said she had slept very well and woken up the next morning feeling relaxed and refreshed. Go figure…!

If you don’t have the space to set up for both modalities, things get a little trickier. If after the phone conversation you think that barefoot is the way to go with this particular client, set up your room for barefoot. Be sure though, that you have sheets, oils, table, etc. in case they decide to “abort” the barefoot session.

When the client arrives, go through the intake procedure again. If you still feel that they’d like the barefoot, ask them to lie on the mat in the position you want them in. Then start in – gradually! Check in after 5-10 minutes to make sure the client is happy. If they’re not happy, give them the following choices: You can interrupt the session for the 5 minutes it’ll take to set up the table or they can finish the barefoot session this time and have a table massage next time. Be sure to give them the options. Let them make the decision. If they opt for sticking with barefoot, be sure to use your hands part of the time and also throw in a bunch of stretches. This will give a bit more of a “nurturing” and therefore, non-threatening feeling.

And voila! You may just have a barefoot convert!

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