Sports or Deep Tissue Massage Gift Certificates for the Man in Your Life: With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, shops are displaying all kinds of gifts, from  pink, heart-shaped candies, to red lingerie with black bows, to Valentine-themed boxes of Godiva chocolates.  One Valentine’s Day gift idea that doesn’t seem to occur to many people is a gift certificate for a massage – especially for the man in your life.  How about getting him a massage gift certificate this Valentine’s Day?  …And I don’t mean for those metrosexual …

I was never a believer in massages until I started about two years ago. I’m at the point in my career where I need massages and stretching to keep myself flexible.  It works.
~ Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown
I found quite an interesting article today. If you’re like so many people, you think of massage as being a luxury that mostly women indulge in on a “mani-pedi-pampering” day. …And you may have the stereotype of football players being tough and macho and therefore, not going in for …

It seems that nowadays it’s very unusual to hear of a serious athlete who doesn’t employ massage as part of their training regimen and recovery strategy. Indeed, if the budget permits, any Olympic athlete today will receive massage therapy at least once or twice per week – or some (like Michael Phelps) even twice a day! Here’s a list of quotes by or about various athletes from the Beijing Games about massage and bodywork.
Michael Phelps
I have been getting two massages a day and ice baths.
Read more…

Barefoot Deep Tissue Massage, Barefoot Sports Massage, Barefoot Compression Massage, Ashiatsu… These are some of the terms used to describe a modality of bodywork where the therapist uses his feet to apply pressure (usually the heel and sometimes the sesamoid bone) instead of his hands.

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!

Ok. We’re getting there. So now, you’ve convinced some of your clients to try the Barefoot Deep Tissue Massage and they’ve even gone the whole 60 minutes without asking to switch to a table massage. In the follow-up call the next day, they reported that they slept well and woke up feeling refreshed. But…

Ever come home from a hard day at work and ask your spouse/partner/lover for a massage? Chances are, you have. And chances are, your partner obliged. At least once, anyway.

So here you are, finally a certified massage therapist! Now you’re ready to start your practice! But where are all the clients?!?

The first time I went to a formal networking meeting, I thought, “Hmmm… This is pretty cheesy…” It was so structured. So unnatural… “Why can’t we just have lunch and talk?”, I thought.