Ashiatsu Home Study – Book and Video!

Description

Buy an Ashiatsu home study program that teaches you the basics – including two foot strokes!  

Some people think they need to go take an Ashiatsu training class to learn Ashiatsu barefoot massage.  Why not learn at home and then develop YOUR OWN style?  That’s what I did but I started totally from scratch and therefore, I wasn’t influenced by anyone else’s do’s or don’ts that made no sense.  I simply learned what really works through trial and error.  As a result I’ve created an Ashiatsu home study that’s simple, effective and inexpensive.  For just $50 you’ll learn things that took me years to figure out.  Try my ashiatsu book and video today!  Watch my videos and see for yourself!  Ashiatsu classes are great but my Ashiatsu home study is better because it’s easier and less expensive!

You can pay a LOT for an Ashiatsu home study program or… not! 

Think about it… how much do books usually cost?  Generally $10-$30!  What if they include a video?  Maybe another $10-$20 right?  Let’s keep it real!  Try my fantastic ashiatsu home study program today!

Right now I’m not teaching classes but you are welcome to purchase my home study program or just watch my videos on Youtube.  Please also see my fantastic massage tools!  Enjoy!

How To Make Ashiatsu Bars!

Using long eye bolts to support the bars.

Using long eye bolts looks pretty nice. The builder of these bars installed two by fours in between the joists in the attic, then drilled holes straight through them and down through the drywall. Nuts on either side of the two by fours hold the eye bolts tight and at the desired height. Of course you have to be able to get up into the attic to pull this off. These eye bolts are 24″ long. Their thickness is 5/8 or 3/4 depending on the thickness of the bar.

To hold the 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 in closet rods tight inside the eye holes this builder wrapped leather around them. Esthetically, this looks kind of cool but personally, I would drill a small hole in the eye bolt and just use a screw.

 

There are many ways to create bars. You must decide the way that is best for your room, budget and abilities.

Don’t let the chore of building bars inhibit you from getting started with doing Ashiatsu! Pay someone to build them for you if you need to. Beg your husband and give him some great massage! Do whatever you need to accomplish having a set of solid bars above your head at the perfect height. It’s just that good.

This modality is so valuable that I recommend moving if you have to! Yes, if you need higher ceilings, find a new room/office to move to! What’s even better is to buy an electric table that goes way down to 18″ (Earthlight Elloras’ are great and be sure to get the armrests too. I love mine!)

In my massage room I have high vaulted ceilings. Therefore I needed a way to support the Ashiatsu bars easily and with great strength. Read the instructions and watch the video below and you will see how I have accomplished this. This method also works great for flat ceilings too. Now I have five sets of these bars in my room. No, this is not the prettiest way to create bars! It sure works great though and costs less than $100 for the average set. Yes, I’m a utilitarian kind of guy! When I teach it’s the same deal. You will learn straight forward methods based on logic and common sense. I’m also an artistic person. Massage is a dance as well as a science. Here you will learn flow, rhythm and groove. Yes, we will play some really great music… not just massage tunes!

Ashiatsu bars using support beams.

 

(Remember that you must have a high enough ceiling to install these bars (see below) and that the bars cannot be closer than 8 inches to the ceiling. (when you are standing on a client, your head will be above the bars and you need plenty of room for your head to move around.)

Materials Used:
(Be sure to buy nice, straight, clean, un-cracked wood!)
Two bars (1 ¼ closet rod) the length of the room from wall to wall –
if less than 14′.
Two support beams using 2*4s the length of the room.
Four 2*4 hangers
One 2*4*8 to cut for the end supports.
One 2*3*8 to cut for separator blocks.
Box of “Headlok” heavy duty flathead fasteners. 4 1/2″
Plastic end caps for the closet rods.
Old inner-tube.

First you need to figure out how high to make your bars.
Stand on your massage table at the height that you like it to be. Hold your arms up so that your elbows are at a bit more than 90 degrees – as though you are holding an imaginary set of bars. Then measure how high they are. (If you have an electric table it’s best to have it set all the way down…unless you have more than one person using the bars…like in a spa. When you have multiple users you have to create a bar set that accommodates everyone, so you want to build the bars at an average height.)

Assembly instructions:
If you have very high ceilings, you are going to create a couple of support beams for the bars that span the width of the room and connect into the walls. These support beams and bars usually span the width of your room. (You can buy the bars (1 1/4 inch closet rod) up to about 16 feet long. Most rooms are less than 12 feet wide.) Use 2 * 4s for your beams. Buy nice straight pieces. (*** You will have to really look for nice, un-cracked, straight pieces at the hardware store. Don’t buy warped wood!)

Find the studs in the wall where you are mounting the bars by using a stud-finder. Mark the spots directly. Then you are going to screw a piece of 2*4 onto the wall, that I will call an “end support”, spanning two or even three of the studs. You will have to cut this piece the length desired to span the studs. This support has to be at the right height! The bottom of the end support should be 2 ¾” above the height of where you want the top of your bars.

Onto this end support goes the two hangers for the beams. Make these steel stud hangers about 20″ – 24″ apart. (If you are a small person with not so wide shoulders make them 20″ apart. A medium width shoulder – 22″ apart. A bigger person should make them 24″. I like mine at 24″. A really big guy might do 26″ or even 28″.

Now do all the same work on the opposite side wall in the exact opposite place. Then cut to length and install your support beams (2*4s) onto the hangers. Secure the beams with screws. Now you are ready to install the separator blocks.

Cut 6” long blocks from your 2*3 piece of wood to use for separator blocks. Screw the separator blocks onto the beams with the long screws (2 for each block). Use rubber pieces in between the blocks so you don’t get the squeaking noise of wood on wood when you are doing Ashiatsu. (I got an old inner-tube from a tire store.) Spacer blocks should be no more than 4 ½ feet apart so yes, you need to have at least one block in the middle of the two that are placed on the ends. Offset the center block toward the back of the “clients head side” of the massage table so that it is not in your way so much. This way you will have a full 4 ½ feet of free and open bar space directly above your client’s shoulders, back and glutes.

Now install the bars.
First you have to mount the plastic end caps in the exact place where the bars butt up to the wall. Use plastic inserts into the drywall and then screw the plastic end caps into place.
Cut the bars the exact length to fit in between the plastic end caps. Use one deep screw to hold the bars onto each separator block. Once again, put nice rubber pieces in between the bars and the blocks to avoid squeaking.

Finishing the job.
Use an all-natural and non-toxic finish to seal the bars. I like this cashew based finish from Earthpaints.
I’ve used it time and time again and it works awesome! Buy two pints. (If you have extra you will surely use the rest for another project.)
Before you apply the finish be sure to sand the wood down a bit with 80-100 grit sand paper. This will clean up the wood and allow the resin to bind well. Do not thin the resin. Apply it with a brush. Apply two coats for full coverage. Allow each coat to dry at least a day or two. After the second coat do a VERY LIGHT sanding on the bars with 180 grit sand paper just to smooth them out.

Yea, you’re done! Now rub the heck out of people and remember, a great massage is “hurts good yummy”.