Ashiatsu and the therapist's size

When I learned Ashiatsu, if a therapist was over 5'7" or weighed over 135 lbs, they needed to have excellent upper body strength. Some therapists I've spoken with have expressed concern that their weight or height would be an issue if training in Ashiatsu.

Originally, both female and male massage therapists who were instructed in Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy learned both one footed and two footed strokes in Ruthie Hardee's class. Some LMTs simply did not need to perform two footed strokes because their clients were not significantly larger than they, or because they could work sufficiently deeply using just one bare foot on a client at a time.

Hardee wisely divided this class into two classes, which are now known as Barefoot Basics, the one footed posterior strokes, and Deepfeet II, two footed posterior strokes. Now therapists can decide if they want to train in the advanced class. Upper body and core strength are definitely needed to massage with two feet. Many students of my advanced classes have mentioned after class that they underestimated the amount of upper body strength necessary.

I have taught both slight therapists as well as men and women massage therapists who weigh 200+ pounds. Those larger therapists may find that they never need to take the two footed strokes class, but those that do choose to take it simply need to be able to do chin ups and military pushups prior to the start of class.