I've been doing certified Ashiatsu massages since 2011. It's kinda my "thing." It's what I'm known for and if you're not booking Barefoot bar therapy massage with me, I'm wondering why not!

I call this style Barefoot bar therapy on my service list because it's just easier for my clients to say but it's a special type of massage where the massage therapist uses their feet instead of their hands to give the client a deep, consistent amount of pressure.

There are many types of barefoot massage from all over the world. Some examples are, Fijian massage adapted by a Western massage therapist from work she received in Fiji and Chavutti Thirumal from India.

I'm currently teaching other massage therapists Ashiatsu and Fijian massage as an approved instructor for the Center for Barefoot Massage and just love spreading the barefoot massage goodness around far and wide!  Clients love it, massage therapists love doing it. 

This style is not for those who want a soft touch. Barefoot bar therapy is deep tissue massage by design. It can't be done lightly so anyone who is sensitive to pressure would need to steer clear of it.

That being said, It's nothing like normal deep tissue where massage therapists use their hands, boney fingers and knuckles. Imagine SLOW, controlled movements. Sometimes shearing, other times gliding strokes and deep compression which feels surprisingly relaxing as it's working in to problem areas, addressing deeper tissues, non invasively.

Check me out in my Advanced FasciAshi workshop last summer! Toe-tally nailed it!

By Hillary Arrieta, Owner, LMT

If you've been one of my clients for a while, you've seen Gaia Bodywork grow over the years and  you might be wondering what all I offer now. Last weekend I was at a wellness expo and I wanted to show case my services but wasn't sure how. I came up with a plan and created a layout that I hope helps to make it simple to see exactly what I offer to clients. 

If you're stuck in a massage rut, you can come in for a wellness service which combines my best services. It's kind of a "best of" experience. I always suggest booking my signature massage, barefoot bar therapy. It's what I'm known for around here! My second favorite service is the Ayurvedic inspiration service. It combines my favorite treatments to give (and get too!) in a perfect flow. 
Cupping therapy is also a new addition that has been a game changer for me. I'm really seeing the results when it's added to my barefoot bar therapy sessions.  Go on, be brave and give something new a try. 

Leave me questions in the comments!

Are you a massage addict? Don't worry, you are not alone!
Many people love to get massages but are unsure of the true benefits and how to get the most from their sessions.

After working as a massage therapist for over a decade, I’ve spoken to many clients and prospective clients about the important, need to know information regarding massage therapy and it’s long term use for major health and wellness benefits.
I’ve narrowed it down to address the most common questions I get from people wanting to know more about this amazing therapy. 


1. Massage therapy, like most natural therapies, requires consistency and time to reap benefits.
It would be fantastic to go in for a massage and come out feeling brand new but that isn’t always the case.

Our bodies create muscular imbalances over time, so naturally it will take some time to undo them. Some styles of bodywork can release chronic muscular holding patterns and benefit overall posture but it will take several weeks, months, or even years depending on what is going on.

Some therapists also make suggestions for home care or refer to additional health care providers so that your treatments will be more effective and last longer.

I always encourage my clients to make massage a regular self care habit to prevent pain and stress. Massage Therapy works best when it’s used as preventative care.


2. Massage therapy helps muscle tissue rest, repair, and recover after strenuous activity.
Not only does massage therapy feel good, it’s also a great option for a speedy recovery for people with muscular pain or athletes wanting to enhance their performance. Thinking that the only benefit to getting regular massage is feeling pampered severely underestimates this extremely effective natural therapy.

Regular massage adds to our quality of life by reducing everyday aches and pains that nag at us and consequently makes our stress levels rise.


3. There are many styles of massage therapy and every therapist is different.
It’s true, we all study different types of massage and have different skills that are unique to each individual.

While we all study the same basic massage foundations, some of us specialize in different areas. many therapists choose to study clinical styles of bodywork while others are passionate about relaxation and stress reduction. Some therapists choose to only use modern, Western techniques, while others enjoy ancient, Eastern styles of bodywork.

It’s best to ask around for a referral to someone that can be a good match for your specific needs. Luckily, massage therapists are very friendly and love to discuss their work so finding a good referral is pretty easy.  

For example, you wouldn't want to see a therapist who practices massage for relaxation if you need detailed work on specific muscles for pain relief from an injury. You’d want to see a clinical or medical massage therapist.

Whenever I hear someone complain about a massage they didn’t like, it’s usually because the intention of the session wasn’t clear to both parties from the beginning or they were seeing a therapist who’s style wasn’t a good fit for them.


4. We are the facilitators but you are the healer.
Massage therapists create space for our clients to rest and move their nervous system from it’s stress response in to it’s parasympathetic or “rest and digest” response. This is such an important switch to flip in order to set the stage for the real healer (your body)  to come in and do the work.

When we are able to take a complete rest, surrender to what is, and just BE, miraculous things can happen. Our bodies can heal from many stress related dysfunctions, we can see the world more clearly, and we can make better decisions for our well being.

Massage therapists can only hold that space for our clients but we can not take credit for healing them. 
The real healing of our mind/body relationship happens in it’s own time and when we as individuals are ready.

Question:
What do you what your massage therapist to know?
Leave a comment.

Hi! I’m Hillary Arrieta and I help people improve their lives by offering holistic solutions to ease stress, eliminate pain, and inspire self care practices. 
I own Gaia Bodywork in Richardson, TX. and specialize in unique and effective massage and meditation techniques such as Barefoot Bar Therapy and iRest® Yoga Nidra.

Gaia Bodywork PLLC offers the Best Massage in Richardson, Texas for pain and stress management. 

Massage therapy has become some what of a mainstream natural health practice in the past few years with the help of large chains that offer memberships for monthly massage. Even before it's rise in popularity, therapeutic massage found it's way in to my life. After years of dealing with intense anxiety, and feeling unraveled emotionally, I began a healing journey, becoming a massage therapist. It wasn't just to help others through the difficulties in life, but to also help myself and to grow me up in to a balanced person.



It is an honor to do this type of work and some times I feel like it was my destiny to become a holistic health provider. The perfect fit. A way to integrate my scattered self and become whole.



Being introduced to the bodymind connection- massage therapy opened me up to a better understanding of how my mind and body work together and how when using massage as preventative health care, instead of as a pampering treat, I was able to live a happier, relatively conflict free life. I noticed things came easier. My emotions and thoughts were less overwhelming. Communication with others was clearer and easier.



I use my massage practice to inspire people to take care of the bodymind. My main focus in my work is stress relief, something that for whatever reason, our culture doesn't value too much although everyone seems to want it.



I love to create the healing environment for people. Giving my clients a safe haven away from the rest of the busy world. Working with people who are burnt out and needing to rejuvenate their life, people who are dealing with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and stress related illness. These are some of my regular clients. My sessions are quiet and have a focus on healing for that reason.



I work with people who need to step away from life and recover from overwhelm, depression, anxiety, and and all the adverse effects of our multitasking, pressured filled, modern day lifestyles.







Massage therapy has given me many gifts over the years. One of the biggest gifts has been an appreciation for self care.



I never thought about caring for myself before I found massage therapy. I use to do harmful things to my body and mind. I had no clue that I was in control of my mental health and that taking care of my physical AND emotional/mental self was really, really important. I loved getting "pampered" at the nail or hair salon, but true self care goes deeper than physical attractiveness.



Sometimes when I'm feeling pain or physically ill, I can explore that deeper through self inquiry or meditation practices and often discover that what I'm really experiencing is an emotion, thought, or a toxic, old belief that's coming up ( "I should do this or be that") and making me feel uncomfortable.

This has brought me a lot of peace because I can then resolve this emotion or whatever is coming up for me, and in turn resolve the pain that is showing up in my physical body.

Having a massage during a time when we need to release emotional or mental pain can be super helpful because putting ourselves in a healing environment and allowing our body to rest can help our brains process and become clear.



One of the reasons Massage therapy works in this way is It takes us from our hectic, stress filled lives in to a place where our nervous system can switch over to the parasympathetic "rest and digest" response. This is when healthy changes can occur in our minds and bodies. Mental clarity and focus are benefits of regular massage.



We can't be at our best when we are constantly in survival mode, frazzled, and living a lifestyle that doesn't allow for rest. We are told that it's lazy or that being unproductive is a bad thing when in reality, it's a vital part of healing and staying healthy.



Becoming a massage therapist also introduced me to the world of alternative health. One of the ideas of alt. health care is looking at not just the physical but also the mental, spiritual, and emotional parts. I read so many life changing books searching for more and more on true wellness and what it means to be balanced.



I changed the way I felt about myself and the harmful negative self talk turned in to sweetness. I work on accepting other people and myself, just as they are. This is a conscious and daily practice. I've developed a deeper spiritual knowing through meditation that gives me peace. Real peace. Which is what I made as my heartfelt desire, my wish for my tumultuous life several years ago.



Reflecting over the past ten years as a licensed massage therapist gives me a sense of happiness and pride. I'm proud of myself and so inspired by everyone I have met, studied from, and practiced with. It's a feeling of being home and centered in my life purpose.

With gratitude!

Massage therapy is a treatment whose sole purpose is to make us feel better and to add to our health. It relaxes us and boosts our bodies immune response, but sometimes it's not the best treatment for us. Massage therapy can actually intensify your symptoms or cause other issues to arise that are uncomfortable or unwanted at times. Here are a few examples of when massage therapy is not such a great idea.

• Impending illness- Regular massage sessions can keep you healthy but If you're already coming down with a cold or other illness, massage can exacerbate your symptoms making you feel worse. It's best to wait a week or two before scheduling a massage to allow your body to heal and work through it on its own.

• While using pain relievers or muscle relaxers- This is not a good time to get a massage because you can't accurately communicate with the therapist about pain or pressure. That could be a problem because the therapist may accidentally injure you with out that oh so important feed back. 

• While getting treatment from a doctor or physical therapist with out their knowledge of adding massage therapy-  Let your physician or PT know that you are seeing a massage therapist, as this may interfere with their treatment. It's best to double check with them first to make sure massage is indicated for your specific situation.

• First trimester of pregnancy- While there is no concrete evidence that massage is harmful during the first trimester of pregnancy, it's always a good idea to approach this time with caution. High risk pregnancies are usually a "no-go" for massage, so it's best to wait and make sure your pregnancy is without complication before booking a session. Some therapists will request that you wait until the beginning of your second trimester to schedule your first prenatal massage.

Remember  to discuss any health concerns with your massage therapist and to let them know if your health history has changed since your last visit.

Tell me:
How does massage help you stay healthy?
Leave me a comment- I love hearing from you!


Related posts:

Ditch the bad habits and replace them with massage.
My natural healthcare secrets.

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta LMT040051 and is located in Richardson, TX.  offering the best massage services in the area for pain and stress management. Visit Gaiabodywork.com for more information.

Yes, my title is a bit shocking.  I recently asked this question to therapists on face book:

 "What's one thing you wished clients knew (etiquette wise) before they become your clients or what's an example of times where you felt communication could be better?"

 I got feedback from people all over the country.
With that feed back, I was inspired to come up with few pointers on what to avoid doing before, during, and after your massage visit. Let's see what you think.

1. Being habitually late.
For many therapists, this is the #1 discussed aggravation. For me, I have certain booking policies that are clear about this issue. For therapists that try to accommodate late clients, it makes their whole day a mess and pushes back other clients sessions. Usually the other people that have to wait are not happy campers. It's just a bad situation for everyone.

2. Not showing up for a booked appointment.
For most people who work by appointment, they depend on clients to show up for their sessions when they book them. It takes up valuable time where they could be working with other clients or attending family or personal events. This communication is so important and it's just good manners to let someone know in advance if you're not going to make a meeting that is set up specifically for you.

3. Neglecting your hygiene before your massage appointment.
You should arrive at your session clean and in the mind frame of relaxing.  It's a courtesy to your therapist and it's more beneficial for you. A clean environment is a healthy environment for all considered.

4. Making inappropriate remarks of the sexual nature to your therapist.
No further explanation needed. Many therapists report this type of behavior to local police departments as a safety concern and in protest to human trafficking.

5. Trying to haggle on pricing.
For most therapists, pricing is set at what they need to make to feed their families. I've never met a wealthy massage therapist and while I'm sure they exists, most of us are just normal people trying to make a living wage by helping others with our skills. 

We work hard and we train hard to give you that great massage time and time again. Support your favorite therapists and understand that they have kids, mortgages, and bills to pay as well. I think most of us do what we can to make it as affordable as possible.

The price for a one hour session is usually between $60-$100 depending on where you go.
Try out other spas or therapists if you're new to massage. Once you get more experience with different styles,
You 'll know if you're getting a fair price for the type of work you receive.

6. Attempting to retrain a therapist on their skills.
Letting therapists know about pressure, temperature, and pain tolerance is great! That feedback is extremely helpful during a session.

Trying to tell a therapist how to massage you is usually not going to work out very well.
Every therapist has a different style naturally, even if they have the same training.

Clients who are massage therapists themselves tend to be the worst at this- it's best to try out a few therapists and find the one that works in the way that feels best to you instead of trying to make a therapist work in a completely different way than what is normal for them. They may not have the specific training you are looking for.

7. Helping too much during the session or neglecting to tell your therapist about your comfort.
Your only job as the client is to soften your body and recieve the massage . Unless your therapist asks for help or for you to move a certain way, there's no real need for you to move your body during the massage, unless you're uncomfortable of course.

​I can't tell you how many times I've been kicked in the stomach on accident when I'm trying to drape a leg or smacked while moving an arm. 
It's also extremely hard to massage a neck when its owner is moving it all around. For everyone's safety, please be still ;)

Also, please tell your massage therapist when something isn't right.
Communication is important. Massage therapists go through a lot of training but one thing we are NOT trained in is mind reading. It would be so cool if we were!
If the pressure is uncomfortable or you're too cold during a session and you can't relax, please tell us.

Cindy, a massage therapist from Michigan says
 "I wish more clients would realize that it's { the session} really about THEM and I could care less if they want more pressure, less pressure, more heat, etc. I just wish they would tell me so I can give them the best session."

Most massage therapists feel just like Cindy. We just want to make you happy with your massage therapy treatments. Don't worry about hurting our feelings. We don't mind when you tell us how to make you more comfortable.

Question: What do you look for in a massage therapist?
Give me your reply in the comments below!

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta LMT and is located in Richardson, TX.  offering the best massage services in the area for pain and stress management. Visit Gaiabodywork.com for more information.

For many years, I thought deep tissue massage was simply pushing harder. That seemed to appease most of my deep tissue clients and the managers or spa owners who ran the spas where I was employed.
They’d say "Yeah, just PUSH HARDER and give more pressure” when I’d wonder why a client wasn’t happy with the deep tissue massage I’d just given them.
As I grew in my career and got more education, I learned that deep tissue massage is NOT deep PRESSURE massage.
I can work deeply in to your muscles and soft tissues without using deep pressure just by slowing down my work and heating up the area first, either with my hands, feet, or with a heating pack.

The problem with continuing this idea of "just push harder” is that it's counter productive. The harder you push, the harder the muscles push back. Muscle guarding, as it's called is a signal from the muscle that it has had enough. It won't let you continue to force pressure without injury to the tissue. If you’ve ever heard of someone complain that they were so sore from their massage, this is probably the cause. Honestly, nobody wants to feel MORE pain from the massage than what they originally came in with.

Many therapist retire early from overdoing it on the pressure. Injuring and breaking down their own bodies in the process of trying to help and assist healing for their clients. This simply doesn't have to be the case.

Of course, I don't have anything against deep pressure. My favorite style of massage, Ashiatsu (Barefoot bar therapy) as you will find it on my service menu, is meant to give deep pressure by design. Standing above the table and using the force of gravity + weight just makes that deep pressure happen effortlessly.

What I don't like is the misguided notion that deep pressure = pain and those silly sayings like " pain is weakness leaving the body." Or "no pain, no gain."
Pain is a signal from your body telling you to stop, slow down, and take notice.  Those ideas that pain is weakness have no place in massage therapy or fitness for that matter. Many of my clients have chronic pain from a sports or fitness related injury and this tells me that we need to cultivate body awareness.

In my practice, communication between client and therapist is crucial. I can usually tell from muscle guarding or body language when I've reached the client's pain tolerance.....but not always. Sometimes muscles don't react or it's too subtle to notice. Also, some medications clients maybe taking can block this conversation between myself and the tissues. That is why my clients use a subjective pain scale to alert me to any discomfort ( 1-10- 1 being no pain and 10 being excruciating pain.) If the pressure or pain goes past a 6 on their scale, they let me know and my work changes to accommodate them. It keeps everyone happy and comfortable throughout the session.

​Deep Pressure: is exerting more pressure or force. It should have skill behind it but many times it doesn't, especially if the therapist doesn't have good training. If it's done right, it's AHHHmazing! If it's done wrong it's painful and dangerous to soft tissue. It can have some emotional side effects as well inciting panic and fear in a client.  Done correctly, deep pressure can actually relax the nervous system.
Deep Tissue massage: 
According to leading deep tissue massage instructor, Art Riggs, Is simply using techniques to access deeper muscular structures. Any technique will do but most often the therapist uses myofacial release, trigger point therapy, friction, compression, traction, heat and more. Along with expert palpation skills to locate the specific muscle that needs the work. Sometimes you (on the client's end) will FEEL the depth of the pressure and other times you won't. It all depends on the technique being used. Some deep work is done very gently.

Therapists...It's important to get training and learn a pressure intensive style thought the proper channels. I love pressure and compression, giving it and receiving it. I choose to study with THE BEST ashiatsu  trainers and instructors. My favorites are the people over at Center for Barefoot Massage and Lolita knight’s Fijian Massage.


QUESTION: 
Do you enjoy deep pressure? 
Have you ever left a massage feeling more pain than you came in with?

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta LMT and is located in Richardson, TX.  offering the best massage services in the area for pain and stress management. Visit Gaiabodywork.com for more information.

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta and is located in Richardson, Tx.  Visit gaiabodywork.com for more information.

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta and is located in Richardson, Tx.  Visit gaiabodywork.com for more information.

Gaia Bodywork PLLC is the private massage practice of Hillary Arrieta and is located in Richardson, Tx.  Visit gaiabodywork.com for more information.