Do I have to be a small / petite person to learn DeepFeet Therapy?
Not at all! There are no height or weight requirements for Barefoot Basics. Some of our graduates are 150-190 pounds and are as smooth and gentle as can be. It’s really more about fluidity and flow.
We developed this work a long time ago to accomodate all therapists by creating different program levels. The skills taught in Barefoot Basics and the Anterior / Sidelying workshops can be done by anyone. You only have one foot on the body when you’re standing so you are in complete control of your pressure at all times.
We do recommend a certain level of coordination so your delivery will be “sensational” and not received as “mediocre”.
Here’s some feedback from a male therapist who recently took Barefoot Basics:
“Until you actually try doing ashiatsu, it’s a complete mystery what role therapist weight plays. I know some male therapists that are on the heavier side and would probably have a hard time doing more than one or two pull-ups, but I don’t think they’d have any problem here. So if I were asked, after my training, what’s the real scoop regarding weight/strength and one-foot ashiatsu, I’d make the following points:
1) unless the therapist is really clumsy or heavy enough to damage the massage table while the client is on it, weight simply isn’t an issue.
2) the strength needed to moderate foot pressure doesn’t come solely from the arms/upper body – much of
it comes from the core. In my case, I found that my core got twice the workout of the upper body. I found that most of the time I could freely shift work between the arms and the core if one or the other got fatigued.
3) the larger male foot distributes pressure over a larger area which also seems to make weight less of a concern.”