Ashiatsu now in KC!

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Solaris

Contact:Kip Ludwigs
Phone: 816.868.1684
e-mail: solarismassage@gmail.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOLARIS MASSAGE FIRST TO OFFER ASHIATSU IN KANSAS CITY
Deep tissue clients report that this bare foot technique provides the kind of pressure for which they’ve been searching.

Beginning November 2 2009, Solaris Massage at 2020 Washington KCMO 64108 in the Crossroads district becomes Kansas City’s first and only provider of Ashiatsu. This very unique form of barefoot deep tissue massage which looks a bit like acrobatics from the sidelines provides a very different kind of massage. For $90 clients can try a 90 minute session of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy. This technique is perfect for athletic clients who prefer deep work. The therapist (Kip Ludwigs, owner of Solaris Massage) uses bars on the ceiling for support and uses her feet to apply deep compression strokes of large muscle groups. Using feet has several advantages over hands, including: double the available pressure, greater surface area, longer, more fluid movements across larger sections of the body.

Ashiatsu photos at Solaris Massage

“Clients report that although the pressure is greater than when I use my hands, it is more soothing and purposeful because my foot also covers a larger surface area” says Kip Ludwigs. “When I find areas of dense tension, I can flex my foot and apply more direct pressure with my heel. More than one client has referred to this deeper pressure as ‘the jam’, and many of them are now booking only Ashiatsu sessions because they like it so much”

Solaris is the first to offer this massage technique in Kansas City. Ashiatsu is available 7am- 7pm Monday through Saturday at 2020 Washington KCMO 64108. For more information on Solaris Massage or to book an appointment please visit http://solarismassage.com.

Since 2004 Solaris Massage has been helping Kansas City optimize health by providing therapeutic massage by licensed professionals in an affordable down to earth setting.
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For more information about Ashiatsu or to schedule an interview please contact Kip at 816.868.1684 or solarismassage@gmail.com

For information on Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy please visit http://www.deepfeet.com

Project: keys to the city

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Solaris

business cards For this project you will need:

1) a stack of cards from businesses you like to recommend.

2) a book ring (available at office supply stores)

3) a hole punch

Yep, punch holes in the cards, put them on the ring, and give them to folks visiting your home town, or your part of town. You can make customized categories (we have health service providers, restaurants, great gifts, etc). We give these to clients who are visiting. It’s a clever, personalized and affordable way to promote your local favorites!

bookrings keys to the city

Massage client confidentiality

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Solaris

What does “client confidentiality” mean when it comes to massage therapy? Many of us are familiar with the concept in terms of a lawyer or counselor, but did you know massage therapists also follow a code of ethics that includes client confidentiality?

If you remember the telephone game from grade school you will recall that even an innocent phrase can become very strange and different by the time it is whispered around the circle. Since we don’t control what happens to information once it leaves our mouths, we must be very careful not to share too much.

An ethical massage therapist will not tell you about the goofy tattoo her client had last Tuesday. You won’t hear her holler at Tom about his rock hard glutes across a crowded bar. If you run into your MT at lunch, she shouldn’t ask how you felt after your last massage. After all, you might be with your boss, who doesn’t know that half day you took was for your massage appointment.

It’s not that we have anything to hide. There is obviously nothing shameful about massage. We just err on the side of caution. After all, respecting boundaries is an important part of our job. Respecting your privacy is just as important as respecting your pain tolerance, comfort level and modesty.

What do I wear to my first massage?

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Solaris

So glad you asked! Here is the very short answer: As long as you are covered by the sheet when we return to the room, the details are a matter of your comfort.

If you come to our shop, you will likely hear “When I leave the room you will disrobe to your level of comfort. Everything from completely clothed to completely nude is normal, anywhere in between is fine. About 50% of folks leave their underpants on, you will be draped modestly during the entire massage”

Some folks snicker when I say that “completely clothed” is normal. One of my favorite clients of all time heard the above speech. When I returned I found that he had removed ONLY his shoes and lay there in his button up flannel shirt. I looked forward to summer, because then I was greeted with short sleeves. But this was HIS level of comfort. I did a different sort of massage through clothing, but we were both comfortable.

The important thing to remember is that no matter what you are comfortable with draping WILL be used. I can’t speak for all states, but here in Missouri, draping is mandatory. No, you cannot lie on top of the sheets and blankets “necked”. I have run across a few clients who claim that it is very “American” to be so concerned with privacy and modesty. Well yes, that’s where we are. Massage is about warming the muscles, so in addition to modesty, the sheets and blankets we use preserve heat.

Should I leave my underwear on? Up to you, but here are some reasons you might want to leave them on:

A: You are having IT band issues, your hammys are tight and you are hoping your MT will do lots of assisted stretches. Leaving your drawers on makes it easier for your MT to move your leg around without an uncomfortable breeze.

B: You prefer that your MT work on your glutes through fabric. Ok by us, we can work through fabric OR avoid any area that you’d rather not have us work on. Just say so.

C: You don’t want to miss an opportunity to promote Uncle Frank’s used car business, and those Uncle Frank Boxers are the BOMB!

When we say “you will be draped modestly” what do we mean? We use either a sheet, and a blanket or a towel and generally uncover JUST the part of the body we are working on. For ladies, this means that when we work on the arms the sheet will be just below the collar bone; for men just below the breast bone (sternum). For front and back of legs we drape at about wear a swimsuit would hit. For the back we pull the drape back to the level of underpants. If we wouldn’t see it on a conservative American beach, we don’t see it in the massage room.

Some ladies feel more comfortable wearing a bra or a sports bra during their session. Some of the work we do might be a bit less fluid, but your comfort is more important than our convenience.

If you have long hair, putting it in a pony tail or bun on TOP of your head is good. If you don’t want us to touch your head, please let us know. Some folks don’t want to have to “fix their wig”, and we understand. A hair cap or bandana can help keep things in place if this is a concern.

Socks? If you have chilly feet you might leave them on during the massage.

So that’s it, in a nutshell. If we’ve missed anything, just ask! Send questions to:

solarismassage@gmail.com

Cancel your appointment, PLEASE!

Posted on September 17, 2009 by Solaris

I heard once (from a reliable source) that only three things motivate human action: fear, comfort, and love. I think this is something advertising people use to promote products; writers use to create believable characters. Assuming this is true, how do I motivate people to take their appointments as seriously as I do?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think a massage appointment is as serious as a court date or anything. Everyone’s time is valuable, however, and I get REALLY protective of the massage therapists who work with me. Some of these people drive in from the suburbs, put gas in their beaters, and give up OTHER work to be here for appointments. When we have a no show, I really feel bad for wasting their time.

I also believe that in a face to face interaction, most humans are reasonable. My sister never used to tip baristas until I explained that the tip jar is a significant part of their income. She understood why she should tip after I explained that a barista actually does much more than a server (making the food and drink, bringing it to you, busing the table, washing the dishes).

So maybe what’s missing here (in addition to those ne’er-do-well clients) is a little understanding. I can’t speak for every massage therapist, but I can shed light on what is a very common situation. When you make an appointment, we reserve that time for you. In reality, if you make an hour long appointment, we commit two hours (we allow time to ready the room, greet early clients, fill out forms, use the restroom, finish up cash transaction with client, and reset the room after use). Here’s a real world example: Bob wants a 1pm hour long appointment. We arrive at 12:30, and finish with Bob at 2pm. We don’t book our next appointment until 2:30pm.

So if Bob doesn’t show up for his 1pm hour long massage appointment, we have wasted two hours of our work day. And we don’t have a time machine either people. If the average work day in America is eight hours, you can see that losing 1/4 of our workday IS significant. If we don’t have 24 hours notice, we can’t fill that time with work. If we are not working, that’s right – we don’t get paid. Most massage therapists are independent contractors, which means that we only get paid for the work we do.

In addition to the two hours we plan to spend at the shop, some therapists travel 20 or 30 minutes for a single appointment. Yes, you are that important to us! We love what we do so much, that even if we only have one appointment we will commit a total of up to three hours for it. We don’t mind doing this, but we need to know if you’re not going to make your appointment.

So back to “fear, comfort, and love”. If we look at what motivated my sister to change in the case of tipping baristas, I’d call it understanding. When she understood the value of her action, she changed it. I think if clients understood the value of a cancellation call, they’d be far more likely to make it. Perhaps understanding is a form of love.

- Kip

Anything hands can do, feet can do better.

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Solaris

As most of us grow up we realize that what was totally “normal” in childhood might really be very unique. I was reminded of this recently while making introductions in a massage continuing education class. We were asked to share if we had ever experienced massage done by feet. When I explained that this was something we had done in my family growing up, one of my classmates asked disdainfully “where are you from?”. In retrospect I should’ve said “the same place the Beverly Hillbillies come from”.

Using one’s feet really was a very natural thing in my family, along with massage itself. Your hands get tired, so you sit on the couch and have mom lay on the floor. You work on her aching back with your feet. Really, very simple.

In addition to the fact that feet are a good alternative to tired hands, there is the benefit of better pressure. In fact, I just measured my maximum elbow pressure (55 pounds) and then the pressure of my heel (110 pounds). With gravity alone I can deliver TWICE the pressure! Not to mention the working surface area of my foot is about twice that of my hand. When I discovered there was a class that would teach me to apply my feet in a professional western therapeutic massage setting, I could not wait to take it!

A therapist trained in Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy uses bars attached to the ceiling for support and balance and bare feet instead of hands to do the massage. Similar to Swedish massage, the strokes are long and flowing. Like Deep Tissue, Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy can provide a very deep therapeutic massage.

I can’t think of anything more natural than that.

Giving your Massage Therapist Feedback

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Solaris

After a treatment last night a client asked when he should give me feedback on the amount of pressure he’d prefer. The smart ass in me was thinking “uh, before now”. Luckily, the diplomat spoke instead. New Clients always get the speech that includes “we like feedback, feel free to tell me ‘more pressure, less pressure, my feet are tickleish’ or to say nothing at all”. I realize that it can be tough to lay there all quiet and relaxed AND speak up to share input about how the massage is going. In fact, let me confess: I have had my trachea smashed into the table below on more than one occasion (as a client) and never said a word to the therapist. There, I said it.

It can be hard to give your massage therapist constructive criticism. But let me encourage you to do so (and preferably before or during the massage). As talented as we may be, we are NOT mindreaders! Positive reinforcement is also important. We may THINK we doing a great job, but we don’t really know unless you tell us. You might think of some things the next day and drop her an e-mail. Next time you come in, remind her that you LOVED the work she did on your legs and knees last time and would like a little more of that this time. You could even be more specific and tell her that it is ok to skip the scalp massage this Tuesday in order to have more time for the legs.

So let me repeat myself: it is always a good time to give your MT feedback.

-Kip

No half hour appointments for new clients…

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Solaris

…and here’s why: D=Rxt, Time is part of the deal . Even if your only complaint is your lower back. If we’ve never worked on you before, a half hour is not enough time for us to get a sense of what your body needs. I know I know, you’re really busy and you know right where it hurts. Right there, just there, only there. Well if I drive my car into the shop complaining that it is pulling really hard to the right, I could tell my mechanic to just work on the steering column.

A good mechanic is going to drive my car around the block and figure out that I have a leak in my tire. I could say “the tires look fine to me, why do you need take it around the block?”. Well, that’s what a good mechanic does: Listens to you, and then adds to what you say by making her own assessment. And that assessment takes time.

The body has it’s own rhythm and speed. Part of what we do as massage therapists is assess those things and work with them to help your body feel better. Even if you only feel pain in one specific area, we really do need to take the time (especially the first time we see you) to asses the situation and best determine HOW we can help you. And that, my friends, takes more than thirty minutes.

Now lets say you been goin’ to the same mechanic for a while now, taking the old chassis in for regular maintenance and then you roll over a nail. Well now yes, by all means, come on in and we’ll fix that flat in a jiffy, dig?

mas popular: evenings and couple’s appointments

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Solaris

What’s the deal, kids? We can’t keep these things in stock! There has been a flurry of requests for couples massage lately, which is GREAT! I can’t help but wonder why so many lately though. Was there a popular TV show that featured it or something? Well, it’s been a lot of fun, because doing couples massage is one of the funnest ways to learn new stuff (as a therapist).

We have also been watching our evening appointments fill up fast. Coming in after work is a great way to land after a long busy day. You get to just roll home after your massage and savor the post-treatment buzz. Don’t forget that we are also available on Saturdays and over lunch breaks if those times work for you.

Gallery of favorite Compliments

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Solaris

“your hands are like velvet”

“you are a muscle scientist”

“your hands are superheros, and these knots in my back are the villains”

“are you always so stubborn?”

“this is WAY better than rolling around on that softball”

“I think I drooled on your floor”

“deliberate and mesmerizing”