Ashiatsu massage is originally a Japanese style of Barefoot Massage. “Ashi” meaning foot and “atsu” meaning pressure. Today Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage Therapy is practiced in North America with the help of overhead parallel bars for safety, balance and precision. Broad and compressive effleurage and petrissage strokes are used similarly to hands-on treatment. The difference is the broad surfaces of the foot allow the therapist to deliver deeper pressure without the pain or discomfort that can come from the boney prominences like elbows, fingers and thumbs. The long gliding strokes used in Ashiatsu Massage gives consistent pressure and flow, unlike other massage modalities.