Written by So early on in the challenge my sit-up numbers skyrocketed. This is why. I’m training in ashiatsu massage. A few weeks into the challenge, once I realized my numbers were causing some confusion, I told sensei that I wouldn’t count the crunches from giving massage. I went back and deleted all the crunches the massages had given me. My crunch numbers are still high thanks to teaching BodyCombat (it equates to 1700 crunches in a 55-minute class, and I teach it twice a week). The low-end estimate of crunches in giving a 1-hr ashiatsu massage is 6,000. Yes, SIX THOUSAND! Here’s why (my wellness coach did the research, and she has a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and over 20 years in the fitness industry and sports medicine):
“A single minute of an intense isometric plank is commonly considered equivalent to about 100 crunches. If we apply that standard and compare the sustained isometric load of 1 hour of ashiatsu massage (where the therapist balances using their core for stability) to dynamic crunches, it roughly equals 6,000 to 12,000 crunches.”
For my job, I teach LesMills BodyCombat twice a week and LesMills BodyBalance once a week. Each week I give a 60- to 90-minute massage as part of my ashiatsu training. So in a week I do the equivalent of over 9,400 crunches. I’m grateful that Sensei Oliver lets us adapt the test to our current life status, especially given how much physical exertion is required for me to simply do my jobs. I also lift heavy 3 times a week, with focus on my upper body strength and single-leg strength. Hopefully the video demonstrates why.
I’ve been training in ashiatsu for about 3 months now. The first time I walked on my trainer, I thought I was on a human slip-n-slide! We put oil on the client and sometimes on our feet, so to balance myself while holding bars overhead and walking was scary at first! I’ve even learned to do the foot exchange, a.k.a. moonwalk, but it can get tricky. It’s easier to do it on the low back than on the glutes. I also do “Ruthie’s wave”, which I was told is like a Jamaican butterfly dance, on the client’s low back. I place my heels below their ribs and my toes in their glutes. The arches of my feet go over their sacrum. I then go between together stance (musubi dachi) and naihanchi and change the foot pressure from between my heels and toes. So our feet make a wave motion on the client’s low back. It relieves a lot of back, hip and leg pain for the client! My coolest move of the video is at minute 1:45 — please check it out!
I never was able to receive deep tissue massage before, but ashiatsu uses such a broad surface area that I can take the deeper pressure. Receiving it frequently has given me great relief as I navigate the One Heart Challenge. I’m certain that receiving will keep my body healthy for the challenge. And I love how giving massage, for me, really requires me to lean into the mind-body-spirit connection. I have to use my tools (body), think about what I’m doing, much like I do with a kata or bunkai (mind), and I have to lean into my intuition and clairsentience to feel what my client needs (spirit).
It’s ironic. I thought karate and massage weren’t going to be a part of my life in Tennessee. But once I started entertaining getting my massage license here, I realized I needed karate as well. Martial arts and massage are two sides of the same coin for me. I’m so grateful I realized I wanted them in my life and that instructors in each have encouraged me and helped me see my potential in both.
