Bar-Supported Barefoot Stretching and Sustained Positional Work
HOLD is a two-day exploration of barefoot-assisted stretching performed on the massage table using bars and two-strap support.
The work is slow, steady, and deliberate. Students learn a complete, fully clothed session that can stand on its own, along with individual techniques that can be incorporated into a draped massage or SoleMassage session.
Rather than pushing clients toward greater flexibility, HOLD focuses on sustained positions, supported movement, and giving the body time to respond.
What makes this class different
HOLD approaches assisted stretching as calming, responsive bodywork.
Rather than focusing primarily on increasing range of motion or moving the client through increasingly complex stretches, we slow the work down. Supported movement, sustained holds, compression, and gentle traction give the client time to settle into each position and allow the therapist to respond to what the body is actually communicating.
The bars and two-strap system allow the therapist to guide the client with control while using the feet as the primary tool. This reduces strain on the therapist while creating an experience that can feel both deeply relaxing and quietly restorative.
Clients may still experience greater ease, mobility, and range of motion, but those benefits are not pursued by pushing the body farther. HOLD is built around the idea that movement can be therapeutic without feeling forceful, athletic, or performative.
What you’ll learn
This is a complete-session class, not a collection of disconnected stretches.
You’ll learn:
A full, fully clothed HOLD session
Bar-supported, barefoot-assisted stretching
Sustained holds, compression, traction, and positional techniques
How to pace the work around the client’s response
When stretching is useful and when another approach may be more appropriate
How to work thoughtfully with highly mobile clients
Draping methods for incorporating HOLD into traditional table work
Two ways to use the work
HOLD can be offered as a standalone, fully clothed service or used to bring selected stretches and positional techniques into an existing massage.
Some therapists will use the complete routine. Others will choose the pieces that fit naturally into their current work. Either way, HOLD gives you more options for responding to the body in front of you.
Client experience
When performed with slow, calming pacing, HOLD can leave clients feeling deeply relaxed, more comfortable in their bodies, and more at ease with movement.
The goal is not simply to create more flexibility. It is to help the client feel supported, settled, and more adaptable within their available range of motion.
Who this class is for
HOLD is for massage therapists who have completed SoleMassage Foundations and want to add more movement and versatility to their sessions.
Graduates of another company’s foundational barefoot massage program may request approval to attend. Proof of Level One or equivalent training is required, and approval is determined individually.
Equipment and online access
All techniques are performed on a massage table using overhead bars and a two-strap support system.
Students receive online access to training videos for continued review after class. No printed manual is included.