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What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a traditional hands-on Japanese healing therapy. It can help in a
wide range of conditions - from specific injuries to more general symptoms of
poor health. Shiatsu is a deeply relaxing experience and regular Shiatsu
sessions help to prevent the build up of stress.
With Shiatsu, assessment and therapy are combined. The hands and fingers of
the trained therapist are sensitive enough to detect abnormalities in the skin
or muscles or body heat on contact and thus are able to pinpoint irregularities
and determine an appropriate course of treatment.
Shiatsu is effective because it treats the whole body. First, it deals with
the body as a whole, since everything is connected and every part and component
influences another. Then it focuses on the local area that needs more attention.
Common conditions helped by Shiatsu include:
- Back pain
- Headaches and migraines
- Whiplash injuries and neck stiffness
- Joint pain and reduced mobility
- Menstrual problems
- Digestive problems
- Asthmatic symptoms
- Sports injuries
- Depression
Background on Shiatsu
A simple Japanese word meaning "finger pressure", Shiatsu is the name coined
earlier last century to describe an increasingly distinguished form of healing.
Massage, along with acupuncture and herbalism, had for centuries been an
integral part of traditional Chinese medicine. As it developed in Japan,
however, the practice of massage known by the old name of "Anma" became
gradually divorced from medicine and more associated in people's minds only with
relaxation and pleasure. Certain practitioners were concerned to preserve
massage and related techniques as an accepted healing art.
Shiatsu is an offshoot of anma that developed during the period after the
Meiji Restoration in 1868. Traditional massage (anma) was being criticized, and
practitioners introduced new practices and new names for their therapies to gain
acceptance.
During the twentieth century, Shiatsu distinguished itself from anma through
the merging of Western knowledge of anatomy, acupressure, and a variety of
eastern healing practices. Though the work of Tamai Tempaku, and Tokujiro
Namikoshi, Shiatsu established itself in Japan. The Shiatsu Therapists
Association was founded in 1925. In the following decades students of Tempaku
began developing offshoots of Shiatsu. By 1955, the Japanese Ministry of Health
and Welfare acknowledged Shiatsu as a beneficial treatment, and licensing was
established for practitioners. Tokujiro Namikoshi is most responsible for the
worldwide recognition of Shiatsu. Namikoshi created a system of bodywork
based on modern (western) anatomy, physiology and pathology. In 1940, he opened
the Nippon Shiatsu Institute in Tokyo, now known as Japan's Shiatsu College.
In 1964 Namikoshi Shiatsu was recognized as a distinct modality by the
Japanese government.
Shiatsu thus emerged as a form of manual therapy incorporating gentle
manipulations and stretches derived from newer disciplines such as physiotherapy
and chiropractic, with pressure techniques exerted through the fingers or
thumbs. Oriental Medicine, and therefore Shiatsu, uses the philosophy of Yin and
Yang, the five elements and Ki energy.
Shiatsu has a number of different styles, philosophical approaches and
theoretical bases.
The philosophy underlying Shiatsu is that vital energy (known as Ki in
Japanese) flows throughout the body in a series of channels called meridians.
For many different reasons Ki can stop flowing freely and this produces a
symptom or pain.
Ki moves throughout the whole body but, in certain defined pathways, it flows
in a more concentrated manner. These pathways are known as meridians. The
meridians form a continuous circuit of lines that allows the flow of different
aspects of Ki all over the body. Each meridian is named after a physical organ
the major ones are:
- Lung and Large Intestine: The Metal Element
- Spleen and Stomach: The Earth Element
- Heart and Small Intestine: The Fire Element
- Kidney and Urinary Bladder: The Water Element
- Liver and Gall bladder: The Wood Element
When a Shiatsu practitioner determines that the energy along one or more
meridians is blocked, such that there is an excess of energy at some points
(manifested as tension, tightness or fullness) and a depletion at others. They
will work with the energy in these meridians to try to rebalance it. Most
acupuncture points lie on meridians, and Shiatsu practitioners will sometimes
work on specific points by pressing or holding them. Shiatsu differs from
acupuncture (and acupressure) in that it is more usual to work on the meridian
as a whole rather than isolated points.
A Shiatsu practitioner will use a variety of techniques to improve your
energy flow. These may include gentle holding, pressing on the meridians and at
time more dynamic rotations and stretches.
Some tools to assist you in activating pressure points
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