SHIATSU
WHAT IS SHIATSU
Shiatsu is a holistic healing art developed in Japan and based on traditional 3500-year-old oriental medical wisdom while incorporating the principles of anatomy, physiology and pathology. The theory of traditional Chinese medicine proposes that energy, otherwise known as chi, qi (or ki in Japanese), moves through the body in well-defined channels or pathways known as meridians. Each meridian is connected to an internal organ and carries the energy of that organ’s functioning. Good health is reliant upon the harmonious flow of chi through the meridians and internal organs. Shiatsu is a dynamic body therapy in which the therapist interacts with the receiver to restore balance in the energy system. Imbalance, that is, too little or too much chi, can manifest in various ailments, depending on which meridians are affected. Like most natural therapies, shiatsu is based on the assumption that the body is a self-healing organism, and that the role of the practitioner is to aid and support that naturally occurring process. Shiatsu can assist an individual with their self-development and self-healing; balancing the underlying causes of a condition and addressing physical and psychological functions; promoting health and strengthening the body’s own healing abilities. Although the word shiatsu translates literally from the Japanese as ‘finger pressure’, in practice, the thumbs, palms, elbows, knees and feet are used to apply pressure to various parts of the body. Pressure can be gentle or firm, depending on the condition being treated. Treatment may also include the use of flowing stretches and gentle rotations of the limbs and joints, simple structural alignments and muscle release techniques. On a physical level this has the effect of stimulating circulation and the flow of lymphatic fluid. It also works on the autonomic nervous system; helps to release toxins and deep-seated tension from the muscles, and can also stimulate the hormonal system. On a subtler level shiatsu allows the receiver to deeply relax, stimulating the body’s inherent ability for self healing and regeneration. The person receiving shiatsu remains clothed, or is covered by a sheet and treatment usually takes place on a futon on the floor. The effectiveness of shiatsu in maintaining balance may be supported with recommendations regarding diet, yoga, meditation and exercise as part of an overall treatment regime. NOTE: Each client must sign the Consent Form (downloadable pdf) and Client Intake Form before any massage treatment. |
WHAT HAPPENS DURING A TREATMENT?
A shiatsu session is about one hour of hands on work, plus time before and after for diagnosis and discussion. The treatment can take place on a futon, on a massage-like table or on a chair, depending on the needs of the client. Food should not be consumed close to treatment time. In cold winter weather wear appropriate outdoor clothes to keep warm after the session. How long does it take? A shiatsu treatment can last from 30-90 minutes, according to the presenting condition. Initial session usually lasts 90 minutes and includes consultation and an hour treatment. What do I wear? Please wear loose comfortable clothing including socks, preferably of natural fibres, as shiatsu will often involve a number of flowing stretches and gentle rotations. What may happen after the treatment? You will probably feel invigorated yet relaxed. There may be some temporary 'healing reactions' as toxins and emotions are released, although most people generally experience a sense of increased wellbeing. Drink plenty of water to help facilitate the change. What conditions can be helped? Shiatsu is excellent for general health maintenance and as a preventative therapy. Grace's modality is focused on full relaxation and energy restoration. Conditions that can respond well to shiatsu treatment include:
|
STYLES OF SHIATSU
Styles of shiatsu
Although shiatsu has evolved out of centuries of bodywork, Japan is essentially the birthplace of shiatsu as it is known today. Many early Japanese shiatsu practitioners developed their own style and some, such as Tokujiro Namikoshi and Shizuto Masunaga, founded schools in Japan that helped establish shiatsu as a therapy in its own right. Today, there are many different styles of shiatsu practiced and therapists all around the world are constantly evolving new approaches to treatment. Some approaches concentrate on the stimulation of 'acupressure (acupuncture) points', while some emphasise more general work on the body or on the energy channels to influence the flow of ki within them. Other forms highlight diagnostic systems, yet all of these different approaches inherently come from the same underlying theoretical approach.
What all the different styles have in common is the manipulation of ki, and the use of body weight in one way or another in performing a shiatsu treatment. Many of these forms can be studied in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines set by the Association at the accredited colleges listed in the Shiatsu colleges page.
Grace learnt Macrobiotic Barefoot Shiatsu based on George Oshawa's philosophy. However, her approach goes beyond that and encompasses the energetic body combined with sounds of gratitude and love frequencies.
Barefoot (Macrobiotic) Shiatsu
Founded by Shizuko Yamamoto and based on George Ohsawa's philosophy that each individual is an integral part of nature, Macrobiotic Shiatsu supports a natural lifestyle and heightened instincts for improving health. Assessments are through visual, verbal, and touch techniques (including pulses) and the Five Transformations. Treatment involves non-invasive touch and pressure using hand and barefoot techniques and stretches to facilitate the flow of ki and to strengthen the body-mind. Dietary guidance, medicinal plant foods, breathing techniques and home remedies are emphasised, corrective exercises, postural rebalancing, palm healing, self shiatsu and Qi gong are included in Macrobiotic Shiatsu.
Healing Shiatsu
Healing-Shiatsu Touch is an approach of shiatsu developed over the years by Sonia Moriceau which applies the practice of Mindfulness Meditation and Loving Kindness to the shiatsu form.
Jin Shin Do
Jin Shin Do combines gentle yet deep finger pressure on acu-points with simple body focusing techniques, to help release physical and emotional tension. It promotes a pleasurable trance state during which the recipient can get in touch with the body and access feelings or emotions related to the physical condition. This bodymind approach is a unique synthesis of a traditional Japanese acupressure technique, classic Chinese acupuncture theory, Taoist yogic philosophy, breathing methods and Reichian segmental theory. Jin Shin Do Bodymind Acupressure was developed by psychotherapist Iona Marsaa Teeguarden.
Namikoshi (or Nippon Shiatsu)
This is the form most often found in Japan, developed by Tokujiro Namikoshi in the 1920s. It involves a very thorough whole body treatment, but perhaps due to Namikoshi’s focus on getting Shiatsu legally recognised in Japan by appealing to Western medical theories, he does not incorporate meridian theory into his style. The emphasis is more on the points than the meridians and the style requires a thorough knowledge of the musculo-skeletal structure of the body, and the nervous system, emphasising neuro-muscular points. It can be more vigorous.
Ohashiatsu
Ohashiatsu is a nurturing method of touch developed by Wataru Ohashi. The emphasis of Ohashiatsu is on communication and synergism between giver and receiver and the self-development of the giver, as well as the receiver, and on the true physical, psychological and spiritual harmony for both.
Quantum Shiatsu
Quantum Shiatsu is a style of shiatsu based on the work of Pauline Sasaki. It is an approach to bodywork that focuses on the Energetic Body. The Energetic Body is much more expansive than the physical body, though the physical body forms its core. Quantum Shiatsu developed into a system under the influence of Quantum Physics and in particular, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics and its relevance to human healing. By applying quantum principles to shiatsu, contact with faster, more expansive energy became possible. This resulted in the inclusion of chakras as well as meridians into a shiatsu framework.
Tao Shiatsu
Tao Shiatsu, founded by Ryokyu Endo, represents an expansion of both the technical and theoretical bases of previous styles of shiatsu from two decades of clinical practice and research. With a clear concern for both the receiver of treatment and the well-being of the practitioner, Endo has sought to make shiatsu responsive to contemporary needs. He has noted that rapid changes to the natural and social environment cause reactive physical and mental changes: increasingly, patients appear with chronic ‘empty’ conditions, against which in his view traditional meridian-based shiatsu is less effective.While remaining profoundly rooted in the holistic spirit of Oriental treatment, its methodology is revolutionary. Tao Shiatsu introduces five new elements to shiatsu: ki training, the Ki method, the Super Vessel & Super Vessel Specific Tsubos (SST), the basic 24 meridians, and an improved, systematic methodology of diagnosis and treatment.
Tsubo Therapy
The third noteworthy figure, alongside Masunaga and Namikoshi, in the development of shiatsu in Japan over the last century is Katsusuke Serizawa, who concentrated on the tsubos (effective points on the meridians). He was able to prove the existence of tsubos using modern electrical measurements of the skin. He called his system Tsubo therapy and advocated the use of any kind of stimulation of the Tsubos, from moxibustion to acupuncture or acupressure. A style of shiatsu known as Acupressure Shiatsu is a Western derivative of Tsubo Therapy.
Watsu
Watsu (Water Shiatsu) began in 1980 when a man named Harold Dull started floating people while applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. Stretching strengthens muscle and increases flexibility. Warm water, which many associate with the body's deepest states of waking relaxation, is the ideal medium. The support of water takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine can place on the nerves and helps undo any dysfunction this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves.
Zen Shiatsu
Zen Shiatsu was established by a Shizuto Masunaga (1925-1981). After initially studying psychology, he decided to pursue shiatsu as well, training under Namikoshi, before going on to research the ancient roots of the art. He eventually forged his own version of shiatsu which incorporated his experience of shiatsu into his studies of Western psychology and Chinese medicine theories, while still maintaining Western anatomy and physiology. Masunaga went on to became a professor of psychology at Tokyo University and, at the same time he taught at Namikoshi’s Japan Shiatsu School for 10 years before opening his own school known as the Iokai Shiatsu Centre in Tokyo.
The emphasis in Zen shiatsu is more on the meridians, and it can be either strong or gentle. Intuition and connecting with the clients ki is important. Zen Shiatsu introduces a theoretical model known as kyo and jitsu, to explain energy imbalances within the meridians.
The kyo being the deep underlying need, or under active ki, and the jitsu being the external action the body takes in trying to fulfill the need, or the over active ki. It uses as the basis of its diagnosis, a form of abdominal palpation known as hara diagnosis to determine the most kyo and jitsu energies. Masunaga also modified and extended the traditional meridian system, with the extensions commonly known as the Masunaga or Zen extensions. He also developed his own set of stretching exercises called Makko-Ho designed to help correct imbalances in the flow of ki and strengthen the internal organs.
Zen Shiatsu is viewed by some as shiatsu having been properly reunited with its ancient Chinese heritage and most of the styles of shiatsu practiced in the west today will probably be somewhat based on Zen Shiatsu.
Shiatsu Styles courtesy by: Shiatsu Therapy Association of Australia
Styles of shiatsu
Although shiatsu has evolved out of centuries of bodywork, Japan is essentially the birthplace of shiatsu as it is known today. Many early Japanese shiatsu practitioners developed their own style and some, such as Tokujiro Namikoshi and Shizuto Masunaga, founded schools in Japan that helped establish shiatsu as a therapy in its own right. Today, there are many different styles of shiatsu practiced and therapists all around the world are constantly evolving new approaches to treatment. Some approaches concentrate on the stimulation of 'acupressure (acupuncture) points', while some emphasise more general work on the body or on the energy channels to influence the flow of ki within them. Other forms highlight diagnostic systems, yet all of these different approaches inherently come from the same underlying theoretical approach.
What all the different styles have in common is the manipulation of ki, and the use of body weight in one way or another in performing a shiatsu treatment. Many of these forms can be studied in accordance with the Standards and Guidelines set by the Association at the accredited colleges listed in the Shiatsu colleges page.
Grace learnt Macrobiotic Barefoot Shiatsu based on George Oshawa's philosophy. However, her approach goes beyond that and encompasses the energetic body combined with sounds of gratitude and love frequencies.
Barefoot (Macrobiotic) Shiatsu
Founded by Shizuko Yamamoto and based on George Ohsawa's philosophy that each individual is an integral part of nature, Macrobiotic Shiatsu supports a natural lifestyle and heightened instincts for improving health. Assessments are through visual, verbal, and touch techniques (including pulses) and the Five Transformations. Treatment involves non-invasive touch and pressure using hand and barefoot techniques and stretches to facilitate the flow of ki and to strengthen the body-mind. Dietary guidance, medicinal plant foods, breathing techniques and home remedies are emphasised, corrective exercises, postural rebalancing, palm healing, self shiatsu and Qi gong are included in Macrobiotic Shiatsu.
Healing Shiatsu
Healing-Shiatsu Touch is an approach of shiatsu developed over the years by Sonia Moriceau which applies the practice of Mindfulness Meditation and Loving Kindness to the shiatsu form.
Jin Shin Do
Jin Shin Do combines gentle yet deep finger pressure on acu-points with simple body focusing techniques, to help release physical and emotional tension. It promotes a pleasurable trance state during which the recipient can get in touch with the body and access feelings or emotions related to the physical condition. This bodymind approach is a unique synthesis of a traditional Japanese acupressure technique, classic Chinese acupuncture theory, Taoist yogic philosophy, breathing methods and Reichian segmental theory. Jin Shin Do Bodymind Acupressure was developed by psychotherapist Iona Marsaa Teeguarden.
Namikoshi (or Nippon Shiatsu)
This is the form most often found in Japan, developed by Tokujiro Namikoshi in the 1920s. It involves a very thorough whole body treatment, but perhaps due to Namikoshi’s focus on getting Shiatsu legally recognised in Japan by appealing to Western medical theories, he does not incorporate meridian theory into his style. The emphasis is more on the points than the meridians and the style requires a thorough knowledge of the musculo-skeletal structure of the body, and the nervous system, emphasising neuro-muscular points. It can be more vigorous.
Ohashiatsu
Ohashiatsu is a nurturing method of touch developed by Wataru Ohashi. The emphasis of Ohashiatsu is on communication and synergism between giver and receiver and the self-development of the giver, as well as the receiver, and on the true physical, psychological and spiritual harmony for both.
Quantum Shiatsu
Quantum Shiatsu is a style of shiatsu based on the work of Pauline Sasaki. It is an approach to bodywork that focuses on the Energetic Body. The Energetic Body is much more expansive than the physical body, though the physical body forms its core. Quantum Shiatsu developed into a system under the influence of Quantum Physics and in particular, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics and its relevance to human healing. By applying quantum principles to shiatsu, contact with faster, more expansive energy became possible. This resulted in the inclusion of chakras as well as meridians into a shiatsu framework.
Tao Shiatsu
Tao Shiatsu, founded by Ryokyu Endo, represents an expansion of both the technical and theoretical bases of previous styles of shiatsu from two decades of clinical practice and research. With a clear concern for both the receiver of treatment and the well-being of the practitioner, Endo has sought to make shiatsu responsive to contemporary needs. He has noted that rapid changes to the natural and social environment cause reactive physical and mental changes: increasingly, patients appear with chronic ‘empty’ conditions, against which in his view traditional meridian-based shiatsu is less effective.While remaining profoundly rooted in the holistic spirit of Oriental treatment, its methodology is revolutionary. Tao Shiatsu introduces five new elements to shiatsu: ki training, the Ki method, the Super Vessel & Super Vessel Specific Tsubos (SST), the basic 24 meridians, and an improved, systematic methodology of diagnosis and treatment.
Tsubo Therapy
The third noteworthy figure, alongside Masunaga and Namikoshi, in the development of shiatsu in Japan over the last century is Katsusuke Serizawa, who concentrated on the tsubos (effective points on the meridians). He was able to prove the existence of tsubos using modern electrical measurements of the skin. He called his system Tsubo therapy and advocated the use of any kind of stimulation of the Tsubos, from moxibustion to acupuncture or acupressure. A style of shiatsu known as Acupressure Shiatsu is a Western derivative of Tsubo Therapy.
Watsu
Watsu (Water Shiatsu) began in 1980 when a man named Harold Dull started floating people while applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. Stretching strengthens muscle and increases flexibility. Warm water, which many associate with the body's deepest states of waking relaxation, is the ideal medium. The support of water takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine can place on the nerves and helps undo any dysfunction this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves.
Zen Shiatsu
Zen Shiatsu was established by a Shizuto Masunaga (1925-1981). After initially studying psychology, he decided to pursue shiatsu as well, training under Namikoshi, before going on to research the ancient roots of the art. He eventually forged his own version of shiatsu which incorporated his experience of shiatsu into his studies of Western psychology and Chinese medicine theories, while still maintaining Western anatomy and physiology. Masunaga went on to became a professor of psychology at Tokyo University and, at the same time he taught at Namikoshi’s Japan Shiatsu School for 10 years before opening his own school known as the Iokai Shiatsu Centre in Tokyo.
The emphasis in Zen shiatsu is more on the meridians, and it can be either strong or gentle. Intuition and connecting with the clients ki is important. Zen Shiatsu introduces a theoretical model known as kyo and jitsu, to explain energy imbalances within the meridians.
The kyo being the deep underlying need, or under active ki, and the jitsu being the external action the body takes in trying to fulfill the need, or the over active ki. It uses as the basis of its diagnosis, a form of abdominal palpation known as hara diagnosis to determine the most kyo and jitsu energies. Masunaga also modified and extended the traditional meridian system, with the extensions commonly known as the Masunaga or Zen extensions. He also developed his own set of stretching exercises called Makko-Ho designed to help correct imbalances in the flow of ki and strengthen the internal organs.
Zen Shiatsu is viewed by some as shiatsu having been properly reunited with its ancient Chinese heritage and most of the styles of shiatsu practiced in the west today will probably be somewhat based on Zen Shiatsu.
Shiatsu Styles courtesy by: Shiatsu Therapy Association of Australia