What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a traditional therapeutic hands-on Japanese healing art that can help and support individuals in moving towards greater health and well-being.
Being a relaxing treatment Shiatsu It can help and be beneficial 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 in our daily lives.
Common conditions which can be helped by Shiatsu include:
· back pain
· headaches, migraines
· whiplash injuries and neck stiffness
· joint pain and reduced mobility
· menstrual problems
· digestive problems
· asthmatic symptoms
· sports injuries
· depression
· stress
History of Shiatsu …
The Development of Shiatsu in Japan.
Shiatsu was developed in the early part of the 20th century by a Japanese practitioner, Tamai Tempaku, who incorporated the newer Western medical knowledge of anatomy and physiology into several older methods of treatment. Originally he called it "Shiatsu Ryoho", or "finger pressure way of healing", then "Shiatsu Ho ", "finger pressure method". Now known simply as "Shiatsu", it was officially recognized as a therapy by the Japanese Government in 1964, so distinguishing it from the older form of traditional massage, Anma. The role of shiatsu therapists is to diagnose and treat according to the principles of Oriental medicine.
Chinese origins of Shiatsu
The earliest known book of Chinese medicine is called the 'Huang Ti Nei Ching', 'The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine'. In it the legendary Emperor questions his physician, Ch-I Po, about problems of medicine ,and health among his people. In one well known passage Ch'i Po explains that different forms of medicine were developed in different regions according to the prevailing climate and the resulting constitutional problems from which people suffered. Treatment using herbs, needles and heat were attributed to Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western regions, but development of physical therapy including massage and breathing exercise was accorded to the people of China's central region. Thus began the long association of massage and manipulative therapy with special physical exercise, breathing techniques, and healing meditations which represented the highest level of Chinese medicine. These came to be known collectively as "Tao Yin", methods for guiding the subtle energies within the body to flow smoothly. Shiatsu is the modern inheritor of this tradition. Chinese medicine was introduced to Japan by a Buddhist monk in the 6th century. The Japanese developed and refined many of its methods to suit their own physiology, temperament, and climate. In particular they developed the manual healing and diagnostic arts, evolving special techniques of abdominal diagnosis, treatment, and abdominal massage.
Styles of Shiatsu
Many early Shiatsu practitioners developed their own style and some, including Tokojiro Namikoshi and Shizuto Masunaga, founded schools that helped establish Shiatsu as a therapy. There are many different styles of Shiatsu today. Some concentrate on "acupressure (acupuncture) points". Some emphasise more general work on the body or along the pathways of energy to influence the Ki that flows in them. Others highlight diagnostic systems, such as the "Five Element'' system or the macro-biotic approach. But all of these are based on traditional Chinese-medicine.
Zen Shiatsu
Masunaga incorporated his experience of Shiatsu into his studies of Western psychology and Chinese medicine; he also refined the existing methods of diagnosis. His extended system incorporated special exercises, known as "Makko Ho', to stimulate the flow of Ki, and he developed a set of guiding principles to make the techniques more effective. He called his system "Zen Shiatsu" after the simple and direct approach to spirituality of the Zen Buddhist monks in Japan.