Shiatsu therapy - more than a feeling.
Very shortly after graduating at Kikkawa College from a two year 2200 hour program in shiatsu therapy in 1994, I was asked to be part of a panel of healthcare “experts” on CBC television. It was to be broadcast across the country and open to the general public to phone in questions. My biggest fear was that someone was going to ask me to define what shiatsu was. I had been studying shiatsu therapy in the most extensive course outside of Japan and had problems with a simple definition! What gives? I felt that my answer might appear airy-fairy alternative: possibly even flakey and definitely outside the thinking of most level-headed members of the general public. Meridians, what’s that? Qi energy, how do you detect and measure that? Fortunately nobody asked me these questions. What they asked was much more simple.
Supervising shiatsu therapy students - working in the occipital area
“Do you mean to say that you are going to treat someone with shiatsu who has cancer?” “No, definitely not. Shiatsu is sometimes called “alternative,” I prefer the word “complementary. You choose the most appropriate treatment protocol but supplement it with approaches that support that treatment.” Phew ! Good answer.
The title of this blog might seem strange because in another part of my website, I come up with a definition of shiatsu. However, that is just to give you more of a working definition rather than to provide a visceral understanding. This might seem really strange but I ask myself what shiatsu therapy is on a daily basis despite having been practicing this discipline for more than 30 years. Let me share with you some of my thoughts.
I was drawn to study shiatsu therapy so many years ago because I was very much into martial arts practicing karate, taekwondo and king fu. Where is the connection? Martial arts, when they are done correctly, is not about the use of force but about the movement of what is called Qi (Chi) Energy. In Ayurvedic terms, or for those who understand the principles of yoga, another word for that is Prana.
Likewise shiatsu therapy is not about the the use of force although there is sometimes the misconception that shiatsu is painful. it is not necessarily painful when done correctly. I certainly move away from the commonly used expression of no pain; no gain. I use the analogy of what I humorously describe as the principles of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The porridge should not be too hot; not too cold but just right.
When I practice shiatsu therapy with a client, I travel down the meridian pathways with sustained but controlled firm pressure. It is a meditative process, slow but thoughtful. I might be using my thumbs for a more direct pinpointing pressure or the palms of my hands for more of a holding or supportive technique. Occasionally, if warranted, I may use my elbows for a deeper sensation providing that the musculature of the person on whom I am working is receptive to deeper pressure. In all this, I want the willing cooperation of the muscles and I think that if someone is wincing in pain at my pressure, then this is counterproductive to a beneficial treatment session. Remember my all encompassing philosophy of Goldilocks and the three bears.
After working on particular areas of the body, I will also incorporate specific stretches to the surrounding fascia, tendons, ligaments and joints. This helps to confirm and consolidate the work that I have just done as well as lengthen the muscles. It is a sort of waking up or mobilisation of the joints.
When I teach others the techniques of shiatsu, my students will often ask how long I hold any particular point. Invariably I hold an area until I feel change happening under my hands. The sensation that I feel for is usually subtle - perhaps a submission or relaxation response and is indicative that I can now move on to the next area. When I was learning shiatsu thirty years ago, I would often ask myself whether I imagined that change had taken place. With time and practice, I learned to trust my intuition.
My students from a graduating class in Mexico
There are times when I detect an area of the body where any sort of sustained pressure is not going to change anything in any significant way. Quite often to apply deeper pressure is not the answer. If anything, perhaps the answer is to lessen my pressure, counterintuitive though that might be. So instead of using a more vigorous form of stimulation, I will reduce the force of technique to the equivalent of 5 grams of pressure or the weight of a silver nickel. If that doesn’t work then I may shift to a completely different protocol - perhaps employing an osteopathic technique or cranio-sacral.
In the 30 years that I have been in practice, I think the way that I practice shiatsu therapy has changed. It has changed partly because I have changed and am not the same person. I bring to my practice a melding of all my experiences. Sometimes I don’t even think in terms of meridians and just let my hands feel what they are feeling without any intellectual process. That doesn’t negate my original field of study but I borrow techniques I have found effective.
What is the best treatment for you? I am not going to claim that any one treatment is universally the best for everyone because people need different treatments at different times in their life. A part of that equation is that an effective treatment is can be the one with which one is most familiar. It is like a meeting with an old friend. However, that does not exclude us from a change of pace. That is why I offer a combination of both massage and shiatsu therapy.
