Shiatsu
What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a Japanese massage technique that, besides Swedish massage, is probably the most recognized massage discipline in the U.S. It differs quite widely, in both theory and practice, from its better-known western cousin.
Traditional Shiatsu is given with the client lying on a mat on the floor (rather than on a massage table). Since Shiatsu is administered without using oil or lotion the client is fully-clothed in something loose and comfortable.
The Five Elements of Shiatsu.
Shiatsu is concerned less directly with your physical body than with the “Ki” (energy) that underlies it. Ki runs through your body in twelve meridians.
Each meridian is associated with one of five elements: metal, earth, fire, water, and wood. This is where the philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) comes by its other name – Five Element Theory.
When your Ki is “balanced”, your physical body will follow. But Ki doesn’t balance like a building; stable blocks in a static construction. Ki balances like waves on the beach; a body constantly in motion and in negotiation with itself and the world around it.
How does it benefit YOU?
Shiatsu in its most traditional expression encompasses your life. Everything you do, everything you eat, everyone you come into contact with is part of Shiatsu. Everything you wear, read, think about and participate in can be part of your session. Each session aspires to incorporate “where you are in life” when you walk in the door that day. Even if we can never get that perfect synthesis, it is always our goal to come as close as we can.
Why come to me for Shiatsu?
Shiatsu: all things considered.
I am very fortunate in that I studied Shiatsu with a genius. My instructor, Marianne Feunmayor, eats, drinks and breathes Shiatsu both as a massage discipline and a worldview. When you engage in a Shiatsu session, if you’ve been raised in the West, you have to let go of your customary thinking about our bodies and their internal and external relationships. Everything in Five Element Theory has an existence only in relation to the other elements and the yin (contracting) and yang (expanding) energies within each.
It is all more than enough to set your head to spinning, but don’t be concerned if it doesn’t make immediate sense in your head. I studied it for three years and it still challenges my worldview every time I go back to it.
The takeaway is that Shiatsu offers a rich environment within which we can consider our lives and our health. Everything else will come to you in time.
