Japanese Shiatsu

Japanese Shiatsu is a traditional form of hands-on massage therapy that comes from Japan. The name is taken from shi, which means finger, and atsu, which means pressure. There are two main schools of thought in Japanese shiatsu today. One is based on western anatomical and physiological ideas. The other is based on Chinese traditional medicine.

Shiatsu is regulated in Japan by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Various governing bodies set up by Shiatsu practitioners manage it elsewhere. It is an evolving form. Its various styles combine various aspects of Japanese massage traditions, Chinese medicine, and western anatomy and physiological ideas.

The defining aspect of shiatsu is pressure applied using only the fingers, palms and especially the thumbs, on pressure points. These pressure points are related to the central and autonomic nervous systems. A shiatsu treatment is defined as involving the whole body and requiring a practitioner who is aware of the energy distribution channels of the human body. It also requires an extra dimension of connection with the patient and support. In both styles of shiatsu, the defining principle is diagnosis and therapy combined.

Diagnosis and therapy combined is defined as the ability of the practitioner to use his or her palms, fingers and thumbs to detect disharmony in the energy flow of the human body. This would manifest, for example, in the stiffness or slackness at the point of contact. It also includes the performance of empirically established routines intended to correct any problems discovered.

Acquiring the skill to perform diagnosis and therapy combined requires a lot of experience. The difference between Japanese shiatsu therapy and Kampo medicine (Chinese classical-based medicine using techniques like acupuncture and moxibustion) is that very aspect, diagnosis and therapy combined.

The process moves forward through several stages. The practitioner first assesses the patient’s appearance and smell, the sounds she makes, and the sensations noticed in touch. The practitioner also examines the pulses in the wrists and the appearance of the tongue. The practitioner then looks for psychological factors that might contribute to the condition based on how the subject answers questions.

The practitioner then checks for energy imbalances that are related to the internal organs. In TCM, illness is a result of an invasion of external factors and from the emotional disharmonies the patient is undergoing. External factors can cause serious illness even as internal factors can move to the outside and cause problems. Similar symptoms can have different causes. The skill required for diagnosis is the ability to identify and eliminate the source of the disharmony.

Practitioners of shiatsu also encourage the prevention of illness by stimulating the immune system and natural healing power without treating a specific problem. By treating the body as a whole, the physical functions of the various systems of the body are led toward harmony. Treating the body as a whole can help restore harmony to the nervous system, the circulatory system, bone structure, muscles and internal secretions. It can also stimulate the mind and body to find harmony.

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