What it is
Shiatsu is a finger pressure massage technique
that comes from the Chinese
medical-philosophical tradition and was later
developed in Japan.
It’s founded on perpendicular pressure, made
continuous either by the thumb or the palm,
along the energy meridian system or on specific
areas of the body.
Shiatsu considers the human being as a
multi-functional systemmade up of energetic,
psychic and physical elements continually
interdependent in which the absence of health,
and therefore of wellbeing, is the actual and
noticeable expression of the loss either of
energy balance or harmony.
Beneficial
effects
Shiatsu, performed correctly, proves effectual
because it allows to “free” the channels in
which the vital force flows, allowing a better
energy circulation, restoring all those
functions that allow the body to find once again
balance and harmony in itself and its
surroundings. The treatment’s benefits are very
effectual even at teaching the recipient
sensibility and auto-perception.
The Shiatsu
pressure
(from Japanese Shi = finger and atsu = pressure)
is made with the finger, more specifically
the
thumb, where the majority of the sensorial
receptors of the hand are located. The cerebral
cortex corresponds to the thumb as a wider area,
not only in respect to the other fingers, but
also to all other elements of the human
physique. It is also possible to use other parts
of the body for Shiatsu manipulation: the palm
when the area to treat is more extensive and
needs greater contact, the elbow when a stronger
stimulation is necessary to remove considerable
accumulation of energy.
Hara, the human being’s centre
Another characteristic of the Shiatsu manipulation is
that of being executed without any muscular effort,
using only the weight of the masseur’s body Also, the
pressure must be applied perpendicularly to the area or
point treated. The force and the power of this pressure
come from the masseur’s central position in Hara, an
important area under the navel, held in great
consideration by people from the Far East, which
represents the real physical and energetic barycentre of
the body and its movements.
Moreover the Shiatsu
treatment has to be done in a calm and silent
environment: the masseur begins the session with an
intense and effective non-verbal dialogue, entrusted
only to his hands. This dialogue is performed in deep
levels and speaks the body language with a particular
attention to its messages and necessities.
Italian Shiatsu Federation
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