Workshop with a Master Shiatsu Practitioner
During any treatment while you are lying there enjoying the experience, we as practitioners are looking for the under or over functioning aspects in your body. The Japanese terms for this are KYO (under) and JITSU (over). Distortions in the life force are the reason for illness, disease or feelings of being unwell.
Eastern Therapies’ aim is to bring balance back into your body, Houng and Jeff do this with acupuncture and I (Ross) do this with massage.
In a massage there are techniques to help the practitioner. Each organ has its own feel compared to another. In a workshop I attended with Glenn Polley in October, the aim was to be able to distinguish the difference between each meridian. While on one level this is not as hard as you may think, on another level it makes me question the integrity of what I am feeling, is this an under or over functioning organ in the body.
To feel the Lung meridian as “doing a belly buster into a swimming pool” is very different from the feeling of the Kidney meridian as a “deep ocean that can go on for ever”. These are very different in the way they feel. To use this approach gives us a greater insight into how each person uses there body and the stress placed on them.
A greater understanding of your body and the health of each organ compared to another gives us at Eastern Therapies better results. Where I really notice it, is at what point along the meridian it changes. This is where Shiatsu techniques helps to change the flow of energy along the meridian to bring harmony to each client.
The workshop consisted of Hara (the abdomen) Diagnosis, the Hara is divided into areas that relate to different organs. Depending on what the practitioner feels, kyo or jitus determines what points and what meridians they will use in a massage or acupuncture. To do this I place both hands on the abdomen and in a gentle wave motion palpate the area. Working around the belly in a clock like motion with my fingers, gage the integrity of each area. Working with diagnostic areas, you look to change the consistence of the abdomen. This knowledge helps to determine where to massage to get the maximum benefit to you.
These tools give a better understanding of where the tension and stress is located in each body. A better understanding gives a better treatment and at Eastern Therapies we aim for the best results for you.
Next time you are lying there enjoying the experience you can rely on Houng, Jeff and me to be looking for the best approach in treating you, our valued clients.
Shiatsu Therapist
Ross