Shiatsu in Context
Friday, October 29, 2010 at 08:20AM | 1 Comment While shiatsu was the main thrust of our training in school, we were also given instruction in breathing, diagnosis, exercise, self-massage and basic macrobiotic cooking.
Much of this was intended to bring other skills into our future practices, but more than that, we were learning how to change our own lives and habits. Being a shiatsu practitioner required a commitment and attention to our own well-being. Whether we took this on as a career or not, we were sure to be personally transformed by the education itself.
In my past five years of practice, I've wrestled with how much 'other stuff' to bring into my practice - admittedly because I had let a lot of my own self-care practices fall by the wayside. Now, as my own body gets a little older, and life gets a little more demanding, I'm realizing the importance of really stepping back into this way of life. I can't practice shiatsu... with its demand for my own physical and mental stamina and focus and flexibility ... as if it were just a job I go to and then leave at the office.
Nor can I continue to keep shiatsu out of the context in which it rightfully should exist for my clients.
In its natural habitat, shiatsu, like other Asian healing massage modalities, is just one part of a larger health care plan. Along with attention to diet, exercise, appropriate breathing, and cultivating emotional placidity, the overarching idea is to keep the body and emotions in a state of harmony and balance... living between extremes is believed to contribute to illness and disease.
Sure, shiatsu can stand alone as a healing bodywork modality (and, admittedly, I have cringed just a little to see it added as one more technique in one's repertoire) but I think it is far more effective when used as part of a larger wellness protocol.
All this to say that you will be seeing changes in my business focus over the next couple months (and my website) to include support in these other areas. I feel challenged by this self-imposed raising of the bar .. knowing that I have to live it myself to feel that I have any kind of authority in helping others.
Are you ready to join me in living more fully?
Reader Comments (1)
Good post exploring shiatsu massage in the wider context of healthy living. I think you've outlined the relationship quite well. Thanks.