About shiatsu

Shiatsu is a Japanese therapeutic technique based on traditional Chinese medicine. It uses stretching, cupping of the hands, pressure of the fingers, palms, elbows and knees to treat individual areas and meridians (energy pathways on which acupuncture points lie).

The aim of the treatment is to support the body's self-healing abilities and set in motion energy that accumulates in certain places (e.g., in the head after a day of working at a computer, in the shoulder muscles during stress, when emotions are suppressed, or when exposed to cold), while elsewhere it is lacking (e.g., in sore lower back or cold extremities).

Shiatsu may resemble massage in some respects, but its holistic approach goes much deeper—it affects the energy pathways and deeper structures of the body with the aim of restoring physical and mental balance. This often provides relief from seemingly unrelated problems that have a common basis in energy imbalance (e.g., swelling, organ prolapse, excessive rumination and fatigue after waking up or eating, or a combination of elbow pain, constipation, and difficulty letting go of the past).

In Japan, its country of origin, shiatsu is an official part of healthcare. It is also recognized as a complementary therapy in a number of other countries, such as Canada, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

What shiatsu can help you with

Shiatsu can help with all problems of psychosomatic origin and with the manifestations of chronic diseases. It improves the function of internal organs, affects the blood and lymphatic system, accelerates healing and can help with a number of specific problems. Shiatsu can help with pregnancy problems such as nausea, fatigue or back pain, and for children with psychosomatic problems such as bedwetting or frequent tummy aches.

It's also a great way of prevention and it's good to come to shiatsu as soon as you start to experience problems. The sooner you come, the better the chances are that the body will return to balance through its own healing mechanisms and prevent the onset of disease.