Shiatsu is a massage technique originating in Japan. Shiatsu therapy was developed by Tokujiro Namikoshi and follows similar principles to western massage using the principles of anatomy and physiology. The thumbs, palms, and fingers (no knees or elbows are used in the foundation form of shiatsu therapy) are used to apply pressure to designated areas of the body.
Shiatsu is a Japanese word: "shi" meaning finger, and "atsu" meaning pressure. But shiatsu is more than just finger pressure. Shiatsu is a combination of many different techniques, including; pressing, hooking, sweeping, shaking, rotating, grasping, vibrating, patting, plucking, lifting, pinching, rolling, brushing, and, in one school developed by Suzuki Yamamoto, barefoot shiatsu, which involves walking on a person's back, legs, and feet.
In the practice of shiatsu, each person is primarily responsible for his or her own health and well-being. This contrasts with the Western belief that the medical practitioner is principally responsible for our health. In Western medicine, an awareness of the unique significance of touch, the essential form of communication between two human beings in the fight to subdue pain, has all but disappeared, certainly it has become minimal. Ironically, in all times and all cultures, the importance of touch, just touch itself, has been acknowledged as a primary means to mitigate pain. In the hurried rounds of the Western clinical physician checking hospital charts at the end of the day, alas, it has vanished.
Shiatsu strengthens the immune system and, if practiced consistently, truly becomes preventive health care. Who can benefit from shiatsu? Early on, George Balanchine, Ivan Nagy, Martha Graham, and many other dancers took regular shiatsu sessions to relieve their pains and restore and maintain their vitality. It is well known that Liza Minnelli and Henry Kissinger have received shiatsu treatments to promote and maintain good health.
Shiatsu is used to treat the following symptoms:
1. back pain
2. migraine and many kinds of headaches
3. whiplash injuries and neck stiffness
4. reduced mobility
5. menstrual pain
6. digestive problems
7. asthmatic symptoms
8. sports injuries
9. frozen shoulder
10. sciatica
11. hypertension
Now you can take advantage of this marvelous treatment whenever you like in the privacy of your own home. Our various lines of shiatsu massage chairs electronically replicate the touch and pressure of a shiatsu master. Computer assisted research has made the ultimate in massages available to everyone.
More massage benefits: Reflexology |
