Shiatsu Massage

Shiatsu is a form of Chinese acupressure treatment but with the words that come from Japanese. As it goes around the world, there are many names that the Western world has brought to the awareness of the people. As a result, it is also now called as oha shiatsu, namikoshi shiatsu, barefoot shiatsu, Zen shiatsu, and macrobiotic shiatsu.

Shiatsu may be known now with different names and methods, it still is used with the basic principle that it was originally known and formulated with, although at times can be radically different, depending on the perception of the shiatsu experts around the world.

Shiatsu literally means, finger pressure, from the Japanese shi = finger, and atsu = pressure. For over a couple of thousand years, it has been a massage technique that ancient and modern people alike use as a healing and massaging method Chinese acupressure.

In the principle of shiatsu, the human body is comprised of passage channels, or which called as meridians. Each meridian corresponds with a specific major body organ. It is through these meridians where the energy, or qi or chi, is flowing. A balanced and unhindered flow of this energy translates to only good health.

As any irregularity happening in the unhindered energy flow, an illness is believed to be suffered by the body because either there is a depleted chi or overflowed chi in certain body points. If this is true to your body, in which you are suffering with an illness, this is where shiatsu massage therapy comes into action.

The goal of the shiatsu massage therapy is to remove anything that blocks or hinders the chi from freely flowing in any of the 14 meridians of your body. It is also applied to restore the balanced nature of the chi or energy. All these goals are achieved by applying the acupressure method, which is a press of the fingers, elbows, knees, toes, and feet, on specific affected acupoints, or your pressure points found throughout the body meridians. In addition to pressing, the practitioner applies manipulation on the adjacent areas of the acupoints with the goal of stimulating your body to enhance wellness and heal negative conditions.

Shiatsu most often provides intense effect, finding clients receiving the treatment displaying emotions like crying or laughing, wanting to scream, or just to keep still. This is not to be afraid of since it is not a bad side effect but rather a good, common and normal reaction giving the sign that the chi or energy is being restored and balanced within the human body as where it is supposed to be.

Since the world of conventional western medicinal treatment is not convinced that there exists chi flowing in certain areas of the body, they continue to regard shiatsu and other alternative treatment as simply complementary medicine techniques. However, with the many years of existence, it has proven that shiatsu actually helps significantly the human body to fight diseases and improves overall body wellness.

In fact, it is found to be helpful in addressing various health conditions, such as digestive pain, muscular pain, and emotional pain. A lot other benefits are also experienced by the people receiving the shiatsu massage treatment, specifically, complete relaxation, improvement of blood circulation, prevention of diseases, balanced menstrual cycles, increased flexibility and mobility in the body, removal of wastes and toxins, and increased energy, spiritual, and mental well-being.

With the many occupancies and concerns that people have to endure through the day, they sometimes disregard the need to keep health and wellness, which is kind of unfortunate because it is through this neglect why they cannot easily avoid to contract diseases.

If all individuals put more concern on their health, it is easy to approach a holistic lifestyle, leading them to become happier, more fulfilled and productive persons. One of better health-promoting applications is resorting to therapy massages, like the shiatsu massage, whether that will serve as mere periodic indulgence or as therapeutic application/treatment to certain conditions.

Nowadays, a lot of massage therapy applications are available that they have become a sought-after treatment to most people to promote better health for both the spirit and the body. The shiatsu massage therapy is one of them, which has become a household name in the name of bridging the gap between the spirit and the body.

Through the remedy of therapeutic massage sessions, the condition of the body is significantly improved while the status of the spirit is satisfyingly uplifted. If you have heard of the Swedish massage therapy, its health and well being target is the same as of the shiatsu massage therapy.

The Swedish massage, which is offered in different spas and other locations, is an application involving deep tissue massage and offers treatment that invigorates the muscles to promote better blood circulation or flow in specific areas of your body.

The treatment includes long, circular strokes, kneading using the palm, hand and/or the fingers. When you undergo this treatment, you feel relaxed and freed of mental stress because of the improved blood circulation.

The shiatsu massage, on the other hand, promotes the same; however has this philosophy that focuses around its metaphysical rationale. For a bit of information, shiatsu is derived from Japanese term, which actually means, "the finger pressure."

The philosophy explains that certain diseases or physical ailments can be rooted from the fact that there are imbalances or blockages of the vital energy flow happening through the meridians of the body. The meridians are supposedly those passageways or energy points in the entire body.

The shiatsu massage therefore is designed to free these meridians from those imbalances or blockages so that the vital energy, called "ki," flows freely throughout your entire body. As a result, balance of the energy is restored, in shiatsu principle, a balance of the Yin (negative energy) and Yang) positive energy.

When you are applied with a shiatsu massage, the therapist looks for parts along the meridian points in your body that have energy build-up or energy deficiency. Either of the two conditions causes problems in your body. The therapist then applies pressure on these affected body parts, using their toes and feet, fingers and arms, elbows, or knees.

The aim is to restore the energy flow balance using their fingers for gentle pressure, while the elbow's point for forceful pressure. The amount of pressure to be applied depends on the amount of blockage or imbalance. Removing this blockage and balancing the irregular energy flow results to better spiritual and physical condition, and therefore, improved health as well.

If you seek to improve your overall being, shiatsu massage therapy is one of the best ways you can get. However, it is not recommended that you still investigate about this matter before you consider it. You can ask the experts, particularly the doctor, professional massage therapist to gain more knowledge about this application.

With the constant battle we have to make through each day, living life with less stress seems to be a futile effort despite the calm and ease efforts we try to apply. As a result, it makes it even more exhausting and tiring for us at each end of the day. But thinking more at it, you might not consider that it might be for something else. Maybe, all you need is a good, soothing massage, for instance a shiatsu massage, to alleviate the discomfort that your body and mind have been suffering all those days.

The shiatsu massage is a holistic approach to countering the effects of the hard days' stress and exhaustion. Why it is holistic? It is because it focuses not only the body but the mind and spirit as well. It is not mere massage method that we are talking about but its ability to reach through your mind and spirit so that at the end of each session you feel emotionally, mentally, and spiritually relieved. And when you feel this way, it is automatically conveyed to your physical aspect so that everything becomes lighter and easier for you to go through each day's stressful experience.

In contrast with the principle of western medical system, which we knew treats symptoms; shiatsu massage therapy principle goes beyond that. It seeks to treat and root out the sources of the imbalances of the body. Accordingly, the shiatsu principle, which originated from eastern or oriental practices, can be safely used to prevent and treat at the same time. But the holistic approach of shiatsu massage is not only pressure-point per se, wherein your body receives pressure from the gentle touches that the massage specialist administers to you.

While it is a great alternative you can adopt if you only want to experience the goodness of acupuncture without the needle, it also intends to assist you with the healing process; meaning, you are given healthy advises on what to be included in your daily dietary habit, and more importantly, the thought and perception you have to make on your general lifestyle changes. After all, any treatment wouldn't be successful if you do not change along with the nature that it is suggesting and promoting to you.

Both physical and psychological disorders are targets of shiatsu method of pressing pressure points to various meridian points of the human body. With this technique, it is believed to take away and prevent from coming back several certain disorders like anxiety, depression, stiffness, nausea, arthritis, headaches, pulled muscles, cramps, and a lot other more. The proper administration of shiatsu massage therapy can very give you these benefits especially if you continue to believe in its power to do them and undergo these alternative practices.

Shiatsu massage, as the principle points it, is the unification of philosophical, spiritual, and medical facets of the body. The western techniques combine this with its view that the chi is circulating through meridian channels. When the chi is freely flowing, without obstacles and hindrances, the body is in the state of balance, meaning in a good condition. Meanwhile, if the flow is disrupted, an imbalance of energy is produced, so that it reflects to body and mind condition.

It is in this principle why shiatsu massage therapy is designer thousands of years ago to correct the imbalanced energy and correct it so that the body and mind are restored to their normal condition, without the disorders and illnesses.

Using the application of pressure and power of touch, shiatsu massage became popular and widely patronized by different people all around the world to get the benefits it was believed to provide as far as medical, mental, and spiritual well being is concerned.

If by chance you still don't have any idea what shiatsu is, it is the massage technique that Chinese medicine has been practicing and utilizing the meridian healing system since 2000 years ago to provide health and wellness benefits to the people.

The principle of shiatsu is focused on balancing the energy found in the body by increasing its blood circulation or opening it up. The chi, which is the energy found in the body, needs to flow freely along the meridians of the body in order to achieve proper balance.

There are fourteen meridians found in the body, twelve of which are used as channels or passageways for the healing. The liver, kidney, stomach, bladder, spleen, gall bladder, small and large intestines, the pericardium, body temperature regulator, and the heart are some consisting the twelve meridians associated to body organs that serve as passage for the chi to flow to balance out the body.

Shiatsu massage is not only beneficial in improving health condition of the above body organs but likewise to other illnesses such as tension, stress, and even aches resulting from long term repetitive motions such as the arm using for writing, typing on the keyboard, and computer mouse.

Specifically, the therapy is known to treat various disorders including:
- headaches, migraines
- back pain, back problems and stiff/frozen shoulders
- sciatica nerve pains
- whiplash injuries
- carpal tunnel
- abdominal pain, , gastrointestinal disorders, and joint pain
- tennis elbow, herniated or bulging discs
- dizziness, weakness, and vertigo
- muscle pain disorders
- anxiety disorders, fatigue and stress

Additionally, it is also known to prevent progression, if not to treat, long list of health disorders. It includes:
- providing complete relaxation
- reducing overall anxiety and stress
- improving blood circulation and preventing diseases
- getting rid of body toxins and waste
- increasing mental, spiritual, and mental well-being
- increasing flexibility and mobility of the body
- balancing the menstrual cycles of the women
- increasing sexual exuberance
- clearing the mind
- relaxing the musculoskeletal in the body structure

The explanation for the improvement and treatment provided by shiatsu massage therapy is when the body becomes imbalanced the immune system tends to become weak and consequently vulnerable enough to easily contract diseases.

If the body shows loss of energy, it experiences weakening, meaning the organs in the body are not functioning well while the body tissues are slowly failing. In shiatsu principle, it shows that the energy, chi, is already losing its capabilities as well to freely flow.

The aim of the shiatsu massage now is to restore that chi so that everything will follow suit until all the body organs are able to function better again. The technique that the massage therapist uses boosts the immune system so that the body is freed of the negative conditions.

It is amazing that the shiatsu massage technique only uses pressure method applied by the fingers, palm, thumbs, and sometimes by the elbow, knees and feet, but it is all about the amount of pressure administered into the pressure points of the body. The amount of pressure releases the hindered energy so that your overall well being improves significantly.

First, we need to know what shiatsu is and what it can do for you. It is a form of oriental medical treatment known to be started by Chinese people thousands of years ago, and became a powerful yet gentle healing art of the Japanese, with shi, meaning finger, and atsu, as pressure. It has the philosophy that the flow of energy must be re-established to benefit overall well being of the person by focusing on the network of meridians found in the human body.

The shiatsu has a literal meaning of "finger-pressure." It uses fingers, palms, thumbs, knees, elbows and even feet to apply the pressure to the body energy points. Through the use of these pressure-applying parts, shiatsu can serve as preventative therapy, addressing the underlying roots as well as the symptoms of various diseases. The meridians, which as shiatsu principle elaborates, are associated to most major body organs, like the lungs, kidneys, liver, heart, and others.

As shiatsu principle teaches the people, it is the sole responsibility of the person to take care of their own well being and health. It is in contrast with the Western medical belief which earlier told us that it is the medical practitioners who are primarily responsible for the health of the people. In the Western awareness, the unique characteristic of tough therapy has been lost that it is believed that only the medical experts can give cure and treatment to people suffering from diseases.

While to most extent, it is necessary to trust one's well being into medical practitioners, it is not right to forget that there exists essential benefits between touches of two human beings delivering the needed communication that can also serve as therapy to improve one's health and condition. It is a good thing the western culture has now seen the significance of this touch therapy that it finally has recognized the beneficial effects of massage therapy, acupressure, and acupuncture methods, such as the shiatsu massage.

As the world recognized the essence of shiatsu massage method, out born the shiatsu massage chair for the people who want to improve their health condition and seek a more convenient way to do it. Shiatsu massage chairs are designed to provide the people a medium to improve their overall being without going outdoors. What they get from the massage therapy sessions administered by the shiatsu specialists and practitioners can be obtained by using a shiatsu massage chair.

Obviously, shiatsu massage chairs have principles the same as that traditional shiatsu massage finger-pressure techniques provide. All the same, the massage chairs work to strengthen and improve the immune system so that when practiced or used more consistently, can become your instrument of preventive health care.

Many people can benefit from shiatsu massage chairs. As have been used by many celebrities like Henry Kissinger and professional dancers around the world like Martha Graham, Ivan Nagy, and others, this device is truly a magic working its way to provide better life not only to them but to people who are suffering from certain disorders and those wanting to relax their body.

The shiatsu massage chairs are a great way to relieve the patient from their muscle pains, especially at the back, legs, arms, and others parts of the body that are in constant rigid mobility, as well as other unhealthy conditions. The chairs will restore the vitality and energy so that the patient will always be ready to face the challenges even the harshness of their daily activities.