What is shiatsu?

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Chinese energetics is rooted in a system of medicine more than 5,000 years old. The Chinese discovered a whole network of meridians, or “energy channels”, running through our body, which we can access through the “tsubos”, better known as “acupuncture points”. In shiatsu, we stimulate them with finger pressure rather than needles. The meridians are linked to our organs: they are the “energy” of our organs and of all our bodily functions.

When ki, our vital energy, stagnates in certain areas of the body, it creates blockages, which in turn leave other areas depleted of energy. These imbalances lead to disorders of many kinds: digestive problems, muscle pain, sleep disturbances, and all the issues we may run into before they turn into an illness.

In this sense, shiatsu plays a very important preventive role. Imbalances appear long before illness sets in, and by rebalancing the flow of energy, it is possible to prevent them.

The shiatsu practitioner identifies the origin of the disorder through a threefold diagnosis and, through precise touch on the tsubos and meridians, rebalances the circulation of energy in the patient’s body. This rebalancing allows the disturbances to resolve, the energy to flow more freely, and the person to feel freer in their body and stronger.

Their capacity for self-healing can then come into play, allowing the energy to regulate itself naturally.

Shiatsu: who is it for?

Athletes

Shiatsu works on the blood circulation and the energy of each joint, which helps prevent the risk of injury and improve performance. It also helps improve joint flexibility through stretching. Shiatsu is useful for managing stress too: feeling relaxed and psychologically at ease makes it easier to approach a sporting competition mentally. Finally, as a treatment, shiatsu supports the elimination of toxins and muscle regeneration, improves joint flexibility and promotes good recovery after physical exertion.

Babies

With babies, shiatsu can be used from the very first days. It can relieve complaints that are as varied as they are common, such as colic and reflux, eczema, recurrent bronchitis, colds and ear infections, crying at the end of the day, sleep problems and restlessness, by regulating the nervous, emotional and endocrine systems and strengthening the immune system. A newborn is just discovering the painful physical sensations they feel in their body, without being able to manage them. Shiatsu builds trust between babies and their body, allowing them to relax deeply so that they can cope with all these new sensations against which their body protects itself.

Pregnant women

Being able to receive regular shiatsu throughout pregnancy is a real gift. Heavy legs, back pain, stress, muscle or joint pain, minor bowel problems: shiatsu helps with many discomforts. Mothers-to-be can even start before conception, to help them stop smoking or ease emotional tension. Shiatsu not only significantly relieves back pain during pregnancy, it also prepares for childbirth by relaxing and loosening the pelvis and sacrum area. What’s more, it helps mothers-to-be feel emotionally closer to their baby and feel confident.

Children and teenagers

Shiatsu calms and centres nervous or hyperactive children, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves sleep and concentration. It also helps shy or anxious teenagers, who are searching for their identity or for landmarks, to feel more secure by becoming more aware of their rapidly changing body. It encourages openness and communication, both with themselves and with their surroundings. In front of screens, children and young people are often in “all-brain” mode, so their energy is drawn too much towards the upper body. Shiatsu helps bring the energy back down to the centre, the “hara”, and calm the mind.

Adults

When someone receives shiatsu for the first time, at the end of the session they often look surprised and serene, and tell me: “I feel as if I’ve been on a journey through my body and discovered new territory”, or “I didn’t know I had tension there!” Indeed, shiatsu lets us discover a world we are usually unaware of: our energetic potential. It also makes us aware of areas of tension we had overlooked, because they are so old that they seem “normal”. Shiatsu allows us to release the tension built up over the years and to access our full energetic potential.

Seniors

If older people belong to a generation that is not used to manual therapies, now is the time to discover the gentleness of a touch that brings warmth, comfort and relief. Shiatsu relieves age-related aches and pains, supports the body’s physiological functions and keeps the mind active or revives it. It refreshes the body, makes it more supple and stimulates curiosity and the joy of living. As for the joints, while shiatsu cannot reverse osteoarthritis, it can halt its progression and significantly relieve the resulting joint pain.