How to Perform Shiatsu
Shiatsu is an ancient Japanese technique designed to both diagnose and treat body irregularities. By using the sensory organs—the fingers, palms and thumbs—practitioners apply pressure to particular sections of the surface of the body in order to correct body imbalances. Acquiring shiatsu skills takes considerable experience because unlike other healing treatments such as acupuncture or traditional Chinese medicine, shiatsu is not a therapy that requires previous diagnosis. By mastering the shiatsu technique, practitioners will have the skills to diagnose and treat patients simultaneously.
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Instructions
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When performing shiatsu, you must first make your patient comfortable. Have your patient lie face down on either a low massage table or the floor. Patients do not have to remove their clothes for shiatsu so no massage oils or creams will be utilized. Once your patient is lying comfortably, it is time to start the treatment.
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Apply pressure. The word shiatsu comes from the Japanese words "shi," which means finger and "atsu," which means pressure. When performing this particular technique, you will only use your fingers, thumbs and palms to apply pressure. Instead of the more modern form of massage in which you use fingers and thumbs simultaneously to "squeeze" different body areas, when performing shiatsu, you will simply apply pressure to the body areas.
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Overview the patient. Sometimes patients know why they are getting shiatsu, others just believe something is wrong and wonder if shiatsu can help. At the beginning of each treatment, examine several areas of the body including the stomach, back, legs and neck for any softness or hardness. Finding these areas will help you to decide which areas of the body need specific attention. Once you know which areas you are trying to alleviate, then you can start to perform shiatsu.
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Treat specific body areas. Performing shiatsu isn’t like performing a normal body massage; there are specific areas of the body that shiatsu practitioners should target in order to improve the overall health and well-being of patients. The head, neck, back, fingers, palms, feet and toes are all access points for the major organs of the body. Practitioners can target certain areas of the body by applying pressure at these specific points. By doing this, you can influence the overall health of a patient's internal organs.
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Find the meridians. Shiatsu is an ancient technique based on the holistic principle of qi (pronounced chi). Your qi travels through the body on energy pathways known as meridians. Shiatsu is designed to apply pressure to break apart blockages along these pathways that may be restricting the flow of qi. It is important that these meridians stay open because many believe qi is responsible for organ regulation as well as the body’s self-healing properties. To find the meridians, simply apply pressure to the specific body areas mentioned above and use you fingers to "find" stiffness or any other irregularities, then work them out by applying pressure with your fingers and thumbs.
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Be thorough. Shiatsu treatments normally last from one to two hours. Because you are treating limited body areas, it is important to be thorough. Extensive pressure on the meridians will help to clear energy pathways and restore health and balance to patients. Work each body area extensively in order to ensure proper care.
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Tips & Warnings
Extensive research on specific body meridians will help you to better target specific body areas based on the ailments presented by the patient.
This guidance is simply for at-home use. In order to practice shiatsu in a formal setting you must be a licensed shiatsu massage therapist.
