Shiatsu

Shiatsu or Finger-pressure

Shiatsu or finger pressure (Shiat-su) originated in Japan about 100 years ago. The fingers of a Shiatsu practitioner, in a sense, can be compared to the needles of an Acupuncturist, which are used to address the body’s energetic system or ‘Qi’, the term now adopted in the West from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Qi describes the body’s vital (energetic) force and the foundation of the practice of Shiatsu is based on TCM. The notion of Qi is more profound than our Western mechanical and electrical view of what energy constitutes and forms the basic component of life. When we talk about the body’s energy balance (Qi) we mean in relation to both its physical and emotional attributes. The body is an energetic system and when in good working order energy circulates freely to all parts, self regulating the body in response to the environment in which it inhabits (Maciocia 1993).

The source of both Shiatsu and Acupuncture is TCM; however, comparing Shiatsu to Acupuncture with respect to the use of fingers as needles is as far as this association goes. An Acupuncturist will undertake a detailed diagnosis, using TCM techniques, before applying needles to a specific area of the body in order to treat the offending health problem, Shiatsu is more comprehensive than this. Yes a diagnosis is undertaken, again according to the doctrine of TCM (looking, smelling, touching etc), and while a Shiatsu practitioner will treat the cause of symptoms affecting the balance of Qi in the body, the aim of a Shiatsu treatment is to treat the body as an organic whole and not just the part which is dis-eased. The objective of Shiatsu, as a practice, is to keep the body in good health and energetic balance.

There are many styles of Shiatsu, which have developed over the years in Japan and have found their way to the West. Adopting a particular style of Shiatsu is down to choice; we cannot say that one style is better than another, it’s just different. To give an example; the style of Master Tokuda is soft and progressive (Isabelle Laading 2007), Masunaga is more physical and manipulative (Masunaga 1992), and Namikoshi is very simple and direct (Japan Shiatsu College, translated to French by Daniel Menini Toulouse 2006). As with the tradition in the orient, teaching is passed down from master to student and so there is a direct lineage from the roots to its practice. This is very important because it keeps the teaching pure and close to its source.

Shiatsu then, is more than just finger pressure and its beauty lies in the techniques of pressing, using thumbs, elbows, knees, or manipulation: pulling, pushing and massaging to gently open the muscles and joints, and working with the natural energetic pathways (meridians) of the body to allow it to heal itself. Working in a ‘hands on’ physical manner with the practitioner, using the body as the tool, allows for greater therapeutic touch, providing the right dosage, as well as sensitivity in treating a client.

We talk in the west of Shiatsu being a complementary medicine and as such it comes under the scrutiny of scientific analysis, but how relevant is this in determining the efficacy of Shiatsu as a holist treatment when the parameters for it’s application are different from, say determining the efficacy of a new drug in treating a very specific health symptom in a double-blind scientific study?

Science has spent a lot of time trying to statistically prove complementary therapies and by and large …… fails to succeed, Shiatsu falls within this category. Shiatsu does not make any claims at being able to treat certain diseases and in fact it is used as a technique for maintaining good health rather than curing a health problem. Indeed the majority of clients who seek a Shiatsu treatment do so because they have a problem and of course using TCM as a base, it is possible to find and treat the cause of certain symptoms. Science does now accept that energetic canals in the body, called meridians, do exist and that TCM is an accepted form of medicine alongside the model of western allopathic medicine.

It is now acknowledged that one of the greatest causes of ill health is stress. Stress has a direct impact on the body’s central nervous system and over a prolonged period can be linked to heart disease and cancer. One of the main benefits of Shiatsu is that it relaxes the body, physically and mentally. Shiatsu works both with the sympathic and parasympathic nervous systems and both systems work together in regulating the body and its activities. In France now, Shiatsu is being introduced into some hospitals because it is recognised to reduce stress and create a deep sense of relaxation that helps in overcoming the conditions for ill health. For example, in the hospital at Dreux, Shiatsu is used for the relaxation of personnel working in the operating theatres; again in France, Shiatsu is cited by the Association Vaincre le cancer solidaire (AVACS) (Association for beating cancer) for its effectiveness in treating post operative cancer patients and those undergoing chemo therapy (La letter du Shiatsu N° 19 Federation Francaise de Shiatsu Traditionel 2013) as well as being successful in treating other diseases.

While the aim of alleviating suffering is the primary goal of every healing system, the means by which it is accomplished vary greatly. In deciding upon a course of treatment, Shiatsu or allopathic it is important to understand the origins of each. Allopathic medicine lays its foundation on Greek and Roman models and Hippocrates (460-377BC) but has excluded many of the fundamentals in modern practice. The single most important idea is that the cause of illness is the place human beings occupy in the universe and that humans are a part of nature and not separate from it (Patrick McCarty 1993). In this respect TCM observes that the occasional occurrence of illness is a natural phenomenon and serves as a reminder that lifestyle habits need to be adjusted. While in TCM, terms used to describe illness as: ‘damp, heat, cold, wind and dryness’ are not descriptive in modern medical parlance, in TCM they are used with great accuracy to convey the cause of ill-health; therefore, having stood the test of time, these practices are incorporated in the practice of Shiatsu thus reconnecting humans to their natural healing power and in understanding the cause of dis-ease.

In the natural world generation upon generation of humans follow the same natural process of living; birth, growth and death. The revolutions of stars in the sky also follow the laws of nature in a perfect order without error. If we call the universe the macrocosm and human beings the microcosm we can see that if human beings follow these natural rhythms then they stay in good health. This way of thinking forms the base of ancient Japanese medicine. By and large, in the modern world humans live beyond the natural laws and so open themselves up to ill health, (Tsuguo 1985). Shiatsu is used to bring order back to the chaos.

The sceptics may refute the claims of Shiatsu practitioners in successfully treating illness without the scientific evidence to qualify its effectiveness and so, Patrick McCarty (1993), provides an example demonstrating the limitation of scientific study as a foundation of worth. In his book, Whole Health Shiatsu, he gives an example of how these limitations affect the development of new, holistic ways of treating an illness. During a lecture in the United States, to discuss the treatment of an incurable eye disease, Dr Renald Ching of Hong Kong, a western trained ophthalmologist, talks of using acupuncture successful to overcome this disease. As a result of the failure of drug treatment he began using acupuncture and demonstrated that this treatment worked; however, he could not use the treatment in the US without the results of a ‘double-blind’ scientific study. Unfortunately it is not possible to carry out this a study with such a treatment method even though 2000 patients’ case studies had successfully proved its effectiveness. The problem with scientific studies of this nature is they cannot measure lifestyle as one of the statistical parameters and yet this is so important in determining the aetiology of a client and so its pathology in TCM and Shiatsu.

The findings of Long (2007) and Robinson (2011) show that there is scientific prejudice towards complementary health in the West, stating that it is little understood despite the competence of its practitioners, and Shiatsu falls under this umbrella, yet there is still no specific research programme to substantiate its efficacy. In Japan, however it is a well accepted part of Japanese life with the population at large regularly seeking a Shiatsu treatment as part of their daily health regime, which also includes a healthy diet.

It is worth noting, at this point, that the Cambridgeshire Constabulary employed a Shiatsu practitioner to work alongside the team of therapeutic Counsellors working on the Soham Murder investigation in 2002. This was a particularly distressing case for all concerned when 2 school girls were found brutally murdered. This demonstrates the effectiveness of Shiatsu in treating those suffering from stress and clearly recognised by the policing authorities at that time (Personal experience of the author, 2002).

. Quoting Masunaga (1992) “I consider Shiatsu to be one of the best health care methods in daily life that can not only treat disease but prevent disease”, makes an eloquent distinction between the practice of western and oriental medicine, particularly in our industrial societies. Allopathic medicine is only employed once you have become ill and no conventional medicine can guarantee that you won’t become ill. There are so many people who are half healthy and there is no way of treating these people by modern medicine until they become ill. In oriental medicine you can diagnose the phenomenon and begin treatment immediately before it develops into a concrete disease.

There are numerous people around the world who practice health care by traditional techniques through the art of touch. The orient is particularly privileged with a rich tradition of healing through touch and massage and not just through the hands of professionals. Shiatsu and Chinese anma massage have been practiced by generations of families before such practices became formalised, because it was found they worked. The simple art of touch provides a dialogue between the hands and the body to be an effective manual treatment. Shiatsu is just such a practice where hands are guided to certain parts of the body to receive healing as much psychological as physiological, precisely and therapeutically. In Shiatsu we don’t just solicit the skin and the muscles but the meridians and the points of acupuncture and indeed, practiced in Japan, in accordance with the long and rich tradition of TCM. The body has its own healing capacity and Shiatsu works with this facility to activate the natural ability to re-balance the body and allow energy to circulate freely bringing good health and happiness.

This article is no more than a brief introduction into the world of Shiatsu to say what it is, how it works and to make an intelligent comparison with allopathic medicine. A full reference list is given at the end of this article for the serious student and further enquiries can be addressed to the UK Shiatsu Society.

Frances Hassett B.A (Hons) (London) MSc (Cantab) Certificat Fédéral de Praticien en Shiatsu (Fédération Française de Shiatsu Traditionnel). Bibliography Fédération Française de Shiatsu Traditionnel La lettre du Shiatsu N° 19 2013

Kagotani Tsuguo. Traité Pratique de Shiatsu. 1985. Guy Le Prat Editeur.

Laading Isabelle. Shiatsu Voie d’équilibre. 2007. Editons DésIris

Long, Andrew F. School of Healthcare, University of Leeds. December 2007. The Effects and Experience of Shiatsu: A Cross-European Study

Maciocia Giovanni The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Churchill Livingstone 1993. Masunaga Shizuto. Zen Shiatsu 1992. Japan Publications., Inc.

Namikoshi translated from the Japanese by Daniel Menini. Editions Chariot d’Or. Techniques Fondamentales du Shiatsu2008

Professor Nicola Robinson, Dr Ava Lorenc Dr Xing Liao, Julie Donaldson. June 2011 Commissioned and funded by the Shiatsu Society UK www.shiatsusociety.org Shiatsu and Acupressure. A review of the effectiveness of evidence

Yamamoto Shizuko & McCarty Patrick. Whole Health Shiatsu. 1993. Japan Publications, Inc

Further reading Shiatsu Theory & Practice, Carola Beresford-Cooke, Churchill Livingstone 2011.