As an AOBTA certified Zen Shiatsu Therapist, I provide Asian Bodywork Therapy sessions to help my clients achieve a relaxed physical and mental state, releasing chronic tension and accumulated stress, to enhance the free and appropriate flow of energy. This, in turn, can promote more robust health, and a more enjoyable experience of just "being".
When we can free ourselves of knots of tension and energetic congestion, both physical and emotional, we can make our bodies, our true homes, more comfortable, more resilient, and better able to move gracefully through the world.
Shiatsu, meaning simply "finger pressure", is a traditional Japanese bodywork system based on the same energetic anatomy of points and meridians used by Acupuncturists. Using a variety of hand techniques, the meridians, pathways of energy, are stimulated or soothed to release tension and promote wellbeing.
Zen Shiatsu, as developed by Shizuto Masunaga, is a wonderfully adaptive method of direct touch bodywork which combines aspects of psychology (Masunaga was a professor of psychology at Tokyo University), orthodox shiatsu practice, and deep understanding of both Western and Eastern models of disease and healing.
“The Japanese word shokunin is defined by both Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries as ‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan,’ but such a literal description does not fully express the deeper meaning. The Japanese apprentice is taught that shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness. … The shokunin has a social obligation to work his/her best for the general welfare of the people. This obligation is both spiritual and material, in that no matter what it is, the shokunin’s responsibility is to fulfill the requirement.” – Toshio Odate