Shiatsu is a manual therapy, or a therapeutic massage, of Japanese origin that seeks to harmonize body, mind and emotions through contact, with the aim of improving the health and vitality of the person who receives it.
Etymologically, "Shiatsu" means "Pressure with a finger". This is one of the few things that all definitions agree on.
The origin of Shiatsu is surely found in the simple exercise of relieving a pain by pressing a point with your fingers intuitively. Formally, it was developed in Japan in the first half of the 20th century, drawing on traditional Japanese massage Anma and western techniques of physical manipulation. It is a living therapy that has continued to enrich its repertoire of techniques over the years, and as it has been expanding throughout the five continents: integrating millenary concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine, adapting to the Western world with knowledge of anatomy and psychology, and even incorporating theories of quantum physics and the latest advances in energy medicine.
The therapy that is now known in much of the West as Shiatsu, is a therapeutic art that "combines a very subtle intuition with a thorough understanding of the body and mind" 1. Generally, the Shiatsu combines pressures with the fingers, especially the thumbs but also the palms of the hands, feet, elbows and knees, stretching, mobilizations, rotations and sustained contacts on the channels and tsubos or points.
An important part of Shiatsu is based on the oriental concept of energy (Ki or Qi) and one of its main objectives is to allow this vital energy to flow without obstacles and in this way stimulate and support the natural processes of self-healing and well-being, maintaining health and helping to prevent diseases. Shiatsu treats the body in its totality, stimulating and favoring its reunion with a state of balance and natural harmony.
That is why it is said that Shiatsu can help in the treatment of the mild and chronic conditions of many diseases, as well as in the maintenance of health, by preventing early detection of disorders or imbalances and resolving them before problems or problems arise. serious.
Unlike other massage techniques, Shiatsu works at a deeper and more subtle level, having a direct effect on the metabolic functions of the body, on the emotional and mental state of the person, as well as on a structural level. In addition, Shiatsu has the ability to unify the different planes of being, and helps us to increase our level of consciousness, to feel more and better our body, to connect with our feelings and our needs, being a tool for personal growth.
