Originating in Japan, Shiatsu has grown internationally since the 1970’s. It is an evolving form of bodywork, incorporating influences from both East Asian Medicine and Western medicine and therapies.
Like acupuncture, the traditional philosophy underlying Shiatsu was that “vital energy” (known as Ki in Japan, Qi in China) flows throughout the body in a series of channels or meridians. Traditionally it was considered that for many different reasons the balance and flow of Ki could become disharmonious and this then appeared to produce symptoms of discomfort and ill health.
In this way of perceiving, in Shiatsu, mindful touch, movement, stretches and pressure points were used to try to unblock and balance the body’s Ki.
The pre-scientific concepts of Qi or Ki go back thousands of years and were used to describe a multitude of phenomena. There is no accurate translation for this word into English but In the body an approximate translation could be “vital energy” or “life-energy”.
There is a growing body of scientific research on Shiatsu (and acupressure); what it does and how it works. See our page: What scientific research says about Shiatsu for further information.
From The Book of Shiatsu by Paul Lundberg:
“Shiatsu is a Japanese word meaning “finger pressure”. It is a new name for the oldest form of medicine – healing with hands. Everybody has the healing power of touch and responds to touch. It is a natural ability that people are now beginning to recognize again.”
Shiatsu is characterized by its great simplicity. It grew from earlier forms of massage, called Anma in Japan (Anmo or Tuina in China) which use rubbing, stroking, squeezing, tapping, pushing, and pulling to influence the muscles and circulatory systems of the body. Shiatsu, by contrast, uses few techniques and to an observer it would appear that little is happening – merely a still, relaxed pressure at various points on the body with the hand or thumb, an easy leaning of the elbows or a simple rotation of a limb. It almost seems a lazy activity and, to the extent that it conserves one’s energy, it is. But underneath the uncomplicated movements much is happening internally to the body’s energy on a subtle level.”