Shiatsu Massage is a hands-on therapy technique originating in Japan.
Shiatsu is an evolving form. Various styles incorporate (to differing degrees) aspects of Japanese massage traditions, Chinese Medicine practice, and "western" anatomy & physiology.
Shiatsu, as well as Teate, originated in Japan. There were many hands-on therapies called Teate before traditional Chinese therapies such as Acupuncture and Tuina were introduced to Japan.
The term shiatsu was first used in a book published in 1915, Tenpaku Temai's Shiatsu Ryoho.
Tokujiro Namikoshi founded the Japan Shiatsu College in 1940 and systematized a form of Shiatsu therapy based more on Western anatomy than traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine.
In Japan, Namikoshi's system enjoys special legal status, and its adherants often credit him with the development of shiatsu sui generis; the story is told that at the age of seven, Tokujiro Namikoshi developed a technique of pressing using his thumbs and palms as he tried to nurse his mother who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.
Other styles of shiatsu exist; adherants of the Namikoshi system generally contend that these are derived from the work of Namikoshi, and refer to them as Derivative Shiatsu. For example, Tadashi Izawa established Meridian Shiatsu, incorporating Meridian Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine into his Shiatsu therapy.
Shizuto Masunaga’s book, called Zen Shiatsu in English, popularized Zen (or Masunaga) Shiatsu in North America and Europe. Ryukyu Endo, a Buddhist priest, introduced Tao Shiatsu, which involves concentrating the mind and making supplications to the Buddha. Kiyoshi Ikenaga, in his book Tsubo Shiatsu, elucidates from an anatomical and physiological point of view, how meridian points (or Tsubo) are useful in Shiatsu Therapy.
Definition of Shiatsu Massage:
"Shiatsu technique refers to the use of fingers and palm of one's hand to apply pressure to particular sections on the surface of the body for the purpose of correcting the imbalances of the body, and for maintaining and promoting health. It is also a method contributing to the healing of specific illnesses."
....Japanese medical department of the Ministry of Welfare (Current Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare) in December 1957.
Essence of Shiatsu Massage:
The characteristic of Shiatsu is to practice using only the fingers, palms and especially the thumbs, but the essence of Shiatsu is Diagnosis and Therapy combined.
Diagnosis and Therapy combined is the ability of the practitioner to use his sensory organs (palms, fingers and thumbs) to detect irregularities, such as stiffness of the surface of the body, and to promptly correct or heal these problems. To acquire this amazing skill takes considerable experience.
The defining difference between Shiatsu therapy and modern and Kampo medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture and moxibustion) is this Diagnosis and Therapy combined; the fact that Shiatsu does not always require previous diagnosis before commencing treatment.
In modern medicine, the course of treatment can only be decided after a diagnosis has been made. In TCM, it is also necessary to diagnose before treating. In Shiatsu Therapy, practitioners promote the prevention and recovery of illnesses by stimulating the immune system and natural healing power that people already possess.
Therefore, even without a diagnosis or with a language barrier, practitioners can, to quote Tokujiro Namikoshi , treat patients with thumbs and thin futon at any time.
Treating the body as a whole helps to restore the physical functions of the nervous system, circulatory system, bone structure, muscles, and internal secretion and stimulates its natural ability to heal illness. That being said, skilled practitioners can contribute considerably to regional health and medical treatment.
Paralumun New Age Village