Shiatsu Acupressure

(or call us @ 651-330-0022 to schedule)

Shiatsu, (literally, "finger-pressure" in Japanese), is a style of Accupressure bodywork from Japan. It is based upon ancient healing principles and techniques. There are no oils or lotions used in Shiatsu as it is performed with the client fully clothed throughout the duration of the session.Gentle to deep pressure is applied, usually with thumb pressure, along the energetic meridians and points of the body - the same ones recognized in acupuncture - to relax the muscles and to help balance the deficiencies and excesses that cause pain and weakness in the body.

The session is conducted on a table that is lower to the ground and wider than the standard massage table. This allows the Shiatsu Therapist the ability to kneel on the table to apply a more centered and sure pressure on appropriate points, and at times, to even stand upon the table to give effective stretching and range of motion techniques to the client.

Shiatsu is energy work. Often people leave the table feeling more awake and invigorated than they did when they first got on to the table. This is because Shiatsu employs the same traditional Chinese theories of health and patterns of dis-ease that acupuncture recognizes - except of course, in Shiatsu, we use techniques of finger pressure to treat patterns of disharmony and not needles.


What To Expect From A Shiatsu Session

The typical session lasts 60 minutes . As this is holistic bodywork, we address the entire body during the course of the session. It is believed that no area of distress exists in isolation from the rest of the body. So although there may be a knot in the back we may view the legs, for example, to be just as important a concern in addressing that knot (and why that knot may have come into existence in the first place!) as working on the knot itself.

Unlike with massage, Shiatsu is performed with clients fully clothed throughout the entire session. This makes movement for the client much more convenient.  Stretches and range of motion exercises are common-place during a typical Shiatsu session. Also we incorporate more client positions than just face-up or face-down. This keeps the “Qi” or energy moving freely.

How Can Shiatsu Benefit You?

Shiatsu Therapy is ideal for relieving most types of common muscle aches and pains such as:

  • Stiff neck,
  • Low back pain,
  • Knots,
  • Muscle strains,
  • Ligament sprains,
  • Tendinitis,
  • Sore joints, and
  • Many of those mystery pains that often just appear one day for no apparent reason, among other things.
In addition to muscular distress, Shiatsu is useful for treating disharmonies that originate from a deeper - ‘organ level’ of the body. Some common maladies that our techniques can influence include:
  • Fatigue,
  • Insomnia,
  • Digestive problems such as diarrhea or constipation,
  • Menstrual or menopausal issues,
  • Anxiety and Stress disorders,
  • Migraines, Tension Headaches, and
  • Many other symptoms besides.

On top of this, Shiatsu Acupressure feels good!
Assessment and Treatment

Prior to every session a Shiatsu practitioner assesses the condition of the client, according to traditional Chinese medicine theory. We will ask a number of questions and make observations. We will look at your tongue and take a special type of pulse in order to determine the best type of Shiatsu treatment to affect the organ pattern or “root” condition that we believe needs to be addressed.

This “root” treatment is performed in addition to our addressing any muscle aches or pains you may have—which we call a “branch” treatment. Shiatsu practitioners tend to believe that the “root” treatment is more important—though we understand that it is the “branch” symptoms that bring people to us in the first place.