Self-development, health care and injury prevention for the Shiatsu practitioner

CHAPTER 6 Self-development, health care and injury prevention for the Shiatsu practitioner


As practitioners of ‘energy medicine’, we must care for our instrument of practice – our self. Our own body and the energy field which surrounds and permeates it constitute the vital tool of our trade, the instruments by means of which we diagnose and treat. Subtly adjusted to exactly the right wavelengths to register minute variations in the human field, our own field is a better diagnostic tool than any electroencephalogram, a better instrument for correcting and connecting than any TENS machine. Our only barriers to gaining better, fuller use of this extraordinary tool are our own reluctance to appreciate it and our resistance to accepting its readings. We have to train our mind as well as our body and adjust our patterns of behavior in order to pay close attention to our own sensations, including the subtle ones, without judging ourselves as self-obsessed or fantasists.



Exercise


From the beginning of our Shiatsu training, we recognize exercise as a primary means of keeping the body strong and flexible. Moreover, exercise based on an understanding of the science of Qi (referred to hereafter in its Japanese form Ki) also promotes the sensations which bring us into the Ki dimension. It was in this way that the teachings of Bodhidharma, followed by the practice of yangsheng in the Western Han, gave rise to the concept of Ki and the foundation of East Asian medicine; use of the body in reflective practice was the origin of the whole structure.


So the kind of exercise which improves our Shiatsu the most is that which allows us the space to observe and cooperate with our own body sensations, rather than striving for superiority in the face of competition. Aerobics and tennis keep us fit; yoga and Pilates keep us fit and also improve our flexibility and core strength (necessary in Shiatsu since our back and abdominal muscles have to maintain our spinal alignment when leaning in to the receiver). They also expand our awareness of our Ki. Best of all are the forms of exercise which enable us to observe our Ki in action, such as Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Aikido. In addition, Tai Chi embodies the alternation of Yin and Yang in its slow shifts of weight from left to right, of movement from up to down. This leisurely play of alternating charge provides a valuable bodily experience of Ki.


For the serious practitioner of Shiatsu, therefore, an exercise program combining some yoga or Pilates for flexibility and core strength with some Tai Chi, Qi Gong or Aikido is ideal. It is not necessary to practice all of these disciplines, one or two will be enough; as we will see below, relaxing is also an important skill and we need to make time for it!







Awareness of Heaven and Earth

is one of the benefits acquired through the practice of Tai Chi or Qi Gong, but if you are unable to find a teacher near you, here is a simple awareness exercise to help with the balance of Ki in the central channel.


Stand with your feet as wide apart as your hips, with your big toes pointing down two imaginary railway lines in front of you. Unlock your knees, perhaps even bend them slightly. Center your weight in your feet by rocking slightly forward and back until you have found the center of your foot – open and relax the sole and let your weight sink down into the earth. Position your pelvis directly over your feet, keeping your knees relaxed. Make space in your hips and relax any tension in your pelvis; imagine the lower part of your body growing heavy as your weight continues to sink into the floor. Take your awareness down to your tailbone, pointing down towards the center of the earth, and follow that line down into the earth with your mind.


Now take your awareness up to your ribcage, balanced above your pelvis – feel it gently expanding each time you breathe in. Make a little space under your arms. Balance your head delicately on your neck, making space at the back of your skull. Taking your awareness to the crown of your head, while your lower body is still relaxed and yielding to the pull of gravity, imagine a golden thread attached to the crown of your head drawing you up towards your own individual star, far out in the universe.


Stay in contact with these two different feelings, the solid, relaxed, supported quality of your lower body and the open, light and spacious quality of your upper body. Imagine that you feel the force of Earth anchoring you and the force of Heaven lifting you, lengthening your spine to its fullest extent. Stay with this feeling for a couple of minutes, then relax and move and stretch gently to come out of the exercise.


A relaxed, straight spine helps us to perform long hours of Shiatsu in a natural, comfortable position. Awareness in our central channel ensures that all of our feeling centers or chakras are available to tune in to our receiver’s needs; these are benefits that will increase with the practice of this exercise.


When we do any form of Ki exercise we can relax into the form and include spontaneous response. Our feelings are a part of our Ki and self-development should include our feelings. Doing Qi Gong or yoga is not an ascetic practice; we can and should let ourselves make sounds, laugh, cry, open, abandon the form sometimes to dance.



Strong hands and feet

as well as Ki awareness are required if we are to work long hours in a successful Shiatsu practice. Our hands and thumbs need to be able to take the weight of our upper body, and our feet need to be able to fold back for kneeling in seiza or to propel us upward and forward as we change position – so specific exercises for hands and feet may be useful in addition to our Ki exercises.



Hands




• The ‘medicine balls’ widely on sale as hand exercisers can be a useful start.


• A simple exercise for hands taught by Pauline Sasaki is to kneel in the ‘crawl’ position on a mat, with the weight of the upper body on the thumbs and fingertips instead of the palms. From this position we can circle our weight from hand to hand, forward and back, not tensing up the hands, arms and shoulders, but allowing a combination of alignment and gravity to make the movement smooth (Fig. 6.1).


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Fig. 6.1 Hand exercise.



Feet




• Sitting in seiza (Japanese style kneeling) is an exercise for stretching the feet and ankles – but don’t sit for extended periods of time in seiza, as it may obstruct the circulation in your knees in the long term.


• Rising on tiptoe and sinking back to the heels again 10–20 times is another simple exercise. You can make it an exercise for the whole body by swinging your arms forwards and up as you breathe in and rise on tiptoe, back and down as you lower your heels and breathe out (bend your knees a little as your hands come down).


• It is also possible to buy shoes which mimic the action of walking on unstable ground, and these can be very strengthening for weak feet and ankles.



Relaxation


Tension is the enemy of good Shiatsu practice, and learning to relax is a skill we need to acquire. Exercise is a good muscle relaxant, especially the Ki awareness exercises mentioned above. For stubborn areas of muscle tension, self-massage or Do-in can be very helpful (Fig. 6.2).


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Fig. 6.2 Do-in.


Receiving Shiatsu ourselves is also wonderfully relaxing for body and mind, as well as an aid to maintaining our health. Surprisingly, many Shiatsu practitioners do not receive Shiatsu regularly; a pity, since regular Shiatsu maintains optimum health and energy levels, supports us through life crises and teaches us about ourselves – in fact, it gives us all the benefits which our receivers enjoy. This in itself is a valuable teaching aid and can increase our confidence as we remember how beneficial Shiatsu is; we can also experience meridians and points as receivers as well as givers. Finally, receiving Shiatsu restores the vital balance between giving and receiving which is a problem area for many therapists.


Relaxation is a learned skill for many of us, and requires regular practice. Fortunately, once we have mastered the introductory technique, taught in most yoga and Pilates classes, of tensing up each muscle in turn and then releasing it, we gain enough awareness in our bodies to be able to practice relaxation whenever we remember to do so in our daily lives, and particularly when we give Shiatsu. Relaxation is an attitude of mind, as well as a bodily practice. It is a way of expanding our Ki-field instead of contracting it, and relaxation is therefore a basic component of many spiritual disciplines, together with meditation and awareness of the breath.

Related posts:

How does Shiatsu work, practically? The history of Shiatsu Zen Shiatsu After the session Working with Shiatsu 2: Basic techniques and tools The Fire Phase: The Heart, Small Intestine, Heart Protector and Triple Heater

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Sep 4, 2016 | Posted by in MANUAL THERAPIST | Comments Off on Self-development, health care and injury prevention for the Shiatsu practitioner

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