S H I A T S U  

   The word SHIATSU is japanese and means pressure ("ATSU") with fingers ("SHI")

Shiatsu is an oriental (eastern) therapy of physical and energy rebalance. Usually it is defined as an oriental "massage" but it is much more than that. It acts through pressure with thumbs, fingers and palms applied to determined areas and points of the human body, without the use of any mechanical or of another type instrument, correcting internal dysfunctions, promoting and keeping the health and treating specific illnesses.

Among the diverse benefits that SHIATSU presents to the organism, it will be able to be distinguished:

• Gives flexibility to the skin

• Improvement of the circulatory system

• Gives flexibility to the muscular system

• Aid to recuperate the balance of the bone system

• Facilitation of the digestive system functions

• Improvement of the endocrinous system control

• Regulate the functions of the nervous system

SHIATSU is, in fact, used by health professionals to cure illnesses, normally in combination with other oriental therapies. To cure illnesses, however, isolated SHIATSU is a limited technique. It is of bigger utility to raise the level of energy of the patient, to regulate and to fortify the functioning of the organs and to stimulate the natural resistance of the body to the illnesses. It is truth that SHIATSU alleviates body pains and solves small organic riots, but its great potential is for the patient becoming conscientious of its proper "body". And the "body" is not only the physical body, but storing emotions and feelings equally, also reflecting our emotional state.

SHIATSU, being an oriental therapy, is based on the principles of the oriental medicine where the health is a balance question of the diverse existing forces in the human organism. It is not worried in eliminating the illness directly, but in normalizing the vital energy of the patient, creating, thus, conditions to the organism to eliminate the disease through its proper ways, being given emphasis to health and not to illness.

The vital energy, assigned "KI" in the East, is the basic energy of the life of all livings beings, including the man. KI energy flows in the human body in a regular form, forming channels that are assigned "meridians" of energy that are the base of the oriental medicine. Being the free stream of energy through our body essential for the physical, intellectual and emotional health, always that disturbances in this stream exist, appointedly accumulation or deficit of KI in determined zones of the body, conditions are created that affect our state of health, being able to originate what we know as "illnesses".

Thus, the therapists act in the meridians with sight to the energy rebalance, appointedly in the called pressure points, with the designation in japanese of "TSUBOS", that are points that condense KI energy and allow us to contact and to act on the energy meridians with a more intense form. Of the scientific point of view, TSUBOS are points that present low electric resistance, or by other words, are good electric conductors, being able to be used in such a way for diagnosis as for treatment, reflecting the internal functioning of the corporal system. This concept of acting in the energy meridians, appointedly through the TSUBOS, is used in ACUPUNCTURE that uses needles placed in points in the meridians, in MOXIBUSTION where it is applied heat on the chosen points of the meridians and in SHIATSU where it is applied pressure on these points and meridians.

The tracing of meridians and location of the TSUBOS are known since ancient times, having been discovered through the practical experience (by empirical form) and later confirmed by the modern scientific research.

The meridians are represented by a great string of energy that goes up and down covering the human body from the head to the feet, forming a track that can be learned and be used in a systematic form. This string is divided in 12 pieces, being each piece a meridian, related with determined organic functions and certain psychological or emotional features. In its majority the meridians have the name of the organs that occupy a place of prominence in the meridian functions, but it must be attempted that meridians are not (or do not represent exclusively) the organs. For beyond this basic system of 12 meridians, which are pairs, or by other words, are reproduced symmetrically in the two sides of the body, there are used more 2 odd meridians that are localized in the body axis (in SHIATSU these two odd meridians are assigned "ARTERIES").

The 12 meridians (pairs) of the basic system are the following:

The two arteries (odd meridians) are Conception-Vessel in the front of the body and Governor-Vessel in the posterior part of the body.

In the following scheme, a brief idea of the tracing of zones of some of these meridians is presented.

To access the Meridians Healing Points, please press the following figure (portuguese only):

For detailed information about the meridians, please press the following figure:

SHIATSU LINKS IN THE INTERNET :

• The European SHIATSU School

• International School of SHIATSU ISS - Kiental

• SHIATSU School of Canada

• SHIATSU Pages

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