Shiatsu with Pam Marshall
About me: I am a qualified Shiatsu Practitioner and member of the Shiatsu Society. I studied on the three-year course with the Shiatsu College in London.
I became interested in shiatsu whilst on a week-long residency and nursing a repetitive strain injury from too much computer work. I was fascinated by the theory and became hooked. Throughout my shiatsu work I have experienced a sense of liberation – a sort of freedom from effort – and this sense of release and flow is at the heart of the shiatsu practice.
What is shiatsu? Shiatsu is a traditional Japanese healing technique that involves a hands-on massage for the whole body. It developed from the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to health and follows the same pathways and points that you find in acupuncture. Instead of needles shiatsu involves a leaning in to the body using palms, finger pressure, even elbows and knees -
sometimes quite deeply, sometimes very lightly.
Shiatsu has a holistic approach to how a person is feeling and looks at any conditions, illness or pain as symptoms of an imbalance. In this way tiredness, stress, stiffness or specific ailments are seen as signals of a need in the body to redress the balance of vital energy (or Qi).
If you have shiatsu you may discover links between seemingly unconnected symptoms you have been experiencing. So for example you may come for digestive problems and find that over time as these improve you also feel less forgetful, less anxious and problems in your knees get better. This is because of the holistic nature of energy work – the cornerstone of Traditional Chinese Medicine and therefore shiatsu.
What can shiatsu help with? It can help prevent the build up of stress in everyday life. Shiatsu is deeply relaxing and energizing. It eases tension, helps circulation, improves breathing and posture. All of these elements impact on how good we feel and how well we function – physically, mentally and emotionally.
It can help with specific conditions and some that come up quite regularly in my practice include:
o Back pain
o Headaches
o Stiffness
o Joint pain
o Menstrual problems
o Digestive problems
o Lack of energy
o Poor sleep
o Anxiety
I have also found it effective when treating conditions you might not at first think of such as agoraphobia.
What can you expect from a treatment?A treatment lasts one hour, with the initial consultation taking up to an hour and a half. This enables me to ask you some questions about your health to give me a better picture of how shiatsu might be able to help.
Generally shiatsu takes place lying down on a futon but it is incredibly adaptable. The key is to be comfortable and so you can be seated if lying down is not suitable and you remain fully clothed. It’s best to wear loose clothes for comfort. The treatment involves attention to the whole body, through hands-on massage and sometimes rotations and stretches.
What happens after the first treatment? Some people come for regular shiatsu treatments as part of their approach to maintaining health and a more relaxed life. You might come for a series of treatments (for example fortnightly to monthly) that help with the problem you have come with. I would say allow for two treatments as a minimum so that you can see how your body responds.
Everyone generally feels more relaxed, less ‘in their head’, more aware of the rest of their body and connected up. Sometimes deeply restful, sometimes full of energy – this depends on what the body needs to do.
If you would like to find out more do call Pam on: 07967 372 627 or email her at pam@thesunflowercentre.co.uk