Shiatsu is a form of massage originating in Japan. The word literally means “finger pressure”. The technique looks and feels like Acupressure or Trigger Point Therapy, but its theory is founded in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Shiatsu Meridians. Since one of its guiding principles is that the most change happens at the innermost parts of the body, Shiatsu is known to be a deep technique. Some therapists administer this depth physically, resulting in deep pressure, and some therapists administer this depth energetically, resulting in light pressure. Since Shiatsu is an Eastern modality a certain amount of energetic work is always being practised, so that even when a physically deep treatment is being performed, the pressure is applied in a sensitive and considerate way. Whereas oil is the barrier between client and therapist in Swedish massage, in Shiatsu it is cloth, so that the client either wears clothing or is continually covered with a sheet. This saves time in a treatment and provides fluidity as draping, undraping, and oil application do not slow down the treatment process. Shiatsu is good for people seeking the release of “knots” in their muscles, people that enjoy deep pressure, and people seeking emotional release through massage.
