Shiatsu: Diagnosis and Therapy combined

Shiatsu En Mataro
Shiatsu is an evolving form, and their different styles incorporate (to differing degrees) aspects of Japanese traditional massage, traditional Chinese medicine and western anatomy and physiology.
The characteristic of Shiatsu, as defined Namikoshi (father of the art as known today) is to apply pressure using only the fingers, palms and especially the thumbs on items related to the central and autonomic nervous system. Masunaga acupuncture channels identified in the arms and legs, and believe that a Shiatsu treatment should:
1. treating the entire body
2. require a therapist sensitive to the distribution of the body’s energy
3. provide an extra dimension of connection and support (using both hands, where a ‘listening’ and the other acts).
The essence of Shiatsu is “Diagnosis and Therapy combined.” Diagnosis and Therapy combined “is the clinician’s ability to use his sensory organs (palms, fingers and thumbs) to detect energy imbalances in the body (such as stiffness or looseness), and empirically to perform routines set to correct these problems. Acquiring this skill requires considerable experience. The defining difference between Shiatsu therapy, modern medicine and Kampo medicine (also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), acupuncture and moxibustion) is this: “Diagnosis and Therapy combined”.