Shiatsu
ancient bodywork for modern humans
❥ Saul Goodman, founder of the International School of Shiatsu, author of “The Book of Shiatsu”
“The art of Shiatsu, practiced to create a balance of our own energy, is an innate part of being human.
It employs the use of our hands as an extension of our heart and as an expression of our compassion.
But I do know enough to remind myself that it's really not about achieving anything, other than a safe space and a sense of connection and relief for my client.
Their bodies - your body - will do the rest."
Shiatsu, as a form of bodywork, is a recent manifestation of probably the oldest of all health therapies: human touch.
Shiatsu (pronounced: ‘shee - ah - tzoo’) is a Japanese word that literally means, ‘finger pressure’.
Its origins are rooted deeply in Asian culture and the perception that all physical manifestations are seen as appearances representing an ever changing flow of energetic forces.
While this may seem a bit ‘unscientific’ to our modern western minds, most of us have some awareness of how thoughts and emotions can become solidified in our bodies as postures and life expressions.
The focus here is not so much on the muscles, but on ‘meridians’: pathways of subtle, bioelectric current, which are the interface between the organs and the skin.
The session may also include rotation of joints, abdominal massage, gentle prompts accompanying stretching or breathing, and stimulation of pressure points.
What’s a shiatsu session like?
With the receiver fully clothed, and lying on a massage table or a futon on the floor, the practitioner approaches their body with thumb, finger, or palm pressure, rocking, stretching, mobilizing joints, fascial release and more.
The initial intention is to calm the receiver’s nervous system, ease tension, and facilitate the flow of blood, lymph, and Ki (life force energy).
The benefits.
Many of my clients have shared that it’s hard to describe how shiatsu feels, as compared to other types of massage.
They do, however, all agree on feeling deeply relaxed, ‘transported’, looser, grounded, and ‘more themselves’.
Because tension and habits of limitation can hinder the sense of ‘coherence’* in the body, shiatsu can be helpful in softening these barriers, so the body can find its way back to homeostasis and healing.
Location: 329 Gordon Drive Exton PA 19341
(Lionville Business Center at the corner of Gordon Drive and Rt 113, inside Nature’s Healing Touch)
Hours and rates:
Hours are by appointment: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
30 minutes: $55
45 minutes: $70
60 minutes: $90
75 minutes: $110
90 minutes: $130
Add-on’s are listed in the section below.
Packages and gift certificates:
Prepaid packages of 3 (of 30 or 60-minute sessions): 10% discount
Prepaid packages of 4: 12% discount
Prepaid packages of 5: 15% discount
For packages of 45, 75 or 90-minutes, please contact me.
Add-on services
These services can be added on to a regular bodywork session.
Simply choose ‘Add to your appointment’ after selecting which length of bodywork session you would like.
The Acupressure Facial and the Shiatsu Foot Massage can be scheduled as stand-alone sessions.
Acupressure Facial
A lovely massage just for the face, head, neck and shoulders, this traditional beauty treatment uses no products - just gentle pressure that facilitates circulation, toning, and may bring relief for headaches, sinus pressure, and more.
Add on: $35 | Stand alone: $45
Shiatsu Foot Massage
Beginning with a warming ginger water scrub and ending with an application of coconut oil (both optional), this treatment works the muscles and shiatsu points all round the feet, toes, ankles and lower calves.
Add on: $40 | Stand alone: $50
Ginger Compress
A traditional remedy using compresses of fresh ginger in hot water applied to areas of stiffness and stagnation in the body. Combined with gentle shiatsu, this can be a wonderfully tonifying treatment.
Please read more here about applications and contraindications.
Only as add on: $40
further resources about shiatsu
Massage Magazine article about Asian Bodywork
Your Guide to Shiatsu: What it is, what it does, and how it can help you enjoy life more.
What is Asian Bodywork Therapy?
❥ Tokujiro Namikoshi, founder of the Japan Shiatsu College, 1940
“The heart of shiatsu is like a mother’s love.
Pressure of the finger makes life flow.”
In service to your human be-ing…
