Sunday, July 15, 2012

Ever had a Shiatsu massage?  Shiatsu refers to a type of Japanese deep tissue massage that uses applied pressure to specific points to relieve tension, similar to how acupuncture works.

The first time I encountered a Shiatsu massage, it was called anything but.  Instead of it being referred to as a massage that would have conjured up nice mental images of a relaxing massage meant to calm my body, what I went through was called physical therapy for one of my spinal injuries. 

As mentioned above, regular massages are soothing.  Calm the body.  Shiatsu massages, though the end results can be rather amazing and releasing, are anything but relaxing.  When a Shiatsu massage is needed, it’s usually due to a deep underlying ailment that simple stretching and/or rubbing out with a conventional massage won’t help.  Enter the Shiatsu.

Shiatsu massages pinpoint energy and direct pressure to the affected area.  No delicate dancing around the affected area.  These massages can be tough to take.  Especially if an injury is what’s being treated, seeing as the targeted area is already on hypersensitive mode.

Giving an effective Shiatsu massage takes inordinate strength.  The irony is, that whenever I’ve had an effective Shiatsu massage, it’s been administered by someone small in stature with tiny hands.  But don’t let the person’s size or the smallness of their hands fool you.  Those hands are tough as steel. 

Those who know how to give Shiatsu massages are trained to do so.  Not just anyone can give this type of massage since additional injury can result if the person isn’t highly aware of and trained to recognize key pressure pints and how the body works.

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion to this blog….