Anew You Massage is proud to offer Shiatsu to the residents and visitors of Summit County!
Ashiatsu Testimonial From an Anew You Client
“Anew You is the place to go after long hours on the slope. Val and her team are wonderful at making sure your muscles are refreshed, nourished, and recharged.
After spending hundreds of days on the mountain every season, I trust that Anew You can keep me in great shape. I recommend Val to all my friends and family. She takes her time and doesn’t rush. Her Ashiatsu is amazing and can help with achy muscles that other therapist can’t reach.
I look forward to each and every massage. Thanks Val!”
– Jeff M., Snowboard Coach
From “Shiatsu, Japanese massage for Health and Fitness” by Elaine Liechti and “Acupressure for Emotional Healing” by Michael Reed Gach, Ph. D., and Beth Ann Henning, Dipl. A.B.T., comes the following information discussing the wide range of benefits Shiatsu brings:
Shiatsu As Therapy
Shiatsu is a healing art, originating in Japan, which uses the power of touch and pressure to enable each of us to contact our own self-healing abilities. It is sometimes a dynamic, sometimes a seemingly static form involving pressure and stretching on the limbs and torso, kneading and releasing tight muscles, and support areas of weakness.
To receive, Shiatsu is deeply relaxing and yet invigorating, leaving a feeling of tranquility and a sense of being in touch with every part of one’s body. Giving Shiatsu is like performing a moving meditation and leaves the giver feeling as balanced and energized as the receiver.
In common with acupuncture and other Asian therapies, it works upon the body’s energetic system, using the network of meridians or energy pathways which relates to the functioning of the internal organs as well as our emotional, psychological and spiritual harmony.
The concept of the body as an “energetic” organism comes from ancient Chinese thought, and through centuries of experience and study has evolved into a system of medical theory which is both rich and poetic. Energy, known as Ki in Japanese (Qi in Chinese), flows throughout the body, rather like a system of rivers and canals.
Things may happen to upset the smooth flow of Ki causing blockages or dams in some areas, weaknesses or stagnant pools in others. These in turn may lead to physical symptoms, psychological or emotional disturbances, or a feeling that “things are just not quite right”.
Shiatsu uses physical pressure and meridian stretches to unblock the dams (blockages) – which show up as tight muscles and areas of stiffness – and revitalize the empty areas. Oriental medical theory provides a framework by which the practitioner can assess the body’s energetic state and needs, and can explain why the body holds tension in certain areas or points and feels weak in others.
Prevention and Treatment of Illness
Like other natural healing and alternative therapies, Shiatsu is concerned with preventative measures. Shiatsu keeps the body healthy, flexible and in balance, as well as monitoring the energetic changes that may be precursors of sickness. In the oriental view, an imbalance of Ki develops before the symptoms of illness occur. Regular Shiatsu treatment an help to pinpoint any patterns of imbalance in the body’s Ki structure by ironing out those disturbances before they become entrenched.
Many conditions are particularly suitable for Shiatsu treatment, including headaches and migraine, acute and chronic back pain (especially if of muscular origin), sciatica, muscular stiffness and injuries, some forms of arthritis, and rheumatic complaints. Working as it does on the body’s internal organs, Shiatsu can also have a role in the treatment of digestive and intestinal disorders, circulatory, respiratory and reproductive problems. Because Shiatsu works on relaxing the body at a deep level and contacting the more subtle aspects of one’s energetic make-up, it can also help in the treatment of anxiety, tension, depression and emotional instability.
The Effects of Shiatsu
At the end of the treatment the patient is left to rest for a little while. In fact people often tend to fall asleep during the session so a few minutes of recovery time are therefore essential before “coming back to the here and now”. After treatment the patient usually feels very relaxed, with a sense of well-being and peace.
Sometimes there is also a feeling of invigoration, increased “get up and go”. Occasionally a new patient may have a “healing reaction” after a first session. This occurs when toxins have been released during the treatment, and as these work out through the body, there may be symptoms such as headache, stiffness, stomach upset or diarrhea, desire to urinate frequently, or lethargy. Such symptoms are transitory and soon pass, usually in twelve hours at most, although an emotional release may take longer to work through. Drinking plenty of spring water and resting will help, as well as asking the practitioner for advice and reassurance if you are at all worried.
While working meridians and specific points helps to regulate the energetic level, pressure also has the physical effect of stimulating the circulatory, lymphatic and hormonal systems.
Shiatsu practitioners acknowledge that the healing which takes place during a session is largely due to the stimulation of the patient’s self-healing abilities. We are so often “out of touch” with our bodies; the caring and compassionate contact between practitioner and patient in Shiatsu can do much to reintroduce ourselves to our bodies and in so doing can help to ease any feelings of alienation and lack of communication with others.
Acupressure for Physical and Emotional Healing
Acupressure relaxes the tight muscles that result from an emotional trauma. A traumatic event causes the body to contract its muscles and harden, like protective armor, to shield the inner self.
In addition to some life style changes which MUST be done to encourage the healing process and lead the therapy to a complete success, the following issues are addressed: Abandonment, Addiction, Anger, Anxiety & Panic Attacks, Codependency, Depression, Emotional numbness, Fear and Phobias, Grief, Guilt and Shame, Incest, Jealousy & Resentment, Mood Swings, Sexual Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Worry and Self-Doubt, as well as physical imbalances such as Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia, Insomnia, Menstruation & Menopause, Nightmares.