About Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a form of massage involving gentle pressure, stretching and manipulation along meridians or pathways of energy within the body. Literally translated from the Japanese as ‘finger pressure’, Shiatsu, together with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs, has been a fundamental part of Oriental Medicine for over 4000 years, evolving and developing into the form that is practised today.

About Ki

One of the main differences between Western medicine and Oriental medicine is the basic concept that there is a life force called Ki energy (Ch’i in Chinese ) which flows through all things, animate and inanimate, in a harmonious, balanced way. This Ki energy flows in our bodies along meridians or pathways rather like rivers flow on the Earth. As long as the Ki flow is unhampered, whether by internal or external factors, we can maintain the physical, emotional and spiritual balance which we know as “health”. However, when the flow through the meridians is upset, for instance a person’s Ki can get blocked just as a river can, or become stagnant or even overflow, then disharmony and imbalance arise. This we know as “”illness”.