Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Would you like to schedule an appointment?
Should you wish to schedule an appointment with me in Evanston, please contact the front desk at Zen Shiatsu Chicago at 847-864-1130. Zen Shiatsu Chicago is located upstairs at 825 Chicago Avenue, right across from the Main St Purple Line stop. Sessions are $75 an hour.
Meditative vs meditation
In the study of Iyengar Yoga (which I began in 1998 and largely informs my shiatsu practice) “meditation” is a fairly specific act which one can begin to study only after one has “mastered” pranayama (breath work), which itself can only be safely practiced after one has “mastered” asanas (yogic posture exercises). In other words, meditation is very powerful; it can do great things for your mind but you must be ready for it.
I don’t want to downplay this reverence for meditation, which is why I like to use the word “meditative” for the more casual approach to daily life that we could all use a nice dose of. Slow down, sit tall, breath deep, look inward, relax. Move with intention, think through your actions and thoughts, try to be harmonious. Take a few minutes each day to “just be.”
If you want to try real-deal meditation, there are many methods of meditation worth checking out. Many classes are offered for beginners. I emphasize classes because it really is a discipline that can be learned. Techniques have been developed -- some old, some new -- that bring the mind to different states. Classes also let you hear what obstacles others are facing, and they help keep you practicing during the often difficult initial stages.
As a practitioner and receiver of shiatsu, I find the practice to be very meditative. I am able to focus where appropriated and everything else just melts away. As a receiver, a major component is having someone’s hands on you -- your consciousness shifts from the dialogue in your head to the sensory event of the bodywork.
I don’t want to downplay this reverence for meditation, which is why I like to use the word “meditative” for the more casual approach to daily life that we could all use a nice dose of. Slow down, sit tall, breath deep, look inward, relax. Move with intention, think through your actions and thoughts, try to be harmonious. Take a few minutes each day to “just be.”
If you want to try real-deal meditation, there are many methods of meditation worth checking out. Many classes are offered for beginners. I emphasize classes because it really is a discipline that can be learned. Techniques have been developed -- some old, some new -- that bring the mind to different states. Classes also let you hear what obstacles others are facing, and they help keep you practicing during the often difficult initial stages.
As a practitioner and receiver of shiatsu, I find the practice to be very meditative. I am able to focus where appropriated and everything else just melts away. As a receiver, a major component is having someone’s hands on you -- your consciousness shifts from the dialogue in your head to the sensory event of the bodywork.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
How I got here
People often ask me how I got involved with shiatsu. When I was an undergraduate, way back in 2000, Shiatsu was offered as an intramural activity in the gym. Our teacher, Michelle Grant, designed a fantastic gym-appropriate term-long program that gave just a touch of shiatsu and absolutely lit my flame. Like my first taste of yoga, I experienced heightened body awareness and a sense of deep calm surrounded by an increased energy -- as both a giver and a receiver.
After I graduated, I signed up for the intro course with Waturo Ohashi at the Ohashiatsu Institute in New York. I took further classes in Ohashi’s method with Frances Farmer in Ann Arbor over the next year and a half, then decided to sideline shiatsu and seek new adventures. After 7 years of “new adventures” I did some soul-searching and felt that, of all things I had ever tasted as possible professional ventures, shiatsu is where I belong.
The Ohashi program had an outpost in Chicago (rather, Evanston), which had gone independent a few years earlier and now operates as Zen Shiatsu Chicago and presents a more rigorous program. I contacted them and found that if I started immediately I could pace my program in a most harmonious way, and just a few days later I took my first Chinese Medicine class, and a few weeks later started the shiatsu coursework. 20 months later, I’ve finished at Zen Shiatsu, but as they say, I’m just beginning to learn -- it's always "Beginner's Mind."
After I graduated, I signed up for the intro course with Waturo Ohashi at the Ohashiatsu Institute in New York. I took further classes in Ohashi’s method with Frances Farmer in Ann Arbor over the next year and a half, then decided to sideline shiatsu and seek new adventures. After 7 years of “new adventures” I did some soul-searching and felt that, of all things I had ever tasted as possible professional ventures, shiatsu is where I belong.
The Ohashi program had an outpost in Chicago (rather, Evanston), which had gone independent a few years earlier and now operates as Zen Shiatsu Chicago and presents a more rigorous program. I contacted them and found that if I started immediately I could pace my program in a most harmonious way, and just a few days later I took my first Chinese Medicine class, and a few weeks later started the shiatsu coursework. 20 months later, I’ve finished at Zen Shiatsu, but as they say, I’m just beginning to learn -- it's always "Beginner's Mind."
Friday, July 23, 2010
What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a form of bodywork that utilizes the vocabulary of the Chinese meridian system; it is usually done clothed, on a padded floor. We like to consider the “whole person” approach to bodywork, where we consider the influences of your lifestyle and circumstances (weather, sleep, diet, activity level, energy level, etc.) along with the immediate manifestations in the body (“my shoulders are killing me!”). Because of the use of assisted stretches and the parasympathetic nervous response (AKA “relaxation”), many liken shiatsu as “having yoga done to you.”
The meridians run throughout the body, with discrete points where energy and tension tend to accumulate. Many people are surprised by the intensity of these points, and amazed by the whole-body reaction to having them “worked.” The meridians have all kinds of associations in Chinese Medicine, and are considered to be tightly connected to the physical, organic, spiritual and emotional bodies. We use these associations to help guide our work, but I like to think that irrespective of the scientific validity of the associations, the physical work brings benefits, much as massage does.
The most common technique in shiatsu is to simply apply the hands to the body in a crawling position, and to work along the meridian. Forearms, elbow, and occasionally knees are utilized as well, depending on the particular application. Because we work on the floor, it is fairly easy to control the pressure, from a light touch from a pinkie finger to the strong application of a knee. All of our weight is on the floor, but we can control how much of it passes through you to get there. Compare this to table massage technique, where most of the weight is “wasted” through the feet.
Though the roots of shiatsu run deep, the method we use is fairly modern, coming to light in the past 50 years. Many credit Shizuto Masunaga with codifying the technique, and his student Waturo Ohashi for further developing the methods and working as chief ambassador to the world. Many of their student have added tools from other body art disciplines (massage, Thai massage, yoga, tai chi, Feldenkrais, Alexander Method, etc.) to the vocabulary of the method, which is an always evolving art form.
I’ve been studying yoga for 12 years, so I cannot help but to reach into that discipline to help guide my shiatsu. When giving a session, I try to put myself in the state of body-mind I achieve in yoga -- soft, deep breath; quiet, focused attention; dynamic, living relaxation. Likewise, I try to work in a way that can bring the same response to my receiver. I often feel my clientele can benefit from using even just a few of the techniques of yoga in their daily lives. To that end, I believe that shiatsu is an excellent complement to holistic approaches to well-being.
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