How long does Shiatsu last?
This was a question that I was not asked directly but did come from one of my more sceptical clients. Given its source, this question is about the nature of Shiatsu. Is it a treatment given to a receiver or a healing activity in which practitioner and client are working in partnership?
This client is typical of some that believe the Shiatsu practitioner delivers a cure and the client walks away from the session feeling easer but feels no part of the process. Without this connection to their own body and healing mechanisms then when that relaxation inevitably fades they feel that Shiatsu is not working for them. One may explain that a chronic condition will take time to recover from but if there is not an understanding that Shiatsu is a process and not a series of massages then the client will stop coming.
This belief is understandable since most of us are raised within a Western system of medicine in which the Doctor is seen as the dispenser of health. Simply take this drug three times a day and the symptoms will be diminished or gone; no worries and no effort.
I had a session with the client who prompted this post recently and was ready for this to be the last time we met. Instead we had a good discussion about how each of us needs to learn to listen to their body. For the first time I used my sense of their Ki as feedback and that proved to be an excellent springboard to discuss what they could be doing besides receiving Shiatsu. To my relief this client was very keen to book another session.
To answer the question: How long does Shiatsu last? I would say that it is up to the client what they get out of each session and take into everyday life. It is also up to the practitioner to develop that client’s interest in their own healing and not think of it as being a passive receiver. Maybe I should stop using the words giver and receiver altogether to banish that passive model from my own thinking.
I am very much the beginner when it comes to recommending follow up activities to clients but I have started to do it. Like everything in Shiatsu this is one aspect of an ongoing process of learning.
Tony Brown @ May 11, 2007