Shiatsu is Japanese for "finger pressure". This traditional healing art from Japan is based on the same principles as acupuncture, except no needles are used. Instead, shiatsu massage uses finger and palm pressure, stretches, and other techniques to help balance and restore the body's life energy. Shiatsu massage is traditionally performed on a futon mat, with clients fully clothed, but I also offer shiatsu treatments on the massage table.
Receiving a shiatsu massage can renew your vitality, relieve your pain and stress, and make you more relaxed, renewed, and whole. As with other aspects of Japanese culture such as archery and tea ceremony, Zen shiatsu is influenced by Zen Buddhism.
I view and value shiatsu as a vehicle for practicing compassion, presence, and deep listening. In addition to my one-on-one treatments, I also practice a low-cost form of shiatsu massage called Community Shiatsu. In community shiatsu, couples, friends, or family members arrive together and each first receive a brief health evaluation from me. I then give each person safe and simple instructions on what pressure points to press on each other to address pain and illness and maintain wellness.
Clients are encouraged to come back a month later for a professional reassessment of their condition, and receive updated guidance on what more they can do with their hands to help each other. Community Shiatsu clients who cannot afford one-on-one acupuncture sessions might consider trying Community Acupuncture at Providence Community Acupuncture or at Kindred Community Acupuncture. I love practicing shiatsu, and have given thousands of professional treatments since my graduation from the Boston Shiatsu School in I have studied pregnancy shiatsu with Suzanne Yates, an authority on shiatsu for pregnancy and author of Shiatsu for Midwives.
For 11 years I taught shiatsu massage, integrative massage, and traditional Chinese medicine for Program in Therapeutic Massage at the Community College of Rhode Island.
