Shiatsu Shin Tai is a powerful healing touch therapy that works effectively to restore motion, alignment and vitality in body, mind and spirit and to activate a receiver's own life force by releasing stress patterns in the body system. This is achieved by focusing on the primary meridian channels in the body, the Governing Vessel and Conception Vessel using fascia, structural, and meridian work.
For me, Shiatsu Shin Tai is also about showing care, kindness and respect for our clients: learning to know how much to give and when is enough. Because this work is powerful, less is more. We learn to wait, observe and give the receiver the space and time to process the effect of a technique. ie There might be a deep intake of breath.
How do we prepare ourselves for this work? Proprioceptive exercises that we follow in shiatsu and particularly in Shin Tai help us to find alignment in ourselves and to be in touch with our own emotions and physical body ie How am I feeling right now? Where do I feel tension in my body? This inner guidance system can help us in and outside of shiatsu. An exercise might also include sensing our Central Channel like a Light Sabre running through our inner core. I feel that the beauty of this exercise is knowing that we have an inner strength or resource that we can return to when life or situations feel challenging.
Related to this is connecting with attention. This includes working from even the minuteness of levels (eg finding the right point or angle of contact that is most effective in a client's healing). From working on ourselves, we learn to develop a sensitivity when doing Shin Tai work and become more able to tune in to each client that we meet. How does this person seem? Where are they in their life? How am I feeling this moment? How can I support them effectively?
When we take the time to find our own alignment, we become more able to support our clients in finding their own alignment. When I am unsure how to proceed with a treatment, I try and remember to return to the beginning. Observe. Wait. Give my client space.
