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relax... release... revitalise...
By the 10th century, various Chinese medicines, especially Palm Healing, had found their way into Japanese society as seafarers returned home with foreign wisdom. It was these early forms of acupressure and massage which resembled modern day Shiatsu.
By the 18th century, these ancient skills had developed to such an extent that all doctors in Japan were required by law to study these palm healing techniques - collectively known as Anma - to develop an intense knowledge of the human structure, pressure points and energy pathways in order to accurately diagnose and treat their patients.
During the 20th century Shiatsu became distinct from all other treatments through the merging of Western knowledge of anatomy, which heightened its effectiveness.
The Shiatsu Therapists Association was founded in 1925, and in thirty years later, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare acknowledged Shiatsu as a beneficial treatment, and licensing was established for all practitioners.
It was around this time that the incredible benefits of Shiatsu began to develop around the Western world, which has traditionally been far slower to recognise complimentary healing than Oriental medicine.
Shiatsu thus emerged as a form of manual therapy that incorporated gentle stretches and manipulations that were incorporated because of the advancements of newer disciplines - such as physiotherapy and chiropractic - with pressure techniques exerted through the fingers or thumbs. Shiatsu's power was thus increased by the combined Eastern and Western influences, and it was at this point that its proven benefits began to accumulate through research projects, many of which were government-funded.
The European Union has recently acknowledged Shiatsu's healing properties, and is, at present, pumping money into further comprehensive research studies - it is this practice which has so often been a prelude to acknowledging a practice as an actual medicine.
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