What Is Shiatsu? An Interview With Mike Craske by Jane Thurnell-Read

Shiatsu you may know the word comes from Japan, but what exactly is it? I asked Mike Craske, a busy shiatsu practitioner living in Derby, UK, to explain more about it.

What is shiatsu?

"The word shiatsu means finger pressure, but there's more to it than that. It involves working on the meridians in the body, so it affects the inside of the body. Some people use the term shiatsu massage, but I discourage that, as it gives the wrong idea. The person doesn't need to take their clothes off, and we don't rub the skin - a shiatsu practitioner is interested in how the periphery connects with the inside - rubbing the skin would be drawing attention to the outside. We're interested in how we can help the bowels work better, the digestion to function more calmly, the breathing to be easier .."

Who can benefit from it?

"Shiatsu can be beneficial for anyone, but it works particularly well for people with muscular skeletal problems, tension and sleep problems. I'm a bit unusual in that I use shiatsu to deal with a lot of psychological problems. I also see lots of people with eating disorders, depression, post viral syndrome, diabetes and tumours. Shiatsu can be used for babies, and children - attention deficit disorder, for example. It can help older people with arthritis and mobility problems. It's even being done on horses now!"

What happens in a typical session?

"When someone comes in for their first session, we ask them about their health and their medical history. We also ask them about food and holiday preferences and hobbies. This gives us a picture of the whole person. We use hara diagnosis to help us decide which meridians to work on. The hara is an area of the lower abdomen, and each part of it corresponds to different bits of the body. We palpate the area to find which parts of the body are out of balance. Some practitioners may take pulses and check out the clients tongue, but that comes from Chinese medicine rather than being part of classical shiatsu thinking.

"The basic way of working is for the practitioner to look for two meridians one which is deficient and one which is full, and then through the treatment look to balance them up. The client lies on a mat on the floor, and the practitioner uses thumbs, fingers, palms, elbows and some, particularly in Japan, will stand on you.

"Some practitioners use movement shiatsu too. They get the client to move their body along meridian lines, so, for example, if the lung meridian was being addressed, the practitioner would get the client to move the arm, and see what it does to their posture, and how it made them feel."

How many sessions will be required?

"It's difficult to say because everyones different, but I suppose 6-8 treatments is the average, but it could be a lot more."

How can a good shiatsu practitioner be found?

"In the UK there is one professional shiatsu organisation, the Shiatsu Society, which maintains a list of qualified practitioners. On the European Shiatsu Federation web site you can find the contact details of shiatsu organisations in different European countries. The American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia lists USA shiatsu members among its practitioners."

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