If you are new to shiatsu…

I’d like to offer a brief reflection from my years of shiatsu for those who are newly arriving to this practice.

As with many practices that deepen over time – therapy, yoga, martial arts – beginning often follows a period of contemplation. Something you’ve put on the back burner, told yourself you’ll get to, or quietly known you could really use. When the moment feels right to begin, you open yourself to the possibility of all that might unfold along that path.

In a first shiatsu session, we often work simply, but profoundly, to release built-up “surface tension,” to become comfortable together, and to take a deep body scan through compassionate listening touch. By a second session, it’s remarkable how much more easily we can go deeply into body and spirit, supporting emotional balance, self-compassion, mobility and ease.

There are many practices for moving toward health and balance. I experience shiatsu as something like a gateway tool. Once your body feels the possibility of ease and freedom, other supportive habits like good food, laughter, movement, and breathing deeply often feel easier to access and maintain.

Wonderfully, all that you need to do is to surrender your upright form to the mat, lie down, close your eyes, and receive.