My cough began innocently enough when I woke up with a tickle in my throat, but a week later the tickle became non-stop coughing fits. The doctor at the walk-in clinic prescribed puffers containing cortisteroids for me, assuring me I had a common cold symptom. When the puffers did not work, my family doctor just gave me stronger doses of the same cortisteroids. I took his advice simply because I didn’t think I had any other options.
In desperation, I called a Shiatsu therapist, Laurie Ward, to see if she could help. I didn’t think she could cure me, but I thought a massage wouldn’t hurt, either.
Ward worked on improving my “lung energy” and clearing up my stuffed nose to deal with the cough. The coughing fits were almost gone the next day. The following day, the cough diminished even more. This therapy had cured me in one hour, as opposed to western medicine, which was doing me more harm than good. Shiatsu is a form of massage therapy (the name literally means finger pressure). According to Allison Erdmann, a certified Shiatsu therapist, it was introduced to Toronto about 30 years ago by Japanese therapists and has been growing in popularity ever since.
“Shiatsu is based on traditional Chinese medical theory. It does try to promote general medical health,” says Ward, a certified therapist, who practices Zen Shiatsu.
Ward uses Shiatsu to promote a smooth flow of chi (energy) throughout the body. “When energy flows smoothly, it’s able to function to its fullest ability. When energy is blocked, it doesn’t function and can result in any ailment depending on the meridian.”
Shiatsu therapists believe that applying pressure to weak areas and places with blocked energy can loosen stiff muscles, improve circulation and lessen tension. The use of meridians, channels of living energy in the body, is important in Zen Shiatsu. These channels pass throughout the body and stimulate the organs. Zen Shiatsu views the body as containing twelve meridians, each with a specific function, such as the stomach meridian, which runs through one’s legs and back, or the heart meridian, which starts at the armpit and runs to the pinky finger. The alternative therapy can be used for the treatment of many illnesses, including stress, headaches, back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome. Whatever the specific ailment, Erdmann says many people come because they are dissatisfied with western medicine.
“I get a lot of people who aren’t happy with pill popping,” she explains. “The majority of my clients come to me to find relief for chronic pain.”
Ward agrees. “With Shiatsu, I’ve been able to get to the root of the problem and correct the problem.”
She begins a treatment by feeling one’s abdomen or hara, where branches of the meridians lie. “I start treatment in the abdominal area to get a sense of where the imbalances are.” By touching the abdomen, Ward can determine the energy flows in one’s body and which meridians need to be worked on. She then applies pressure alongside those meridians in treatments that can last from half an hour to an hour. At the end of the treatment, Ward feels the hara again to see if there have been any changes. Tamara Sussman, a U of T Ph.D student in social work, sought out Ward’s healing touch when she could not take the pain of her tension headaches anymore.
“I had headaches daily. It had gotten so bad, I could barely keep my head up on its own. I couldn’t sit up without being in incredible pain.”
Sussman has been seeing Ward for two months of treatments. She never went to her family doctor because she assumed her doctor would not treat the cause of her headaches. Previously, her spouse had gone to a doctor when he experienced back pain and was disappointed with the prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs. “He got instant relief, but he wasn’t getting at the heart of the problem,” she explained. It was her husband’s experience that caused her to lose faith in conventional medicine and turn to alternative treatments. Sussman believes Shiatsu has gotten to the root of her headaches. She noticed an improvement after five appointments and now only sees Ward every six weeks. In addition to Shiatsu, Ward also suggested tension-relieving exercises. “She helped me think about safer sitting positions and stretches. I haven’t had a headache in one month,” Sussman says.
Shiatsu also has the power to heal simply because it is a therapy involving touch. “Being touched is a need we all have. People feel cared for when touched in a compassionate and caring way,” says Ward. Her treatments have helped people through emotionally difficult times. “There’s definitely an emotional aspect to treatments.”
“Touch therapy is endemic to the treatment. It contributes to feeling more cared for,” says Dafna Eisenberg, a social worker and client of Ward’s.
The type of Shiatsu used depends on the therapist. Beside Zen Shiatsu, Namikoshi Shiatsu is also practised in Ontario. The main difference between the two is that Namikoshi does not use the concept of meridians or other eastern medicine beliefs.ere a person
