What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a powerful touch-based tool that can release physical and emotional tension. It uses simple yet effective pressure-based techniques to work with the energy points and pathways of Chinese medicine. More concretely, shiatsu is about discovering what's inside your body and allowing it to nourish you in the best possible way. You can easily learn to use some of its basic skills for yourself or with another person.
Shiatsu: a solution for regaining energy after your period?
In this modern age of dependence on medicine, we've tended to forget the power of touch. The use of targeted touch on certain energy points and pathways can help you regenerate your energy. At the end of our female cycles, such as after menstruation or childbirth, and even during the menopause, we tend to feel emotionally or psychologically tired or empty. In Chinese medicine, this is due to the loss of blood, which is considered nourishing energy.
There is a key meridian to help replenish the blood: the penetrating vessel. This vessel connects our heart and uterus to our brain and kidneys, and helps us feel anchored to the earth and our external sources of nourishment.
How do we go about it?
- The easiest way to connect to this vessel is to place one hand on your heart and one hand on your lower abdomen (to connect with your uterus), close your eyes and simply breathe deeply, feeling the warmth and sensations under your hands and perhaps even feeling a connection between the 2. You may find this helps you feel calmer.
- Then slowly move down the inside of your legs until you reach the ground you're standing or sitting on.
- Then you can hold your feet, especially along the inside edge. This can help you feel more grounded and present.
- You can again place your hand on your heart and lower abdomen and see if you feel a difference.
- After you've done this, you can place one of your hands on your lower back, in the hollow of the lumbar spine. For the Chinese, this area is linked to our energetic kidneys (i.e. lower than your physical kidneys), which store our ancestral memories and support. By placing a hand here, you can connect to the support of your past and your ancestors.
As you breathe while being touched, images often arise. You can use these images to help you feel nurtured, such as the image of earth stability and grounding when you touch your feet. Holding your heart, you can visualize all the people who support you in your daily life. Holding your belly, you can connect with all the creative aspects. Holding your kidneys, you can feel ancestral support.
There are also exercises you can use to circulate these regenerative energies throughout your body. A one-to-one session with a practitioner involves lying dressed on a futon (a padded mat on the floor) and receiving this supportive touch for around 45 minutes. It may also include breathing exercises and stretching.
Shiatsu not only helps you regenerate your energy, it can also be an excellent way of soothing period-related pain.
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