So I haven’t had a Shiatsu massage myself for quite a while & after a hectic Christmas I decided to book one. I managed to get time away from my children, enough to have a cup of coffee beforehand & a couple of hours after to rest. I was absolutely on time, punctuality is always helpful to a practitioner, & I wanted to get as much hands-on time as possible. 

I had a brief discussion with the Shiatsu practitioner about why I was there & what I hoped for from the session. This was interesting, being on the client side of the discussion, I realised that up-most on my mind was the wish to be lying down & having the Shiatsu. Note to self: get clients onto the mat as quickly as possible, they are there for the massage!

I was determined to make the most of the massage, not to be second guessing what my lovely colleague was going to do & critiquing her work. However I enjoyed feeling what was absolutely brilliant & the moments (not many) that were a little less fluid or a little shaky. I chose to say once that I felt the work was a little strong, & I chose to trust the practitioner a couple of other times. 

I was giving Shiatsu’s later in the same day & I was able to ask my clients at certain points if the work was too strong or too soft. I asked them to be more communicative within the treatments, ensuring they still got the same level of relaxation. I worked hard on seeing the treatment from their point of view, how much movement did I make, how much did I move them, how much quiet work opposed to strong or fast work was there. I hope that the clients felt very well supported & listened to, that there needs were met. 

Having Shiatsu massage myself helped me give better Shiatsu massage to others. I need to have more Shiatsu! I think I can manage that.