I have this course coming up in a few weeks time. Shiatsu is so nurturing and supportive and can easily be used to support oneself and those around us.
Thsis course is designed to give an overview of how Shiatsu can help support someone’s self care routine. It will also be a relaxing and pampering day.
Have a look at more details here
Maybe see you there
Today is mental health day, which is great, highlighting this often hidden health issue. As a society we are getting better at acknowledging mental health issues and how important it is to support them. There is still a long way to go but great to see how many mentions of world mental hlath day I have seen today.
Using touch Shiatsu can help support a client’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects. How great not to have to try and dissect and analyse your feelings or concerns, simply to feel how you are when you are held by the practitioners touch.
The Shiatsu approach can bypass the mind, where we can get caught up in trying to understand and remedy our issues. Shiatsu is a chance to be still and feel in our bodies what affect how lives are having on us.
Shiatsu looks to find balance in the body, when there is balance there is relief and release of physical tension. With the release of the physical tension also comes release of mental and emotional tensions.
A Shiatsu treatment is a safe and secure space where a client can be however they want to be. A client can be anxious, stressed, nervous, frightened even. A session can still be a success no matter how the client is, they can leave feeling emotionally supported and with a lighter mental load.
Just having a space where you can be whatever and however you want can help a client. Often it can be hard to express to those close to us how we are mentally and emotionally. We don’t want to burden our parents, partners, friends. A Shiatsu treatment is exactly the right place to voice how you feel and what is happening for you. Some clients feels they are no longer managing on their own, they have the support of Shiatsu and a therapist.
It is such a privilege to be able to support and facilitate clients as they make positive changes to their health, be it physical, emotional or mental. It is great to watch people regain their confidence and self belief, to have some sense of control of their situation rather than feeling their situation or condition controls them.
So anyone is welcome and supported in my practice. Anything g can be discuused or not discussed. Everyone can be the way they need to be.
Happy however you are day.
Xx
Stress and anxiety can be debilitating, taking over or limiting daily life. It can be hard to find a solution; counselling, mindfulness, management techniques can work but sometimes a different approach is required.
When we talk about stress or anxiety we say we ‘feel stressed’ or ‘feel anxious.’ The physical body ‘feels’ our emotional and mental tensions, holding it as tension, blocks and weaknesses.
With Shiatsu you can approach stress and anxiety from the body first. How and where is the body holding the stress or anxiety? What Shiatsu touch allows the body to release the holding?
There doesn’t need to be any discussion before or during the treatment, although sometimes this is what the client would like. There’s no brain work, no analytical process. The client simply lies down and enjoys the relaxing treatment.
The physical touch can allow a sense of relief from held emotions and tensions. A chance to reset and feel ready to make positive steps forward.
Shiatsu is also a very safe and supportive form of therapy. In a held space a client can be however they want or need to be. Just feeling like there is a place where there is no need to wear a mask can help. A space where there are no expectations or demands. You don’t even need to be able to say how you feel for a Shiatsu to be a success.
Clients often express a feeling of physical and mental lightness after a Shiatsu treatment. Their worries and physical discomforts feel less.
Shiatsu is suitable for all, and has been shown to support people suffering withstress and anxiety, along with a number of other conditions.
To find out more head to the pages on this site or Facebook page or do contact me at amyhinkswright@yahoo.co.uk
So what is Shiatsu? How does if work?
A client once said ‘It’s not like any massage I’ve ever had.’ It does use massage techniques but is always given through clothes. It is also given on a futon mat on the floor, although can be given on a couch or chair.
Although it isn’t a talking therapy, psycho-therapy or counselling it can release held emotions, traumas, stresses and strains from the body.
Shiatsu is body-work, most definitely and although it comes at things from a different angle to physiotherapy or sports massage, it can still help ease pain and increase mobility.
Shiatsu is energy work. Although it is different to Reiki and other forms of healing it can still help build the levels of energy in the body. Shiatsu can help with the balance of mind and body and spirit.It is an unique form of hands-on therapy that can provide balance in the body. Whether the clients concerns are physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or a bit of all of them, Shiatsu has the ability to re-balance the energy and ease the symptoms. It can be good for aches and pains, for stress and anxiety, for sleep and relaxation.
It is a pretty physical form on therapy, with some great stretches and rotations. Obviously it is only as physical as appropriate for each client. It is a little like Thai or Yoga massage but looks to work the Meridians, lines of energy, that Acupuncture and Acupressure use.
Maybe you have tried various forms of massage and other therapies, Acupuncture, Reflexology for instance. If what you have tried hasn’t scratched your itch, as it were, then you may want to try a session on Shiatsu with me.
I am interested in providing a space for my clients that is safe – where they can feel and express in anyway they want to. Clients have their own stories and journeys and generally want to move on, away from physical issues or leaving behind past habits or upsets. I look to support them to do this by bringing their attention to their bodies, where and how is the body holding trauma and what touch provides relief or release.
I work in Exwick, in Exeter, just behind Exeter St. David’s train station. I offer appointments on most days of the week and I have evening appointments available.
Check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/shiatsuinexeter
Have a look at the Shiatsu Society Website http://www.shiatsusociety.org.uk
Thanks for reading
I have recently worked with a couple of mums who have really benefited from their sessions of Shiatsu with me.
Both women are just into their 30’s and have at least 3 children each. They have both just had another child and were really feeling the strain of their expanded family.
Both women are incredibly independent and the type of person people will come to for support and nurture. This was adding extra strain to their lives.
Both were finding their bodies weren’t recovering from the birth of their child as quickly as they had hoped. They had physical pain in the pelvis and lower back. Both had began their menstrual cycle quickly after the birth and this was causing mental distress and physical pain.
They were also carrying a large amount of physical tension in their upper back, shoulders and neck, from busy lives, physical jobs, carrying babies and children.
The shock for them was that they weren’t able to push through like they had previously been able to. This affected them both physically and mentally. It also brought up emotionally distress, both present and historical.
Gentle and supportive Shiatsu gave them the space to relax and rest. Just lying on the futon mat on the floor, on which Shiatsu is given, was a relief for them.
Shiatsu helped their bodies re-balance after giving birth. Their physical and mental symptoms began to ease.
The Shiatsu strengthen the weaker areas; pelvis, lower back and eased the areas of tension; shoulders, neck.
They expressed that they felt more themselves and that they could go with the flow more easily.
They had better energy levels and were able to manage the full-on physicality of their busy lives.
They came weekly and began to see big changes after two Shiatsu sessions. When working with anyone who is under strain I like to work weekly if at all possible. I would then hope to extend the space between sessions until the client is only coming two or three times a year for on-going support.
A session of Shiatsu is an hour long with 45 minutes of hands-on work. The rest of the hour is used for a short consultation at the beginning and time at the end to ‘wake up’ from the Shiatsu. I charge £40 a session but cost can always be discussed.
I work in a really love space in Exwick, Exeter. We have a wooden cabin in the garden, it is solid wood and provides a clean and natural environment to enjoy this unique therapy.
I offer Shiatsu appointments on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I have evening appointments available. As well as Exeter I have pop-up clinics in Dawlish and Exmouth. Watch out for dates for these two places.
I have loads of photos of Shiatsu here and these are a great way to get an idea of what a treatment involves.
If you wanted to know more about Shiatsu have a look on the pages on this site or head to the Shiatsu Society website for their info.
I’m also happy to answer questions so do call me on 07791 070837 or email me on amyhinkswright@yahoo.co.uk
xx
September is Shiatsu Awareness Month. The Shiatsu Society are promoting this amazing hands-on therapy with information about how it can support & help clients.
I have only managed one event this September, to promote Shiatsu, but I am always happy to talk about it, discuss whether it may be of help & to answer any questions. You can contact me through this site or on 07791 070837
Xx
Shiatsu is a hands-on therapy that can be good for helping with physical issues & with pain but it is also a very supportive therapy that can help with emotional & mental stresses.
Shiatsu offers a safe & secure, & confidential, environment that allows a client to be how they want or need to be. There doesn’t have to be a long discussion about the issues or concerns the client feels mentally or emotionally.
The body holds memories of tensions that have affected us & Shiatsu allows a client to feel how their body is & what those emotional or mental tensions feel like. This can allow the tensions to ease or release & can provide a client with a sense of relief.
Shiatsu has been shown to support stress & anxiety, I have also had clients come because of depression or relationship issues, for panic attacks & for fears &Â phobias.
I offer Shiatsu in a lovely wooden cabin, in my garden in Exeter, Devon. It is a sanctuary away from daily life & is a perfect place to relax & unwind.
I am always happy to talk Shiatsu so please do drop me a line if you would like to discuss if it may be able to help support you.
xx
I write a lot about what Shiatsu is, trying to describe what it is & what it is actually like to have a treatment. There are pages on this site describing Shiatsu & my background so go check those out if you want to know more about this incredible form of therapy.
Today I thought I’d talk about what Shiatsu means to me. I didn’t realise the effect Shiatsu would have on me personally when I started the three years of training. I changed jobs, homes & relationships & have found myself in a much more real & honest place. I feel more happy & content now than I ever have done.
I feel more connected to my body & how it is reacting to what is happening around it. I also feel more connected to the Seasons & to nature, following the natural flow of things. I feel I can get focused & centered in a way I never could before. I have much better self support practices & this allows me to support clients & those around me with gentle kindness.
I feel very lucky to practice this hands-on therapy as my job. It doesn’t feel like work. I get so focused on what I can feel as I work on a body that the sessions fly by. I also love holding the space for a client, a healing space to feel safe & to be however they want to be.
Shiatsu is a very clever therapy in my opinion. It bypasses the analytical thought process & accesses feelings & emotions through how & where they are held in the body. Shiatsu can provide release & relief of physical & emotional tensions. Often because the tension felt has an emotional aspect to it, that has led to the physical holding.
I like seeing the results that clients experience. I have seen it help with chronic pain, with stress, with Sciatica, with knee & other joint issues. I love the fact that it works well with physical, emotional & mental issues. It holds a client in a particular way, it meets the client how they need to be met.
It is such a privilege to be a therapist for people, it is a very personal relationship & I take it seriously. I am so grateful to be part of someone’s healing journey. Shiatsu has an ability to raise energy levels & allow clients to make changes that they would like to make. It has allowed them to see options & opportunities where previously they have felt stuck, or at the mercy of their condition or complaint.
I use Shiatsu on a daily basis, on myself & my family. I support my kids with digestive issues, when they are distressed, if they can’t sleep, if they have a temperature. I help family members with Arthritis & pain, with mental strain & tiredness.
I work in a lovely space in Exeter which I feel works perfectly for Shiatsu. We have put up a real wood cabin in the garden, it’s a sanctuary but still in Exeter. I work here most days of the week & offer evening & weekend appointments.
xx
If you suffer from fatigue, insomnia, or any sleep or energy related issues you may want to try Shiatsu. This gentle but powerful hands-on therapy looks to balance the energy in the body, to re-balance the body. When the body is in balance sleep can come more easily, energy levels can be higher & the body clock is more settled.
There are a number of things that are worth trying if you suffer with sleep or energy levels. There are the more obvious things; cutting out caffeine, cutting down on sugar & alcohol, eating earlier in the evening, staying away from screens near to bed time.
Shiatsu is based in Traditional Chinese Medicine. (TCM) This provides further suggestions that may be of help; meditation, eating fish & sea vegetables, sitting & stillness, some cardio exercise. It is possible to give individual lifestyle & exercise recommendations as part of a session of Shiatsu.
Shiatsu may be able to help. A session is an hour with at least 45 minutes of hands-on work. At the very least Shiatsu provides a space away from daily life, it is a chance to relax, or at least feel how that may feel! It is deeply relaxing & allows the body & mind to rest but it is also energizing & can leave the client with higher energy levels.
Shiatsu is also a very supportive & confidential space where it is completely OK to feel how you feel & be how you want to be. This can provide a sense of relief & release alongside a sense of being held & supported.
Clients have mentioned that they have felt a buzz after a treatment that has lasted for sometime. They have had deeper sleep than normal, they have change the times that they wake, they have woken less regularly. They have felt less fatigue & mental strain. They have felt mentally able to manage their situation more, make changes or achieve what they would like to with ease.
I’m always happy to talk Shiatsu so do get in touch with any questions or queries, if you would like to know more or would like to discuss if Shiatsu may be able to help you.
I work in Exwick, Exeter & also in Dawlish & Exmouth. I offer appointments most days, some evening & Saturday appointments.
xx
Down here in Exeter, Devon we have had a strong reminder of modern day priorities. A new IKEA has opened in the town & boy do we know about it. The build up has been immense, & the hype has been unbelievable. IKEA were able to show films inside, the general very sacred, Exeter Cathedral, they have put furniture on the high street & rowed a viking long boat down the river Exe. You can’t say their publicity hasn’t been top notch. Local press have been advising people to plan their journeys as the traffic to IKEA is going to cause delays!
Over the past few days I have found myself repeating ‘it is only a shop’ a lot. It has been a strong reminder of the values we seem to have in this society, we value the ability to purchase products, particularly at a reasonable price with some style it seems.
This blog isn’t a rant it is an expression of the sadness I feel with the loss of contact with nature & the world around us. Also the lack of value of our inner world, the peace & calm we can find within. Generally our society doesn’t value self-care & support much either. We are always on the move, with something to get done or somewhere to be, no time to rest, just be, meditate or take care of ourselves.
The people that I meet who are most at peace with themselves aren’t thinking about when they can next go shopping. These people are giving space & time to themselves. I treat a couple of therapists who use Shiatsu as a support tool for their own healing & development.
Shiatsu allows me to reconnect to what is important to me & to be quiet & still for a time. In a Shiatsu session I create a space that is quiet & still & allows the client to just be, to rest & to heal. The space can create time away from modern day expectations & demands, stresses & strains. A chance to get back to what our personal priorities are.
xx
Shiatsu by Amy 