Rare Footage of Zen Shiatsu

I've written before about Zen Shiatsu, and its creator, Shizuto Masunaga... here, and here and I could have sworn more places, but perhaps not.

Masunaga passed away in 1981, before I had gotten into shiatsu, or out of high school for that matter, which is unfortunate, as it would have been a treat to watch him work.

Well, lo and behold, some rare video of him surfaced (thank god for youtube!) and while it's not the best quality, you can see Masunaga Sensei in action as he teaches a class on a visit to Canada.

I admit to having a laughed a little, in astonishment, as I pictured using some of these moves on a few of my clients, or attempting to, and imagining them either screaming, or leaving, never to be seen again.

I posted the third of four in a series, because of what he does to this woman, who I'm really hoping was a flexible as she appears to be in the video. At one point I seriously wondered if she was even conscious or maybe just an inanimate object being used for demo purposes.

Interesting to note is how he gives pressure, especially with his knees on her legs.. how he really gets in there. If you're not familiar with Zen Shiatsu, what he's doing is placing the limbs into 'stretch positions', meaning the positions at which a particular meridian can be brought to the surface and most easily accessed with pressure by palms, elbows, knees, or feet.

Masunaga's stye of shiatsu does not focus much, if at all, on acupressure points.. it's more about regulating the flow of energy through all the meridians evenly. You'll also see him doing hara work on her and then lifting his receiver up in such a way as to adjust her spine.

If you make it through the whole nine minute video, be sure to enjoy the bonus neck-crack right at the very end!

Behind Every Crime, A Woman

Now, before my more enlightened readers find themselves bristling (as I did at first) at this Chinese proverb, let me explain its intended metaphorical usage.

Very simply put, it refers to the idea in Chinese medicine (and in shiatsu) that behind the major obvious complaint (acute symptom/yang) that brings a person into see a practitioner, there is almost always a deeper, more hidden condition (yin) at the root of it.

A very basic and common example: tight shoulders and neck. Of course, everyone who has this issue (myself included) seeks and out and finds great relief when this area is treated. But they are usually surprised to find that when pressure is applied to their lower back or upper chest (just under the collarbones) that these areas are really tender, and feel almost 'hungry' for deeper pressure.

The terms: 'kyo' and 'jitsu' used in shiatsu mean more or less 'empty' and 'full'. To employ a simple illustration, picture a round ball. In a more spherical shape, it is closer to balance. A 'kyo' condition would appear as an indentation in the ball, giving rise to a 'jitsu' protrusion. Now imagine this illustration of distortion manifesting in your body, either structurally or in the meridian system.

The 'jitsu/full' symptoms are obvious and what get your attention, and more often than not, is the compensating factor. In western medicine, this is usually what gets addressed. Shiatsu practitioners are trained to seek out the greatest area of distortion, find the underlying 'kyo/empty' condition and treat that first. The 'kyo' areas are usually harder to discern because, by their very nature, they remain hidden and protected.

Another example would be a person who tends to exhibit brash, obnoxious behavior. We tend to respond to that as what it appears to be, but upon closer examination, what that person may be doing is hiding underlying insecurity and fear... feelings which, upon being exposed, would cause that person to feel incredibly vulnerable. (More on this in an upcoming post about 'body armoring').

The deeper 'kyo' behavior is what would be most effective to address, but as you can imagine, it would take someone with skill and compassion to work through the surface 'jitsu' presentation, to be allowed to 'touch' the kyo and give it what it needs to regain balance.

So, back to the original 'sexist' proverb: when describing the qualities of yin and yang as the primary balancing forces of the universe, 'female' has traditionally been written under the heading of 'yin', along with qualities like, 'receptive' and 'passive', thereby receiving a lot of flack and protestation from more feminist quarters. Once again, I think this would be an interesting post and discussion for another time, but I hope that the original intent will spark some self-reflection and exploration into my reader's own experiences of 'kyo' and 'jitsu' in themselves, and, of course, share them here!

Gimme Some Skin

Working my way again through a favorite book, Zen Shiatsu: How to Harmonize Yin and Yang for Better Health I came across this passage by author Shizuto Masunaga that beautifully describes what shiatsu offers to its receivers:

"It is important for us to keep in mind that incorporation of shiatsu and a balanced diet into our daily life will keep us healthy....

In order for the body to benefit from a balanced diet, it is important that the food is consumed under relaxing conditions that will promote proper digestion. The way we eat and digest our foods is influenced by our social environment. So, to a great extent our health relies on and reflects healthy human relationships.

Basic human relationships are "skin-ships"; -- that is, skin to skin. In our stressful environment, this relationship is constantly being threatened. As a result, a great deal of tension is carried in the skin. This in turn causes cutaneous distortions that eventually affect the functioning of the internal organs."

I love this, the idea of "skin-ships", and that healthy physical human contact contributes to our overall well-being! It is great news for someone in line of work I do, of course, but I think it also supports the cause for frequent hugging as a way to keep healthy.

Masunaga goes on to say that one's comfort or tension level while receiving shiatsu could be a good indicator of the quality and nurturing ability of their human relationships. A person who experiences discomfort while being treated, while perhaps wanting to avoid such contact as a result, would find that over time, a more trusting and relaxed relationship between them and the practitioner would unfold, rippling out into other relationship areas of their lives.

This idea supports my own about the primary healing function of bodywork being the human connections, as well as Saul Goodman's statement that shiatsu, with its variances of pressure on all parts of the body, are reminiscent of our time in the womb, when the amniotic fluid supported us, and stimulated the skin and vital organ functions. The feedback offered, also, by the skin to skin contact, even when it is first perceived as discomfort, can be used ultimately to offer valuable information and awareness to the receiver about their own condition and how their physical bodies respond to their environment.

As Deane Juhan, author of Job's Body: A Handbook for Bodywork (Third Edition) says, "Touch the surface, and you stir the depths." Indeed.