e-volved living

I found The Complete Illustrated guide to Shiatsu : The Japanese Healing Art of Touch for Health and Fitnessat the library, plan to purchase it and practice the techniques, and would also like to receive some treatment eventually.  Despite the outdated outfits of practitioner (the author, Elaine Liechti) and patients, it’s a surprisingly useful book.  Liechti provides a lot of detail on how Shiatsu developed and has evolved, the various styles, and how it is similar to and different from other healing methods (such as acupuncture, massage,  reflexology, energy healing, and yoga.)  There are nice summaries of the concepts of Ki, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements.

I like the emphasis on the health and strength of the practitioner as a necessity for effective healing of others, and also a benefit of undertaking this practice:

The ability to help and heal is in direct ratio to the amount of personal work the student is prepared to put in.  A practitioner of Shiatsu cannot be really effective if his or her energetic state is still not balanced and harmonious.  Knowing theory and technique alone is not sufficient; the Ki must be strong, and this leads to a healthy body and well-balanced outlook on life.

Of particular importance is being in touch with, and balanced of, Ki.   Consistent  focus on the hara (abdomen) and its energy center (mid-abdomen), the tanden, allows that major source of energy to be harnessed, for self and others.  As Liechti explains it:

The hara and its central focus, the tanden, is in fact the second chakra, where our physical energy is stored.  The japanese say this is where mind and body come together, and by centering ourselves here we become more balanced and more powerful.

It’s refreshing for the patient/practitioner relationship to be regarded as a partnership which is beneficial for both.  That kind of world, where the giver receives, the teacher learns, is where I want to live.  Liechti describes the flow of give and receive as:

The practitioner lends skill, experience, and knowledge as a catalyst in the patients’s self-healing.  The patient lends himself as the medium through which the therapist can practice his or her art.  This exchange of energy illustrates one of the primary laws of the universe – that everything is changing and energy is always in a constant state of flow and change.

That goes right to the heart of e-volvedliving: life is constantly evolving.