Shiatsu

After a thorough training in the theoretical basics and all those various treatment techniques of Shiatsu, my journey into the heart of Shiatsu began through my regular work with severely disabled adults. These encounters touched me deeply and made it even clearer to me than I had already known from my own previous experiences with Shiatsu: I discovered that the true magic of Shiatsu lies in the quiet moments of shared presence and connection. The core of Shiatsu is encounter, is authentic connection. I immersed myself in this exploration and, as Milton Erickson, the founder of hypnotherapy says: "Energy flows, where the attention goes." That's, what happened. I found myself surrounded by a community of fellow practitioners who shared their own insights and experiences on the subject of encounter in Shiatsu. That's how the idea for this book came about. It is intended to bundle the widely scattered experiences and insights like a magnifying glass and to draw the eye onto the core of Shiatsu, to connection, to encounter, to what happens between the two partners in the process. By shining a light on the subtle dynamics that unfold between practitioner and recipient, we can uncover a deeper understanding of the healing potential inherent in these connections.

"Barbara Murakami: In her day job, Barbara Murakami worked for 40 years as a special school teacher for children with behavioural problems. She has been a Shiatsu practitioner since 1997 and a Shiatsu teacher since 2007. In 2008, she completed training in psychosynthesis, which is a form of psychotherapy based on depth psychology. The experience gained from this and from numerous other further training courses in Focusing, Clean Language, Seiki and Qigong are incorporated into her shiatsu, working with Qi in its various forms at body and mind levels. Shiatsu with difficult children and adults with severe multiple disabilities in particular has opened her eyes to what Shiatsu is essentially about: meeting and being with what is. René Fix: Shiatsu came into his life in 2004 and was expanded and deepened through many training courses. In 2016, René took over the European Shiatsu Institute in Heidelberg, where he himself had completed his training. A new field and a new potential opened up. Today, this school is called kiCollege, stands on completely new foundations and pursues a new path of learning and growth with a very open concept. René's great curiosity about the movements of life and his passionate interest in nature have remained with him since childhood. After studying forestry, this led him to work as a forest mapper, which enabled him to spend a lot of time in nature and experience it up close. Chris McAlister: Chris encountered Oriental medicine while extremely sick in East Asia in 1986. Sessions with practitioners from Tibetan, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and finally Chinese medicine showed him the immediate and long-term benefits of traditional, holistic practices. He began his formal Shiatsu studies in the UK, studying at two different schools simultaneously, and continued during a five year stay in Japan with Takeo Suzuki, a close student of Masunaga's final years. He is currently President of the ESF, the European Shiatsu Federation. Bill Palmer: Bill Palmer is the Director of the School for Experiential Education and has been studying Shiatsu since 1973. He was one of the pioneers of Shiatsu in Europe and created and edited the Journal of Shiatsu and Oriental Body Therapy. He is the originator of Movement Shiatsu, a highly interactive form of Shiatsu, focused on helping people to be aware of themselves through the body which he teaches worldwide with his wife Teresa Hadland. Nick Pole: Nick Pole integrates language, mindfulness and bodywork into his work. Nick- studied history and political science and then worked as a film-maker for 10 years. Following an illness, he discovered acupuncture and shortly afterwards began studying Shiatsu at the Shiatsu College in London. He has been teaching Shiatsu since 1992. He also trained in NLP and in Seiki with Akinobu Kishi. Whilst trying to integrate the different approaches he came across Clean Language, a wonderfully simple and effective way of helping clients to listen to themselves in a deep, body-centred and authentic way. He has written a book about it and is increasingly incorporating Clean Language into his teaching. He has also been teaching Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy since 2012. Wilfried Rappenecker: GP, founder and for 30 years director of the School for Shiatsu Hamburg, Germany. For many years director of the International School of Shiatsu (ISS) Kiental, and the European Shiatsu Conferences Kiental, Switzerland.