What is shiatsu?
Shi means finger and atsu means pressure. Shiatsu took shape in Japan in the twentieth century, out of anma, the older Japanese massage, and ideas from acupressure. The practitioner leans body weight through the thumbs, palms and sometimes elbows onto points and lines on the body, holds, and moves on. Stretches and gentle rotations of the joints are part of it.
The theory behind it comes from East Asian medicine: pressure follows lines called meridians, along which ki, life energy in Japanese, is said to move. You do not need to believe that for the pressure to feel good.
Shiatsu, Swedish or Thai?
- Swedish massage uses oil and long strokes on bare skin. Shiatsu uses held pressure through clothing, and feels more still.
- Thai massage is the closest relative: also clothed, also stretches. Thai tends to move you through bigger, yoga-like stretches; shiatsu spends longer on pressure.
What to expect
Wear loose, comfortable clothes: trousers you can bend in and a T-shirt. Traditional shiatsu is given on a padded mat on the floor; ask Cecile how she sets up her sessions and how long they last.
Is shiatsu painful? It is firm, and some points can feel tender, the kind of ache that eases as the pressure holds. It should not be sharp. Tell Cecile, and she will use less weight.
It suits a body that has been working: legs after the climb to the waterfalls, shoulders after a backpack.
Before you book
Booking shiatsu in Mindo
Message Cecile on WhatsApp from this page. Her prices are on her profile, and you pay her directly at Portal de Paz, a few steps from the park.
