shi·at·su/ (she-ot´soo) [Japanese] a
Japanese form of acupressure, in which pressure is applied using the thumb,
fingers, palms, elbows, or knees, perpendicularly to the skin at acupoints
(nodes along a nerve which seem to have an enhancing or calming effect when
being pressed), combined with passive stretching and rotation of the
joints. Assessment and treatment are
deeply rooted in the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
This "hands-on" therapy allows
the client to be fully clothed and is used both as a compliment to conventional
medicine and as a preventive therapy.
Pressure is applied to particular
sections on the surface of the body for the purpose of correcting the
imbalances of the body, and for maintaining and promoting health. It is the
application of manual and digital pressure to the skin with the aim of
preventing illness, maintaining and enhancing health and promoting recovery of
illnesses by stimulating the body's natural powers of recuperation, eliminating
fatigue-producing elements, and promoting general good health.
By stimulating the immune system and the body's natural healing
abilities, Shiatsu therapy can treat the body as a whole and helps to restore
functions of the nervous and circulatory systems, musculoskeletal structures
and internal organs as well.
