Exercises and the Three Main Areas
The body is categorized into three main areas:
- The Head: The head oversees mental activities, such as imagination and intellectual thought processes, and is associated with the brow chakra.
- The Heart: The heart is linked to interactions among people and the world at large, including the natural world. It corresponds to the chakras of the throat and heart.
- The Abdominal: The abdominal region is connected to the base, sacral, and solar plexus chakras and focuses on the practical aspects of life and physical activity.
Ideally, energy should be evenly distributed among these three areas. Various factors like activity, education, diet, culture, etc., can disrupt this balance. In shiatsu, particular importance is placed on the abdominal area, known as the "hara."
There are several exercises available to harmonize the hara. We recommend starting with the deep breathing exercises outlined in the section on yoga breathing exercises. Once you've mastered this technique, add visualization to enhance its effectiveness. While inhaling, visualize the inhalation of ki descending into the hara, located about one-and-a-half inches below the navel. Inhale slowly through the nose while picturing the ki descending (closing your eyes might help with concentration). Hold your breath for about four seconds while focusing on the ki. Then exhale slowly through the mouth and repeat this process for a few minutes. In this way, as you breathe, you not only take in oxygen but also absorb ki (or prana) into the hara, thereby boosting your vitality. Once you've mastered the technique, you can practice it virtually anywhere, helping restore composure and calmness.
Rocking Movement
The rocking movement exercise allows you to control the flow of ki in your body. Begin by assuming a position on the floor with your hands and knees supporting your body, with about a body's width of space between your hands and knees. Be relaxed and tension-free in this posture. This position serves as the foundation for other movements performed on yourself and others. While maintaining this position, start moving your body back and forth, being aware of the shift in weight between your hands and knees. Gradually introduce a slow circular motion, ensuring you notice the weight transfer from your hands to your hands and knees, knees alone, and so on, until you return to the initial position. As your entire body moves, you'll feel the center of gravity shifting within your abdomen. Hold each position for approximately five seconds, registering the weight increase when moving forward and the decrease when rocking backward, then return to the starting position. It's essential to maintain the right angle between your body weight and the recipient's body for maximum ki flow. Holding specific positions stimulates the movement of the recipient's ki.
The rocking movement exercise can also be practiced on a partner, following the same principles. Place your right hand on their sacrum, situated between their hips, and your left hand between their shoulder blades. As before, rock forward and maintain the position for about five seconds before repeating the process while rocking backward onto your knees. This fundamental procedure can be repeated approximately twelve times, and if you're uncertain about the amount of pressure to apply, consult your partner. Over time, you'll develop the skill to gauge the appropriate pressure for each individual.
Use your body weight rather than muscular strength, ensuring you remain relaxed and composed at all times. Maintain the body weight at right angles to the recipient's body. When applying pressure, do so for a brief duration, and use both hands equally. Keep continuous physical contact with the recipient throughout the therapy.
Shiatsu on the Face and Head
Various exercises and techniques are available to practitioners. Here's one such exercise:
- Secure the recipient's head firmly with one hand, and use the thumb of your other hand to press upward in a straight line between the eyebrows, moving toward the hairline. Make small movements, approximately 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) each time.
- Position your fingers on each side of the head, and employ your thumbs to apply pressure from the inner end of the eyebrows toward the hairline.
- With your hands on either side of the face, use your thumbs to press across the bone just below the eyes, moving about 0.25 inches (6 mm) at a time.
- Starting with your thumbs slightly to the side of each nostril, press across the face below the cheekbones.
- Apply pressure with one thumb to the area between the top lip and nose.
- Press outward with both thumbs over the upper jaw.
- Subsequently, press one thumb in the hollow area below the lower lip, then press outward with both thumbs over the lower part of the jaw.
- The giver should then place all fingers beneath the lower jaw and lean backward to exert pressure.