Shiatsu is an ancient Japanese healing art which rebalances the body's energy system while it reduces tension, reinvigorates your body, and supports your overall health. The body's vital energy, called Chi, flows through channels in the body called Meridians. Shiatsu uses deep and sensitive touch to both diagnose and treat many conditions of ill-health. By applying pressure at specific points along the the Meridians we can even out the flow of Chi through the body and improve the health and funcitoning of that meridians' associated organ systems. Traditional Chinese Medicine views all illness as an imbalance in the energy system, while injuries such as broken bones create an acute energy imbalance which can be redressed by shiatsu for a faster and less painful healing.

Sanctuary Shiatsu built upon the Zen Shiatsu tradition -- which is not painful. While some styles of shiatsu are more forceful than others, the Zen Shiatsu style works with gravity and efficient body mechanics to provide solid deep contact that is also completely nurturing and relaxing. Pressure varies according to your body's needs: sometimes gentle and calming, sometimes deeply stimulating. Shiatsu can be wonderfully relaxing and invigorating. When your Chi flow is balanced you feel confident and energetic, in touch with yourself and with the pleasures of living in a healthy and comfortable body. Sanctuary Shiatsu also incorporates breathwork practices of Chi Kung and Rebirthing so that you can maximizes your ability to obtain and fully utilize Chi available in the breath. Clients may also be offered Chi Kung and stretching exercises that address their specific condition. After Shiatsu treatment, the patient will most often feel energized, happy and enlivened. However, it can also release blocked emotional energy, which may result in your feeling emotional afterwards.

As in feng shui, Shiatsu attends to the healthy flow and yin/yang balance of chi within and between energy systems: in this case, within the unique and complex "environment" of the body. In fact, shiatsu and feng shui share the exact same Five Phases of Change method of distinguishing -- and making comprehensible -- the many expressions and transformations of chi. Ultimately, shiatsu and feng shui share the goals of accessing, developing, and maintaining the optimum state of chi intake, movement and expression. Simply, shiatsu is feng shui for the body. Illness, injury and even the challenges of day-to-day experience can affect the condition of chi in the body, which can lead to restriction, redirection, or overcharging of the chi flow in one or more of the meridians and their associated organ systems. The broad perspective offered by Sanctuary Shiatsu will move you -- and your chi -- toward the optimum state of health.

Sanctuary Shiatsu Can Be Used:

to relax and reinvigorate the body

in general health maintenance and awareness

to promote self-development and self-healing

for the treatment of specific conditions

as a complement to other alternative and orthodox treatments

Some Common Conditions Appropriate to Shiatsu Treatment

Insomnia and other sleeping problems

Asthma, sinus trouble and other respiratory complaints

Back pain, headache and migraines

Digestive disorders and bowel trouble

Emotional instability, anxiety, depression, stress and tension

Premenstrual syndrome and other uro-genital complaints

Many other ailments

Check our FAQ list to find out how to prepare for a session, what to expect during a session, costs and more.

Energy patterns in your body reflect both new and old physical insults and injuries. With insight and understanding you can release these patterns and develop a new sense of health and overall well-being..