Myths and Misconceptions about Shiatsu
Shiatsu should be painful
"I was feeling tight, you know? Shoulders and neck. So I called down and had a shiatsu massage in my room. And the tightness has completely disappeared...and been replaced by unbelievable pain. Just staggering, unbearable pain." -- from Lost in Translation
Now, don't get me wrong - Lost in Translation is a fine movie, I recommend it highly. But this bit of dialogue illustrates one of the greatest misconceptions about shiatsu.
It's true that some people - including some practitioners - think that shiatsu has to be very deep, uncomfortable work.
But shiatsu can be done with a very, very light touch; or it can be done with very heavy deep work. A good practitioner works at the client's comfort level.
"Shiatsu massage" chairs are anything like shiatsu
No. A massage chair might be comfortable, but you should not form any opinion about shiatsu based on them.
A massage therapist can learn shiatsu in a weekend seminar
Shiatsu is a therapy that is very distinct from Swedish or deep-tissue massage. To properly practice it requires hundreds of hours of training. A massage therapist who takes a weekend seminar may learn a few useful techniques, but is misrepresenting themselves if they claim to be trained in shiatsu. Ask your therapist about their training and credentials.
