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Shiatsu Massage: Your Answer For Stress Relief And Better Health

by Robert Harrison

Is the stress of today's lifestyle getting to you? There are so many sources of stress in the world today- lack of money, deadlines at work, and lack of time for the finer things in life. We are all looking for ways to relax and slow down our lives just a little bit, and a shiatsu massage is an outstanding way to reduce stress and tension that results from our hectic days.

Shiatsu is a Japanese massage invented in 1912 by Tokujiro Namikoshi. It incorporates the traditional Japanese method of balancing the body's energy to increase health with a unique method of using only fingertips and palms to apply pressure. This method is said to increase the body's ability to heal itself and can result in renewed feelings of vigor and energy.

When the shiatsu massage technique showed up in middle 20th century America, it was not completely accepted. Eastern medicine practices were not trusted by a large number of Americans during this time. This is why it was many years before the practice took hold in the United States. Now, shiatsu is a wide spread massage theory. Clients say they leave the clinic more energized, have less stress and find that overall they are healthier.

Shiatsu combines the health benefits of acupressure and energy in the form of massage. You have many options to find a practitioner of Shiatsu by online search or in the classified pages of a newspaper or telephone directory. Some massage professionals may be Shiatsu specialist, but many others will offer it as well as other massage techniques.

There are any number of gadgets and gizmos on the market that incorporate the concepts of shiatsu, marketed to those who would prefer to reduce stress through massage on their own schedules. It's a simple matter to find chairs, foot massagers, neck massagers, and handheld massagers that can provide a professional massage's pressure and movement on your muscles.

Besides the stress-relieving, health-increasing benefits above, this unique massage can lower your blood pressure, improve your circulation, and help your body eliminate toxins more efficiently. Are you still doubtful that something so simple could have such a profound impact on your health and well-being? Give it a try and see for yourself. All you have to lose is the extra stress you've been carrying around in your neck and shoulders.

It's been found that if you are receiving a calming and invigorating japanese massage, this is one of the best ways to reduce stress. In 1912, a new type of massage from Japan was developed by Tokujiro Namikoshi which drew on the traditional concept of energy balance in the body to improve the state of health: shiatsu attempts to make the body more adept at self-healing, while increasing the perception of being vigorous and healthy. Energy balance is attempted by massaging using only the finger tips and sometimes the palms, as this pressure is supposed to adjust energy flow.

Published October 16th, 2007

Filed in Family