Shiatsudo Blog

There is an interesting discussion going on at the emptyflower message board. It starts off as a question about rib displacement and moves into more of a discussion between some acupuncturists and some western medical professionals (one of whom is a neurosurgeon).

One of the points raised is that western medical professionals can take a weekend course and become licenced to offer acupuncture as an adjunct to their practice. Often this is “acupuncture for pain relief” and relies on using cookie-cutter like recipes of points for specific complaints (often back or neck ache). Is this a good idea? After all, acupuncturist spend many years learning oriental medicine, its theory and practice and how to diagnose and treat according to the Zhang Fu, 8 Principles, Five Elements etc etc. Should acupuncturists be able to take a weekend course in, I don’t know, open heart surgery?

I’m a bit on the fence on this issue - I know that donning my acupuncture hat, this approach is the wrong way to go. Offering topical pain relief doesn’t get to the root of the problem and applying acupuncture outside of its own theoretical and diagnostic framework is a bit like trying to converse in a foreign language when all you have are a few phrases like “Which way to the Eiffel Tower?” and “Can I have a baguette with cheese please?”. On the other hand, it is foolish to think that western docs don’t try to get to the root of a problem, and if what they diagnose in western terms can be helped by a little localised pain relief from acupuncture, then why not?

I wrote about my disappointment with the shiatsu society website a while ago. To give them credit, they have actually addressed some points - the website now displays correctly in my browser, and they have tightened up the menu structure a little. I still think the website needs work, but this is an improvement. Well done!

I have to say that I’m pleased - I corresponded with one of the directors of the society over a letter I was going to have published in the quarterly newsletter (I subsequently decided not to publish it), and one of the points of my letter was the poor website. My wife also sent a few emails to the society to tell their downloads about European Shiatsu Week on the website were out of date. It is good to see that the society has taken some positive steps towards getting a good web-presence.

Sighing frequently is one of the signs of Liver Qi Stagnation. And we don’t want that do we? No! We sure don’t

In shiatsu, the Liver is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi. It has a huge influence over our emotional state, keeping our emotions balanced and appropriate. The Liver is aggravated by many things - the high-stress jobs that many of us are in, frustration in any aspect of our lives, our rich diets, overconsumption of alcohol, caffeine and drugs (both legal and illegal). Liver pathologies are common in our society. There’s a lot of sighing going on…..

Liver Qi Stagnation also presents itself in moodiness, irritability, anger, depression and headaches. All of a sudden, little things like the person fumbling with their change in front of you at the supermarket make you really angry and you start snapping at people for no reason. Sighing is an unconscious way of releasing some of the stagnant Liver Qi, but you can also try some nice side stretching.

A simple exercise that I like to give my shiatsu clients who present with Liver Qi Stagnation is in the diagram below. Stand up, feet slightly wider than your shoulders and stretch your arms over your head (the middle pose in the diagram). Then feel the left side of your body and gently at first open the ribs down the left side by reaching up a little with the left hand. Allow the stretch to work down the whole side of your body, into your leg as well. Push a little with the left foot, creating a slight lean to the right. Think of it as more of an arch than a pronounced lean. Repeat on the right side. Don’t force the stretch; for some people it can feel quite intense and you don’t want to strain the intercostal muscles. I find the stretch to be most effective if I focus more on opening the ribs and side of the body rather than trying to create the stretch by leaning.