News

Corona Virus / Covid19

With regard to Corona Virus / Covid-19,

Whilst not currently, you may at any time be required to wear a mask while in the building and are still asked to bring a clean sheet and two pillow cases with you for use during your shiatsu treatment session. Please bring two large towels for acupuncture.

Visits to work premises may be arranged.

This is to protect clients who may be vulnerable and of course myself.

Please keep visiting this page for any updates. I will be very happy to see you.

Meanwhile keep well.

Thank you all.

Running Fitness Magazine. March 2013 edition.

The March edition of Running Fitness magazine features an article concerning the use of Shiatsu as an aid to running in both a physical and mental sense.

Important Clinic News.

Appointments are available by referral at Stubbington Health, 3 Stubbington Lane, Stubbington on Monday and

Thursday afternoons.

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Book Review: Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

When I was asked to review the book, Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, for the Shiatsu Society, little did I know what I was taking on.

This weighty tome, ostensibly authored by Marc S. Micozzi and presented here in its fourth edition, is 600 pages divided into 6 sections. These are, Foundations of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Mind Body and Spirit, Manual Therapies, Alternative Western Therapies, Traditional Ethnomedical Systems – Asia and lastly, Traditional Ethnomedical Systems – Africa and the Americas. All of this subdivided into 38 chapters on specific therapies, with each being written by one or more different authors who are presumably more familiar with the particular modality than Dr Micozzi is.

Are you still reading? Then maybe this is just the book you have been waiting for.

The book also boasts the 'evolve learning system' an online resource which requires you to register to access the references plus content on Tibetan medicine, Herbal appendices etc. It is not that easy though. I tried and failed to access this on both my smartphone and tablet while I had the book in front of me. Finally, I resorted to sitting down at the PC, which was worth it for the Tibetan Medicine section to add to the book.

I am resisting the urge to print out the .pdf and stuff it inside the back cover so that the book is complete in my eyes.

On the positive side the book does contain an awfully large amount of information and will make a useful addition to your reference library. Whilst covering the stock New Age subjects from Acupuncture to Yoga, it also has some rather more obscure sections such as the chapter on “Humor”(no don't titter, or perhaps...) and one on Unani Medicine.

I had never heard of Unani Medicine before. It turns out that Unani is the Arabic for “Greek”.

Most of us are familiar with Greek medicine and the likes of Hippocrates and Galen. If not, then see your G.P. in the morning. Unani combines Ancient Greek and Arabic medicine, stretching from the Egyptians and Mesopotamians to the concepts of the Greeks and Muslims. Yellow Bile, Black Bile, now that is what I call Humor. Interesting stuff.

The chapter on Shiatsu is over 11 pages and covers the history, principles and philosophy, diagnosis, practices, techniques and treatments along with some mention of research being done and a part on U.S. biased training and certification. It is a pity that there are no accompanying illustrations or photographs of Shiatsu being performed. As an overview of Shiatsu for the uninitiated it is not bad, although I could not say that I agreed with every word. A “Google” of the author of the Shiatsu chapter, Kerry Palanjian, reveals him to have been primarily involved with the natural food industry so one might expect his leaning toward macrobiotics in the text. As for his personal experience as a Shiatsu Practitioner, I could find very little to tell. It must be said that there was not much in the chapter that I had not already read elsewhere, but that is as it should be isn't it?

As with the rest of the book, the style is quite dry and academic, reading more like a dissertation than anything else. It is primarily a bringing together of other peoples work with an abundance of references to these authors in brackets.

Both the style of writing and the aforementioned lack of photographs or illustrations are something of a negative aspect in my opinion. As a book from the United States one should not be surprised, but it is very American with a lot of references to U.S. institutions and organisations. Not to mention the 'humorous' spellings.

Overall then, with a retail price of somewhere between £54 and £43 this is still a good book for reference or as an introduction to other therapies, but certainly not a light read.

Paul R Bridle MRSS(t) 20.05.2013

Whilst looking on the internet for shiatsu information I have come across several sites where the person advertising as a practitioner appears to have either done a correspondence course in shiatsu or a short course as part of some form of beauty therapy or simple on-site massage. Naturally I cannot comment on the standard of their individual service but I feel that one should be aware that, as they say, not all practitioners are the same. You may wish to ensure that your practitioner is trained to an acceptable standard wherever you are in the world. My rule of thumb (no pun intended) in the United Kingdom, would be that they are a full member of the register of the Shiatsu Society, accredited MRSS or better still, that they are a Fellow of the Guild of Shiatsu Practitioners (aka, Shiatsu Guild).

Gift Vouchers

Trying to think of something different to give as a gift?

Give Paul a phone on 02392 325816 to arrange vouchers for your friends and family to receive a Shiatsu session. Vouchers are redeemable within two months of purchase. Due to the nature of Shiatsu it is important that the recipient has no contra-indications to treatment.

Paul R Bridle. All material is copyright.