Shiatsu and the perception of your body: the senses of touch, of life, of movement, of balance

​The Shiatsu session creates a space and time for you to reconnect with yourself. Through all our life we develop the habit to be busy all the time, planning, doing, chasing goals, fulfilling requirements and expectations, mostly living in our heads.
This way of living creates more and more alienation and separation.

We are our bodies and the experience of life is directly connected with our sensations. The sensory perception also forms the basis of a richer and more satisfying relationship with ourself, our surroundings, and the people around us.
There is a deep connection between sensory perception, and health and vitality. Our vitality increases if we expand and develop our perceptibility. At the same time, the healthier and more vital we are, the more intensive and perceptive our observations become.

Shiatsu is a physical holistic therapy. The Shiatsu session is a full body treatment using deep and relaxing, “listening” touch. During the session the quality of touch is adjusted according the client’s current state.
On a physical level Shiatsu works with your senses which relate to the perception of your body: the senses of touch, of life, of movement, of balance.

The sense of touch

The sense of touch, or tactile sense, is made up of a very fine network of receptors in our skin, forming our body’s largest sensory system. The skin is our body’s shield, and touch makes us aware of our boundaries.
Our tactile sense delineates our body. It indicates where one ends and something else begins. Without the sense of touch, one would not feel this boundary.

The sense of life

The sense of life is the internal sense of our organs and internal life processes. In the fast-paced everyday life, we don’t spend time to listen to our body. We do not sense anything as long as your life processes are all following their normal, harmonious course. We do not register the life sense until one of the life processes is disturbed, or when we are ill. We do not perceive our organs or life sense unless something is wrong. We forget to appreciate the simplicity of just being alive.
With regularly receiving Shiatsu we start developing our awareness about our organs and inner processes. The sensitivity about our personal wellbeing increases. We recognize much faster if we are in a zone of imbalance. We develop our inner focus and “space” of tranquility.
By becoming sensitive to our life sense, we can expand it to make external observations, by using it in combination with other senses and empathizing. We become aware of the health, vitality levels and illness in other people and organisms.

The sense of movement or muscle sense

And last but not least Shiatsu supports developing our sense of movement or muscle sense. It enables us to perceive our body’s movements and posture. Increased body awareness not only helps us to perceive our movements, but also to be aware of the exact position of our limbs and all the other moving parts of the body. The muscle sense is situated in spindle-shaped receptors in the muscles, which measure the degree of tension in the muscle fibers. There are similar receptors in the tendons. The bending and stretching of the limbs are perceived by receptors in the joint tendons and in the surrounding tissue.
​The contrast between tension and relaxation supports us to reach a state of optimum functioning and recovery.

Photo: Tom Roper