Many practitioners struggle with ways to educate potential & present clients about what treatments can offer them. We welcome you to share this article to help people better understand the affects of shiatsu/shin tai on their health & their life.

Educating potential clients about your work is important!

Educating potential clients about shiatsu, shin tai or any form of healing work is usually necessary, because most people don't know much about these therapies. People want to know a little about the possible benefits before they commit time and money to something new. But many practitioners tell us that they find it difficult to describe what they do.

You may have studied many things for many years, and it can be challenging to condense that knowledge into a simple a clear answer to the question 'What would your treatments do for me?' Of course you can tell people that bodywork can help relieve stress, reduce pain and alleviate certain symptoms, but we know it's does more than that. Our intention is that this article helps you communicate more clearly about your work to family, friends and potential clients and we welcome you to share it with your network. It will also deepen your intention and awareness as you practice, empowering your hands and your heart to unveil the health and peace within each person you touch.

Bodywork is for more than just symptom relief

Has a client ever asked you if the treatments you’ve been giving them could be contributing to an increase of happiness and fulfillment? It may seem obvious to a you that bodywork would contribute to happiness, but many people who receive treatments think of them mainly for symptom relief and physical health. It’s important that the people you work with develop a growing awareness of how treatments are affecting their body AND their life. This helps them become more involved, curious and excited about the process, so taking some time to educate those you touch is well worth your time! It will also expand your practice as they spread the word to others about the power of bodywork.

Encourage your clients to feel sensations in their body during treatment

Encouraging your clients to notice sensations in their body during a session is often the first step of bringing them into a deeper understanding of what is happening during treatment. As things open up, align and activate, someone will usually become more attuned to their body during regular activities. Then they will begin to make a conscious connection between treatments and things in their life that are shifting. This is not only interesting and validating, it also amplifies the positive affects.

As the body becomes more free of restrictions, a person begins to experience more clearly what is actually going on in real time. Your awareness of this dynamic supports your clients in a cycle of growing awareness and engagement in their body and their life. They will notice more, feel more, and be able to settle down into 'present' time more fully.

Peace, gratefulness, and enjoyment of simple everyday experiences that we tend to take for granted or miss altogether move more into center stage. Rather than being eclipsed by past stress and trauma, the present begins to shine though more clearly like the sun breaking through the clouds.

If you have clients that are receiving regular treatments, it’s often quite helpful for them to learn about this process. This knowledge can not only validate their experience, it can also help them to amplify the positive effects through self-awareness and conscious participation. Sometimes as practitioners we are so steeped in this work that we forget what it might be like for the majority of receivers who have little previous experience with hands-on bodywork, and no experience with the training that is behind that work.

Shin Tai liberates life force

Shin Tai practitioners facilitate the free flow of life force, or chi, through the body.* This is done by releasing compressive forces that have been restricting the proper function and flow of organs, joints, lymph, meridians, chakras, etc. Treasure troves of energy that have been tied up and unavailable are released and redistributed throughout the body. Space and motion increase as this is happening, and are a main indicator of the process. When there is more space and more motion, the body is becoming more free. Energy flows better, alignments take place and the body systems begin to function more optimally.

This is all done at a very practical level. Practitioners use a highly developed, highly effective system for reading the body, interpreting responses and applying techniques. Even though receivers often experience relief from troubling symptoms, the symptoms are not usually the central focus of a Shin Tai treatment. Of course practitioners care about the ailments and sufferings of whomever they work with, but they are trained to try and reach underneath those issues rather than focus on them. They empower people's bodies to be more clear, powerful and self-healing.

*Other modalities of bodywork also facilitate the flow of energy. Shin tai is an evolving form of shiatsu that has its own unique focus, theory and technique to do this.

Stress = compression = faulty guidance

Whenever there is stress, emotional or physical, the body tightens in some way. When there is some time and care given right after a stress, the body often readjusts and reestablishes the original 'nonstressful' condition; homeostasis is restored. However, sometimes homeostasis is not restored. Many stresses occur with no subsequent 'healing' period.

These unresolved micro- and macro-stresses build up over time and create compression in different layers of the system. Emotions and feelings are more restricted. Muscles, glands, organs and bones become compressed. Beliefs, ideas, and perspectives become more rigid. The ability to connect, listen and relate is reduced. The body functions less and less efficiently. Many parts of the body/mind/spirit begin to operate out of sync with what is actually going on in present time, because they are literally locked into stress matrixes from other time periods.

This in turn creates slower functioning in organ systems, circulation, respiration, elimination, etc. The nervous system begins to relay information that isn’t based in present time, but instead reflecting what occurred at the time of the stress. The electromagnetic currents of the meridians become impinged or even distorted. Chakras become misaligned with their associated glands, joints and organs.

Emotions don’t flow as easily. Thoughts get unclear and jammed up, just like the organs. Impulses and desires, which are supposed to lead us in the direction of our true nature/soul path/whatever you want to call it, become distorted. People lose direction and tend to follow paths which bring them further from what they want in their hearts. Addictions, illness, and blatant self-destructive behavior become more prominent.

Treatments = release stress = back on track

Shiatsu Shin Tai treatments release compression and liberate the innate wisdom of the body. As compression releases and space opens up (and I mean this literally), organs begin to function better. Alignments take place naturally or with non-force guidance. Vertebrae shift, sciatica resolves, bowels move. The immune system operates more optimally. Muscles repair, nutrients distribute, reproductive organs regenerate. The body cells begin to function more in present time. Information related to life direction, health, and consciousness that is encoded in the DNA starts to more accurately direct the body processes again.

Treatments also bring people into more direct contact with their feelings. This will not necessarily always feel good. Buried pain and unresolved wounds will work their way to the surface to be felt and processed. Even though this can be disturbing or uncomfortable in the short run, it is better to address this pain rather than leave it to fester and express itself indirectly through addiction and illness.

Treatments lead to more consciousness, and more ability to listen to oneself and others. The larger goal of shin tai is to bring a person into alignment with their true nature, their soul. And I don't mean in an abstract way, I am being specific. As the physical body balances and becomes more free, the higher vibrational parts of who we are can align and 'plug in' to the body. Practitioners are trained to see when this is happening and when someone can handle it.

So treatments do help lead people towards more ease, clarity and happiness. They do often give relief from physical ailments. Those are not the focus however. Focus is on reestablishing the free flow of life force and thus empowering the body to self-heal, self-regulate, and self-direct.

When the body shifts, the life shifts

Certain treatments create tremendous amounts of change. Some unfold small amounts of very potent change. Other treatments lead up to those ones. Sometimes a session is dealing more with integrating shifts that have already occurred. These types of treatments are all valuable. The 'really big ones' are not better. A practitioner works with whatever the receiver is ready for during the session. They listen to the receiver's body and facilitate the release and distribution of energy.

It is usually best to introduce change in incremental waves that someone can integrate easily without blowing the life structure to pieces in a destructive way. Often someone will have to retrace through certain patterns, sicknesses, and behaviors. They may go through a period of experiencing an old cycle of anger or insecurity that they used to feel all the time and then buried. They may go through periods of old illness as past toxins and patterns discharge from their body. So treatments do not always lead to immediate peace and vitality. They often lead someone through cycles of detoxing physical and emotional debris before they feel 'better.' This does result in a deeper ability to engage in life, appreciate what is happening, and align with the more true aspects of one's nature.

Getting treatments means someone will need to be more true to themselves and others. This can involve challenges as they integrate more of their authentic self into relationships, work and creative ventures. Ultimately, more freedom in the body will lead to more freedom in life, because when the body shifts, the life shifts.