Basic Shiatsu Techniques | Shiatsu Massage

These are some basic shiatsu techniques. The first one is called kembiki. It's a gentle rocking motion. It's a great way for the nervous system to release and to start a session by letting the whole body become weighted into the floor. It's just a very gentle rocking, and it can be used all over the body, different areas in the leg, in the back. I'm really just letting the body respond to that gently push, and then it's like I was skimming the surface of water. The body just responds. That's called kembiki

The next technique is pressure, and this can be used with the thumbs with the palms, or knees or elbows. Basically, the reason that I'm working on the floor here in shiatsu is that I'm going to be using my body weight to create pressure. So I'm going to keep one hand in place and send the other one down, creating pressure along the side of the spine.

I'm really moving my body and sending my weight into the receiver's body to create pressure. This is broad pressure, using my whole hand, and then to refine that, I might just use a thumb and create pressure down a limb, such as the back of the leg. By sending pressure into the energy pathway, the meridian, it's helping to increase balance by stimulating the flow of energy and distributing it evenly throughout the body.

The third technique I'm going to show you in basic shiatsu is stretching. Stretching is a really great way, as well, to balance the energy pathway, the meridian. I'm just sending my body weight, again, forward into hers to create a stretch. This she'll feel on the front of the leg. That's an example of a shiatsu stretch. It's also possible to take an arm here, and I might do a stretch by leaning my body back. I'm always using my body weight. This stretch she can feel right here on the side of the neck and down the arm, as well.

Lastly, I'll just show you a technique of rotation. This is to manipulate the joints and is great for alignment, as well. I'm sending my body in a circle, which is also creating a circle in her knee and in the hip. I might do a rotation and then go into a stretch. You can also do smaller rotations, such as just the ankle. So there you have some basic shiatsu techniques, kembiki, stretching, pressure, and rotations