P hilip Cheshire-Neal graduated from the Shiatsu College

in 2003. After graduation he attended master classes

with Sonia Moriceau in New Zealand and England. Philip is

the Principal of the Manchester Branch of Shiatsu College. He

is passionate about uniting Healing-Shiatsu, Seiki, Quantum

Shiatsu and Light Body Shiatsu within his Shiatsu Practice

and all of his teaching.

Ever since Paul Lundberg’s article in SSJ141, 2017 'Renewing the Vision – Learning from the Past and Expanding the Horizon in Shiatsu' I have felt compelled to expand how the Practice of Shiatsu communicates with the world. I now find myself with a need to share where my thoughts have led.

Three primary questions have fuelled my quest:• How can we increase the awareness of Shiatsu at every level and

support the Shiatsu profession to flourish, inspire and evolve?• How can we create a climate for our graduates to start Shiatsu

practices with ease?• How can we empower our communities to gain greater self-

awareness, to have tools to balance and improve their own well-being, and to develop the wisdom to know when to ask for help?

Shiatsu is on the rise again. This is very much reflected within our student numbers at Shiatsu College. They hit an all time low a few years ago and are now showing signs of flourishing once more, though still with potential to grow.

Grassroots Shiatsuin the Community

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Qigong class

We are also in an age when self-help classes are booming – Yoga, Pilates, Qigong, Tai Chi, Mindfulness, Five Rhythms… the list goes on, and Shiatsu belongs with them. Community based classes, focusing on self-help, well-being and touch education – are simply an extension of what we already do.

To quote Paul Lundberg “we (the Shiatsu profession) have rather focused on the construction of a narrow, vertical, professional edifice, focused on one-to-one therapy, at the expense of cultivating a wider base of interest and practice in the community”. Which is interesting as I understand that in the 1970s and 1980s Community Shiatsu Classes were very much a part of the Shiatsu profession, with classes ranging from Adult Education Courses to sharing Shiatsu in small groups in village halls or simply peoples’ front rooms.

If we are to share our Shiatsu at a Community Level we need to have some clarity as to 'What is Shiatsu?'

The reality for me is that Shiatsu is a practice, a mindful discipline, of which only a part is one-to-one bodywork. The foundation of Shiatsu practice is self-development –

through movement, mindfulness, breath. Then there is the art of touch. Our personal Shiatsu toolbox becomes filled with the techniques and teachings that have resonated with us from all the Shiatsu experiences we have shared.

Through the combination of practices which support our self-development and teachers who have inspired our Shiatsu, we develop our own unique Shiatsu. It is a journey with no destination, no end - it becomes an integral part of our life.

The words underlined in the bubble diagram below represent my own Shiatsu journey. My style of Shiatsu could be described as 'Healing Quantum Zen Shiatsu-Seiki with Clean Touch and Light Body, rooted in Qigong, Do-in and Mindfulness'. What a mouthful - I think I will stick to simply calling it Shiatsu. I must also put Cath, my wife, in there…

Why not create your own version?

We all develop self-awareness, we all use empathic listening touch with our clients, and yet no two people’s Shiatsu practice is the same, because no two human beings are the same. Shiatsu is what unites us in this diversity.

So how do we share Shiatsu when it encompasses so many variations?

Just as no two people can give identical Shiatsu sessions, so no two people will create identical Grassroots Shiatsu Classes. Our individual Classes will be about sharing the tools, the exercises, the knowledge that we as individuals have found to resonate with and support us.

In the same way that a Shiatsu session is really created by the dance between the giver’s and receiver’s Ki, so our Grassroots Shiatsu classes will be created by the dance between the facilitator’s and attendees’ Ki fields. Our classes will vary depending on who attends them.

The Shiatsu session is a dialogue between two human beings, led by the receiver's ki. We, as practitioners, are there to listen, to connect, to respond and to create space for the client. We dip into our toolbox intuitively to respond,

amplify, resonate and flow with our client’s Ki.

So to embody the spirit of Shiatsu in our Grassroots classes we must also give space for our attendees to shape the class. Allow their life journeys into the space. Observe what practices resonate with them. Support them to find their connection with Ki, their exploration of Shiatsu-touch. Dip into our toolbox to respond, amplify, resonate and flow with the Ki of the people in the room, of whom we are one.

This needn’t be complicated, we are not trying to deliver a Diploma in Shiatsu, we are simply hoping they will learn some tools, some exercises, to help them be more self-aware - of body, mind, emotions, spirit.

Everybody in the world already practises self-Shiatsu. When they find discomfort in their own, their partner’s or their child’s body, they intuitively find somewhere to place a hand that gives relief. Grassroots classes can deepen the quality of touch, can share some useful points, develop mindfulness in both giving and receiving touch. We can also introduce a philosophical and theoretical framework enabling people to link their physical ailments with emotional, mental and spiritual happenings in their

life. All within a

structure of Ki-nourishing exercises.Offering these classes will boost

your confidence too, whether you are a teacher, a practitioner or a student. Sharing our knowledge helps us value what we have learnt. This will expand the Ki field around your whole practice, making it more successful. You don’t need to be an expert to teach something, you just have to find people who would like to hear what you do know and

share your knowledge. I feel all my students have acquired

enough skills and knowledge after

one year of training to

be able to share them for the benefit of others.

We need to encourage and give confidence to our students, and to each other, to go out into the community and create these classes. We need these classes to be a normal part of our Shiatsu practice. They are a natural expansion of the recommendations we give to our clients at the end of a session. Let us take this normal part of our one-to-one practice out into our communities. Make Shiatsu more accessible and more affordable to the many and in doing so expand our horizons.

I need to stress here that community Shiatsu classes are not to replace one-to-one Shiatsu sessions, but to complement them. Helping people in their self-awareness will also help them identify when going to see SHI ATSUDo-In

QigongPilates

Aikido

Yoga

MeditationQuantum Shiatsu

Shin-Tai

Namikoshi Shiatsu

Zen Shiatsu

Movement Shiatsu

OhashiatsuHealing Shiatsu

Tao Shiatsu

Clean Touch

Light Body Shiatsu

Barefoot Shiatsu

SeikiReiki

Craniosacral therapy

Mindfulness

Shamanism

Five Rhythms

Contact Dance

Alexander Technique

Dipping the paintbrushes of activities into our palette of resources to offer Grassroots shiatsu skills to our attendees, each individual being coloured uniquely with the content with which they resonate

Theory

Exer

cises

Touch

PointsTCM

SeikiLife

Do-In

Qigong

Zen

Yoga

Western Medicine

Science

Philosophy

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CPD1. Create your own Shiatsu bubble.

2. Think about where you could begin to offer Grassroots Shiatsu.

a therapist is the best course of action. To embrace the change which can occur when we are wholly heard/seen via the non-judgemental, full attention of the practitioner - this is where Shiatsu is so valuable. But through our Grassroots Shiatsu classes we can empower people to assimilate change more effectively, overcome obstacles in their lives in fewer sessions, to be less reliant on a therapist, and nurture more belief in themselves.

So what am I doing about it? I encourage my students to start their own classes. I have held an informal outdoor drop-in Qigong group on our allotment for the last two years, which has developed into a Do-in, Ki awareness, Qigong and Shiatsu-Touch group, a place where I have fun and explore Ki with whoever comes and in whatever way feels right at that time. I have just (successfully) completed a more structured six-week course of ‘Grassroots Shiatsu in the Community’ class

with subheading ‘Healing Yourself and Your Family’ – it gained me three new private clients, and two students planning on studying Shiatsu! I have invited Svenja Schaper to teach the Samurai Shiatsu Programme for us in Manchester, because I feel not only is their approach fantastic for working with groups of children and the elderly, but would also give my students a new fun way of introducing anyone to Ki Touch in Community Shiatsu classes.

At Shiatsu College we are creating an online resource for discussion and ideas for Grassroots Shiatsu - handouts, exercises, examples of promotional material. We will make this accessible to all our students and previous graduates. Our intention is to make the idea of running Grassroots Shiatsu Classes a normal part of a Shiatsu practice. It is early days but optimism and enthusiasm are abundant.

What can you do?You might be doing a class already, If so fantastic, please share it. Maybe you already teach Qigong, Yoga, or Mindfulness. Could expand these and call your class '……. and Shiatsu-Touch'. Give yourself permission to share your amazing Shiatsu toolbox alongside your other disciplines.

Practitioners – set up your classes. Invite your past and present clients. Ask them to share with their contacts. Let’s get Grassroots Shiatsu into the Yoga Studios, the Village Halls, Hospices, Schools, and everywhere!

Teachers – encourage your students to set up their own classes, individually or as a group. Share basic teaching skills. Re-think the way you begin your teaching days with exercises to be more than

simply grounding and aligning your students – emphasise that you are adding to their toolbox of resources for leading their own Grassroots Shiatsu classes. Invite them to lead the exercises within class.

Students – just give it a go on your own or jointly with your peers. Start with your current contacts, friends and clients. If you start these classes now you will expand your own client base and already have an established Shiatsu practice when you graduate.

As Carola Beresford-Cooke said to me in recent communication “The East Asian medical tradition is one of the very few, perhaps the only one, to recognise the importance of the practitioner's state of being as a contribution to the healing process.” It is time to share how we continually work on our ‘state of being’ with others at an affordable weekly class open to the complete beginner.

And of course the hope is that word will spread, and in particular the word ‘Shiatsu’ will spread. Some attendees may then want to come for a Shiatsu session, some might want to learn more and undertake the Shiatsu Diploma training. By encouraging Shiatsu to be known, loved and respected at this base level we shall all prosper. It is the responsibility of all to create the opportunities for Shiatsu to grow, and to unite and support each other in doing so.

Shiatsu is amazing!

Qigong outdoors

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