Therapies

Therapies

Shiatsu - Thai Massage - Massage - Reiki

Shiatsu

Shiatsu, a Japanese therapy, is a form of healing closely related to acupuncture. Instead of needles the practitioner applies pressure with hands, elbows, knees or feet. Stretching techniques are also used to stimulate and promote well being.
Shiatsu combines a 4000 year old understanding of energy, derived from Oriental medicine, with modern knowledge of anatomy and physiology. It is an officially recognised therapy in Japan, and has spread from the east worldwide. Shiatsu is one of the fastest growing areas of complementary medicine in the UK.
What is Shiatsu good for?
Relieving health problems… Shiatsu has helped people with many complaints, including tension, anxiety and depression, fatigue and insomnia, headaches and migraine, rheumatism and arthritis, back pain and stiffness, sciatica, neck and shoulder problems, digestive disorders, respiratory illnesses, circulatory and uro-genital disorders, menstrual problems.
Maintaining health and preventing stress… Shiatsu not only relieves specific complaints, but also helps to maintain overall health, bring relaxation and a feeling of well being. Many people use Shiatsu preventively to help them keep well, live their lives to the full and counter the effects of every day stress.
Shiatsu is also particularly effective during pregnancy to strengthen and balance the body’s energy and aid relaxation. It can also be helpful for back pain, oedema, and high blood pressure.
How does Shiatsu work?
The application of pressure and stretching techniques works to relieve muscle tension, ease joint stiffness and re-align the structure of the body. Pressure along the energy path ways helps to correct imbalances in the functioning of the internal organs. Treatment is deeply relaxing and has an overall calming effect, so allowing the body’s self-healing processes to work more effectively.
What happens in a Shiatsu treatment?
At your first appointment you may be asked detailed questions about your health. A Shiatsu practitioner treats you as a whole person, so it is important for him or her to have an understanding of all the factors that may be affecting your health- including how you feel physically and emotionally, the environment in which you are living and other similar details. Also any details about diagnosis of your condition you may have been given from your doctor.
Shiatsu usually takes place on a soft mat on the floor. During the treatment the practitioner applies pressure to your body with fingers, thumbs and palms, plus gentle rotations and stretches of the limbs. You will be allowed to relax for a few minutes after the treatment for the body and mind to be at one.
The practitioner will review your progress in the light of each treatment and may recommend measures such as breathing exercises or dietary changes, which you can apply to help yourself between visits.
How long is each treatment?
Sessions last about one hour, including the treatment and time for discussion. The initial session will generally be longer, as the practitioner needs to go through more detailed questions about your health and why you have come for a treatment.
What should I wear?
Shiatsu is carried out with the client being clothed, so please wear a loose fitting top and trousers e.g. a track suit. Skirts, jeans and tight fitting trousers are not suitable.
How many treatments will I need?
This varies greatly from person to person. Often some good effects are felt after one treatment, but a series of treatments may be needed to make a significant change in the condition. Typically, a client may choose to visit weekly until a consistent improvement is reached, progressing to fortnightly, and then monthly intervals. After a course of treatment is over, you may still choose to come regularly to maintain good health.
What happens if I am taking other medication?
Shiatsu does not interfere with any medication; in fact it can complement any conventional medical treatment that you may be receiving. Shiatsu will assist the healing process by its overall strengthening effect, improving the circulation of energy, blood and lymph and reducing stress.
Thai Massage

Thai Massage is a unique form of body work dating back to ancient times. This traditional form of massage incorporates elements of gentle rocking, deep stretching and rhythmic compression to create a unique therapeutic massage experience to vastly improve health and well-being.

History of Traditional Thai Massage
“Ancient Massage” (nuad phaen boran, as it is called in Thailand has evolved over a period of some 2,500 years. Its roots are firmly based in northern India, as the founder of this art is believed to have been a doctor known as Jivaka Kumar Bhaccha who was a contemporary of the Buddha and the personal physician to the Magadha King Bimisara. It is believed that his teachings reached what is now Thailand at the same time as Buddhism – as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BC.
Due to the methods of teaching of these ancient arts over the centuries – without exception orally, it is not possible to know the extent to which the concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture influenced Thai Massage. Traditional Thai pictures of the man depicting the “sen” lines as they are referred to in Thai Massage, resemble quite closely the “meridians” or energy lines depicted in ancient Chinese texts on the subject.
What is Thai Healing Massage?
Although Thai Massage is often considered to be a form of massage, it contains elements and techniques that are quite different from the common notions of massage and would more correctly be categorised as a form of peripheral stimulation. Contained within these techniques are the direct and clear intentions of the practitioner to affect the physiology and energetics of the body and mind of the recipient.
An important aspect of a Thai Healing Massage treatment is the stretches carried out on the client. Many of these stretches closely resemble yogic postures, except that the practitioner is putting the client into the stretch, and therefore there is no need for the patient’s to use their muscles to hold the pose, and they would be able to maintain a sense of deep relaxation.
As with other forms of body work like Shiatsu, the Thai Massage practitioner uses body weight rather than muscular power to carry out the therapy and in doing so, is also able to be deeply relaxed and in tone with the client’s energy. All body work of this kind is carried out with sensitivity and within the recipient’s natural physical limits.
There are ten important sen lines in Thai Massage upon which there are acupressure points which, when massaged, help to treat certain conditions and to relieve pain.
How does it work?
Thai Healing Massage is practiced very slowly, with an emphasis on both the practitioner and client being in a heightened state of consciousness. Thai Massage is recognised to be a practical application of “Metta Bavada” or loving kindness. This form of healing work places an emphasis on the mind/body connection and can be utilised as a tool in the treatment of emotional disorders.
Stretching and extending the range of motion of the client’s body are important parts of the Thai Massage. The stretching often takes the form of double or assisted Yoga. Once the client has relaxed deeply, the practitioner, with a heightened sensitivity, stretches the client to his or her comfortable limit.
Who will benefit from this treatment?
The Healing Massage can benefit many conditions such as back pain, insomnia, stress, anxiety, respiratory problems and digestive problems.
What should I wear?
As Thai Healing Massage is essentially a therapy which utilises the relaxation of the recipient to allow the body to stretch as far as is comfortable in many different positions, it is essential to wear loose or very stretchy clothes, including trousers.

After you have received Thai Healing Massage, you will feel extremely relaxed, both physically and mentally. It is advisable to allow a little time immediately after the treatment to “come around” before returning to your everyday activities.

MASSAGE
To massage or touch with the intention of relieving pain is an instinct basic to human nature. Since primitive times humans have touched and massaged themselves or others as the need

Massage, my first interest in massage was from taking an evening course in relaxation massage during 1992. I became amazed at the benefits in my well-being from the other students practicing on me, and also how calming it was for me, to practice on them.
So in 1993 I trained at the Wilbury School of Natural Healing, Brighton, gaining the ITEC, Massage, Anatomy and Physiology qualification. Later to go on to study advanced massage, as my desire increased to understand more. So then allowing me to work at a much deeper level with the massage, giving more benefit to the client.

REIKI

What is Reiki?
Reiki translates into Universal Life Force; “Rei” is the essence of the source of life. “Ki” is the energy or power that brings it into form. Reiki is the vital life energy which flows through all living things and which when activated for the purpose of healing, works on all levels, spiritual, physical and emotional.
Reiki was practised for maybe thousands of years, and then lost until it was rediscovered by a Japanese monk at the end of the 1800s. There are many theories about this Monk; his name is Dr Mikaomi Usui of Kyoto. The life story of Dr Usui as given out by Reiki masters within the western world sometimes has variations, but as new information is found or released from Japan a more complete story unfolds. Reiki energy works in many strange ways and may be this is just another one, as Reiki finds its place once again in the world.
How does Reiki work?
The Practitioner is used as a channel for energy. The Reiki energy flows from the universe into the practitioner then works down to hands. Once in the hands it passes down to the Recipient. The practitioner, working with intuition, moves his hands around the body allowing the energy to go where it is most needed and to the level required.
The treatment
The recipient may feel many sensations during or after the treatment. Calmness, relaxation heat, coldness, tingling, a sense of being balanced, or may release pent up emotions.
Reiki is very simple non-intrusive and powerful. The treatment lasts between one and one and half hours per session. It is usually carried out with the recipient lying down, fully clothed, on a massage table or on a futon on the floor.
Reiki is very simple non-intrusive and powerful. The treatment lasts between one and one and half hours per session. It is usually carried out with the recipient lying down, fully clothed, on a massage table or on a futon on the floor.

Treatments please contact,
07956069721
williamgadd@williamgadd.co.uk