Benefits
The Benefits of Practicing Shin So Shiatsu
Shiatsu therapists have traditionally relied on touch — palpation of the hara or back — to diagnose meridian imbalances. Shin So Shiatsu uses the Finger Test Method to obtain very specific information from a vast array of reflex zones and meridians throughout the body.
There are important advantages to using this method. Firstly, diagnostic speed and accuracy can be quickly achieved. Years of special training are needed to master the more traditional palpation skills, and few ever attain a level that will make this a reliable method for them. Working with the finger test actually facilitates development of better palpation skills.
Secondly, the Shin So approach has a built-in system for confirming diagnoses. This has been a huge challenge with the palpation method, where practitioners, unless gifted with exceptional sensitivity, are rarely able to corroborate one another’s results. Many therapists lose confidence and eventually abandon diagnosis altogether because of this uncertainty. Confirmation helps clarify and strengthen our treatments.
Thirdly, the finger test allows Shin So Shiatsu therapists to pinpoint structural and alignment problems, locate the source of joint or muscle pain, and diagnose other conditions.
Fourthly, in the very dynamic ki-meridian system, we can feel fluctuations as they occur. We can feel pathways becoming more or less unbalanced. At the end of a Shin So treatment, we will know whether the patient’s meridian system has been balanced or still needs work.
The finger test is a powerful tool for diagnosing, confirming and reassessing imbalances, but even more importantly, it increases the depth and manner of our communication with the ki-meridian system, giving us direct access to energy dimensions that until now have been out of our reach.
Other Benefits of the Shin So Shiatsu System
- The key elements of Shin So Shiatsu can be integrated into any shiatsu style, as well as acupuncture and other forms of therapy. Tetsuro Saito considers shiatsu an art: each therapist is an individual, each treatment unique. Shin So Shiatsu encourages and facilitates this.
- The practice of Shin So Shiatsu cultivates in us a greater sense of presence and self awareness and helps bring our own energy into better balance. Our treatments become more efficient, less labour intensive. After a day of Shin So treatments, we feel refreshed and inspired.
- Shin So Shiatsu can be integrated into our daily lives. With the finger test, we can test our own and our children’s energetic receptivity to certain foods; we can determine how close we can sit to the television or computer before we begin to absorb too much surface ja ki. In the event that we do absorb it, we can also clear it away.
- The community of Shin So practitioners is growing worldwide.