Customer Reviews

The Natural Way of Zen Shiatsu

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I have been doing bodywork for about 20 years and have found Shiatsu, applying finger pressure to acupuncture points (neuromuscular trigger points), methods to be helpful in releasing muscle tension. The book goes into the Taoist idea of yin and yang and uses it as a basis for understanding Shiatsu. It also goes into Macrobiotic Diet theory, which is also derived from Yin (alkaline) and Yang (acid). If a person were to follow the protocols step by step in this book, he or she would give a decent Shiatsu treatment, either to someone else or to oneself (there is a self treatment protocol). I have a minor reservation about Macrobiotic Diet theory. While it emphasizes yin and yang, it still seems a little too acidic. It also does not go deep into the five elements theory and how it relates to diet. This is crucial for making diet changes in relation to the yearly seasons. The emphasis on diet for a bodywork book is interesting, but it does integrate with the overall approach of the author. All in all, the book represents a comprehensive healing approach that is mostly workable.

well, this book is a good one to try to combine the macrobiotic system and the zen shiatsu tradition. The explanations are clear and understandable whereas i would recommend it to someone with a minimum knowledge in shiatsu as it is never easy to learn such a discipline with a book.
However this book can help you improve in the oriental diagnosis. You would find keys to give advices to your patients. A good chapter in the book is tha self care shiatsu which looks rather interesting.
not recommended for someone competely novice in this field.

This is a very thorough and comprehensive study book on zen shiatsu. One reviewer pointed out its estoteric qualties, and this is true. However, having had Mr. Sergel perform shiatus on me, and applying some of the techniques in the book, I am a believer.

while I cannot offer scientific on the merits of zen shiatsu, having experienced it first-hand, it is the most theraputic massage I've received, and I've had lots of different ones--swedish, myo-fascial, cranio-sacral, chiropractic, as well as the chair massage offered in shopping malls.

I found the self-shiatsu and shiatsu techniques illustrations & texts interesting.
The rest of the book is more modern-day Yin/Yang theory.
This is not a medical book, everything get explained in term of yin
and yang (if you are not a believer, buy another book).

I`m still looking for a modern-day scientific study on shiatsu.