Descrizione
Author: Shizuto Masunaga
Title: “Masunaga Shiatsu Manuals – 1st month”
Publisher: Shiatsu Milano Editore
Genre: shiatsu
English translation: Elaine Wright
Introduction, notes, glossary: Roberto Palasciano
Format: epub
Pages: 86
Edition: June 2019
ISBN: 978-88-944274-1-7
Price: euro 14,99
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In the 70’s Shizuto Masunaga Sensei, creator of Keiraku shiatsu (meridian shiatsu), delivered four-week correspondence courses providing students with his own purpose-written material. We saw these course books during a visit to the Iokai Shiatsu Centre in Tokyo and given their valuable content decided to translate and publish them. Other than their historical interest, we believe the four volumes (this is the first) will be extremely helpful to shiatsu students, practitioners and teachers alike. The extensive topics covered in the four manuals range from the history of shiatsu, the Japanese legislature on the subject, how to execute pressure and the rules to follow, basic techniques, exercises for health, shiatsu as first aid, clinical shiatsu, shiatsu for children and aesthetics.
AUTHOR: Shizuto Masunaga (1925-1981) was considered his parents’ legacy. Both shiatsu practitioners, his mother specialized in anpuku (abdominal massage) and his father a judo instructor in the Navy. Masunaga concluded his studies in psychology in 1949 at the University of Kyoto, initially teaching this at the Namikoshi National School of Shiatsu where he qualified as practitioner. His undertakings in research brought him to develop Keiraku shiatsu and launch the Iokai Shiatsu Centre in Tokyo. He has published several books on shiatsu and Oriental therapies and divulged Iokai shiatsu world over.
vlad_bulai –
The first volume of “Masunaga Shiatsu Manuals” lays out the foundation of Zen Shiatsu
methodology and principles, written in a very clear and concise style, making it an invaluable resource for beginner and advanced students alike.
I found it to be an easy and enjoyable lecture, written in a straight-forward manner and thus providing
an effective approach to the the study of shiatsu for anybody, without the need of any previous theoretical or practical training.
The material is designed to be studied over the course of a month, a lesson per day, and starts out with a brief history of shiatsu,then continues with a definition of this art with all the scientific principles that explain and demonstrate its effectiveness when done properly.
The first few lessons also clear out a lot of misconceptions and explain the basic principles of the correct pressure.
The second week’s lessons continue to detail the methodology of sustained pressure, making use of effective analogies and metaphors exemplifying various different ways of using hands and fingers
also providing very clear and simple exercises to help with cultivating body awareness of the practitioner.
In the 3rd week’s lessons we are being introduced to the concept of meridians and tsubos, in the same clear manner as before,explaining somatic sensitivity, the concept of flow and shortly describing the twelve main meridians.
The final 4th week’s section focuses more on ways of cultivating the practitioner’s sensitivity, meridian flow,the very useful stretching exercises and to conclude the manual ends with a short appendix about shoku-shin and setshu-shin to distinguish between what is a correct attitude when applying pressure to solicit the right reaction in the patient, and finally a glossary to define the main specific concepts used throughout the book.
Designed to be used as a self-study correspondence course, this manual achieves its purpose with simplicity and effectiveness.
I wish I had access to this material years ago when I started my training, instead of various other good books which seemed overwhelming and maybe even too complex at the time.
I would not hesitate to recommend this book as an essential part of any school’s curriculum and I feel that students would have a much easier start in learning Zen shiatsu with such wonderful introduction. I myself am thankful for all the people who dedicated so much of their time and effort in making these manuals accessible to all in the shiatsu community and I am eager to get my hands on the second volume!!!