The most profound teacher I've had to date is the late Kikuko "Kiku" Zutrau-Miyazaki, Head Master and owner of the Boston Shiatsu School, where I received my primary education. I met her at age 24, she was 73. The pearls of wisdom she imparted were multitude. One of them is the reason for this blog:
This primary education is a place to start your practice. Continue to study Shiatsu, add to your tool kit and develop yourself as a practitioner.
Through my credentialling organization, the American Organization of Body Therapies of Asia (AOBTA) I learned that Zen Shiatsu Chicago was holding it's first Shiatsu Symposium in 2013. What a joy it was to attend that 6 day event! For the first time since my graduation I was in a LARGE group of fellow Shiatsu practitioners! At this event a different teacher lead the activities of each day so we could get a sample of new technique, suppervised practice, and deeper understanding of the fundamental theories and culture of our practice.
The next Symposium I was able to attend was 2017. The focus was changed, each of three teachers lead a two-day workshop. Three advanced practitioners deepened our understanding of the interconnected meridian structure, the body as an integrated whole, and Sotai, which I will mention again later.
The last Shiatsu Symposium that took place was in 2019. This one stretched into more subtle realms of self-awareness for the practitioner. Seiki Shiatsu, necessitating the practitioner to keep complete presence and trust in her intuition, was the first section. The deeply accomplished Carrola Beresford-Cook followed with a profound view of Shiatsu beyond technique. (I hope to learn directly from her whenever travel to Wales is more safe.) Then we worked within the subcutaneous and peritoneal layers to unlock injury patters that hold deeper layers out of balance.
One of the teachers from the first Symposium, Winter Jade Forest has stayed connected with Zen Shiatsu. I was fortunate to attend some of her advanced training in Joint Healing, Visceral Manipulation & Lymphatic Drainage, and Energy Field integration.
Sotai is a technique I learned at Boston Shiatsu School, so when I saw it at the 2017 Symposium was happy for a more in-depth look at it. The technique is mind-bogglingly simple. Using the direction of most comfort, the practitioner helps the receiver reconnect uncomfortable movement patterns with the experience of ease. The client has to "do work" by way of moving their own body through ranges of motion, give feedback about sensations along the route, and actively re-check the range of motion. The practitioner helps determine the movement of greatest ease, provides a slight resistance to engage the nerves along the pathway, guides the body into a comfortable position to relax completely. Sotai can be done without a practitioner, which requires the receiver to learn the basic philosophy and take initiative to do it outside the treatment space. In my experience this technique works with one out of 10 receivers, as it requires the receiver to actively engage with the session. In other words, Unless a person has chosen to do this technique deliberately, I have noticed that most Western bodywork receivers do not prefer to do their own work.
Bob Quinn and Jeffery Dann were the Sotai teachers at the Shiatsu Symposium. They presented subtle and effective sequences of movement to help release tension patterns all along the spine. The following year I attended a two-day event in Boulder, CO, where an expanded group of Sotai practitioners presented a deeper layer of training.
Those who have received my Barefoot Shiatsu technique have several teachers to thank. Working with the feet is common to Shiatsu and Thai Yoga bodywork. As these modalities dovetail so nicely, I've taken every opportunity to learn more Barefoot technique. Randy Cummins, one of the Shiatsu teachers at the 2013 Symposium, has developed an extensive meridian-oriented format using a support pole. The workshop I took from him in 2017 in a small city near Dallas, TX, notched-up my Barefoot game, and I continue to enjoy the easeful effectiveness in practice.
On the level of subtle energetics, Core Synchronism is an utterly brilliant merging of Cranial Osteopathy and Polarity Therapy. Teacher/creator Robert Stevens taught my teacher, Alyssa Gillespie. I was blessed to take levels 1 and 2 (twice each!) from her and level 3 from Mr. Stevens himself, all here in Boulder, CO! (There are 7 levels altogether, so I am by no means finished with this study.) This work recognizes the impact life has on the body, the features and systems therein, and offers an avenue to re-harmonize/Synchronize these parts with the flow of the Core Current (aka Cranio-Sacral rhythm). Within the network of recognized features are the bones, organs, lymphatic & glandular systems, chakras, internal & external energetic networks, and brain/nervous system, all of which stabilize mental and emotional patterns. Receivers who are available for the depth of release possible with this method could have life-changing shifts away from injury and trauma.
Breema workshops in Boulder, CO, have had a special place in my development as a mat therapist. This is a unique practice that places greater focus on the giver than the receiver. Taught in short sequences of self-Breema and partner exercises, this modality has impacted me with the importance of being relaxed and in my own natural flow as the giver, and using the receiver's body to my own benefit. Pure Breema practitioners string together several of these short sequences to compose a 30 to 45 minute session, with little regard to whatever "symptoms" the receiver has to be treated. I have taken several of the formats from Breema as transitions and opening movements.
Western Body Eastern Mind 100 hour anatomy and physiology coursework came to me through the AOBTA. Teacher/creator Debby Valentine Smith offers this online self-paced course to satisfy the anatomy & physiology requirements for Asian Body Therapy training curricula, and for those of us who need to freshen up our understanding of Chinese Medical Theory. The entire course took me more than 3 years to complete (which I did on July 4th of last year), and it was without a doubt the most valuable investment I've made to my career.
Over the past year I have nurtured my interest in Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga, a practice I've developed actively since 2017. As I began deepening my study of yogic traditions I became aware that Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor are holding their month-long Teachers' Intensive in Boulder this year. Starting the second week of July I will be taking the in-person training curriculum to become an Ashtanga teacher! I am so excited for this opportunity, and inflow of new information about movement, breathing and the union of consciousness within the body.
Thank you to all of the clients and colleagues, who have supported my bodywork practice and development through these years! I hope this post has been informative and given you ideas that you may not have thought about before. I especially want this post to emphasize how many different approaches to full-being health there are to explore.
Please feel free to ask questions or comment on anything you've read.
Wishing you radiant health as the Summer progresses,
Christian
