Location

The hara is located in the abdomen area around a central point about three finger-widths below the navel known as the tanden.

Hara is also the centre of its “life force”, as well as the pivotal point of the body in terms of weight distribution,

In shiatsu body massage, you always aim to utilize energy from the hara to apply pressure, not the muscular strength of the limb you are using.

Pressure or movement directed from this centre is backed up by the weight and vitality of the body and less exertion is required.

Tanden and hara

Using weight and gravity in Shiatsu Massage

Your tanden is located three finger-widths below your navel.
Your hara, in Japanese, or centre of gravity, surrounds your tanden.

The essence of shiatu massage is the use of pressure without force. The key to appreciating the difference is an understanding of the role of your hara or centre of gravity .

Do-in Exercises

Practice these exercises daily to maintain suppleness, strength, and optimum sensitivity in your hands and feet. They can be practised at any time, but you should take care to work on the left and right sides equally. Even if you do not perform shiatsu every day, you will feel the benefit of these exercises in every manual task you undertake. Start by shaking out your hands to loosen any unconscious tension.

1 Hold your big toe and rotate it around its knuckle while exerting a gentle pull. Do this in both directions and repeat for each toe on both feet.

2 Pull each toe backwards so that you feel a gentle stretch in the underside of the foot. Hold the stretch for a few moments, breathing steadily.


3 Use a loosely clenched fist to tap firmly all over the sole of each foot. Enjoy the energizing, tingling feeling in your feet when you stop tapping.


Moving ki from wrist to fingertip:
4 Grip one hand just below the wrist with the other. On an out breath, squeeze and pull downwards from the wrist to the fingertips. Repeat several times on each hand.

Wrist-flexing
5 Place your palms together in front of your chest. Press your hands inwards and downwards until you feel a stretch in the heel of your hand. Then turn our hands so the fingers are pointing downward and press inward and upwards until you feel the stretch.

Widening the finger span
6 Insert the closed fist of one hand into the space between each of your fingers on the other hand, pressing in until you feel a stretch. Do this for both hands.

(Excepts from Secrets of Shiatsu by Cathy Meeus)

Special exercise

A special exercise called “do-in exercises” can help to improve the flexibility and strength of the massage therapists’ hands and feet. You can feel an improvement in the blood flow through your fingers, hands, toes and feet. Remember to work on the right and left sides equally.

Improving energy flow

- Every morning, stimulate energy flow in your hand and feet by dipping them in cold water.
- Walk barefoot to provide the joints and muscles of the feet with healthy exercise.
- After a long periods of massaging the customers, writing, typing, or other activities that can cause a build-up of tension in the fingers and hands, shake out your hands regularly during the day.

General care for massage therapist

Respect the receiver, make sure that your hands are clean and pleasant looking, therefore regular care is important. Keep your hands and feet clean and well-manicured.
Keep your fingernails short, never allowing the nail to grow longer than your fingertip.
This is important because long nails can cause injury to the receiver when you apply fingertip pressure.
Do not expose your hands to harsh detergents that can inflame and damage the skin. And use a hand cream daily if your skin has a tendency to roughness.

Feet

Your feet, too, play an important part in the effectiveness of your shiatsu, through providing a sound grounding.
Do not let the flow of ki be impaired by muscle tension, so keeping your feet supple and relaxed during the massage is important.

Hands

Fingers and Hand need to be supple, strong, and sensitive to the variety of signals conveyed by the customer’s body.
Try to eliminate tension, which will block your ki flow and reduces your ability to sense the subtle differences in the customer’s energy state during massage.

Take care of your hands and feet

Your fingers, thumbs, palms, wrists and feet are used to apply pressure to the customer’s body.
Thus the quality of massage depends on their condition.
Therefore do take care of your hands and feet as they are your main tools for giving shiatsu massage.

Meridians and their elements

In our body there are meridians channels through which energy, or ki, flows in the body. The meridians are like maps of rivers. Ki can be visualized much like water flowing in the river: sometimes it floods, sometimes it is dry. There are six pairs of meridians, which relate to different organs in the body.

The Meridians and their elements:
Stomach and Spleen – Earth
Bladder and Kidney – Water
Gal Bladder and Liver - Wood
Lung and large Intestine – Metal
Heart and Small Intestine – Fire
Heart Protector and Triple Heater – Fire

How does Shiatsu works?

Shiatsu works by enabling ki or energy to flow smoothly throughout the body meridians.
Sometimes our body’s ki is blocked, and this can cause health problems. Shiatsu aims to relieve these blockages.

Benefits of Shiatsu

The benefits of Shiatsu
· Eases tension and stiffness
· Relaxes mind and body
· Improves blood and lymph circulation
· Restores and balances energy
· Improves breathing
· Heals
· Enhances well-being

What is Shiatsu?

The word “Shiatsu” comes from shi, meaning “finger” and atsu, meaning “pressure”, (although in reality Shiatsu may involve thumb, finer, elbow or even knee pressure.)

Shiatsu is a Japanese Massage, form from different disciplines of oriental medicine such as acupuncture, herbalism, nutritional and exercise programs. It relaxes and invigorates the body making use of the body’s natural energy. Shiatsu originated in Japan as a holistic therapy for the treatment of mind, body, and spirit.

Shiatsu Massage

For those who do not like oil Massage, you can consider Japanese Massage – Shiatsu Massage – pressure on the acupuncture points in order to balance the body’s energy and promote good health. Open your energy channel and be revitalized.

f) Vibration

Vibration is defined as rapid muscular contractions of the therapist’s arms being transmitted through the fingers or palms to produce a shaking-type movement. Vibrations are normally applied on areas overlying muscular motor points.
Effects:

• Increases blood circulation


• Stimulates localized nerve endings

e) Tapotement

Tapotement are sometimes defined as percussion-type movement which can be light tapping to beating movements applied in a brisk fashion. The whole hand or part of the hand can be used depending on the type of tapotement movement being given. E.g. Cupping, hacking, and tapping. It can be applied to areas of poor circulation, lymphatic drainage or muscle tone
Effects:

• Very stimulating
• Produces localized heat
• Stimulates muscle fibers
• Increases cellular activities

d) Frictions

Frictions or Deep Tissue Strokes, are deep and focused, these friction movement makes use of thumbs, fingertips or heels of hand to reach right down into the tissue to where more hidden tensions may lie. Having soothed and relaxed your partner with the broader, lighter gliding and medium-depth strokes, you now penetrate below the superficial muscle layers or work around the joints with deep tissue strokes. Use your body weight to add depth to your pressure, allowing your hand to remain strong but relaxed. E.g. Thumb-rolling, heel of hand pressure, Fingertip Pressure.
Effects:

• To relief deeply hidden tension tissues.

c) Kneading

Kneading (one of the petrissage movement) is applied only when the muscles have been warmed up with soothing strokes. Lift and squeeze a bunch of flesh in one hand and roll it toward the other hand. Bring the fingers and thumbs together and raising the muscle. When one hand releases its hold the other starts to gather a new handful. Don’t lift the hands off the body between strokes; rock smoothly from hand to hand, as if you were kneading dough.
Effects:

• Loosen up the network of muscles.

b) Petrissage

Petrissage can be defined as pressure movement. The movements consist of repeatedly grasping and releasing the tissues with one or both hands in a lifting, rolling or pressing fashion. Petrissage movements (kneading, lifting wringing strokes) are often named according to the part of the hand used and include palmer kneading, palmer lifting, wringing, thumb kneading, finger kneading, skin rolling and picking up.
Effects:

• Helps venous circulation


• Increases lymphatic flow


• Improves absorption of substances within the tissues


• Loosens adherent tissues


• Moves the tissues over bone

Swedish Massage movements and their effects: a) Effleurage

Effleurage can be defined as a stroking movement in the direction of venous return (working in the direction of the heart) involving the passage of the hand or part of the hand over the skin. It is a smooth, sliding movement which soothes the skin and distributes the oil. The hand should be firm to the area being treated and the fingers and thumbs should be kept together. It is important that the pressure is constant and even through out the movement. The pressure will vary depending on the area being treated.
Effects:

• Helps venous circulation and return to the heart
• Helps lymphatic circulation
• Speeds the absorption or waste materials
• Promotes relaxation
• Enables the client to become accustomed to the therapist’s hand

Swedish Massage

Soothing and relaxing Massage involves a systematic and therapeutic blend of gliding strokes - Effleurage;
Petrissage – kneading and wringing;
Friction;
Tapotement – hacking and cupping;
Vibration and pressing the soft tissues of the entire body in order to induce a state of total relaxation. Treating the circulatory system and improving posture, both considered crucial to body health.

Essential oils

You can also use Massage Base Oil plus any of the essential oils:-

• Lavender (Therapeutic effects: sedative, antiseptic, balancer of the nervous and emotional systems, headache, migraine, combat sleeplessness)

• Ylang ylang (Therapeutic effects: a great relaxer, and highly recommended for anxiety, depression, insomnia, frigidity and treating high blood pressure)

• Lemon (Therapeutic effects: antiseptic, lowing blood pressure, colds, digestive problems, and for use in oily skin)

• Lemon grass (Therapeutic effects: anti-bacterial action, good for sore throats, respiratory problems and headaches. It is a deodorizer and energizer. It also repel insects)

• Peppermint (Therapeutic effects: indigestion, decongestant, colds, flu, flatulence, headaches, nausea, sunburn, sea and travel sickness. It is refreshing, invigorating and cooling) Etc…

Massage Oil

Choose Plain Massage Base Oil by itself,
if you like it plain and fragrance-free
or are allergic to certain essential oil
e.g. Flowers etc.

Contra-indications to body massage

If a person has any of the following, he cannot be massaged:
Cancer
Fever
Skin Disease
Undiagnosed lump
Severe Vericose Veins
Broken Bones
Heart conditions
Very high blood pressure
Migraine
Sunburn etc.

Reasons for having body massage and different type of massage services

For relaxation due to stress as in Aroma Massage.

Stimulate the deep tissues and increase circulation in the surrounding areas as in Deep Tissue Massage.

Relieve congestion within the tissues and increase the drainage of lymph to the lymph nodes as in Lymph Massage.

Easing aches and tensions to the muscular-skeletal system or specific muscles or muscles group as in Sport Massage.

To realign the body by manipulating muscles and other connective tissues in order to enable the body to move more freely and recover its balance as in Rolfing Massage.

Tone poor muscles – need to exercise and also electrical treatment for muscle tone and stimulating massage routine consisting petrissage movement.

Other benefits of massage

• Improve blood circulation
• Improve digestive system
• Relax the nervous system
• Revitalise your qi (energy)

Massage Therapy for men in Singapore

House call massage for men.
Massage service at your own home or hotel room, or inhouse.

Swedish massage, Shiatsu, Facial Reflexology, Hand Reflexology, Body Scrub, Ear Candling, Reiki Practitioner, Quantum Touch by Certified Male Therapist with Diploma in Body Massage ( UK ),
Diploma in Anatomy and Physiology ( UK )

Operating Hours
Daily 11:00am to 9:00pm (last appointment)

Price
Swedish Massage (70 mins) $90 Outcall, $60 Inhouse
Shiatsu Massage (70 mins) $90 Outcall, $60 Inhouse
Quantum Touch (70 mins) $90 Outcall, $60 Inhouse
Body Scrub (30 mins) $30
Ear Candling (30 mins) $25

Payment : Cash only.

Contact : Appointment by Telephone Only: (65) 94812568

Consider massage

After a hard day’s work you are stressed and tired or after training in the gym you are aching all over. Consider massage to help you relieve your stressed and tensed muscles. Massage will relax and sooth you and help you to reinstate your energies to balance body, mind, and spirit. It will also help in Lymphatic drainage of waste, toxins, excess fluid and boosting the body’s immunity system.

Welcome to Massage Therapy Singapore.

I am a certified male massage therapist with UK Body Massage Diploma.