What is Shiatsu?
Shiatsu is a style of Japanese bodywork. Shiatsu's name comes from two Japanese words: "shi", or finger, and "atsu", or pressure. Like a combination of acupressure and massage, shiatsu focuses on balancing the flow of ki, or energy, through the body.

 How can it help?
Ki energy flows through body via networks called meridians. There are eight meridians in zen shiatsu that flow through the chest. This flow can be disrupted in many ways and result in dis-ease. Practitioners do not work directly on the cancer site, but improve ki flow by gently and energetically influencing ki movement through the chest. This can restore the flow of ki within the meridians. Zen shiatsu can help with breast cancer by circulating ki after surgery, preventing lymph edema, stimulating peristalsis and bowl movements, improving quality of sleep and tissue repair, and helping decrease pain and increase range of motion.  Zen shiatsu can also help decrease nausea and increase appetite.

What happens in an appointment?
The shiatsu treatment begins with diagnosis. The practitioner will ask you questions about your health and your life, feel your pulse, look at your tongue, and feel for energy imbalances related to the internal organs in and around the abdomen and view signs of these in the back. A strong diagnosis is imperative for developing an appropriate treatment plan.

 The recipient will typically lie clothed on a low massage table or on the floor for the treatment. The shiatsu therapist will apply pressure using his or her fingers, thumbs, and/or palms in a continuous rhythmic sequence. The pressure feels more localized than traditional massage, because, unlike other types of massage, the finger pads are used to apply pressure to specific points, rather than entire muscle groups. Pressure varies depending on the area being worked and the quality of ki in that meridian. Because of the way energy flows through these meridians, a shiatsu practitioner working with the feet can affect entirely different areas of the body. A typical treatment may last 45–60 minutes.