This month the shiatsu world celebrates my shiatsu teacher, Waruto Ohashi, who dedicated 50 years to teaching Ohashiatsu touch for peace. In the early 90’s, I received my certification in this ancient modality that focuses on releasing patterns that the body holds from trauma, pain, structural issues, internal organ disturbances, and various physical and mental health issues. It is so much more than just nervous system work. It is an extensive ancient modality with its roots in acupuncture theory. Years and years of understanding a culture, techniques, anatomy, point locations, meridian systems, etc etc. This is what your acupuncturist and shiatsu therapist bring to the treatment space. The art of shiatsu’s unique touch therapy, the holding, deepening, creating space for trauma is its legacy along with simplifying acu point work into movement therapy as an access to the meridians. It not only taught me a method but it healed my body mind spirit with its gentle approach. The retired dancer in me was excited because I had a whole new way to move my body while taking care of others body mind and spirit. Shiatsu is such a beautiful art form dedicated to healing, reconnecting with our bodies, discharging stored memory, and looking at the intricate way our organs are associated with our emotions, thoughts and feelings. Today I call it “non verbal psychotherapy” for it is subtle yet powerful way of healing through integrating heart and mind ❤️in ways one cannot describe. I am grateful to Ohashi as he changed my life and gave me a powerful tool to share with my trauma clients in their journey of healing. Some of the questions we ask ourselves is: Where does trauma show up in organs and what system got affected by it? This is not character typing, this is much deeper. With physical pain, we run from it and then emotions shut down. So as a shiatsu therapist, we challenge core beliefs residing in the body mind and it becomes ground for change, “a subtle but powerful energy movement therapy” creating peace within our nervous system and all mechanisms of our internal universe. - Dr Mari