I started studying shiatsu part time in 2024 as a complement to my work as an academic. I study at the Australian Shiatsu COLLEGE. Very early in my studies I learned that it is An extremely weathery type of bodywork practice. This was one of the most delightful surprises of my life. Over the coming years of my study, I am working to integrate my learning into the weathering work – in theory and in practice. Below are a couple of provisional notes to this end:
The practice uses the meridians of Traditional Chinese Medicine (the same used in acupuncture) and those meridians all Correspond to a season. I did a Cows stall in “late summer” exploring practices that support the earth element and the organs that correspond with and support that season — the extra season known as “late summer” — spleen and stomach.
This imate illustrates the special organ in TCM known as the “Triple Heater” which governs thermoregulation. It is the meridian that links all the other organs together in the lower, middle and upper burners. In the lecture we learned that this organ (and its role in the body) is heavily influenced by community and social relations. Its a function of the body that is related to social infrastructure and support systems.
In addition, in the TCM framework, there is also the WuXing or “Five Element Theory” or “Five Phase Theory” which is a system to describe the different patterns of expression. This is a little drawing I did of the diagram to get it in my head. Each element corresponds to the different meridians, seasons, times of day, individual tendencies. There is a “healthy” flow or creative cycle, there is also a destructive/counteracting and restricting. This model gives a general template or idea about how certain patterns form in bodies in relation to elemental forces and how to best treat them. Though there are lots of options the patterns are not total chaos, rather a vast array of different embodied tendencies that can be mapped and understood and treated.
There’s so much more I am sure!
