Shiatsu massage helps women connect to their own psychological being. The body and the emotions are equally different manifestations of energy. As shiatsu massage causes energy to flow easily and smoothly, the emotions in addition to the body are harmonized through the treatment.
Shiatsu Massage in Gynaecology
Although their manifestations appear in the reproductive organs, gynaecological disorders are closely linked to the entire constitution, especially the emotions. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, great importance is placed on considering all aspects of an individual in diagnosis and therapy.
TCM highlights the role emotions play in gynaecological health and pathology, saying that psychological disturbances are a significant disease cause in gynaecology. Thus psychological health is crucial for healthy menstruation. Suppressed, unexpressed or excessive feelings, particularly irritation and anger, cause imbalances in liver energy that underlie gynaecological problems such as PMS, endometriosis, irregular menstruation, painful menstruation and abnormal vaginal discharge.
Many women that are single mothers or career women take on both traditional female roles of mother and homemaker as well as the manly roles of breadwinner and business person. This often means trying to do too much in too little time with a lot of resources, which invariably results in frustration and anger.
On an energetic level, frustration is a non fluid or impeded flow of energy. Most women with PMS or endometriosis have more than average levels of psychological stress because of unresolved conflicts stretching back to puberty. This psychological stress may have occurred before and is now over but it still reverberates throughout the woman’s life as a well established psychological and emotional force in her identity and her life is still stressful.
As shiatsu massage alleviates tension and harmonizes both emotions and body, it treats the gynaecological problems issuing from physical and psychological stress.
Combining Massage and Herbal Treatments
When shiatsu massage is supplemented with herbal treatment, its range is widened in addition to becoming deeper and more subtle. Conditions found in the holistic approach of shiatsu massage are mirrored in states described in biomedical medication. For example:
- Ovulation can be caused by herbs which act on the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis.
- Tension in muscle ( mainly smooth muscle), as in practical dysmenorrhoea, can be found when there is energy stagnation or lack and will respond to herbs that proceed or supplement energy.
- The shiatsu massage and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) pattern of blood stasis is similar to elevated prostaglandin levels that can then be treated by herbs which invigorate the flow of blood; the increased PG levels stimulate the uterus causing excessive contractions resulting in reduced abdominal pain; the blood invigorating herbs reduce the PG levels relieving the painful contractions.
Conclusion
Western medication and shiatsu massage cannot be merged simplistically as though there’s a loyal correspondence between a shiatsu massage concept and its apparently equivalent medical concept such as assuming that the pattern of blood deficiency, an energetic concept which holistic and macroscopic, is identical to anaemia, a narrowly defined, fragmented concept based on physiology and pathology that’s diagnosed by relying on specialized microscopic examination and chemical testing. Comparisons can’t be made simplistically on semantic similarities but has to be created on diagnostic or therapeutic similarities.
Findings from medical research can help refine and clarify diagnoses based on the pattern differentiation of shiatsu massage and TCM. For instance, Spleen, Liver, energy, blood and Kidney patterns underlie asymptomatic ovulation, but research suggests Kidney deficiency is frequently the root pattern.
