Le Shiatsu à Conflans Ste honorine

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I am a 57-year-old woman, in full-time employment and I was recently with Parkinson’s in 2019.  The shock of the diagnosis was overwhelming. Now, a year on, things are starting to be more manageable, partly due to the excellent health care I’ve received here in France but also thanks to the regular Shiatsu treatments I receive, which are now crucial to my well-being.

Shiatsu is a Japanese form of massage therapy, which I have seen referred to as ‘needle-less acupressure’, a title that gives a better idea of what Shiatsu really is in practice. It aims to correct imbalances in the body, treat pain and illness, enhance the body’s natural healing powers, facilitate relaxation and promote good health. Shiatsu is a holistic treatment, which looks at the body as a whole rather than at individual symptoms.

A treatment relies on rhythmic pressure from the thumbs, fingers and palms applied to specific part of the body to stimulate and improve its energy flow (Chi). These pressures are performed in order to rebalance any excess or lack of energy along the body’s energy pathways. 

The effects of shiatsu as a therapy for me with my experience of Parkinson’s include:

• greater sense of emotional stability and wellbeing
• decrease in trembling, both visible and also internal
• improved flexibility, posture and mobility
• enhanced quality of sleep
• reduced pain

If you are interested, but have no experience and feel nervous, join the club: I did too. I was lucky I found a Shiatsu therapist who was able to respond to my initial need and who has since tailor made a treatment plan for me, which has proved effective. It was so worth making that first call.

If you too decide to consult a Shiatsu practitioner, you can expect them to ask about your general health, symptoms and energy levels. They can use a variety of techniques, which may include pressing their thumbs, fingers and palms on your body’s meridians, in order to improve your flow of energy. They may also use stretches and rotations to encourage circulation, flexibility and improve posture.

It is usual to lie on a padded mat or futon at floor lever, although you can sit in a chair. You are not required to remove any clothing, and the touch is comfortable and professional.

For your first appointment:

• avoid having a full stomach prior to your appointment
• wear loose, comfortable clothing

The treatments I have received this past year with Bruno have had a tremendously positive effect on my capability to live more comfortably with the symptoms of Parkinson’s, and with some of the undesirable side-effects of the prescribed treatment.  I hope this small recommendation will help any reader to make that first appointment in the certain knowledge of the benefit Shiatsu has given me.