Shiatsu, along with some lifestyle changes can be a powerful tool in stress management. Firstly, in a general sense, it relaxes the central nervous system allowing the para-sympathetic branch to take over for a while. This will in turn will allow the receiver to sink to the next level of relaxation, thus helping the body's self regeneration process to do its stuff. Secondly, Shiatsu will improve the circulation of blood and lymph thus helping to eliminate toxins from the body promoting a feeling of well being. Pressure applied to the meridian lines and acupuncture points, stretching and mobilisation will help to free up tense muscles and loosen stiff joints giving a feeling of release. Probably more importantly, because Shiatsu has its roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the practitioner is able to use diagnostic techniques to help them address the specific symptoms caused by stress. Essentially tailoring the treatment to the individual. After a number of treatments and  just taking a few  minutes to relax each day, it becomes easier to reach an  increasingly deeper level of  relaxation and thus gives more control over stress. When we are under pressure we burn off a large amount of energy simply by being stressed. As the stress levels drop we are able to divert this energy to other activities. We are able to operate on a more efficient level and enjoy a better quality of life.

Some facts about Stress

It seems that at the beginning of the twenty first century that the word stress is becoming more and more common in everyday conversations. People talk of acceptable levels of stress. Because of the pace of life and the type of work that we do it is difficult to avoid the effects of long term-stress. But what is stress? It is not a disease but simply the body's way of dealing with any kind of external influence. Often referred to as the fight or flight response, it is what happens when we are in a situation that we feel is out of our control or we are under threat, for example if we are about to be attacked. We either stand our ground and defend ourselves or we run away and it is the stress response that gives that extra bit of strength or that burst of speed to get us out of trouble. All this is fine and certainly we need a certain amount of stress in our daily routine to perform well, but lets take a look at the way we live our lives today, particularly living and working in cities. With the technological advances of the last twenty years it means that we now are working and living at such a pace that generally speaking, we don't have time to relax, to eat properly or to take enough exercise. Most people also now work in offices usually sitting at a desk for most of the day. Many will be using computers or keyboards of one kind or another. A reasonably safe environment to work in; one would imagine. However in this case, the threat is not from a wild animal or a would-be assassin, but from the need to perform well and meet our targets. In this situation when the fight or flight response kicks in there is no room to maneuver. It is not really an option to leave your desk and run away and physically attacking one's manager would not be particularly productive. So there we are with all that adrenaline pumping around our bodies and no way of burning it off.

But this problem is not limited to the office. All around us there situations that can trigger stress: demanding relationships, feelings of inadequacy, noise and air pollution, financial demands, all kinds of pressures that for the most part are beyond our control. This can lead to many symptoms that are common place, stiff shoulders and backs, headaches even migraines, digestive problems, ulcers or irritable bowel syndrome, menstrual problems, impotence, insomnia, anger, anxiety leading to depression to name but a few. Why does this happen? Well, lets take a quick look at the nervous system. It is divided into two main parts firstly: the para-sympathetic, which controls the main body functions such as digestion, regeneration and immunity, reproduction and sleep, secondly the sympathetic, which controls the stress response and shuts down the functions mentioned above as they are not needed while defending oneself or running away from a predator. The sympathetic branch obviously kicks in when we are under stress and is fine in short bursts, but if we are living with continual stress then the parasympathetic barely gets a look in and it is then that we start to suffer from the problems mentioned previously. So how are you feeling as you read this? Any tension, tiredness, irritability? If the answer is yes, why not give yourself a treat. Just click on the "Where to book" link.

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