Jo Sutton interviews Suzi Caunce, Principal Teacher at the Heart of England Shiatsu School to discover what is so good about shiatsu and what directions it is taking as a 21st century therapy.

How did you become interested in shiatsu?
During my twenties I was on the pill, this made me ache all over and I had severe headaches. A friend had seen a physiotherapist doing massage on sports people and by copying what he had seen was always able to relieve the headaches.

I was inspired by the body's ability to heal itself and had a vision to do effective body work from that time, although there were no job titles for that mode of work in the 1970s.

I studied shiatsu part of a healthy life-style [macrobiotics] course and as there were no specific qualifications in shiatsu, or even very much available, also studied Swedish massage, aromatherapy and reflexology to put certificates on the wall.

Shiatsu was more interesting as there was an intuitive, direct experience and deeper contact with the person being treated.

It is much more effective, and I could see it working, so it held my interest.

What is shiatsu?
Shortest summary would be 'Japanese Osteoapthy', a close second is ?acupuncture without the needles? I have been sent clients by practitioners of both therapies as shiatsu is just as effective, but not as invasive.

Perhaps this is more descriptive?' It is an ancient form of Japanese body work based on Five Element Theory and Oriental Medicine which uses palm healing, pressure with thumbs, knees and elbows ,massage and meridian stretches similar to yoga stretches and other techniques to facilitate self healing in the body.'

Or to use Carola Beresford Cooke's great quote, [the author of A Shiatsu Practitioner?s Manual] ' Shiatsu's great strength is that it is a uniquely flexible therapy, capable of being applied with the depth of Rolfing or the subtlety of Cranial Osteopathy: It embraces the mobilisation moves of Thai massage or Chiropractic, the resistance and release techniques of Kinesiology, and the magnetic principles of Polarity therapy'

So the depth and range of shiatsu techniques make it interesting. Not to mention that is a great joy to have this as my work!

How does it work?
The techniques are designed to relax the receiver's nervous system. It uses touch communication through a variety of techniques and meridian knowledge [ A 'line' of energy used by practitioners of Oriental Medicine] energy to release tension and heal on a very deep level. Each meridian is linked to one of the main organs of the body, so metabolism is affected along with the structure of the body.



What made you study shiatsu?

A desire to look after myself and to help people find health. Shiatsu is a very good tool kit for this.

I was inspired by the strength and focus of my teachers. It was obvious from the second that they came into the room they were stronger and more sincere than those in the other places that I studied. I realised that integrity went deeper than the spoken word. The body does not lie.

I also like the depth of shiatsu which includes diet, oriental yoga, lifestyle recommendations and provided a model for therapeutic listening, looked at through an understanding of Five Element theory, it was a very thorough grounding in a truly wholistic therapy. It is inspiring that it is centuries old.

One of the great strengths of my family was a belief in self-responsibility, a basis for many self- help philosophies, the aim of shiatsu is to help people focus on health, rather than to treat symptoms, by taking responsibility.

What are the main benefits of shatsu?
* Vastly improved skills for managing your own health.

* Improved physical and mental flexibility. Understanding Five
Element theory can be used on the self by eating and exercising
In a way appropriate to strengthen ones weaknesses.

This means that less emotional wear and tear goes on inside and by being centred life outside seems less challenging. Also, by using Five Element theory to understand how to relate to others students have reported better skills in dealing with people.

So it means to have a vastly improved life!

How has it helped you?
I could not have coped with living with ME without this knowledge. That's another story.

How did the Heart of England Shiatsu School come about?
I had been involved in Practitioner training since 1982, and had run a training in South Africa before moving, to the Midlands. I had a study group in London, people who had dropped out of other schools, they had poor track records in Education and not essentially middle class occupations i.e. prostitutes, croupiers, cleaners etc. They felt that they did not fit in to therapy world. Somehow I changed that and they became successful practitioners, this gave me a lot of confidence and I knew I could run my own School. Some of those people are still in touch with me. I was also teaching for several provincial schools.

I was asked to set up a School in 1988 by students at an evening class, so I did.

How has shiatsu changed over the years?
During the 1980s it developed from a very small amount of knowledge into a 3-year training as it became intellectually defined. Recently a post-graduate year has been added making it 4 years.

The Government is currently working with a shiatsu Regulatory Group which could mean that training becomes two tier and so would be more accessible to the public.

Some practitioners are using more talking than touch. The latter is good as people are becoming less practical and less physical as a whole. The Five Elements system used in Oriental modalities of healing lends itself very well to a psychotherapeutic model. A person led approach enables the receiver to facilitates their own healing.

What are you changing now you are moving nearer to retirement?
Over the years I have become more dependant on exercise to keep strong and free of joint problems, so I teach more yoga and I am working on a series 'Yoga for All Seasons? classes to summarise my knowledge and experience so it can be put in front of a wider audience.

Clearly you are not going to stop work!
I have no plans to, I enjoy what I do. Helping people focus on personal peace or self healing is a great privilidge and will only create more peace and light in the world.