Yesterday, I went to an open day at a complementary therapy centre in Cardiff and had a taster session of 'Shiatsu'. I'd been interested in shiatsuit for a while, but knew very little about it. I was really impressed by the therapy and it's whole body impact. Here's an extract from the Shiatsu Society's description about Shiatsu:

"Shiatsu is a therapeutic practice that can support individuals in moving towards greater health and well-being.

Shiatsu is a relaxing treatment and can be beneficial for back pain, stress, headaches, whiplash injuries, neck stiffness, joint pain and reduced motibility and many sports injuries amongst other ailments.

Shiatsu is a Japanese word meaning "finger pressure". It is a new name for the oldest form of medicine - healing with hands. Everybody has the healing power of touch and responds to touch. It is a natural ability that people are now beginning to recognize again.Shiatsu uses hand pressure and manipulative techniques to adjust the body's physical structure and its natural inner energies, to help ward off illness, and maintain good health.

Shiatsu is characterized by its great simplicity. It grew from earlier forms of massage, called Anma in Japan (Anmo or Tuina in China) which use rubbing, stroking, squeezing, tapping, pushing, and pulling to influence the muscles and circulatory systems of the body. Shiatsu, by contrast, uses few techniques and to an observer it would appear that little is happening - merely a still, relaxed pressure at various points on the body with the hand or thumb, an easy leaning of the elbows or a simple rotation of a limb."