Both in my practice and in my own life, I regularly experience the deeper meaning of this phrase from the classic texts of Eastern medicine. Spirit is our connection with the universe – with the divine, if you will – the boundless source and true power behind everything in our lives. It is the spiritual connection between us as human beings. When we are connected to the universe, our lives are light and full of possibilities. We are open to all the beautiful things around us and within ourselves. We feel the vibration of life within us and all the possibilities it offers.
In my shiatsu practice, I regularly see the important role that Spirit plays in having a sense of life joy. When people are confronted with pressing life problems, this can affect Spirit. As humans, we are one functioning whole. We have various life functions such as breathing, movement, thinking, emotions, social interactions, etc. All these life functions together make us who we are. The circumstances we encounter in our lives, or the way we deal with these circumstances, affect these life functions. If certain functions are asked of us for longer than we are able to handle, they become disrupted. If this happens for a long time and intensively, it will not only affect the respective life function, but also our Spirit. We are no longer able to feel our life force and connect with everything that life can offer. Our spirit has disappeared.
With some clients who have been with me for treatment in the past period, I have seen that the will to live was less or sometimes almost non-existent. They had no motivation to do anything. The light from their eyes had disappeared. This can be a state of being in which people remain stuck. There is no strength, no inspiration to do anything anymore. They live their lives in survival mode. The Spirit seems to literally hide itself. Treating such clients with appropriate humility. Being lovingly present without judging and inviting them to find the inspiration again.
As a Shiatsu therapist, I try to see and feel where the Ki, as we say, is suffering. Where it no longer circulates or is so weak that it has such an impact that it affects the Spirit. And what does this tell us about the deeper problems a person is dealing with? Often these are aspects of a person’s life that shield them from themselves and others because the pain is too great. By feeling what a person’s body is telling them and asking carefully appropriate questions, you gain insight into a person’s life and what is the best treatment at that moment. Because this is often deeply hidden, it is sometimes surprising. Often my hands can find it, but I can only reason out afterwards why this treatment has such an impact on that person. After the treatment, I see expression on a person’s face and light in their eyes again. At the next treatment, they return and have made small or sometimes larger changes in their lives. Step by step, their spirit and their humanity return.
To see what a shiatsu treatment can mean for people is, at times, something that deeply touches me time and again. It makes shiatsu the most beautiful profession there is for me.