Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. A person professionally trained to give massages is traditionally known as a masseur (male) or a masseuse (female) in European countries. In the United States, these individuals are often referred to as massage therapists because they must be certified and licensed as "Licensed Massage Therapists".
In professional settings, clients are treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. There are many different modalities in the massage industry including but not limited to: Swedish, deep tissue, structural integration, trigger point, manual lymphatic drainage, sports massage, Thai massage, and medical massage.
In the Japanese language, shiatsu means "finger pressure". Shiatsu techniques include massages with fingers, thumbs, feet and palms; acupressure, assisted stretching; and joint manipulation and mobilization.[3] To examine a patient, a shiatsu practitioner uses palpation and, sometimes, pulse diagnosis.
The Japanese Ministry of Health defines shiatsu as "a form of manipulation by thumbs, fingers and palms without the use of instruments, mechanical or otherwise, to apply pressure to the human skin to correct internal malfunctions, promote and maintain health, and treat specific diseases. The techniques used in shiatsu include stretching, holding, and most commonly, leaning body weight into various points along key channels."[4]
There is no evidence that shiatsu is of any benefit in treating cancer or any other disease, though some weak evidence suggests it might help people feel more relaxed.[2] In 2015, the Australian Government's Department of Health published the results of a review of alternative therapies that sought to determine if any were suitable for being covered by health insurance; shiatsu was one of 17 therapies evaluated for which no clear evidence of effectiveness was found.[5]
Although shiatsu is considered a generally safe, if painful, treatment, there have been reports of complications arising from its use, some of them serious.[6]
Neither qi nor meridians exist.[7][8]
Shiatsu evolved from anma, a Japanese style of massage developed in 1320 by Akashi Kan Ichi.[9][10] Anma was popularised in the seventeenth century by acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi, and around the same time the first books on the subject, including Fujibayashi Ryohaku's Anma Tebiki ("Manual of Anma"), appeared.[11]
The Fujibayashi school carried anma into the modern age.[12] Prior to the emergence of shiatsu in Japan, masseurs were often nomadic, earning their keep in mobile massage capacities, and paying commissions to their referrers.[citation needed]
Since Sugiyama's time, massage in Japan had been strongly associated with the blind.[13] Sugiyama, blind himself, established a number of medical schools for the blind which taught this practice. During the Tokugawa period, edicts were passed which made the practice of anma solely the preserve of the blind – sighted people were prohibited from practicing the art.[9] As a result, the "blind anma" has become a popular trope in Japanese culture.[14] This has continued into the modern era, with a large proportion of the Japanese blind community continuing to work in the profession.[15]
Abdominal palpation as a Japanese diagnostic technique was developed by Shinsai Ota in the 17th century.[16][17]
During the Occupation of Japan by the Allies after World War II, traditional medicine practices were banned (along with other aspects of traditional Japanese culture) by General MacArthur. The ban prevented a large proportion of Japan's blind community from earning a living.[citation needed] Many Japanese entreated for this ban to be rescinded. Additionally, writer and advocate for blind rights Helen Keller, on being made aware of the prohibition, interceded with the United States government; at her urging, the ban was rescinded.[18]
Tokujiro Namikoshi (1905–2000) founded his shiatsu college in the 1940s and his legacy was the state recognition of shiatsu as an independent method of treatment in Japan. He is often credited with inventing modern shiatsu. However, the term shiatsu was already in use in 1919, when a book called Shiatsu Ho ("finger pressure method") was published by Tamai Tempaku.[19] Also prior to Namikoshi's system, in 1925 the Shiatsu Therapists Association was founded, with the purpose of distancing shiatsu from anma massage.[19][20]
Namikoshi's school taught shiatsu within a framework of western medical science. A student and teacher of Namikoshi's school, Shizuto Masunaga, brought shiatsu back to traditional eastern medicine and philosophic framework. Masunaga grew up in a family of shiatsu practitioners, with his mother having studied with Tamai Tempaku.[19] He founded Zen Shiatsu and the Iokai Shiatsu Center school.[21] Another student of Namikoshi, Hiroshi Nozaki founded the Hiron Shiatsu,[22] a holistic technique of shiatsu that uses intuitive techniques and a spiritual approach to healing which identifies ways how to take responsibility for a healthy and happy life in the practitioner's own hands. It is practiced mainly in Switzerland, France and Italy where its founder opened several schools.[23]
Japanese massage
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A man and his wife come for a massage process, and a worker receives them, and she gives each of 
them clothes designated for me to massage, then a woman lies in bed and sleeps, so a worker massages me. A man rubs his hands well, then his chest with all tenderness and excitement, then she rubs his back and goes down to his legs and rubs them and massage a sensitive area He has no resistance to the beauty and softness of a massage, so he feels beautiful and goes quickly to the bath
An exhausted and tired Japanese woman comes for a massage process to relax and have fun, so the masseur puts his hands two graces on her soft body while she is in a state of complete relaxation, so he does his work in the best condition, and he massages her hands soft, her legs smooth, her back, stomach and back while she is lying on her stomach, feeling comfortable and relax
A beautiful massage process by the Japanese
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center which has branches all over the world. I tried yoga at a studio in Bangkok that just opened in April. Renov...
