Shiatsu Society (UK)

Styles of Shiatsu

The approaches most commonly found in Britain are Zen Shiatsu, Five Element Shiatsu, Movement Shiatsu, Shintai Shiatsu, Seiki, Barefoot Shiatsu, Healing Shiatsu, Namikoshi Shiatsu and Heisei Shiatsu.

Zen Shiatsu

Zen Shiatsu is the popular name for this style, developed by Shizuto Masunaga (1925-1981) – he named his style IOKAI (King) Shiatsu.  He believed Shiatsu was the King of bodywork, with its deep, comfortable penetration, its balancing and detoxifying effects and its theory, developed alongside that of acupuncture and herbal medicine.  The Western publishers of his 1977 book, renamed it Zen.  Zen Shiatsu goes directly to the core of the receiver's present condition via its subtle diagnostic system. The use of a stationary, “listening” hand guiding the penetrating, working hand makes for great sensitivity and effectiveness. It has influenced many other styles. (Source: Carola Beresford-Cooke)

Five Element Shiatsu

Five Element Shiatsu uses the paradigm of the Five Elements or Five Phase theory and the four pillars of examination to identify patterns of disharmony in the client’s body-mind-spirit and to balance those patterns through an appropriate treatment. The intention of the Five Element Shiatsu style is to address all aspects of the client, and considerations of the client's physical symptoms, lifestyle, emotional, and psychological factors are all considered important. Assessment of the client is through detailed verbal history along with abdominal and back palpation and assessment of the pulse. Five Element Shiatsu is effective in both acute and chronic problems and its real strength is working on constitutional issues. 
(Source: Andrew Parfitt. Email: Web:

Movement Shiatsu

Movement Shiatsu is a style developed by Bill Palmer in the 1980’s inspired by his work with children.  His research seemed to show that the pathways along which infants learn to move in the first year of life exactly follow the Six Divisions (channels joining leg meridians to arm meridians). Movement Shiatsu aims to help empower a client to work on their own development through exploring these movements. It starts by finding the client’s areas of ABILITY rather than focusing on their problems. Then it helps the client to explore themselves from that place of ability and to experiment with the areas that are more challenging.

A Movement Shiatsu session is more interactive than most other forms. The practitioner uses different forms of touch and guided experiments to help the client to explore their energy patterns and to sense which parts of their body are not integrated. The practitioner then helps the client to find new ways of moving by teaching them to directly experience the muscles, organs and fascia in those “shadow areas”. This helps them to re-integrate those parts and gives them the opportunity to safely sense and process buried trauma that may be the cause of the somatic split.

As well as being rooted in East-Asian medicine and philosophy, the evolution of Movement Shiatsu was strongly influenced by Feldenkrais Method and Body-Mind Centering, It is particularly suitable for working with chronic issues and disability where the client is wanting to find ways of working on themselves rather than being passively treated.
(Source: Bill Palmer. Email: Web:


Healing Shiatsu

Healing Shiatsu is an approach developed by Sonia Moriceau Sensei, founder of the Orchard Dharma Centre. Sonia had trained in Satipatthana and Zen meditation with John Garrie Roshi for seven years before training as a Shiatsu therapist with Wataru Ohashi. Her deep insight into the roots of suffering gained through reflective practice informed her approach to the application and teaching of shiatsu. Healing Shiatsu integrates the principles of Zen Shiatsu, working with the quality of Ki in the channels of the body, with an approach based on deep listening and non-invasive touch fostered through the practice of mindfulness and meditation. Working on the body with this approach allows the client to enter into a deep state of relaxation and creating a space where healing can occur on a physical or psychological level. (Source: Tony Austin)


Within Japanese Shiatsu, Sei-ki is the third strand which developed from the original lineage of Namikoshi, through Masunaga to Kishi Akinobu (1949-2012). With roots in Shinto, Sei-ki returns to the heart, echoing the traditional arts in emphasising inner work and resonance as guides. As such, Sei-ki cannot be defined in reference to physical techniques. With minimal outer form, practitioners seek to recognise and appreciate the original person. To achieve this, training requires the student to engage in a spirit of research, working constantly to clarify vision as integral to practise; to ‘touch’, so we may breathe again. (Source: Alice Whielden)

Barefoot Shiatsu

Barefoot Shiatsu works with the same principles as Shiatsu but the practitioner uses the feet and whole body to apply stronger and more sustained pressure. This Yang style is dynamic and vigorous and is particularly useful for clients with tight, hard musculature. It includes a variety of powerful yoga-like stretches designed to unwind stiffness and tightness. After a Barefoot session clients typically report feeling that their tension has ‘melted away‘ and that they are relaxed but at the same time invigorated.
(Source: Maria Serrano. Email:  Web:

Shiatsu Shin Tai

Shin Tai is an innovative evolution of shiatsu that was developed by Saul Goodman. Shiatsu Shin Tai expands on traditional Shiatsu massage to create an evolutionary system of diagnosis and technique that stimulates the flow of life force in the body. There is a focus on the treatment of the two primary meridians, Governing Vessel and Conception Vessel, creating a powerful system of diagnosis, theory and technique that facilitates deep transformation. A unique synthesis of structural, fascia, meridian, and chakra technique, this therapeutic bodywork clears stress from the body, and naturally stimulates the flow of energy.  (Source: Shintai International)

Namikoshi Shiatsu

Namikoshi Shiatsu is the official Shiatsu of Japan. It is based on western anatomy and physiology and uses pressure on specific points to affect the nervous system and thus the internal physiology of the body. The founder, Tokujiro Namikoshi, found that touch applied to the surface of the body reflexes to the internal organs, releasing blockages and stimulating the body’s own healing power. Technique includes pressure on the Namikoshi system of lines and points, stretching and correcting techniques, 12 techniques for using palms, thumbs and fingers when applying pressure and 8 different types of pressure.

Heisei Shiatsu

Heisei Shiatsu is a style of shiatsu loosely based on Namikoshi shiatsu that focuses more on the quality of the pressure applied than on the exact location of points or lines. In Heisei Shiatsu, it is believed that the most effective pressure should be as deep as possible for a particular receiver but completely painless. Heisei Shiatsu applies pressure to straight lines - as in Namikoshi's - but has vastly increased the number of lines and points, and has also added work on the classical meridians. One of the main aims of Heisei Shiatsu is to achieve structural and musculoskeletal balance. (Source: Fernando Cabo)