Shiatsu for the disabled

Fernando Cabo, le directeur de la Professional Shiatsu School
vient de nous présenter une nouvelle et magnifique vidéo sur le travail que réalisent des étudiants en shiatsu bénévoles dans un centre de Rome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfLOh-NuGjM

The heart of shiatsu is like pure motherly love. Pressure of the hands makes the spring of life flow. These are the words of Namikoshi, a japanese psychiatrics, who in the last century, codified shiatsu to export it to the West.
In a centre in the heart of Rome, two afternoon a week, for 20 years, 40 professional volunteers  have been taking care of the disabled, giving 1000 shiatsu treatments every year.
Over two thousand nerves impulses are stimulated in one hour. It's a full body treatment from head to toes with over 2000 pressure points  with activate impulses sent to the cerebral cortex and the cortex processes the information and sends the processed information back to our physiological systems.
Shiatsu affects our five systems : muscular, articular, circulatory, lymphatic and nervous. This means it balances the hormonal system.

The japanese word shiatsu consists of shi : finger and atsu : pressure; It is a gentle technique which consists on pressure on the skin to correct internal dysfunctions to preserve or improve our health and to treat specific diseases. Shiatsu has been legalised in japan and a few other countries but it has not been recognised in  Italy at the legislative level.

"I have multiple sclerosis late-onset sclerosis because it appeared when I was 49. Not as aggressive as early-onset sclerosis and to tell you the truth, I was so sceptical when I first came. I only had the idea of conventional treatment, I didn't think about alteranative therapy but gradually, I became a regular visitor.
I know the benefit is not immediate, because I don't feel any different when I leave the centre but I do feel worse when I miss a session."

" I suffer from right spastic hemiplegia and I find it very beneficial because my condition causes pulled muscles and pinched nerves and after the treatment I am much more relaxed"

"I have a boy who is unable to talk but who makes himself understood; Is is very rare for him to miss one session; We come regularly on wednesdays.
- What are the benefits ?
- it calms him down a lot and even his mobility and joins are much improved "

"I have Parkinson's disease and what I have noticed since coming here is that the disease has not progressed. It is a degenerative disease as everyone knows but it seems to have stabilised. the dosage of the medication has not increased, I'm all right, I have a very acceptable quality of life and so I say thanks to shiatsu, thanks to all the volunteers who not only give us a hands-on treatment but also a smile. We spend a peaceful, serene hour, with them, the relationship is light hearted and pleasant "

The training lasts three years and according to experts, its effects are not only felt in the back, the musculoskeletal system, the peripheral nervous system and the internal organs but also on a psychological and emotional level.

"I used to bring a disabled boy to the centre, I saw the positive effects so one day I deceided to take the course."

"I was a patient here because I had personal problems. I was about to retire so I seized the opportunitiy, I have finished the first year. I am here as an apprentice. When I come here, I feel joy because I see people in need of being -as I put it -  pampered ; after one and a half hours with us when the treatment is finished, they are happier, more serene, you see them smile and that makes you very happy"