I had a client come in a while back that had never seen my nor had Sennin-So Shiatsu. He said that a friend of his referred him to me and that he was dealing with chronic back pain and it was only getting worse. He had been to multiple other practitioners with little relief. He did mention that as he exercised the back pain did slightly subside, but it was usually during cardio work outs, like swimming or running on the elliptical. He had a desk job where he sat for a ton of time throughout the day. Now this is something that my colleagues and I see all the time.
The one thing I try and explain to my clients is that muscle movement, in most cases that being your exercise, is what helps to stimulate stagnant blood and energy. When you wake up in the morning and you are all stiff, while you move around you literally start to stimulate that stagnation and the stiffness starts to subside. Stagnation always occurs around weakened areas. This being areas getting very little to no movement. Now a lot of the time I will say this to someone and they will state how they run three to four times a week or are always exercising, so if my "theory" is correct, why are they stagnating? The simple answer is that you don't exercise enough and you spend WAY too much time in stagnating positions. The number one stagnating position is sitting. There is nothing natural about the human body sitting for any long period of time. Not only are you moving a small percentage of your muscles, but you are also contracting many muscles to keep you upright and you are doing this for LONG periods of time. Anytime a muscle contracts around a joint it will impede the full amount of blood trying to pass it, allowing just a portion to get through. If you were moving around (running, climbing, swimming, jumping, etc.) you would create a pumping effect throughout your body. This effect would help to limit stagnant blood flow significantly.
Imagine this: Take our entire culture out. Take away cars, televisions, computers, couches, chairs, everything. Now you're out in nature trying to survive. What would you be doing? You'd be scavenging for food, hunting for food, fighting others for food, running from danger, always working, and if not working... sleeping and resting. This is the life of an animal in nature. These animals don't suffer from the same vascular and health problems we do. I always make the joke, "Have you ever heard of an obese Giraffe suffering of osteoporosis?".
With the client who came to see me, he also mentioned that he exercises plenty so he didn't think that what I said was the problem. That was until I hit a few areas around his hips that are ALWAYS stagnant for people because "people" in our culture all sit for long periods of time. Those areas I hit on him were very sensitive. When I was done working on him he couldn't believe the relief and range of motion differences. I've seen him now multiple times purely for maintenance and he's a believer.
I am always asked what can be done to limit the problems with stagnation. You must balance the pH of your body, that is always number 1 on the list. It is overlooked by darn near everyone. Keep it at an alkaline level, roughly 7.4, which is your body's natural pH. Remember: stress, unnatural food & drink, negativity, lack of movement, and poor breathing are examples of things that can quickly change your body's pH. Next you need to keep as active as possible. If you can ride a bike to work, do it. Not only will you save a ton on gas and car maintenance, let alone a car payment in general, but it will help keep the body moving. Though riding a bike still creates stagnant blood high up in the hip, it is better than driving a car everywhere. Also, don't be afraid to give yourself a massage. Rub areas around your hips, feet, ankles, and shoulders. These are very popular stagnant areas. You wont be doing the exact same relief that this shiatsu can do... but it sure is better than nothing.
Eliminate that stagnation! Give your heart a straight shot through the body. It'll thank you!
Stay Happy, Healthy, and Ready for Anything.
