Zen Shiatsu Family  News 98/99

We’ve had a good year and a busy one, with Healing Arts and Mind Body Spirit Festivals at Victoria and Alexandra Palace. We were again honoured to be chosen to represent shiatsu at the Japanese Summer Festival, a special blessing of return to our roots. Over sixty students and practitioners turned out to help at these big festivals and many smaller ones in and around London. We enjoy the work and learn a lot. A half-page photograph of our stand appeared in the national press, showing Karin giving what looked like a transcendentally wonderful head-neck-shoulder treatment.

Students and Graduate Practitioners continue their wonderful work in volunteer clinics with AIDS/HIV, Drug Rehabilitation, Cancer, Mental Health, and Homeless people. We have made small contributions to the Princess Diana Memorial Fund, to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, to the Homeless and to a Home-shelter for Women.

We have enjoyed Study Days with guest speakers Thea Bailey from the Bristol Cancer Help Centre; Simon Fall, author of "Where Snowflakes Fall - shiatsu as spiritual practice"; Veet John Allan, author of "Ocean of Streams"; Michael Rose, Sufi Mystic and former pupil of Zen Shiatsu Master Shizuto Masunaga; Jon Sandifer, author of "Acupressure", "Feng Shui Astrology" and other books; and in a year celebrating the theme of Shiatsu for Women we welcomed Hilary Totah from Shiatsu of Wisdom who spoke on Shiatsu for Menopause, and Suzanne Yates of Well Mother, with Shiatsu for Maternity and Childbirth. Sue Hix from the Shiatsu Panel came along to update us on assessment technique and help our students maintain their external assessment record of 100% first-time passes!

Our current theme is Shiatsu for Structural Integration and we look forward to greeting Rachel Swindle of the Pilates Foundation, Liz Arundel of the British School and Carola Beresford-Cooke, author of "Shiatsu Theory & Practice."

Our teachers continue their Shiatsu self-development, Kris with regular visits to Master Mantak Chia at the Tao Garden, Michael with Zen Shiatsu Master Ryukyu Endo, author of "Tao Shiatsu", Bernadette and Acey in the Zen School Graduate teacher training programme.

And this is the year of the Website: The full Prospectus, plus Reading Lists, on-line Book Sales, Practitioner Register, and links to the Healing Tao, our sister organisation.

Women students who practice the Healing Tao for self-development and to enhance their healing power have formed a women’s meditation and practice group, the Jade Circle.

Somebody at a festival asked what kind of person does shiatsu? Kind persons of all kinds do shiatsu. Our family includes an: accountant actor administrator air stewardess architect artist banker barmaid beautician bricklayer bus driver charity worker chef childminder computer programmer dancer dispatch rider diver doorman engineer escort financier gambler hairdresser homeopath hostess interpreter labourer landscape gardener lawyer massage therapist mathematician minicab driver model mother musician nurse opera singer party planner pharmacist plasterer priest psychiatric aide psychic psychotherapist public relator receptionist reiki healer secretary shepherd shop assistant snooker club manager stockbroker social worker student stylist systems analyst teacher taxi driver unemployed waitress wardrobe mistress. Welcome Home