Shiatsu.: A direct offshoot of Amma, shiatsu literally means "finger" (shi) "pressure" (atsu). Like acupressure, shiatsu works with vital points and energy meridians and uses finger-thumb-palm pressure. Unlike acupressure, shiatsu also manipulates other parts of the body in the course of treatment. Historically, shiatsu came into being in the early part of the century in reaction to a government order in Japan requiring Amma practitioners to be licensed. To avoid such regulation, massage therapists changed the name of the practice. In 1925, Tokujiro Namikoshi opened the first school of shiatsu in Japan, founded the Shiatsu Institute in 1940, and finally secured licensing by the Japanese government in 1957 after he and his son had traveled to the United States to popularize (and westernize) it in this country. From his tireless efforts, it became an accepted massage form in Japan (where Amma still predominates), and the "Japanese" form of massage in the United States, where most people, even massage practitioners, are unaware of Amma. Only two schools teach Amma in the United States, in contrast to more than 100 in Japan.
Sports
Massage: Sports massage can be either preventive or
corrective in approach. Because it is given to those whose body
tone and condition is tied to performance, it can be as specific
as working over of leg muscles (in a runner, for example), or
kneading muscles to assure optimal flexibility appropriate to
the sport the person is engaged in.
Swedish Massage: This familiar massage form is a practice created by Henri Peter Ling, a student at the University of Stockholm at the turn of the 19th century. His intention was to duplicate the movements of Swedish gymnastics and other types of exercise as a means of stimulating circulation, increasing muscle tone, and creating an all-around balance to the structure and function of the musculoskeletal system. It was used preventively before an athletic workout and remedially to speed the body's recovery from injury. Swedish massage is done with the person covered by a sheet, where each part of the body to be worked on is exposed in turn and then re-covered. The massage practitioner uses kneading, stroking, friction, tapping and even shaking motions. Oil is used to reduce or eliminate friction and to facilitate making long, smooth, kneading strokes over the tissue and muscles of the body. From the recipient's point of view, it is a "feel good" massage, and certainly the most commonly offered and best known.
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©Courtesy of Laurel Olson Cook, author of Spas of California (2002) and Wine Country Spas of California (2003). Visit www.LaurelCook.com