Joyful Milestones On A New Path

The feeling after my first “real” client left the studio was quite honestly overwhelming. In fact, I cried.

Tears of joy, that is.

I say “real” because I had spent the last eight months or so practicing on other students as well as friends and family members who casually and trustingly lent me their bodies as guinea pigs (this term often came jokingly from both them and I). In some ways, working on loved ones had an additional layer of pressure--I knew them, I knew intimately about many of their ongoing layered and dynamic health and emotional issues--and all this made assessing them while being neutral in my Hara diagnosis a bit more challenging. There was also a level of attachment to the outcome that created a level of cloudiness around the artfully intuitive nature of Shiatsu work. But still...there was an ease of familiarity, of mutual care...of play and laughter, even. I knew how much they love me and want for me to be successful in this new journey of learning Shiatsu, and that it would be perfectly okay for me to be clumsy at times or have to pause to review a meridian (which certainly happened).

I had told myself that I wouldn’t worry about seeking actual clients for another six months or so. But when Saundra approached me (name changed for anonymity’s sake), she insisted that I treat her as a client and charge full price for a session, she wanted me to know I was worth it. I’ll admit this felt uncomfortable, imposter syndrome fully setting in. A few years prior, I had a full blown career in the Non-Profit world doing meaningful work, and can tell you all about many different things in the business development world. To be seen in this healing role, though, still felt vulnerable. Despite my pause, I honored her request with grace (while still offering a sliding scale, which I told myself had more to do with my values as a practitioner wanting to help all people access this beautiful work...which is, well, also true).

I studied and studied beforehand. I got to the studio an hour early to quickly set up and study some more. And then she arrived. I greeted her and had her fill out all the official documents, legal releases and medical histories and such. She shared that she had had a pretty severe medical incident less than a year prior. If I would have known this ahead of time, I would have felt much more nervous. But there I was, sharing with her things she can do on her own and ways I could support her in the approaching session. I’ve been studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and bodies for many years, and the Shiatsu work has been such a wonderful way to bring it all together. And here I was...using it! To support someone’s healing, even before I had put my hands on her.

As we got started with the session, I sat next to her and prayed, as we do before gently laying our hands on the belly for a Hara scan and diagnosis. I recalled how my hands shook in my first class, I worried for a moment that they would today. But I released that thought, and asked to be guided in supporting Saundra through the hands and energy I’d be offering her.

I also asked that the work would heal us both, as “the giver becomes the receiver” is one of my favorite values and principles of Shiatsu. In my past doing social work, I’ve experienced so much burnout and secondary trauma. I had also always been interested in learning massage therapy, but avoided taking that path because I had heard from so many about how hard it was on your own body. Shiatsu is so lovely in that the healing naturally comes full circle without the hours of unrelated self-care needed in other fields.

The session began. My hands were steady and confident. Saundra had never had Shiatsu before, and I knew she had no idea what to expect. I watched her face throughout the session, a big smile throughout. I felt so excited that she was enjoying the work. I realized later how mutual that excitement was.

After the session, I told her a few more things that she could do at home. She listened attentively as I answered her questions and shared ways I could support her in additional sessions if she were to be interested in coming back.

She was. She expressed wanting to come back every month! Not just my first ‘real’ session, but my first repeating client! The next day when I checked in with her, she told me she’d been telling all of her friends about how wonderful the session was and asked if I’d make gift certificates for her to give to them for the holidays.

Wow.

I feel honored to be able to do this work, that people let me into their worlds and share their ailments and allow me into their physical space to support them. I feel honored to be seen and appreciated in this role of Shiatsu practitioner, and so incredibly honored to learn from my teachers Kumiko Kayanama of the Five Lights Center in New York City and Yoshi Nakano of the Zen Tribe Wellness Dojo in Tucson, Arizona.

Shiatsu is one of the most meaningful healing modalities I’ve ever come across, both in receiving sessions for myself and being able to now offer them. I can’t wait to see where else this journey takes me. It’s my hope that many more people are able to experience the transformative nature of Shiatsu, both giving and receiving, as I believe together we could truly bring so much healing to the world through the power of touch.

Caitlin is a Shiatsu practitioner based in Tucson, Arizona. Her professional background is in non-profit development, business strategy, marketing, events and fundraising. She also does various community work and believes in building networks of mutual aid so that we can create systems of support in these times of great need. 

Within the wellness world, she has been learning about traditional medicine and body work for some years now. She's also trained as an acudetox specialist through NADA and enjoys practicing QiGong and making art.

As the Student Liaison for the Five Lights Center, she is excited to support both new and continuing students as they learn Shiatsu. If you have any questions about our courses, you are always welcome to reach out to her at admin@fivelightscenter.com.