Shiatsu
Centers &
Eastern Medicine Practitioners

At age 5, Chilán started learning indigenous healing practices and herbal medicine from his uncle and others in his community. This exposure to healing work at a young age imprinted him with the outlook and experiences that inform his natural approach to medicine. Through his youth, continuing up to the present he continues to learn and practice traditional healing ways. By the time Chilán was in his early 20s, his search for a career path led him to the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts where he studied Zen Shiatsu. This exposure to body work and physical medicine sparked an interest that led him to study Chi Nei Tsang, Thai Massage, Tui Na and eventually Acupuncture. In 2014, Chilán graduated with a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College. Upon completion of the Masters program, he chose to further cultivate his skills by specializing in Meridian Therapy through advanced trainings organized by the High Desert Hari Society. Meridian Therapy is a Japanese style of acupuncture that draws heavily on palpation skills that he had already developed through years of Shiatsu practice. As part of this training, Chilán has participated in several pediatric seminars and had the opportunity to learn from world renowned experts on pediatric acupuncture. Currently, Chilán continues to hone his skills through clinical practice, telemedicine and teaching. Chilán is well known for his subtle and effective techniques, genuine compassion and insightful honesty.

Many podcasts and informative videos can be found on his YouTube channel.

The Master Sharpening Stone

Location: Tucson, AZ

Email: themastersharpeningstone@gmail.com

https://www.themastersharpeningstone.com

Yoshi Nakano is a second generation Asian body worker who has been inspired by numerous teachers including; Thich Nhat Hanh, Dr.Vasant Lad, Ohashi, Mantak Chia, Peter Holmes, Takemori, his father and uncle.

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At the age of eleven, Nakano began to practice anma massage, brush calligraphy, martial arts and moxibustion.  In New York City, he studied, practiced, and taught shiatsu at the Ohashi Institute and the Bateman Institute for Health Education.  Nakano also taught at the Omega Institute, New York, trained body workers at Kingston Health Spa in Jamaica and Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese health spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico and served on the faculty of the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts in Tucson, Arizona.  He is a member of the guest faculty at the Prajna Yoga Temple in Santa Fe, New Mexico, directed by Tias and Surya Little.

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Drawing on more than three decades of experience and training in Eastern healing modalities (Zen Shiatsu, Qi Gong, Yoga-asana, Cooking and Zen Brush Meditation), Yoshi realizes it is now time to erase the borderlines within Asian healing traditions.  His training course, Zen Shiatsu Touch, integrates the healing arts of Tao and Ayurveda.

In addition to practicing shiatsu, Yoshi is an abstract brush calligrapher.  Nakano currently resides with his family in the Southwestern United States, home of the  Zen Tribe Wellness Dojo(www.zentribewellness.com) for Zen Shiatsu Touch and Zen Brush Meditation.

“Zen Shiatsu Touch is a guiding tool to awaken our instinctual healing abilities. This practice allows us to see what cannot be seen, and to embrace our intuitive  healing journey for well-being.” 
—Yoshi Nakano

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Location: Tucson, AZ & Santa Fe, NM

Phone: (505) 490-2938
Email: zentribewellness@gmail.com

Virginia graduated from the Ohashi Institute in NYC over 30 years ago. She was very excited to learn and share this healing art form of bodywork with her friends, many who went on to become professional shiatsu practitioners. Her interest in shiatsu came from her background in dance and her curiosity with Traditional Chinese Medicine. After graduating from the Ohashi Institute in 1989, Virginia worked as a shiatsu consultant at the Institute for two years before opening her own private practice in downtown Manhattan. Fulfilling a dream to travel and teach shiatsu in places she had previously lived, Virginia went on to organize and teach shiatsu classes in Brazil and Italy. In the late 1990’s, she taught shiatsu at Health Choices for the Healing Arts, a massage therapy school in Belle Meade, NJ.

Around this time she also discovered the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies where Master Ohashi taught courses. At the Omega Institute, Virginia organized shiatsu classes for the staff and was a shiatsu practitioner at the Omega Wellness Center for several summers. In the early 2000’s, Virginia left NYC for Tucson, Arizona where she taught at the Desert Institute for the Healing Arts. Virginia now dedicates her time to sharing her shiatsu and self-care techniques at conferences and non-profit organizations.

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Location: Tuscon, AZ & Omega Institute, NY

Phone: (502) 481-3385 virgamber@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaMillerBodycareYoga/

Cristian Laniauskas. Graduate in Diagnostic Imaging, Shiatsu Namikoshi Therapist since 2019, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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Facebook: Cristian JapanShiatsu

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Instagram: cristianjapanshiatsu

Margarete Eller, Ohashiatsu® Senior Instructor, is the founder and director of Ohashiatsu in Austria. From 1999 to 2002, she was trained by Master Ohashi at the Ohashi Institute in New York and has since taught the Ohashiatsu program in various countries of Europe, the USA, and Canada, as well as online.

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Born and raised in Germany, Margarete first became a gardener and then completed her masters studies in Urban Planning at the University of Dortmund. Due to her countryside childhood, she always felt naturally connected to the mysteries of life, which led her on a spiritual, body-oriented life journey. Through various practices, such as Bioenergetics, Tantra, Macrobiotics, Kyudo, Tai Ji, and Yoga, she encountered Sufism and Ohashiatsu, two paths that keep filling her life with lightness, harmony, and joy.

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Margarete's Ohashiatsu sessions and courses are an expression of her gratitude and desire to share this gift with others. She’s offering her courses in-person and online.

Location: Vienna, Austria

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Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ohashiatsu-in-Austria-125767250877111

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YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPEmymxfVFQkIr2BUBvZKlw

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Email: margarete.eller@chello.at

Cell: +43 699 1922 7827

Mike Mandl has been living his Shiatsu passion for more than 30 years. He is the director of the International Academy for Hara Shiatsu in Vienna, organized the big European Shiatsu Congress in Vienna, wrote many books on Shiatsu and TCM, and still is a full-time shiatsu practitioner focused on complex cases.

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Mike Mandl / International Academy for Hara Shiatsu

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Mariahilfer Strasse 115

1060 Vienna / Austria

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www.mikemandl.eu

www.hara-shiatsu.com

I have had the great fortune of studying, practicing and teaching Shiatsu since 1981. Yep, I'm a very mature student. Having started with Macrobiotics style Shiatsu in London and Switzerland, Ohashiatsu, Zen Shiatsu and many others along my journey. I am grateful to have founded the British School of Shiatsu-Do in London in 1983, which grew into 7 franchised schools in the UK. Together with my family, I left the UK in 2002 and moved here to Australia. I am an ex-Chairperson and Senior Examiner of the British Shiatsu Society.

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I've written a few books, taught classes around the world, in 13 countries throughout Europe and the Middle East, and still operate my Living Longer Younger Clinic on the Gold Coast in Australia. I offer Shiatsu-Do, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Life Strategies, EnergisedYou remedial exercises and associated modalities Sun, Sand, Surf, Shiatsu-Do. Has a nice ring to it!

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Soon to be 65 yrs young, I promote my Living Longer Younger Blueprint philosophy through my practice and teaching EnergisedYou and Boxing classes. I am the oldest debut MMA cage fighter (aged 59) in the Pan-Pacific and still compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I've always found it essential to be a healthy example for others, especially as a 'health expert'. Walk the Talk of your Shiatsu life, strive to be fitter and healthier than most people you treat. My legacy is to give people the 'tools' for living a longer and more dynamic life through conscious Wellbeing and making better daily choices.

FB: Living Longer Younger Blueprint

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Instagram: Livinglongeryounger

Frans Copers, of Ghent, Belgium, discovered Asian and Japanese medicine and macrobiotics through Dr. Marc Van Cauwenberghe while a medical student in Ghent. During his macrobiotic studies at the East West Foundation in the USA, he had his first contact with shiatsu through Bill Painter, Michio Kushi and Shizuko Yamamoto. After receiving his certificates in Macrobiotic Shiatsu, Frans returns to Europe and continues to deepen his knowledge in shiatsu studies with Wataru Ohashi, Patrick McCarty, Rex Lassalle and others. In Belgium, Frans and his wife open a successful health-food restaurant while he continued to teach and give classes locally and abroad. They later sell the restaurant, traveling to Japan to study macrobiotics diets and philosophies at Nippon CI, Aikido at the Hombu Dojo, and shiatsu at Masunaga’s IOKAI Center in Tokyo.

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Returning to Belgium, Frans opens a shiatsu practice and school of shiatsu, while offering classes at other schools and centers. He joins the International Macrobiotic Shiatsu Society and starts a Belgium branch known as Belgium Shiatsu Federation, and he is accepted as a member of the European Shiatsu Federation in 1993. He held Secretary and President positions at both organizations. In the 1990s, he began his studies in Seiki techniques with Kishi Akinobu Sensei. After Kishi’s death in 2012, together with Kishi’s widow, he continues to offer Seiki Soho classes and workshops.

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Today, although officially retired, Frans still practices and teaches shiatsu and Seiki, and gives Macrobiotic consultations in Belgium and other European countries while keeping up with his Aikido practice. Frans regularly returns to Japan to maintain contact with his teachers and discover new knowledge. He also is an invited guest teacher in several countries worldwide including Argentina, Hong Kong, Canada, The Netherlands and France.

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Kimura Shiatsu & Seiki  Instituut  /   Seiki Ÿ  Shiatsu ®

Lange Kruisstraat 6E 9000 Gent, Belgium

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Tel: +32 478 564 866  /  + 32 9 225 29 04

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www.seikisoho.be

Email: franscopers@skynet.be

Stephane Cuypers was born in Liege, Belgium and continues to live and work in Belgium. His first job was as a Dutch and English teacher. Later, he started working for an insurance company, eventually becoming the Head of Communications. 

Besides his “normal” career, Stephane has always been interested in the East and in all its occurrences, from philosophy and spirituality, to body practices. He practices Aikidô and Kyudô, learned some basic Japanese language and started meditation on his own. He travelled several times to Japan, which he found to be a very fascinating country with a powerful energy.

While in Belgium, he had the opportunity to meet Master Kawada, who accepted Stephane as one of his students. He learned Shiatsu at the Yoseidô Shiatsu School, then he sought other trainings with Japanese and European teachers, so as to learn different ways of practicing Shiatsu. He feels there are many interesting ways, indeed, not contradictory, showing different aspects of complexity. 

After quitting his job, he started a Shiatsu practice in Brussels, and it very quickly became his sole activity. He felt that first it is important to build experience in the practice room, then maybe you will have something to share with others. So he had the pleasure to co-found a Shiatsu dôjô in Belgium, named Ôdô Shiatsu. Learning at Ôdô is at the same time, both a deep personal and professional experience.

Research with an open and inclusive mind is very important to Stephane. He wrote a book on Shiatsu subtitled Un Art Japonais. Practicing Shiatsu is real art, much more than mere technique, and to Stephane, Shiatsu is truly Japanese, with an inclusive mind and a pragmatic approach. 

Stephane describes his shiatsu journey:

“Looking back, I feel very grateful to have crossed the path of Shiatsu and to practice it every day. It is a really exciting way of life!
Looking forward, I see that the way has no end and that there are lots of discoveries still to be done and to be shared… Passion for Life, Passion for Shiatsu!”


Read and discover more on

www.shinmon-shiatsu.com
www.odoshiatsu.be

Email: shinmon.shiatsu@gmail.com

Cell: +32 471 40 56 95

Sandra Ryusan Fernandez is a Zen Shiatsu Therapist, Teacher and Life Coach. She is a practicing Buddhist and is passionate about Astrology and helping people grow with natural ways of living. 

Sandra’s main focus is on helping women empower themselves through balancing their mind and emotions when facing difficult and not-so difficult life circumstances, from conditions like cancer or other challenging health conditions to simply wanting to take better care of themselves. Through using TCM, Zen Shiatsu and Zen Coaching Sandra assists people with their health and balance at a deep energetic level. 

She also publishes her blog, LE ZEN URBAIN: ZenPlicité, where she shares tips and advice based on the “energies available” in the moment. This is available to all of her clients, subscribers and to the general public.
Sandra has been working professionally as a Zen Shiatsu Therapist since 2008 having trained extensively at the Habalkagual School of Zen Shiatsu in Malaga, Spain and she is a professional expert in Integral Coaching. She offers Zen Shiatsu therapies in-person and Zen Coaching one-on-one, in-person and online.

Location: Brussels, Belgium

0032 0483.512.650
Email: sandra.shiatsuzen@gmail.com
www.shiatsuzen.net

Matthew Sweigart began his shiatsu journey at the Ohashi Institute, NYC in 1985. He went on to graduate, became a Certified Ohashiatsu Instructor and founded Ohashiatsu Chicago in 1988. After retiring from the Ohashi Institute in 2003, he went on to write the HeartMind Shiatsu curriculum, including the practice of Meridian Gesture Qigong. He is the author of several books and manuals including Pathways of Qi, the Meridian Gestures and Functions Chart and a full length DVD. He currently lives and practices the healing arts in Northern California, and broadcasts live classes world-wide via Zoom video conferencing.

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Matthew Sweigart, CI-AOBTA®

Email: info@heartmindhealingarts.com
Cell: 530-870-3482

www.HeartMindHealingArts.com

Author of Pathways of Qi, Harmonizing Heaven and Earth DVD and Companion Guide, HeartMind Shiatsu Meridian Gestures and Functions chart, Elemental Meditations, and Touching Ki, a Beginner's Guide to Shiatsu. Director of Communications with the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA.org). 

"Do not put a sword into the hands of a man who cannot dance!"

Dr. DoAnn T. Kaneko is passionate to promote optimum health, happiness, and a more peaceful world by educating adults and children about Eastern and Quantum healing as well as Lotus Faith Healing medicine.

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A doctor of Oriental Medicine, acupuncturist, Shiatsu Anma practitioner, and author, he has 50 years of experience practicing and teaching the healing arts. Among his past achievements were founding the non-profit educational institute the Shiatsu Massage School of California, and the Tao Healing Arts, a holistic clinic. He has taught numerous students and successfully treated many patients with energetic and vibrational medicine.

He was one of five pioneers who brought shiatsu to the U.S from Japan. In the 1970s, he worked with Wataru Ohashi at The Ohashi Institute developing shiatsu programs in the USA. He innovated Kaneko Shiatsu Anma, integrating both the Shiatsu and Anma styles of massage therapy. A new vision in teaching Kaneko Shiatsu-Anma is to create it for family practice and make it as popular as yoga. Given the importance of the healing power of a touch now more than ever, it's the perfect time to incorporate Kaneko Shiatsu Anma into regular home healing practices among family and friends.

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For his contribution to the healing community, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from AOBTA and World Massage Festival, as well as a Hall of Fame award from the latter. In addition to teaching Kaneko Shiatsu Anma, he plans on continuing community classes online and offering Shiatsu Anma massage at IPSB. Please view our website for upcoming classes and view his testimonials page for client and student feedback.

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Dr. Kaneko is the author of the book DoAnn’s Doin - Healing Ourselves, and he also published Shiatsu and Anma Therapy – DoAnn’s Short & Long Form (2004). He enjoys teaching the healing arts to children and parents in his picture book, The Bamboo Princess and the Music Hands Man, and through his children's DVD, Music Hands and Monkey Business, which includes basic healing activities and exercises for the family.

Dr. Kaneko is certified by NCCOMS Diplomate ID#1953 and NCBTMB, CE Provider #1514

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Location: Santa Monica, CA

www.kanekohealingarts.com

www.chi-time.com

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Address: PO Box 591 Santa Monica, CA 90406

Phone Cell 310-210-8633, Home 310 -459 -7239

Alan Saruwatari is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach where he earned his BA in Psychology. He then studied Shiatsu Anma Therapy under the guidance of Dr. DoAnn Tsuneo Kaneko, and graduated from the Shiatsu Massage School of California receiving the Kaneko Award for outstanding student.

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Alan has been in the healing arts since 1985 working with physical therapists, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, massage therapists and art therapists. He opened his clinic in 2009, One, Natural Healing Center in Torrance, California.

As a shiatsu anma therapist, he developed his own form of focused treatment called Shoten Shiatsu Anma and has successfully treated a variety of pain conditions at an over 90% success rate.

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Alan has been teaching for over thirty years and has provided classes, workshops, and training at local, state, and national levels. He is the developer of Business Wellness: Taking Care of the Company’s Team to help businesses take better care of their employees.

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Together with Dr. Kaneko, he is teaching Kaneko Shiatsu Anma moving the art in new directions.

Leisa Bellmore is a shiatsu therapist, speaker, and researcher. She has been practicing Namikoshi Shiatsu since 2001, after graduating with honors from Kensen Saito’s Shiatsu Academy of Tokyo. Since 2010, Leisa has been part of the integrative team at Toronto Western Hospital’s Artists’ Health Centre, collaborating with biomedical and complementary practitioners. Her person-centered, evidence-based holistic approach serves the mental, emotional and physical health needs of creative and performing artists well. She has presented and published around the world. Leisa frequently offers lectures for shiatsu and other healthcare practitioners, and for the public. She is a Past President of Natural Health Practitioners of Canada, sits on the Massage Therapy Research Foundation Writing Committee and volunteers with the Shiatsu Research Network.

For seventeen years, Leisa volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House Toronto, providing shiatsu to children with life-threatening health conditions and their stressed families. She has published several research studies, all of which were awarded funding grants. In 2020, she completed an M.Sc. in Complementary Medicine Research with a study on The Experience of Shiatsu for Care-Partners and Persons Living with Dementia: A Qualitative Pilot Study. Leisa’s professional interests include neurological conditions and self-management for chronic conditions. In her spare time, Leisa enjoys rock climbing, traveling, and improving her Spanish and French.

Artists' Health Centre

Toronto Western Hospital

University Health Network

Website: leisabellmore.com

Instagram: @shiatsuheals

Facebook: Leisa-Bellmore-Shiatsu-Therapist

Email: leisa@leisabellmore.com

Email: leisa.bellmore@uhn.ca

Cell: 416.844.1487

I am Violante and I have been working in the field of holistic care for more than 10 years. With a solid background in Yoga and Zen practices, I offer Shiatsu treatments and Chōwa Do Ki (energy) regulation therapy.

Born in Florence, in the cradle of the Renaissance, I grew up surrounded by beauty and art. I lived in Spain, Austria, and India before calling Canada home.

Since 2014, I trained in the Zen Path under the teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the community of Plum Village in France.  I found the application of these teachings in the body and in the holistic care field in Toronto where I started study Zen Shiatsu under the guidance of Sensei Adarsa Chakra.

I am a certified Yoga instructor and I now combine this knowledge with the Meridian map based on the traditional East Asian medicine.

I am a member in good standing of the Zen Shiatsu Alliance of Canada and a professional Holistic Practitioner.

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Website: https://www.violantebinazzi.com/

Email: violante.binazzi@gmail.com

Adarsa Chakra Sensei has been studying and practicing Zen Shiatsu since 1980.

As head instructor at Zen Shiatsu institute and later Kokoro Dojo from 1985 until 2009 he taught many students facilitating their growth to become excellent therapists and in some cases instructors.

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Chakra Sensei is known for his forthright, energetic and clear style along with his ability to hold the space for students to develop themselves as strong practitioners.

Since 2010 Chakra Sensei has been working on the development of Chōwa Do alongside mentoring Zen Shiatsu therapists through training days and retreats.

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Presently he is Head Instructor of the Chōwa Dojo International Zen Shiatsu Training Program and Head Instructor of the Chōwa Do program.

(T’agyol) Daniel Adler is a senior student of Adarsa Sensei and has been practicing Zen Shiatsu and Acupuncture since 1999. He brings a deep passion and enthusiasm to his treatments and teaching, believing that they are living practices that develop and grow through continuous application and experience.

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T’agyol was inspired to study and practice eastern medicine when he discovered Zen Shiatsu and Acupuncture as effective and non-invasive forms of medical care that allow him to provide support and treatment for the average person. His one on one attention to his client's concerns establishes a firm and supportive relationship between practitioner and client.

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He is currently expanding his practice expertise by studying Japanese Kampo (Herbal) Medicine under the guidance of Nigel Dawes.

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Tagyol Daniel Adler R.Ac

Location: Chowa Dojo

260 Spadina Ave. Suite 309, Toronto Canada

Tel: +647 572 7962

Email: tagyol.chowa@icloud.com

https://adlerclinic.ca/

Sonja denElzen, R.Ac, is an acupuncturist, a licensed zen shiatsu practitioner and a RYT500 yoga instructor. She received her Traditional Chinese Medicine Acupuncture Diploma from Eight Branches Academy of Eastern Medicine in Toronto, and completed her Zen Shiatsu training in 2010, studying with Sensei Adarsa Chakra, Era Birfer and (T’agyol) Daniel Adler. Sonja has also been training in Daoist martial arts and Qi Gong with Lindsey Wei of Wudang Whitehorse.

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Founder of Cedar Healing Arts, Sonja’s vision is to create a space supporting and inspiring people on their journey to well-being while cultivating deeper connections to their higher selves, each other, and nature. She is deeply inspired by nature, Traditional Chinese Medicine and its holistic view of the natural elements, and the macro cosmos and how it is reflected in the microcosmos of our beings. She is passionate about the necessity for humanity to cultivate a co-creative relationship with nature along with being more self-empowered in one’s own well-being. Sonja’s approach is a holistic one that addresses body, mind, and spirit.

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“Zen Shiatsu has a profound ability to calm the nervous system and allow this deep state of relaxation (that) releases the body’s energy system (Qi) to be redirected to engage in its own innate healing powers. Shiatsu helps the body release stuck energy and return to its natural state of flow.” - Sonja denElzen

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https://www.cedarhealingarts.com/sonja-denelzen

Email: info@cedarhealingarts.com

Address: 193 maple heights dr, Gravenhursg, Ont P1p1r1 Canada

Phone: 01 (416) 823-0700

Mihael Mamychshvili, a creator of the NeuroPath Reset Method, experienced traumatic events in his youth and early adulthood. What he now calls ‘The Pain Story,’ sent him on a self-discovery journey where he immersed himself into silent retreats during his early 20’s. This led him to discover the body-mind connection and helped to create a clear path towards his purpose, ‘to help shine the light for others.

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When he was 25 years old, Mihael discovered shiatsu. For over 20 years, he has devoted his life his craft, and to working with trauma and chronic pain patients. His innovative approach to the human body and his broad knowledge and experience has led to a reputation as a therapist who can initiate transformative change.

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Michael is a founder and former CEO of Angel Hands Integrative Centre, an integrative team of therapists who develop trauma and complex pain treatment programs. He is also the first complementary therapist to be invited to work with the VGH Cardiology Healthy Heart and Rehab Program. Through his work, Mihael consults with trauma-focused nonprofits and organizations and is featured in news, media, and published articles, locally and internationally.

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www.angelhands.ca

Email: mihael@angelhands.ca

Address: 210 - 2190 Fir Street, Vancouver, Canada

WhatsApp: 604.619.1926

Ambria Mathew, Ph.D. (Ontario, Canada) Ambria is a teacher of Holistic Wellness. She has a Ph.D. in Alternative Medicine that focused on the study of Yoga & Ayurveda. She is a musician, a traveler, an author, and a lifelong student at heart, who believes her journey is a testament to the fact that life is a beautiful adventure.

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Ambria spent over a decade sharing her passion for Yoga & Ayurveda Holistic Wellness all over the world with daily classes, workshops, Yoga Teacher Training, chanting, and retreats. With over a decade of teaching yoga worldwide (USA, Canada, Ireland, India, Vietnam, Spain to name a few countries), she has been a witness to the healing power of yoga, and how it transcends age, language, and cultural diversity. After studying various forms of bodywork, and graduating from Ohashiatsu school in NYC in 2010.

The knowledge of Shiatsu with regard to Meridians & the Five elements was parallel to the aspects of Chakras, Nadis, and Five Elements as taught in Ayurveda & Yoga. Ambria learned to unite these practices in yoga classes by sequencing vinyasa classes with relation to the five elements, changing seasons, times of day, and created class themes weaved with sequential postures, to help find balance and rejuvenate the body for practitioners.

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A few years ago, while teaching yoga teacher training in Spain, she returned to Canada to help her Father on a miraculous recovery from a brain injury. She is currently sharing her love for yoga with a Neuro-Diverse group of people in Southern Ontario and working on recordings and writings for future release.

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She is grateful and blessed for the guidance of incredible teachers: her parents, Sri Dharma Mittra, Tao Porchon Lynch, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, David Swenson, Master Ohashi, and the written teachings Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar, Swami Rudrananda, and Dr. Vasant Lad, who all inspire her on their ongoing worldwide teaching opportunities.

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Location: Ontario, Canada

Email: ambria.mathew@gmail.com

Instagram: RiyaYoga

Robert Posen, ND is a 2009 graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) and maintains a naturopathic practice in Toronto, Canada. He uses shiatsu in his practice for both assessment and physical treatment.

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Robert began Zen Shiatsu training with Adarsa Chakra and T’agyol (Daniel) Adler in 2004. Since 2006, he has been studying Tao Shiatsu, whenever possible, with Endo Sensei and Alex Pereklita.

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“Shiatsu is a wonderful therapy to relieve physical, emotional, and mental suffering. I enjoy the ability to treat using touch in various ways to support healing relief.” Robert Posen

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Email: posenrobert@gmail.com

Address: 1-539 Brunswick Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 2Z6 Canada

Phone: (647) 470-4760

I graduated as a Seiki Shiatsu Therapist from the Seiki Shiatsu International School, Santiago, Chile in 2010, and since then I have a studio where I work.

I decided to study Seiki Shiatsu because I felt the need to give something back to the universe as a way of giving thanks for all the benefits received in my life, and I considered the best way to do it was helping other people through Seiki Shiatsu.

Besides practicing Shiatsu I do Ayurvedic Massage (Abhyanga), Ayurvedic Yoga, and I am also a Buddhist Meditation Instructor (Shamatha).

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Location: Santiago, Chile.

Phone: (56) 9 841 831 09
Email: jimena.federici@gmail.com

Instagram: jimena_federici_terapias

Facebook: Jimena Federici Terapeuta Seiki Shiatsu

I am a Ohashiatsu graduate, and have been seeing clients for shiatsu sessions full time since 2000. In 2016, my husband and I expanded our business, to create Body & Soul, anchoring the business district in the small neighborhood of Linwood in Cincinnati, Ohio. I love building long term relationships with my clients, and supporting them with reflection and creative problem solving as they set and reach their health goals. I attribute a lot of my success to how I use the Shiatsu sessions as an opportunity to educate my clients on how to best care for themselves between sessions. I am always growing my own body of knowledge through online classes, reading medical journals, newsletters, books, and podcasts. So my clients have come to know me as a great resource to help them navigate the modern medical world with shiatsu principles, and holistic thinking. I try to give individualized attention focusing on small lifestyle changes that over time make a large difference.

Certified Ohashiatsu Practitioner since 2002. Certified Synergetic Structural Integration Practitioner since 2002. Certified in Systemic Constellation Work in 2005. Trained in Thai Yoga Massage and Ayurvedic Nutrition 2007. Yoga Alliance National Certified Yoga Teacher RYT 200 since 2008 and RYT 500 certified since 2018.

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Email: pmsheerin@yahoo.com

​bodysoulcincy.com

Cell: 513-313-1569

Lorelei Chang is a renowned modern dance artist, Qigong teacher, and a Chinese calligrapher. Lorelei and her twin sister, Mai Nakanishi are world-class artists who pioneered combining Chinese calligraphy and modern dance with Qigong. They have performed internationally including South Korea during the 2018 Winter Olympics. Lorelei has studied both Chinese herbology and Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is a graduate of the Five Elements Shiatsu apprenticeship program at Meridians Studio.
She is the founder and artistic director of dancEnlight and a board member of the National Qigong Association.

She currently teaches Qigong, Yoga and dance at the Connecticut Concert Ballet and at the South Windsor Senior Center. Lorelei is a certified instructor of Radiant Lotus Women’s Qigong.

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Location:

Cell: 860-558-6146
www.dancenlight.org

Lianne is a shiatsu therapist and yoga instructor in the Hartford, Connecticut area. She is a 1997 graduate of the Boston Shiatsu School and studied with Kikuko Zutrau Miyazaki, Kiiko Matsumoto, Cindy Banker, Carola Beresford-Cooke, Pauline Sasaki, and Cliff Andrews. She earned a BA from Clark University and has an extensive background in the visual and performing arts. She is a 500-hour Embodyoga teacher which combines the teachings of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and body/mind centering techniques in order to delve deeper, with compassion and curiosity into the body’s varied systems.

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She taught Asian Massage Techniques at Bancroft School of Massage Therapy from 1998-2004 and practiced shiatsu at UMASS Memorial Hospital’s Complementary Health Center from 1998-2002. She ived in Corrales, NM outside of Albuquerque, from 2005-2015, practicing & teaching Asian healing arts such as shiatsu, meridian-based yoga, and self-care classes to groups, individuals, and families.

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She is available for private shiatsu tutorials and practice sessions to Five Lights Center students in Connecticut, Rhode Island & Massachusetts.

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Location: Newington, CT

Cell: 505-903-9047
Email: gsrlally@gmail.com

My interest in shiatsu began with macrobiotic practice in my hometown of Sydney, Australia, in 1974. I left Australia in February 1978, with the intention of studying macrobiotics in Boston. On the way, I stopped off in Tokyo, where I met Masunaga. He had studied macrobiotics, and to me, his philosophy and shiatsu practice had a similar spirit, so I decided to study with him and his staff at the Iokai Shiatsu Center, which I did over the next four years.

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In July 1982, I finally went, with my wife, to Boston, and was invited by Michio Kushi, to teach at the Kushi Institute, which I did over the next 15 years. In 1989, I published my first book, The Macrobiotic Way of Zen Shiatsu (later reprinted as The Natural Way of Zen Shiatsu). In this book, I endeavored to share all the techniques I learnt at Iokai, along with an in-depth theory section including philosophy and diagnosis in shiatsu, and its connection with macrobiotics, as well as incorporating an exercise regimen I had been teaching in Boston.

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I have been working continuously as a shiatsu practitioner since 1982. Having done thousands of treatments, I have become especially interested in the principles of actually pressing in shiatsu. Since 1989, without exception, I have always used a cloth over the body, which surprising as it may seem, in a subtle way, totally transformed and improved my practice. It is this technique I would like to share with you today.

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Location: Fairfield, CT & New York, NY

Cell: 203-526-0188
Email: davidsergel@optimum.net

Kumiko Kanayama is a practitioner and teacher of Intuitive Shiatsu™. Intuitive Shiatsu™ is a method she developed after many years of study with her uncle, Ohashi, a pioneer of shiatsu in the West. After many years of teaching as a Certified Ohashiatsu® Instructor, Kumiko sets out to her own to pursue her discoveries about the intuitive dimensions of Shiatsu, and impart her growing knowledge to others.

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Kumiko’s years of study and practice of Ohashiatsu helped her develop sensitivity to and awareness of the Ki energy in self and others, the focus that gives us life. She came to understand that the state of Ki balance and harmony promotes and maintains health and well-being, of body, mind, and spirit.

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Kumiko became a Certified Ohashiatsu® Consultant in 1991 to work with people of all ages, all walks of life, and every ethnic and spiritual background. In 2001, she became a Certified Ohashiatsu® Instructor after experiencing 9/11 in NYC and its effects upon the New York city community.

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She has taught courses in both the US and Europe. Her intellectual curiosity and special interests led her to create and develop numerous elective courses and workshops: Review of the Elements, Neck, Curious Meridian, Hara Assessment, Tsubo Workshop and many more for professionals and pre-professional students.

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During and subsequent to her completion of Ohashiatsu training, Kumiko studied with many eminent teachers, including Dr. David Coulter, the author of Anatomy and Hatha Yoga, Domenico Bassi, Siegrid Maidon, Silvia Marchesa Rossi, Mitchell Wolf, Sam Berlind and Maureen Miller. Kumiko also learned from Jeffrey Yuen, Sister Jeanne Mera, Dr. Diane Connelly, the author of Traditional Acupuncture: The Law of the Five Elements, and Dr. Albrecht Heyer, who is a producer of Heyer Insights. One of Kumiko’s most inspiring teachers, Pamela Hannay developed Shiatsu techniques for work with animals. Siatsu Therapy for Horses benefits not only the horses, but also creates more strength and balance in the body of the practitioner. Pamela describes her techniques as “the dance of celebration of the energy.” When the giver connects with the energy of the horse, the session flows and there is no intellectual decision guiding the work; it is pure instinct and joy.

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Kumiko has studied Sounds Vibrational therapy, Color therapy, Dowsing therapy, Reiki, Reflexology, Amma therapy, Tai Chi Chung, Aroma therapy, Moxa, medical astrology, Zen meditation, Sotai, Yoga, and Buddhist training. Early in her adult life, she was a student of the Zen arts of Japanese jewelry and ceramic makings. She has also pursued studies at several holistic centers in US: New York Open Center, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Himalayan Institute and Integral Yoga Institute.

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By working with her clients and teachers, sharing with her students and being with her young daughter, Kumiko continually hones her Intuitive Shiatsu™
technique. She talks through hands without words, awakening the spirit by waiting, focusing, releasing and restoring the energy in the tsubos and meridian lines.

Kumiko founded Go Shiki Kan; Five Lights Center in 2012, continues to practice and share the love of art of Shiatsu in New York city. Dedicated to her Mother; Yasuko Kanayama and her Father, Naohiro Kanayama, to expresses her focus on joyful and instinctive giving, strong community, and the light and energy of hands, both literal and symbolic.

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Her work is characterized by her deep sense of spirituality and her strong commitment to working intuitively. Kumiko is a versatile practitioner: she is capable of exerting tremendous and focused power in her treatments (reducing the strongest of bodies to a pliant medium), but her fluid physicality and receptive, gentle nature enables her to combine well-tuned lightness with incisive pressure as needed. Her philosophy is deeply entrenched in her commitment to spiritual serenity and human touch communication as a means to harmony, not only in her own life but in the lives of those she touches.

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Cell: 917-721-0823

Email: Kumiko@fivelightscenter.com

Cell: 904 537 2100

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Email: livezero1@gmail.com

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linkedin.com/in/yogarishi-deolal-mahabir-46b71314

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Website: Optimal health through the Power of the Mind (mindexplorer.com)

Dara Kustler was born and raised in New York City. She graduated in Ohashi’s first class of students in 1978. She is an attorney, and currently resides in Florida.

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Cell: 954-871-8700

Email: darakustler@post.harvard.edu

Laurie Russell, a 2008 graduate of the Ohashi Institute, began her shiatsu training at Ohashiatsu® Maryland. Laurie, who has a graduate degree in chemistry, worked as a research chemist in the photo-conductor and solar energy industries. Laurie has worked as a massage therapist since 2005 and is licensed in Virginia and Florida. Early in her massage practice, she realized that all therapeutic bodywork must have meaning, intent, and compassion.

She found all three while studying shiatsu where the beauty of movement is combined with Five Element and Meridian theories. For Laurie, Shiatsu is all about sharing and she enjoys introducing others to the healing and calming benefits of shiatsu. Laurie lives on the East coast of Florida gardening, hiking and exploring the local nature preserves.

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Cell: 757-575-3044

Email: laurierussell@me.com

Ute Arnold, M.F.A., is a Body-Psychotherapist and artist. She is also the author of Stuck is Not a Place, a book that describes Unergi Body-Psychotherapy, a holistic healing therapy she developed.

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Ute grew up in Germany and immigrated to the USA when she was 19 years old. She studied Art, Design and Color in San Francisco and London, and Gestalt Therapy, Alexander Technique and Sensory Movement in New York and Toronto.

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In 1993, she opened the Unergi Holistic Therapy School (www.unergi.com) teaching private and group classes in the Unegri Method in both Europe and the USA. Ute also hosts the Global Village Creations website (www.globalvillagecreations.us), a community that shares free postings about workshops, the arts, and original innovative creations.

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In November 2020, Ute is moving to Alsace in France to build a small eco self-sustainable village with her sister Aries.

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Email: utebarnold@gmail.com

www.unergi.com

www.globalvillagecreations.us

Founder of The Art of Touch

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Barbara is a skilled organizer and passionate teacher, dedicated to her work. She was a student of the Ohashiatsu® program and trained as a Facilitator of Zen-Stretching®. She became a Certified Ohashiatsu® Instructor (COI) and created the first Ohashi School in France. Barbara also took on the task of translating and adapting all the teaching materials into French. Ohashi and Bonnie visited the school in France many times, as well as other COI from Italy and Europe.

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When working as an artistic advisor in Italy, she learned how the body works through dance, yoga, and aikido and also discovered the virtues of energy work. For Barbara, “The Art of Touch” is sensitive communication that allows the practitioner to listen and understand the body, without judgment, in order to release physical and emotional tension. In her work, she approaches the whole person, body and spirit, as one being.

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Always curious and open-minded, she continues to deepen her knowledge and experiment with bodywork wellness techniques, gradually adding them to her teachings. Her movement and health maintenance methods combine Zen Stretching Shiatsu® and dance, sensory pedagogy, Watsu (water shiatsu), Eastern psychological analysis, and other wellness programs.

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Barbara has created her own practice, “Sensitive Shiatsu” and is developing “Zen Thai Shiatsu”. She teaches both as part of an internship program, along with the original The Art of Touch training.

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Barbara teaches at her studio, DOJO LES SENS DU MONDE, in Paris.

Barbara Aubry - Praticienne de Shiatsu agréée FFST formatrice
L'Art du Toucher (Formations à Paris)

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www.artdutoucher.net
www.dojolessensdumonde.com

https://barbara-aubry.com/

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Dojo Les Sens du Monde

17, rue Lisfranc / 75020 Paris / M° Gambetta ou Porte de Bagnolet

Tél : 06 13 52 31 88 ou 01 43 64 07 19

Ivan Bel is a martial artist with more than 30 years of experience, and a shiatsu practitioner and teacher for more than 20 years. He started firstly with Japanese martial arts (Aikido, Karate, and Iaido), and then Sino-Vietnamese (Qwankido, Taijiquan, Qigong). This gave him the necessary grounding and discipline to advance in Shiatsu, and to understand the sense of movement and the use of the body in Shiatsu. He has been studying and teaching meditation for 25 years, allowing him to deepen the intimate understanding of the mind-body and the mechanisms of thought and emotions.

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He encountered Shiatsu through Aikido during a summer intensive camp in 1998.  In 2000, he started his journey in Shiatsu do and he continues to learn from different shiatsu schools.  After studying at Namikoshi and Yoseido schools, he follows Ohashiatsu, Koho Shiatsu, and Movement Shiatsu training. He also completed two different approaches to oriental medicine.

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After founding two Shiatsu schools in Belgium, he is now living in different countries, promoting  Shiatsu in Africa, and giving workshops all over Europe. He also is a journalist, specializing in Shiatsu, interviewing many Sensei and great teachers around the world. You can read his articles in English and French on his blog.

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In 2016, he created Ryoho Shiatsu which is not a new style of practicing Shiatsu but rather, a state of mind inviting all people who want to follow a complete approach with therapeutic Shiatsu, meditation, Qi gong, and martial arts. He specializes in infertility issues, pregnancy follow-up and post-partum, chronic fatigue, and burn-out.

Location: 855, route de Saint-Pastour 47440 Pailloles France

Belgium, Malawi

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Whatsapp: +33/695537594

Email: ryohoshiatsu@gmail.com

Website: https://www.ryohoshiatsu.com/

Bernard Bouheret has practiced Shiatsu shi for 40 years. He started his training in 1977 while also studying physiotherapy in Montpellier in the South of France. In 1981, after receiving his physiotherapy diploma, he went to the school of OKUYAMA sensei in Omiya in Saitama Ken, Japan.

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He lived for several months in Ushi Deshi at the Hombu Dojo, and he practiced the martial arts taught at the Hakko Ryu school (the Yawara).

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Returning to France, Bernard has been practicing without respite for 40+ years.

In 2001, 20 years after his trip to Japan, Bernard founded the Ecole de Shiatsu Thérapeutique (EST). He practices the "Sei Shiatsu Do" style of shiatsu. Bernard has written four books on shiatsu including a vade mecum, which is a reference book on the therapeutic level.

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Bernard's school is very prosperous. There are no less than 270 people who are now students. The EST website is www.shiatsu-est.org

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Bernard is still active and has an immense passion for shiatsu.

E.S.T - Ecole de Shiatsu Thérapeutique

1, boulevard Arago - 75013 PARIS

Tel: 06 32 66 73 64

www.shiatsu-est.org

Jeff Descoubes lives near Paris, France. He is a graphic and motion designer. He is also a musician. He has practiced karate and aikido and then discovered shiatsu with a Japanese friend.

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He trained with Master Hiroshi Iwaoka, founder of the "Myo-Energetique" shiatsu technique and school in France. Jeff learned a lot from him including traditional Japanese shiatsu, Sotai therapy, and direct moxibustion. Jeff also studied Shiatsu Kuretake with Master Masanori Okamoto, and studied Seiki Soho with Master Frans Coppers.

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As a shiatsu practitioner, Jeff continues to learn more about shiatsu while broadening his shiatsu skills. In addition to his shiatsu practice, Jeff loves to grow bonsai trees in his garden and enjoys traveling.

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“Shiatsu has been a life-changer for me, and the more I practice… the more I love to learn and go further in my skills.” Jeff Descoubes

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Location: Montfort-l'Amaury, France

https://www.jeffshiatsu.com

Email: jeff.shiatsu@gmail.com

Phone: +33 6 60 92 18 98

Tokyoite by birth, Toshi ICHIKAWA settled in Paris in 1998. Toshi discovered shiatsu at a young age within the family. His father, who regularly suffers from back pain, asks him to press his back with his feet for relief. A special moment between father and son sets in. Toshi then discovers the benefit of this non-verbal communication.

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Once an adult, he will decide to deepen his knowledge of shiatsu and become more professional. From 1992 to 2003, in Japan and France, he trained with three teachers, all in the tradition of Shizuto MASUNAGA's Zen shiatsu: professors Susumu KIMURA, Danielle IWAHARA-CHEVILLON, and Yasutaka HANAMURA (who translated two books by S. MASUNAGA in French).

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Since 2003, he has been teaching shiatsu in France and works as a full-time shiatsu professional in Paris, in a paramedical practice near Montparnasse.

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The teachings that Toshi transmits in his school are based on the current of Zen shiatsu, a form of shiatsu very widespread in Western countries. It is a gentle, caring, listening style of shiatsu. However, he does not hesitate to integrate certain elements of oriental energy practices, such as Seitai or Japanese sôtai, in preparation exercises, to strengthen the energy and flexibility necessary for the proper conduct of a shiatsu session.

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Location: Paris, France

https://toshiatsu.com/

Email: toshiichikawa@gmail.com

Telephone: +33 06 75 61 37 61

During his career as an office worker, mostly seated in front of computer screens, Michael began contemplating a way of life that incorporated more meaningful relations with his fellow humans. It seemed that our lifestyle was contributing to many health problems, from chronic back pain to anxiety, obesity, migraine headaches, and many others. He had been studying martial arts for some years and noticed that the movements involved served as a template for healthy activity in everyday life.

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Michael graduated from The Swedish Institute in New York in 1995 and The Ohashi Institute in 2002. He then started his professional activity working in many different settings: medical offices, day spas, on-site, and alternative health centers. Thus, after more than 30 years of practice, he brings his experience to each client and creates a session specially tailored to that individual with the belief that human touch is a powerful tool in helping people heal. Michael is now located in France, just west of Paris near Saint Germain en-Laye.

Email: 78shiatsu@gmail.com
Address: 41 rue Henri Richaume, Batiment D2, Montesson, 78360 France
Phone: (+33) 06 95 16 97 81

Nancy Anatolaki has been practicing shiatsu for over twenty years. She is a graduate of the European Shiatsu School (currently known as OM Training Centre) in Athens, Greece.

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Throughout her career, she has studied with many different shiatsu teachers both in Greece and abroad including: Ohashi, Chris McAlister, Chris Jarmey, George Dellar, Alice Wheildon and many others.

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Nancy spent several years dividing her time between Thailand and Greece. While in Thailand, she studied and taught Thai Massage in a northern hill tribe village.

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She currently lives on a small island in the southeast Aegean Sea called Nissyros. Here, she works and teaches Thai massage courses, and assists organizing the other teachers. She also travels to Athens and Thessaloniki to give treatments.

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Email:nancyanatol@gmail.com

WhatsApp: 0030 6945 441784

Nissyros Island Southeast Dodecanese, Greece

Master of Education, Psychology and Philosophy of Religion. For over 25 years lecturer for Shiatsu at major schools in German-speaking countries and Hungary. 1990 Founder of the Körperschule Allgäu for Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Shiatsu with focus on energetic bodywork and meditation.

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Studies with various masters and protagonists of different cultures, in Shiatsu especially A. Kishi, W. Ohashi, Paul Lundberg, Cliff Andrews and especially as a longtime personal student, companion and translator of Pauline Sasaki (Zen-Shiatsu/Quantum-Shiatsu).

Buddhist Zen monk (Rinzai-Ji) for 25 years now and founder of EMPTY-TOUCH-Shiatsu (since 1996). In addition, work with body-mind-soul, voice, overtone and mainly the focus on the inner and outer attitude in being. Especially the encounter with the concerns of the 'people from the street' are the work of Helmut Kigen Bräuer everyday legacy and mission.

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Location: Kempten, Germany
Email: helmut@koerperschule-allgaeu.de

Web: www.koerperschule-allgaeu.de

I began as a “Beginner's 1” with Ohashi Sensei in Berlin in August of 1981, got my diploma in NYC in 1984, and soon afterward became a Certified Ohashiatsu Instructor in Munich, the first one abroad. I organized the Ohashi Institute activities here in Munich for seven years, translated numerous courses and workshops with Ohashi, and learned from all those fabulous SECA teachers of that era, among them Pamela Hannay, Lindy Ferrigno, Esther Turnbull, Pamela Ferguson, Michele Schuman, Mitchel Wolf, Margie Joy Walden, and Ron de Koning. Through them, I finally also connected with Pauline Sasaki who became our teacher and mentor for many years, also here in Munich.

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And then, when staying at the Ohashi’s another time for teachers’ training in 1985 – or was it ‘86? - I faintly remember the arrival of a shy young woman; Ohashi’s niece from Japan at the Ohashi’s 55th Street Institute. Her name: Kumiko Kanayama.

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After Ohashi left in 1989, we restructured our school and started the European Shiatsu Institute in 1990, soon with growing branches in Switzerland, Italy, and Austria, and ever since, I am head of the school in Munich. Have a look here if you like

www.shiatsu.de/muenchen.

If you want to know more about today’s topic:

Sei-Ki. The Secret Art Of Shiatsu, Akinobu Kishi with Alice Whieldon, Singing Dragon, London 2011

Location: Munich, Germany

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www.klausmetzner.de

www.shiatsu.de/muenchen

Email: klaus.metzner@shiatsu.de

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