Is Shiatsu Energy Medicine?

I haven't done a lot of shiatsu on my kids. Mainly because I find it difficult to treat close family members as it can be hard to separate my own stuff from there's. But after my experience last night I think I'll do more.

My almost 6 month old son (pic for cuteness) has been struggling through his first cold. He was very distressed throughout most of Monday night neither of us got much sleep. As much as I wanted to be the super calm and nurturing mother with him I had a period of time where I was far from that. I just had no idea what to do to help calm him down. I felt really stressed. That not knowing was bringing up a heap of anger in me and so I had to put him down and just cry because I was afraid that anger might cause him some harm. After I'd let out my tears I got my partner to hold the little man while I made him a bottle and this helped me get back into nuturing mum mode. I still felt stressed but the anger had mostly dissipated.

While feeding him the bottle I also used a technique of Thic Nat Hahn's. Breathing in I repeated “I know that I am angry.” and breathing out I repeated “I know that anger is in me.” It's a technique that helps acknowledge the feelings and also loosens their grip.

We had a pretty rough day yesterday as he was unwell and I was mega tired. Lucky my mum was able to come over and mind my daughter for a while so that I could relax while he had a sleep.

Last night he was quite unsettled as well but I managed to stay much calmer and took a different tac. After spending 30 minutes settling him with patting around 12.30am I had him at a point where I could sit down in his room and just be with him without having to keep patting him. I tuned into my breath to also calm myself. And then a little bit of amazingness happened.

I began to visualise myself giving him a shiatsu. My hands began to move in the air and I was working meridians and holding points without touching him, but I could feel his body under my hands. As I did this I could hear his breathing deepen and could feel him dropping down into a deeply relaxed state. The shiatsu didn't last long as children do not need much treatment but I'm so glad I found a way to help my son get some much needed sleep.

My nervous system has been feeling quite wired from lack of sleep so when I got back into bed I did the same for myself. I visualised myself giving myself a shiatsu. Mainly my hands just wanted to hold my heart which is not surprising.

When we're tired and stressed it's very difficult to not only tune into what others need but also what we need. My heart needed some loving touch. Mumming is a tough job and involves so much giving. I really needed to receive some of the love I give to my babies.

Today both my son and I were doing much better and were both happier. Touch, whether on the body or through visualization, is clearly a powerful form of energy medicine.