Shiatsu in Practice: Pressure Sequences, Hara Assessment, and Session Planning

Shiatsu theory becomes useful in practice when it informs real decisions: how to read a client's hara, which meridians to prioritize in a session, how to apply palm and thumb pressure with the appropriate depth and stillness, and how to document what you found and what you worked. This course provides the practical scaffolding for those decisions, giving you assessment tools, sequence guides, and planning frameworks to make each session more intentional. By the end of this course you will be able to conduct a basic hara assessment and interpret findings in meridian terms, plan a shiatsu session sequence with a stated therapeutic rationale, apply fundamental palm and thumb pressure techniques with appropriate body mechanics, document session findings in a clear and consistent format, and communicate session experience and findings to a client in accessible language. What you will learn: - Client intake for shiatsu: health history, lifestyle questions relevant to Ki imbalance, and contraindication screening - Hara assessment guide: observation areas, palpation approach, and mapping findings to meridian priorities - Basic shiatsu body mechanics: practitioner posture, weight transfer, and perpendicular pressure principles - Palm pressure sequence guide: a zone-by-zone approach to the back, legs, and arms in the prone position - Thumb and finger pressure on tsubo: location method, depth calibration, and reading tissue response - Session planning template: meridian priority rationale, sequence outline, and time allocation - Session documentation: findings record, techniques applied, client response, and next session notes - Client communication: describing what you found and worked in language that is clear without being diagnostic Each module presents a worked scenario — a client presenting with fatigue and digestive sluggishness, a client with shoulder tension and restless sleep — including the hara assessment, session plan, and documentation. Blank templates follow each worked example. Self-assessment notes describe what robust planning and documentation look like. This course is written for shiatsu students and complementary therapy practitioners building structured practice skills. Foundational knowledge of shiatsu theory or East Asian medicine concepts is helpful. This course is educational; supervised hands-on training and shiatsu certification must be completed according to your jurisdiction's professional standards.