Shiatsu
What it Is
Shiatsu uses hands-on manipulation to counteract poor nutritional choices, too little exercise and sleep, environmental sensitivities, genetics, and too much work, worry, and stress—all the things that cause the body’s chi (or ki in Japanese) to get stuck and throw you out of balance.
How it Works to Promote Fertility
As with chi nei tsang, many shiatsu therapists will spend some time evaluating your abdomen through palpation to make an assessment. During the massage, the practitioner will focus on 12 or 24 specific meridians, or lines of chi that run throughout the body. For fertility treatments, special attention will be paid to the chong mai (pronounced “chawng my”), or central channel, which connects all the meridians to the uterus. “Shiatsu, like tui na, encompasses a wide range of styles—it can take the form of hard, forceful pressure with manipulation, or gentler, subtle pressure with the stretching of limbs. But every practitioner should be working on that central channel, whether along the spine or arms or legs,” says Flores. You’ll be clothed during a shiatsu treatment.
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What it Costs
A treatment lasts about an hour and costs roughly $50 to $150. You’ll likely come in for a session once a week to twice monthly.
For More Information
Contact AOBTA.
Tui Na (Also Called Tuina)
What it Is
Tui na bodywork is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an age-old holistic approach to wellness and healing. It may be used in conjunction with other aspects of TCM, including Chinese herbs and acupuncture.
How it Works to Promote Fertility
During a tui na session you remain clothed, and your therapist applies gentle or forceful pressure (depending on his or her preferred style—some don’t even touch the body) to move the muscles, joints, and torso. “Tui na is more of an osteopathic or orthopedic style of manipulation, to try to mobilize the joints,” Flores notes. But like all holistic Asian bodywork, it also takes into account the emotional and mental sides of a person’s life. As with chi nei tsang and shiatsu, the belly is also important in tui na in diagnosing and treating fertility issues. Says Flores, “In Chinese medicine, the lower abdomen is the center of a person’s body. It is home to ming men, or the ‘gate of life.’” Tui na practitioners may also use the pulse and the appearance of the tongue in making their assessment.
What it Costs
Treatments last from 30 to 90 minutes and cost from $50 to $150.
For More Information
Contact AOBTA.
A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2007 issue of Conceive Magazine.
Related Topics: Alternative Medicine for Fertility; Boost Your Fertility; Fertility Health; Stress and Fertility
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