A Public Necessity: The Power of Shiatsu

Sexual abuse, violence and neglect —particularly during childhood—deeply disrupt the body’s natural rhythms, its boundaries, and its sense of safety. These experiences can fragment the connection between body, mind, and soul, leaving lasting imprints that manifest later as emotional, psychological, and physical pathologies.

This course offers Shiatsu practitioners an embodied, compassionate, and firmly grounded framework for understanding and supporting survivors of sexual trauma. Whether the abuse occurred in childhood or adulthood, it affects every level of being—physical, emotional, psychic—and can lead to symptoms such as:

• Dissociation, shame, guilt, avoidance
• Addictive behaviours: smoking, substance use, eating disorders
• Depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation
• Difficulties with relationships and intimacy
• Gynaecological, neurological, digestive, and sleep disorders
• Endometriosis, obesity, auto-immune diseases
• Musculoskeletal pain, chronic tension

Key Themes and Approach

At the foundation of this approach is a strong emphasis on creating a safe space and acknowledging the wounded inner child. At the heart of this course is the therapeutic use of the Extraordinary Vessels. These vessels regulate deep constitutional energy, developmental pathways, and our sense of identity. They directly link:

• The sexual organs and reproductive energy
• The brain, heart, and nervous system
• Fundamental physical boundaries and survival instincts

By working with vessels such as the Governing Vessel (Du Mai), Conception Vessel (Ren Mai), Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai), Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai), and the Yin/Yang Linking and Stepping Vessels, we can:

• Restore basic Yin-Yang balance and reconnect internal/external bodily integrity.
• Address dissociation and help clients safely re-inhabit their bodies.
• Rebuild boundaries and containment (via the Po and Lung system).
• Regulate the internal/external expressions of the Heart (via the Yin/Yang Linking Vessels).
• Support the release of traumatic memory and transform stored patterns (Linking and Girdle).

This approach respects the body’s innate wisdom and its capacity for repair, offering a touch that is safe, non-intrusive, and deeply containing.

3-Day Program

🌀 Day 1: Understanding Trauma and the Role of the Extraordinary Vessels

Morning: Context and Fundamental Patterns

• The impact of sexual abuse across the lifespan, focusing on childhood abuse.
• Common physical and emotional manifestations.
• Distortion of Yin/Yang and the loss of boundaries.
• Reading trauma through TCM: disturbance of the Shen, contraction of the Po, alterations of Blood and Essence.

Late Morning: Introduction to the Extraordinary Vessels

• Overview and central role in trauma resolution.
• Connection to developmental stages, sexual energy, and constitutional patterns.
• Main pathways: Ren, Du, Chong, Dai, Yin/Yang Qiao, Yin/Yang Wei.

Afternoon: Safety in the Present – Working with the Qiao (Stepping) Vessels

• Yin Qiao: Withdrawal, inner safety.
• Yang Qiao: Vigilance, external engagement.
• Techniques for treating dissociation and restoring bodily presence.
• Practices for grounding, containment, and safe touch.

🌗 Day 2: Healing Yin/Yang Dissociation and Restoring Internal Integrity Morning: Reprogramming Yin-Yang Dissociation

• Sexual trauma as a separation between internal/external, top/bottom.
• Blockages in sexual development and maturity.
• Imbalances: Excessive withdrawal (Yin) vs. Hypervigilance (Yang).
• Du Mai, Ren Mai and Chong Mai  as fundamental regulators.
• Working with the Microcosmic Orbit and the breath.

Afternoon: Integrative Practice with Wei and the Heart

• Hands-on practical sequences.
• Assessing a client's Yin/Yang expression.
• Body mapping of trauma and supporting reconnection with adolescence.
• Visualization and breathing to restore balance.

🛡️ Day 3: Restoring Boundaries and Rebuilding a Field of Safety Morning: Fundamental Boundaries – Po, Dai Mai, and Chong Mai

• Trauma as the collapse of the "energetic skin."
• Dai Mai: The belt of containment.
• Chong Mai: Blood, memory, and ancestral heritage.
• Bodily autonomy, consent, and integrity.

 Linking Past and Present – Working with the Wei (Linking) Vessels

• Yin Wei and Yang Wei to regulate memory and emotional integration.
• Protecting the Heart and the safe expression of emotions.
• Practical sequences for restoring boundaries.

Afternoon: Weaving it All Together

• Integrating Ren, Du, Chong, Dai, Qiao, and Wei into treatment.
• Practitioner sensitivity and self-regulation.
• Follow-up and planning within a trauma-informed framework.

• Guided self-practice and partner exchanges.
• Sharing and Q&A.
• Closing ritual or practice for healing.

 

Who is this course for ?

This course is for Shiatsu practitioners, ideally with a solid practice of several years, who wish to:

• Deepen their understanding of trauma through an energetic and TCM perspective.
• Acquire safe and effective tools to support individuals with a history of sexual abuse.
• Develop practices that restore dignity, physical presence, safety, and bodily unity within a secure space.

🧭 Format

• In-person with demonstrations, guided practice, and case discussions.
• Trauma-informed approach, with attention to practitioner safety and self-care.
• Resources for integration and further study post-course.

🔔 Important Note: This course is not suitable for individuals currently in the active process of acute trauma without appropriate therapeutic support.