Shiatsu Journey

When I was in my teens I use to give friends and family massages all of the time. They would often say that I was really good. I never really thought it was that big of a deal, since it was so easy to do. So I said maybe when I turn 50 I’ll learn how to be a massage therapist. I was determined to be a published writer first. For a brief moment when I was 16 I had thought I wanted to learn something other than writing.

A friend had introduced me to acupressure, one point on my hand when I was 16. So I was curious to learn more. There was an acupuncturist set up in the small village, Brentwood Bay, that my high school was located so I went to see him about this eastern stuff. He started talking to me about charkas, which I felt a little uncomfortable with since he started by describing where the root charka was. I didn’t like a man in his 40’s talking to me a 16 year old about my private parts! (But really he was just trying to help me understand that I need to ground myself, and send energy down through all of my charkas to the earth.) His office also smelled like pot but he told me the smell was from an herb called sage which one burns to clear the space. (Little did I know I now use sage to clear my own home once in awhile 14 years later.) He also lent me a couple of books. The first book I read quite fast and gave back to him. The second, well I still have it. I tried reading the book he ‘lent’ me. I had always thought I would go back to give the book back, even bought him a thank you card. I would read a few chapters and then stop I left it for months until I felt the urge to read it again. I often started at the beginning again only to stop half way. For many years I did this while I focused on my writing.

Many people often ask me how did I discover shiatsu and why did I decide to do this as a career. I have decided to publish a blog on my website to share how my journey to becoming a writer helped me become the therapist I am today.