Archive for Wednesday 25th September 2002 - Amatsu
An ancient Eastern healing system practised for up to 5,000 years now offers an eclectic approach to many of he health problems associated with misaligned posture.

Amatsu, which draws on a Chinese and Tibetan medical tradition, was introduced to Japan, where it now flourishes, from Malaysia some 2,500 years ago. It arrived in this country in 1995, thanks to the efforts of three English osteopaths, who studied for many years with Amatsu’s living master, Dr Masaaki Hatsumi, in Japan.

Dr Hatsumi, acknowledged in his homeland as a ‘natural treasure’, broke with tradition by ‘licensing’ the three English healers to work in the West with this complex and rigorous system.

Amatsu combines skills found in massage, osteopathy and cranio-sacral work. Focus on nutrition, movement and posture is also considered essential. Amatsu is associated with the martial arts, but by way of consciousness and study not combat.

Practitioner Joanne Boyden says that working with Amatsu is a life-long journey: “I will be training for the rest of my life. It is the most holistic treatment I know of. We look at the energetic as well as the physical body. “Amatsu is an ongoing relationship between healer and patient.

Our aim is to help the body fix itself, to help people overcome the distrust they have in the potential of their own bodies and then to encourage them to allow themselves the time to heal.”

Treatments cost from £30 and last for about 45 minutes and involve a detailed case study, massage and gentle manipulation through movement and pressure on the soft tissues of the body. There are about 70 practitioners in the UK. For more information, visit www.amatsu .net

The benefits of Amatsu
Amatsu practitioners revitalise the body’s innate healing system by:
Removing toxins
Improving circulation
Adjusting body alignment
Encouraging body tone and co-ordination
Maintaining the position of vital organs
Stabilising the skeleton
Balancing and de-stressing the cranio-sacral system
Revitalising the immune and nervous system

Mark Winter