EP 43: Shiatsu Massage for Stress Relief with Guest Raissa Chernushenko

Our guest this episode is Raissa Chernushenko a certified shiatsu massage therapist. She has been certified since 1994, and now offers an expansive list of holistic services and family wellness classes. She encourages her clients to regulate, and tune into their own bodies to achieve greater well-being. Her business Hand to Heart Being, promotes a threefold approach to health that addresses connecting through touch, ecologically conscious living, and healing practices. She feels strongly about the need to promote compassion through the Healthy Touch within our relationships from infancy through the senior years

In this episode Raissa shares what shiatsu is, how it differs from the massage we get at the spa, and how it can help us release and heal.

Co-hosts Deb Timmerman and Barb Fletcher are certified HeartMath® Trainers, and certified stress educators, who are skilled at helping people discover the power of living from the heart.  

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Website: LessStressinLife.com/podcast/

Stay tuned for more conversations with Deb, Susie, and Lindsay as they empower you to live well, manage stress, and build a thriving, healthy life!

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Barb Fletcher, Raissa Chernushenko, Deb Timmerman

Deb Timmerman  00:00

You're listening to the less stress in life podcast. Your hosts, Deb Timmerman and Barb Fletcher are on a mission to help individuals and organizations manage stress and change. Together, they bring you real conversations, inspirational stories, and strategies to help move you from being stressed to feeling your best. Hello, everyone. I'm Deb Timmerman. Welcome to our series of 52 practical tools for less stress in life. This is episode 44.

Barb Fletcher  00:32

And I'm Barb Fletcher. Our goal is to give you tools and strategies to help you move from being stressed to feeling your best. Our guest today is Raissa Chernushenko a certified shiatsu massage therapist. She has been certified since 1994, and now offers an expansive list of holistic services and family wellness classes. She encourages her clients to regulate, and tune into their own bodies to achieve greater well-being. Her business Hand to Heart Being,  promotes a threefold approach to health that addresses connecting through touch, ecologically conscious living and healing practices. She feels strongly about the need to promote compassion through the Healthy Touch within our relationships from infancy through the senior years. Welcome Raissa.

Raissa Chernushenko  01:34

Thank you so much bourbon dab.

Deb Timmerman  01:37

So what you said, can you start us off by explaining what she asked him sashes and how it's different from other forms of massage people might be familiar with?

Raissa Chernushenko  01:46

Yes, certainly. So Shiatsu is actually a Japanese word that literally translates to mean finger pressure. So there's some discussion over its true origins, but  it hales from Japan from the past century.  A gentleman by the name of Namikoshi had decided that he wanted to help his mother in dealing with what we think probably was like a rheumatoid arthritis of some kind and so he made a study of her. As he worked on her, she felt that of all of her children, his hands felt the best and what he noticed, as he was working on her was that there were some areas that felt cooler, some felt warmer, some felt more rigid. And so he went on to study massage therapy, but then continued to develop this shiatsu therapy, which is also based on a therapy that the blind had already practiced for centuries in Japan called Anma, which is just a very complete knowledge of the body and a type of massage. But the main difference between what we recognize as Swedish massage therapy or kind of regular massage therapy that we'd go to here is that your clothes remain on so there are no oils needed. It's sustained, some pressure flowing, some pressure along lines, or what we call meridians, or channels through which the body's life force or Qi, as you might have heard the term Qi in Japan it's called Ki. So this Qi or chi is innervates all that moves. All life forms are innovated by Qi so we can approach shiatsu kind of we can explain it in western terms. In the same way as massage therapy in that you can work with the muscular skeletal system addressing that the beginning and ending points what we call the origin insertion points of the muscles and using a sound knowledge of the anatomy of the body. Or you can take  more of what we call a Zen shiatsu or Meridian approach, which is looking at the channels that flow from the fingertips and toes along the limbs that then travel inward to connect with the internal organs. And that's what an acupuncturist would work with as well this the same kind of map of the body but where an acupuncturist would only needle a certain point along those channels. The shiatsu has a therapist works the whole meridian. So we're working on as much of the body as possible in each session, having you can you lie on your side your back and working on your head, your arms, and again, not using oil specifically, by just sliding pressure from one point to the next.

Barb Fletcher  04:31

It's so interesting. I've never experienced this type of massage what brings a client to you for this particular type of massage? How do they know that this is a good fit for them?

Raissa Chernushenko  04:43

So, a variety of reasons. I have people who've had massage for many years try shiatsu and never go back to regular quote unquote massage because they find that she had to somehow more not intense but kind of reaches them on a deeper level, whether it be emotionally or just more just a more penetrating pressure, not that it necessarily has to be really hard or anything, because we really do adapt our treatment to the constitutional energy of that person.  So, kind of using the idea of Yin and Yang, within the body, there's some areas that might feel more Yin, more inward, quiet, receptive, cooler, and then other areas that feel more Yang which is more energetic outward moving. So, within people's bodies, certain areas might feel more yin and yang, but what feels like Yang in one person's body could feel like Yin in another person's body. So it's really a case of adapting your treatment to the constitutional energy of that person. So, another reason people might come to me is if they really have issues around their body image, and they really don't want to remove their clothing. Or perhaps they're really hairy and they're just concerned that they're so hairy that their hair is going to really bother the therapists hands. So, a number of reasons. Yeah.

Deb Timmerman  06:10

We've been focusing a lot our last couple of episodes about trauma, emotions and issues that kind of get stuck or trapped in the body as energy blocks. How do you recognize these blocks? You mentioned some areas that feel cooler and warmer? Can you identify some of those blocks with shiatsu and how does it help release those?

Raissa Chernushenko  06:34

Yes, so as we're working along the meridian or reflex areas, we are, we're generally going over each area three times. The first time is to assess the second time is more to treat and the third time to reassess. But we can find blockages to actual physical blockages. My shiatsu master had some wonderful ways of describing some of the sensations that we find, or the ways in which blocked energy manifests in the body. In some areas, he'd say feel that? That feels like piano wires, or another, It like frozen pasta, or, or soybeans. So generally, we can find areas that are commonly tense or tight or problematic in many people, especially in the neck and shoulders area because of the kinds of lifestyles that we choose now or that we lead now being on computers and things a lot. But so we might find other areas where people are unaware that they're holding tension, and there might be an emotional association with that area. So you could be working on a certain area, and it could suddenly release feelings of sadness or anxiety. So some areas might feel ticklish, some areas might feel good, it hurts but don't stop kind of hurt and then others might feel bruised or kind of empty, and elicit a feeling of just not wanting people to touch there. And I do like to also ascertain if there any particular areas of a person's body that they don't like being touched. Because sometimes emotional trauma is hiding in those areas. Sometimes it could be to do with accidents or injuries or repetitive strain but other times it could be more because of emotional experiences that have just been held rigidly and guarding patterns in the body for so long.

Barb Fletcher  08:32

So this process, is it, as I think about the potential of receiving those services, is it intuitive experience where you move to where you're guided perhaps to apply that pressure? Or is there a process that people could expect?

Raissa Chernushenko  08:53

I would say both it kind of depends on the treatment, I do take a thorough case history of my clients. So that can lead me in the direction of understanding what the root imbalances is. In Eastern terms might be because we look in eastern theory when I talked about the meridians, it also ties into something called five element theory. So, each of the element’s fire, earth, metal, water and wood is associated with a certain organ-meridian pair for example, liver and gallbladder, bladder and kidney, lung and large intestine. So, and each of those is associated with a certain emotion too. So, by I taking a thorough picture, their full case history, I can get a sense of what symptoms might point to a certain organ-meridian root imbalances and take that as my starting point. But I can also just look at a person's body and just by the way, they're lying, the way their body presents itself, the way certain limbs are holding, or tension is held in the body, I can just intuitively be drawn tend to say work on the head, first or the feet first or the arms first.

Deb Timmerman  10:03

So it was all your work in person work or Raissa, or is there some virtual work as well?

Raissa Chernushenko  10:10

For shiatsu? No, it has to be in person. But I have started to integrate some work into my practice as as you to you know, being a practitioner and facial intelligence. I am interested in coaching people using that five-element theory and the facial archetype work and that could be done virtually. But for shiatsu, no, that really has to be in person. I can teach people how to work on themselves.  I can teach a head-to-toe treatment. I have done workshops showing people how to address particular common concerns or complaints, repetitive issues, or like first aid shiatsu or just a head to toe, hands on treatment. So that can be really helpful.

Deb Timmerman  10:53

So, it just blows my mind that we talk about all these natural things and the typical Westerner first reaches for a pill, and then looks at what the root cause is maybe, years later down the road. This is a totally different perspective, isn't it, you carry what you manifest or what you experience in your body and the clues from our body or our face really guide the practitioner in helping us to release that route.

Raissa Chernushenko  11:21

Yeah, very much. So there's so many clues that people are unaware of that they hold with within not only their body just through their physical type, their constitutional type, but their faces. And an Eastern theory as well. If you look at acupuncture theory, they could take it, they take it a step further and look feel for certain pulses and look at colors in the face and the tongue and different parts of the skin as well.

Barb Fletcher  11:47

It's so interesting. My husband and I were having a conversation about it had a number of family members pass of cancer and so there was a strong belief that cancer for the family was absolutely hereditary. And so, we had a conversation about how he was able to, he did have cancer, but he was able to thrive afterwards. And so we had a conversation about belief and what actually might be lurking in our bodies. Those cells that go sideways that Raisa sounds like she's able to apply a little pressure on and let those little lads go.

Raissa Chernushenko  12:30

Yeah, because each of the each of the organ-meridian systems of course, that's lung-large intestine of in five element 30 very long and large intestine are associated with the metal element. And that is specifically associated with the emotion of grief or sorrow. So, if somebody is whether it's sorrow or anger, or just overstimulation, even excess, you know, enthusiasm or joy or fear, or worry, dwelling in a particular emotional state creates imbalance in that organ-meridian network.

Barb Fletcher  13:09

So, Raissa, is there a frequency that people shouldn't have this clearing done that you spoke of. I really don't like the perspective of that we only go when we aren't feeling well. Is there some ongoing maintenance that people should do?

Raissa Chernushenko  13:26

Yeah, that's exactly been, I think, for many of us in the hands-on care field is we like to liken it to your car. Ideally, your car is going to last longer. If you take it in for regular checkups, not just wait for things to go wrong. So, Shiatsu is really used best preventatively. So, think of it as a tune up for your body. So depending on of course, your lifestyle, the amount of stress you have, what emotions you're dwelling in, whether you have had accidents or injuries or repetitive strain. That might be what brings you in initially, it might be an accident or an injury you're dealing with. If you're in more of an acute state, you'd want to come more frequently to begin with, I would recommend the first few appointments be ideally no more than two or three work weeks apart. Some might even say come twice a week. But as an ongoing maintenance, I have a number of clients I have number of clients who come every two weeks and then some who come once a month or every six weeks. Ideally you don't want to wait longer than that but I understand that that sometimes financial issues are what gets in the way the most. People are concerned about whether they have coverage for this or that but as I like to say well you don't get a receipt from your manicure for you know, get coverage for your manicure or your hair and your body is infinitely more important to them the health of your hair. So you can pay now or pay later. Right?

Deb Timmerman  15:01

So Raissa, where do people find you? How do they connect with you?

Raissa Chernushenko  15:05

Well, I'm in Oshawa, which is 45 minutes to an hour east of Toronto, and I work out of my home clinic. My website is www.handtoheartbeing.com You can also find me on Facebook, again at hand to heart being. And yeah, I can there you can see on my website, the plethora of other services that I offer if you come in person, I also offer far infrared saunas, which are really wonderful to have before your shiatsu treatment just to really allow your body to kind of melt into the mat. And I do also want to emphasize that I practice traditionally, that's another difference between my style of Shiatsu is that I am practicing on a futon on the floor. If a person can no longer get down to the floor for whatever reason I can adapt it to a table, but it is most effective because I use my body weight in a very particular way I'm trained to use to lean into the point rather than using arm strength.

Deb Timmerman  16:12

I have not had shiatsu but I have had Thai massage. And they operate similarly so you're on the floor and they use their body weight. It was a wonderful experience. I honestly don't know exactly what he did, but it was fabulous.  

Raissa Chernushenko  16:29

Thai is probably the most similar to shiatsu. If you're looking for some you know, something similar to shiatsu, that'd be the closest I've experienced, there is a lot of passive stretching. I did forget to mention that within my treatments, in addition to thumb pressure, and palm pressure, sometimes lower arm pressure, even occasionally, I use my knees on the backs of people's legs. There is a certain amount of gentle shaking, and passive stretching, as well. So yeah, Thai is like that but that they they don't use as much in the way as thumb pressure, mostly palm pressure, but it is yeah, on the

Deb Timmerman  17:04

Barb's in Canada, and what if we wanted to find a shiatsu practitioner close to us in the US? Where would we go to find a network of those practitioners?

Raissa Chernushenko  17:14

I believe that there still exists, I'm not a member of it, but I have heard that there's an American Association of Oriental body workers. I think it's AOBTA. No, something like that. American Association of Oriental bodyworkers. I can't tell you exactly what the acronym is. But that does exist as far as I know the. So, in Canada, at least in Ontario, we have designation certified shiatsu therapist, which indicates someone who has 2200 hours training, which is the same amount that an RMT has. So, it's two years to 10-month term. So that's the highest level of training outside of Japan, as far as I know. So, the Shiatsu Therapy Association of Ontario is where you would look for somebody with an Ontario or there also is shiatsu therapy society. But I don't believe there. We're not a regulated profession in the way that massage therapies are. So, we're self-regulated. I'm not sure in the UK and places like that there may be some associations as well. But I'm not sure to what degree they're regulated. But we are Shiatsu Therapy Association was created. And generally, these associations are to help protect the public so that they can ensure that people are well educated and well trained.

Deb Timmerman  18:37

So, we'll find the connection points for US, and we'll put them in our show notes that if you are in the US, you'll know where to do that. And same for in Canada. So, what's our call to action today, Barb?

Barb Fletcher  18:51

What have I have been awakened to is that if perhaps you've been a bit anxious about going from massage or body image was a concern. Here's another option for you to try to see if that might be a good fit to getting you on the path. And it's another tool in everybody's toolbox. So, make sure that you have tools in your toolbox and that you're actually taking them out and dusting them off.