I went for some acupuncture today. It’s something I don’t get to do as often as I like. As a Shiatsu practitioner it’s very important to look after myself and I don’t get to go for treatments as much as I should.
I hardly ever go to the doctor though, I’m not proud, it’s just that I use other methods of healthcare, and that’s not to say that the good old doc’s is not a good place to go when you’re feeling unwell. I just choose not to. The reason being is that I like a form of health care that not only sorts out my problem, what ever it might be, but makes me feel good AND strengthens my system at the same time! Amazing!
When I go for a shiatsu treatment or acupuncture I get listened to, every concern taken into account and all of my symptoms treated.Oriental medicine is systemic in it’s approach so the treatment is rarely aimed at one symptom alone. Compare this to severe or chronic pain conditions, the normal procedure is to prescribe stronger and stronger painkillers, these have a limited effect over time and don’t resolve the problem. They certainly don’t make you feel any better in your self.
I like going for alternative health because it does all the things that normal medicine doesn’t, plus the fact I get a better picture of why I feel the way I do, meaning I can take better care of myself in the future.
March 5, 2010
Massage for Haiti update:
£35 was raised for Haiti and paid via the Post Office to the DEC. Thanks to all that partcipated. If you want to donate go here:
https://www.donate.bt.com/dec_form_haiti.html
Thanks!
February 19, 2010
There is too much advice out there isn’t there?
Weird statement I know and I probably don’t mean exactly that.
So, let’s get some background here. What it is, is this, I subscribe to loads of different streams of health info; blogs, facebook, twitter, email. No surprise, it’s my bag right? What I noticed was alot of fear and not alot of support. You know the drill: Plastics gonna kill you in the kitchen, pollution turns your hair green (cool), too much exercise kills ya, not enough exercise kills ya, blah, blah, blah.
I’m not saying there isn’t some real quality advice here, some of it is very helpful, the problem as I see it, is that alot of it is aimed at what you should be doing rather than just being what you can be.
Let me get a bit clearer, what I am saying is that, to a certain extent, from an Oriental Medicine point of view, good health depends on feeling good inside. If your body and mind is strong then it’s alot easier to fight of disease and illness. Stressing over how much cake you ate or whether you are going to be poisoned by reheating your bolognese 15 times in a polyporasyllablaacortexynephelene pot is probably going to do you more harm than the action in the long run.
My observation, is that it seems to me that people need support first, and then advice on what actions to take. All this well meaning, but fear mongering warnings just add to the intense background humming of paranoia and fear.
What I want to say is this…STOP! How do you feel? So you want another peice of cake, cool. have it . Notice how it makes you feel and accept that too. Start with the premise that it is all good right here, right now , yes you could have eaten better, you could have worked our more, not eaten your polystyrene cup, but hey, you did, so you are where you are and you can’t be anywhere else. Take a moment now to check in with how you feel in your body, what are the actions it wants? What would make you feel stronger, more healthy? Try incorporate some more of these things, filter out any other advice, just follow what you, your body and mind want. Ignore everything else.
Move forward from a place of acceptance, and strength rather than guilt and recrimination.
You are perfect, just as you are.
February 5, 2010
Massage For Haiti
Tuesday February 9th 2 – 8pm
How about it?
You get a great 20 minute seated massage from me (Rob Blackburn) then give me £5 or more that I will donate, in full, to the Disaster Emergency Committee so they can do their valuable work in Haiti.
Cool huh?
Ring 01273 475735 to book
And turn up at
River Clinic
Falcon Wharf
Railway Lane
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 2AQ on
9/2/2010
Thank you!
www.robblackburn.co.uk
February 1, 2010
It’s been a really long time since I posted anything here on the blog. I have to apologise I have been fiddling about trying to get the basics of this website down so that I can move on with writing posts and have everything in one place.
My other excuse is that the holidays happened and it snowed both these things have made my start to the new yer a slow and fustratingly unproductive ! Alot of groundwork ahs been done with the technical stuff uploading this wordpress template to my host was exciting (geek alert!) but still needs quite a bit of stuff doing to it and possibly a new logo. I am impressed with the versitility and ease of making a site this way I can’t believe I hadn’t done it before!
Other things that have been happening,I have been working through stuff in my Heart of Business workbook and integrating the Rememberence into my life.(for you Integralists this is second face of God practice which was much laking in my integral spiritual practice.) This has given me new clarity and support but am impatient to have it done so I can get new stuff out to you guys.
How does any of this relate to Shiatsu? Well iIlove to relate evreything back to Shiatsu and Chinese medicine, so here goes…
Winter is the the of year of the Kidneys and Bladder, I wrote about this quite a bit here so I don’t want to go too deeply into it. The thing that relates to above ramblings is the nature of the time of year.
Like I said in my previous post on Winter its a time of slowing down, of reflection. There is stuff happening but this is at a very deep level. Subtle internal shifts, stuffs integrating forom the year gone. Like a lake in winter all external process’ slow to a stop as the creeping cold freezes them and creatures slow and seek deeper water. Only in the dark depths are the movements of the currents. Even the ducks tuck their heads in and move slowly. So it is with humans, as we too are connected to the Tao and the rhythms of nature and cannot waver to far from it.
It feels like nothing is getting done but the work is getting done underneath the contemplation the reflection and integrating all that has happened in the last year.
It is suprising how often I have to learn to learn this lesson that to dash around like a mad thing is often better mitigated by taking ten minutes of meditation or a wee sleep. Hell, what I was douing won’t have got done any faster, in fact probably worse or I would have hopped around half doing loads of other shite . That ten minutes just adds to your day giving your mind a reboot and enabling you to refocus on what s most important.
What so you think whats your thoughts on winter and getting stuff done? Fustrated ? enjoying the chance to snuggle inside with a hot chocolate? Let me know in the comments!
January 29, 2010
I’ve been whirled around a bit recently but here is a post that has come up in the maelstrom.I was deeply flattered by Havi being inspired by my post and driving all that interest my way and it got me on a train of thought that concluded with this… This really is what people dig…. Authenticity…!
Shit, we all know how much in-authentic stuff is flying around in the noosphere, shoddy celebrity melodramas, crappy tv advertising selling us stuff we sure as hell don’t need, fake food, supermarkets pretending like they give a crap about local and home grown, huxters, shucksters and tinsel damn, it gets worse at this time of year!
Rant aside, it got me thinking about authenticity and how important it is in a world stuff full of maya. So hard to find too.
I have been working on my own authenticity, finding and clawing back my spirit which got hoovered up by degrees studying philosophy at uni, and by cynicism and disilllusionment at a world gone bad( so it seemed). There are many things and people that helped me out of my existential slump and one of those things was Shiatsu (surprise!)I found that in this space of giving shiatsu that you have to be genuine, connected, grounded and heart-felt. People soon feel uncomfortable if your attention wanders or your intention strays.
When recieving Shiatsu, it is making this genuine heart-felt connection that our spirits are saved from the ever crushing walls of shallow marketing hype and illusions of human contact. This is real, this is right here, this is right now and it sure as hell can’t be faked.
When I have recieved a great Shiatsu treatment I walk away feeling more myself than I was before, more comfortable with my decisions and inspired to go on. It is this feeling that I want to bring to my clients as well as, or important as, treating thier symptoms. As it is only through our connections with people and authentic connection with ourselves that healing can occur.
Many, many thanks to Mark at Heart of business, Ken Wilber’s ILP , Havi and GIna for the inspiration for this post.
Links soon but posting from phone so can’t add hyperlinks yet, just wanted to get this posted!
December 3, 2009
Thanks to
Gina for inspiring me to finally finish this post even though the actual weekend was awhile ago!
Needless to Say, Micheal Rose rules!
So a fantastic weekend with Micheal Rose. Which was very inspiring.To start at the end, I had to thank him for bringing us to the Heart of Shiatsu , because that’s what I got out of the weekend most. The guy had such a presence, something akin to Bill Palmer. I imagine Chris Jarmey was and Carola Beresford Cook is, the same. I see these guys as the second generation Shiatsu Masters, it feels like they are much nearer the source of origin somehow and this is combined with a sense of in – the momentness that I feel comes from years of self-development and commitment to a spiritual path (Bill’s tibetan Buddhist I believe although I could be wrong and Micheal’s is Sufism both of which I dig but I’ve nver bee a joiner so far!).
What I have gained from doing workshops with both of these guys is not so much of the practical techniques or ways of doing things ( which were amazing) but more of a feeling, inspired yes, but more of a quality, a sense of integratedness and I say it again ‘ presence’ is this what people mean by ‘transmission’?
I have to say the rest of the weekend was reassuring and kinda earthshaking. Micheal get’s down to the essence of Shiatsu, the qualty of touch, bringing the elements into your quality of touch and usingg these to balance out the Ki in the body, like a pieece of art or music, a real quality of the Shiatsu.
Now I had been becoming fairly mechanical in my Shiatsu and far too obsessed with Chinese Medicine theory and points. Coming from me this sounds like blasphemy! I strongly believe in the TCM roots if feel it’s important not to get too far away from it, but , but, this weekend reminded me again what I am , what I do, and this is Shiatsu . I am not an Acupressure person, I am not an acupuncturist masquerading as physical therapy person, I am a Shiatsu practitioner, harmonizing Ki in the body, using both hands, flowing from one area to the next and feeling the quality of the elements in my work and bringing a sense of calm and presence that comes with getting into the Shiatsu space and really being there with the client.
That’s all for now.
November 25, 2009
Totally and utterly ripped off from Havi here is my dammit list, which is sure to grow.
The dammit list:
That I will not fill in another application form ever, I hate those things.
That I will write great blogs that inspire people as much as possible.
I will find as many radical ways to do things as possible.
I will not compromise my principles for anyone.
I will make enough damn money to leave my other job.
I will be confident enough to find ways to bring what I can do to people in a way that is compassionate, ethical and fun.
I will look wacky, get (more) tattooed and be laid back if I want.
I will work in a clinic at times at suit me.
I will have enough clients that I do not have to worry about money ever.
I will have enough time and money to support my wife and raise a family in a relaxed and sustainable manner.
I will be happy with the fact I am a heavy metal, punk rock , funk, dubstep hippie with a penchant for Zen, climbing, skateboarding, juggling and social change.
I will not sell out to the man, whoever he may be.
I will not add to the psychic pollution that is targeted Ads even though the promise of a quick buck has been sorely tempting at times. I don’t know, it just goes against that part of me that read No Logo and cried, is inspired by Adbusters and Douglas Rushkoff.
I want things to change, I want to help people be more empowered through what I do. I want to help provide alternative ways of being to the one that constantly threatens to turn us into heartless consumers. Putting Google AdWords on my pages doesn’t seem to match these ideals somehow!
Shiatsu as a revolutionary act? I have more to say on this I think, soon.
November 18, 2009
I have been meaning to post about Tea for awhile and several thing have inspired me to do so now. First a great podcast from those great guys at
Buddhist Geeks with Kenneth Cohen, honestly go and listen to this it was very inspiring! The other thing is the fantastically nerdy
Tea Review blog.
A great blog that does what it says!
Well here is the post, basically I have been getting well into my tea and I wanted to share a few of my favourites at the moment,
This one on the above on the right has that lovely mellow warming flavour nice in the evening.
The one on the left is just nice subtle and and a good all round tea
This Jasmine tea on the left is great with and Japanese food especially my favourite quick meal, rice with mackerel (recipe soon!) A really refreshing tea with a good bitterness.
This Mu tea on the left is not really a tea as not made from the Tea plant but is really nice alternative and has loads of good herbs within. Especially good for me as I tend to suffer with Damp (of the Chinese medicine variety !)
Finally, the one below is my favourite ever morning tea! unfortunatly I have run out so here is a pic from the web.Lovely and refreshing a bit bitterer than the jasmine. More of a green tea than a black one to my mind.
November 12, 2009
I am a big fan of integral theory and find it very useful in unpacking complex problems. It was in conversation with my wife the other night that I found that it could be usefully applied to medicine and wellness.
First though, a little about Integral theory and the four quadrants.
The idea is that all phenomena, from the way I understand it, especially human phenomena can be divided into four quadrants.
The upper left which is the domain of I - I feel, I think, all personal, internal phenomena, spirit, soul, ‘me’ ness.
The upper right which is the domain of It - all personal physical processes, cells, bio mechanisms, CNS, Chemicals, hormones, neurophysiology, basically the science of me.
The lower Left which is the domain of We – all shared internal experiences, conversations, interpersonal communication, how I relates to others.
Finally Lower Right which is the domain of It’s – all physical external systems and processes, social structures, society, human systems, governments etc.
How does this relate to health and wellness? Well according to this theory all quadrants are absolutely true but partial. In order to get a complete picture of wellness and to treat disease effectively it is necessary to include elements from ALL FOUR quadrants other wise the treatment is partial and sometimes unsuccessful.
In the west we are particularly hung up on the Upper Right quadrant of Health. All diseases are boiled down to physical systems, a neurochemical imbalances, bacteria so on and so forth. This is fine and incredibly effective especially in medical emergencies and Surgery etc.The danger is that Western Medicine may miss the other quadrants which can have an equal impact on health. Hence the reason why some diseases are classed as incurable and western medicines seem unable to have any impact on. Looked into deeper and it can be seen that there is a quadrant missing in the diagnosis. Chronic Pain and diseases like M.E. or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are good examples of this. Western Medicine is sometimes non plussed because there is no Upper Right objective physical causes for the conditions, or if there are they don’t respond in a way that would be expected.
It is not just our current medical system that can suffer from this other systems such as Spiritual Healing for example are in danger of seeing problems only as Upper Left problems when another approach might be more appropriate.
Whether all problems are physical manifestations of spiritual imbalances is another question, but even so, some problems can only be dealt with on a physical level, let’s face it, it’s easier to have surgery on a nasty growth than going to a shamanic healer!
Nevertheless other reductions to single quadrants are less common than the the Upper Right reductionist model we currently have and other approaches to Human health should be welcomed as they serve to balance the top (right) heavy beast we have now.
In short, it is dangerous to assume that everything can be solved by a one quadrant approach, even though some cases may be solved better through one or the other, to be truly integral means to consider all quadrants in each case.
Footnote! This ended up an incredibly rambly post with no real conclusion and hardly any SHiatsu relatedness! Sorry readers! Still if it sparks some conversation then it’s served it’s purpose!
Hope to dicuss in the comments!!!
October 22, 2009
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