Shiatsu Health
Providing natural health care since 1990
Book a Treatment
“Shiatsu has made me a calmer person, releasing toxins from my body, keeping me feeling and looking younger.” Bonita C, Donaghadee
Where
I work from my home clinic at 17 Myrtledene Road, about one mile from the Forestside Shopping Centre (Saintfield direction). For travel directions and a map go to the Contact Me page.When
Appointments: Monday - Friday: 10am, 11.30am, 2pm, 3.30pm, 5pm and 6.30pm (Tuesday also 8.00 pm, Friday not 6.30 pm). Weekends, please ring.
Duration
The first treatment includes an initial consultation and can take up to one and a quarter hours. Subsequent treatments last up to 1 hour.
How many sessions
I don’t prescribe a set number of sessions. Each person’s case is totally individual and so the number of treatments required varies. However in order to give the treatments a chance to work I normally suggest that clients come for three sessions. This provides both myself and client a better opportunity to assess how effective the treatments have been and could potentially be.
How much
Each session costs £35.00. Regular clients enjoy a reduction.
Concession rates are available if you are out of work or are on low income.
Home visits can be arranged if you are unable to travel to the clinic.
For maximum benefit
In the hour before your treatment avoid eating any food.
After the treatment drink at least 3 glasses of water and avoid alcohol for 24 hours.
Gift vouchers
Treat someone special to a Shiatsu massage treatment at Shiatsu Health with a Gift Voucher.
Select either a 30 minute (£17.50) or 60 minute (£35) massage treatment and that special someone will receive a Gift Voucher within a couple of days via First Class post.
All they have to do then is book an appointment at a time convenient to them!
Contact Me for details.
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Initial Assessment
In order to treat it is important first of all to assess the condition of the receiver’s (your) well-being. So when you come for your initial treatment I will ask for some details of your current and past health – GP treatments, illness or health problems, any operations or hospitalisations.
I will also ask for some information about your lifestyle – the food you eat, the work you do, the exercise you take and how you relax.This all allows me to ascertain how your current condition may relate to any problems you may have had.
I may then ask to see your tongue. This is a principal method of diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine and can help reveal areas of the body’s energy which are out of balance. I often use abdominal palpation (hara diagnosis), allowing me to check the level of energy in the meridian channels.
These methods all help me assess your state of health, giving me a focus for your treatment.
A Typical Treatment
Shiatsu is given on a soft futon mat at floor level. It is applied through light comfortable clothing such as jogging bottoms and T-shirt.
Meridian exercises may be introduced, assisted stretching may be used (especially the legs and arms), rotating the joints to increase mobility and even gently rocking of the body to help relax the nervous system.
Initially the receiver may find the experience strange, especially if it is a first bodywork treatment. However this usually passes and most receivers are able to relax quite deeply after one or two sessions.
Each session starts with a short evaluation of previous treatments.
When appropriate the session may begin with a short meditation or relaxation.
Homecare recommendations
To maximise the effect of the treatments it is very useful to develop techniques and strategies that can be used at home.
To this end I often offer suggestions and exercises which clients can build in to a self help routine.
These might include meridian exercises and stretches, awareness of your posture and how to improve it, nutritional recommendations (to increase energy levels and gently detox the system) and simple meditation and relaxation techniques.
Here is a simple Short Meditation that you can do at home.
- Sit or lie comfortably. Loosen your clothing . Close your eyes.
- Become aware of being still. Notice that you are sitting or lying quietly and just observe how it feels.
- Now be aware of the contact you have with the surface you are lying on, chair, bed, floor etc. Notice the parts of your body that are in contact with the chair, floor etc – your feet or heels, your legs, hips, back, arms etc.
- Now bring your attention to your breath. You don’t need to change how you are breathing. Just observe what happens when you breathe in and out. Notice how your body moves as you breathe. Notice how your chest and abdomen rise when you breathe in and and relax as you breathe out.
- If it helps you can place your hands over your abdomen so that you can feel the movement of your body more easily.
- Keep your awareness on this movement. Be aware of the gentle rise and fall of your body as you breathe in and out.
- Feel the flow of air through your nose into your lungs as you inhale and the flow from your lungs out through your nose and mouth. It is absolutely fine if your mind wanders. Just bring your awareness back to your breathing and your body.
- See if you can stay with this process for a minute or so just observing your breath.
- Try to do this short exercise daily, each day extending slightly its duration to a point where you spend ten minutes.
- When practised regularly this short meditation will have a profound affect on your bodily and mental health.
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Testimonials
'John's commitment to healing is without doubt. His intuitive approach re-connects healing from the deep past with the present day. Shiatsu works for me - it keeps me going and McKeever makes me smile.'
SH, County Antrim
'I received my first Shiatsu treatment in 2003 when I attended John with pain and stiffness in my leg. I had little knowledge of Shiatsu at this time but felt drawn to it as a treatment. My intention was to have 4-6 treatments. That was nearly 4 years ago!
Today I continue to receive regular treatments because I continue to experience the benefits of it at a physical, mental and spiritual level.
I had not envisaged the powerful healing effects this simple form of healing would have. These benefits include feeling more centred and relaxed. While some sessions leave me with a deep feeling of calm and peacefulness, at other times I feel invigorated with increased energy and a feeling of inner clarity.
Shiatsu has also enabled me to become more tuned-in to my own body. I had read (possibly many times) how the body stores all our experiences and that even our thoughts and feelings can affect our cells and nerve endings. However Shiatsu has enabled me to experience this awareness at a personal and deeper level.
Shiatsu has also re-educated me to be more open and listen to the wisdom of my own body with compassion. It has strengthened my belief that all the answers I need are within me if I have the courage and will to journey inside.
At the beginning of each treatment I affirm silently “I am open to the healing that needs to take place”.
FM October 2007
"Shiatsu has helped me with chronic back trouble and feeling of stress.”
Clive H, Newtownabbey
A moment of peace
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