Why does the Zen Shiatsu therapist often start your treatment by feeling your abdominal region or focusing in on that region?
Hara means abdomen in Japanese. But in Zen Shiatsu, the concept of Hara is much larger than that.
The abdomen is more than just the physical centre in which the organs live. It is our energetic centre, the place from which all movement flows, and where an impression of our current state of being can be found.
In Shiatsu theory, imbalances in the body are caused by external or internal reasons. External could be weather, viruses, and accidents. Internal can be food, emotions, and thoughts. These imbalances block the flow of Ki/Qi/Energy in the body and channels that are associated with the organs, and this is reflected in the Hara.
Thus, palpation of the Hara is a crucial part of Zen Shiatsu when it comes to both assessment of a client as well as the centre of focus for the practitioner – is the clients body pushing back or letting me sink in ?
At the end of the Shiatsu session the Hara is palpated again to see what changes have occurred.
Deep Dive …
The Hara is located on the front portion of the body. It lies just below the inferior portion of the rib cage, forming a kind of circular area reaching down to the pubic crest and sideways about two hand widths on either side of the navel.
Just below the navel, about three finger widths, is the Dan Tien, considered the centre of the Hara.
The Hara is divided into sections, each corresponding with the body’s meridians, or energy channels, which in turn correspond to various body organs. Several of the areas can be located like sections of a clock face.
For example, if you were looking at someone’s abdomen, directly under the xiphoid process, at 12:00 on the clock is the area for the Heart. Just between the area for Heart and above the navel is Heart Protector; 1:00 is the Stomach and 2:00 is the Triple Heater; 3:00 and 9:00 represent the Lungs, 10:00 is the Liver and 11:00 is the Gall Bladder. The spleen is located around the navel and beneath that area in a “U” shape lies the Kidney, reaching around and up both sides. Below the Kidney is the Bladder, also in a “U” shape, almost completely up and around the Kidney area. As with the Lung areas, there are two each of the Small Intestine and the Large Intestine. The Large Intestine covers areas 4:00 to 5:00 on our clock, as well as 7:00 to 8:00. The Small intestine crosses over the Large Intestine approximately in the centre and reaches over and through the Bladder and the Kidney sections.
I have drawn a representation of the areas – scroll down.
Please note that these are NOT locations of the actual organs in the body, but locations of energetic centres of the organs for means of assessment.
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