Day 119 - Shiatsu! God Bless You!

Class

Many moons ago when I worked at the old J-O-B, one of the neighbor companies in the office park was named "Otsuka." When my sister and I carpooled together, I asked her one time as we drove by the building, "What does that say?"
She replied, "Ott-soo-kaa."
So I responded, "God bless you," as if she had sneezed.
That's what the name sounded like to me.
A sneeze.
And that's what Shiatsu sounds like to me as well. However, unlike the Japanese pharmaceutical company, Shiatsu is a Japanese word that means "finger pressure," and we are studying this in class for the next five weeks. It's another modality, like acupressure, that is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine. And you may remember how much fun I had with acupressure. I will say this, though. I can see me probably using this more than I will acupressure.
In tonight's class, we got a short lecture on what shiatsu is and then we got a demonstration of it. We also got to try a couple stretching things on our partner as well. In the next five weeks, we'll also be creating our own protocol to use on a client that my partner and I create. No, that is not a dangling modifier. We get to "create a client" with ailments and imbalances that can be helped by Shiatsu.
I think I'm looking forward to this class. At the very least, it will help me with my flexibility.
Things to remember for Shiatsu:

1. Yoga mat or really big thick mat (a mattress would be great, but my be bulky to carry into class)
2. Wash feet and change socks before going to school
3. Wear loose, comfortable pants, preferably sweats. Hello Kitty pajama bottoms could be fun, too.
4. Don't eat beans the day before or the day of Shiatsu class
5. Make sure to take care of any rest room needs before practicing

Clinic

In other news, I had my fourth (and final for this session) student clinic shift this past Saturday. My first client wanted deep pressure, but not on his back. Nothing on his back. The next hour, I got to receive a student exchange. As much as giving is good experience for me, receiving from another student is also good to pick up other ideas and have reminders about strokes and speed and that sort of thing. In the third session, I performed a student exchange. For the fourth and final session of the day, I had a young lady client who enjoyed her massage so much, she tried to give me a tip. I told her that I couldn't accept cash, but even more important to me now is a student evaluation feedback form.
From this week until the end of student clinic, I will be taking the Saturday afternoon shift, which means I won't be getting home until about 7:00pm.
Short term sacrifice for my long term goal...