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...

Day 99 - Finality of Pressure

Well, we took our Acupressure Final Exam tonight, with a written portion worth 100 points and a hands-on portion worth 100 points.
I have been studying during breaks at work, lunchtime, and even during work when there isn't any work to do (yeah, it happens sometimes). There was a whole bunch of information that we had to know and it wasn't "natural" stuff like we Westerners are used to.
I'm very glad to be done with it and I'm also very proud to say that I got a 98% on the written portion and a 100% on the hands-on portion. Usually, I'm not as impressed by a hands-on grade, but this time, the last week of studying has been for this particular portion. Needless to say, I'm quite relieved.

Day 98 - Which Class?

Tonight's class was Pathology and we had our quiz. Oddly enough, there was not a final exam in the class, but it was the last quiz, only worth 15 points. Which, I got 15 points, BTW.
At any rate, after the quiz (10 minutes), we didn't really have much else to learn, so the TA from our Acupressure class came in and reviewed for tomorrow night's final exam. So, I got slightly confused as to what class I was in this evening.
Also, since we didn't have much else to learn, I left about a half hour early. Rebel, I tell ya. I'm such a rebel.

Day 97 - I See Your Point

In our Acupressure class tonight, we reviewed all that is going to be on the test, went over the Golden Points, some meridians, and just generally reviewed.
In my humble opinion, this has been one of the toughest classes we've had. Oh sure, we've had anatomy, pathology, and trigger point, but I think that because we've had to learn something totally foreign to us, based on Traditional Eastern Medicine, it's more difficult. Not only do we need to all of the theory behind it, but the points themselves, and why we might use these points. It's a lot of information. I think I'll go study some more. Or sleep. Whichever.

Day 95 - Acu-Barometric-Pressure

Today was marked by rain. Lots of rain. It had been raining most of the day, stopped for a little bit, then right before I left the J-O-B, it started again. And it poured. The last several months have been quite a drought, yet now we get three or four days of straight rain. When I drive to my J-O-B, I pass a farm with a pond on it. During the drought, the farmer had to send horses into the "pond" to eat all the grass in it. All the water was gone. Since the rain started a few days ago, it took until TODAY for the pond to get some water in it again - and then it was only about 10 feet across when I drove home.
When I left for school, it was barely spitting, but on the way to school, I went through a downpour for a good 10 minutes up the road. Then the skies cleared and I was able to get to school with no problems. About a half hour after my arrival at school, the rain caught up to me there, too. From the classroom, we could hear the patter of rain on the roof. And it hasn't stopped. Not even for a little bit during my drive home. Ugh!
Anyway, for our Acupressure class, we learned about the Water element. Yeah, ironic, huh?
We also reviewed some things to prepare for the final exam and then looked at some case studies on how to determine what treatment to use for a client and their condition. We also interviewed each other. Or at least that's what we were supposed to do. We mostly sat around and chatted...sometimes even about Acupressure.
Oddly enough, I'm getting this stuff.

Day 92 - Heave Metal, Dude!

This past Saturday, WGH, one of my classmates who's become a good buddy, and I went to the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. Her Majesty's Healers is in a garden where guests of the Renn Fest can come, relax, and get massaged by one of the licensed therapists. We all indulged ourselves and got some sort of treatment shortly after we first arrived - before the massive crowds and pandemonium broke out. This was my first professional massage since I started school, so I was eager to take mental notes.
I was able to note a couple things, but for the most part, I relaxed and enjoyed it. She traced meridians on my legs (I got the legs and feet done) and did a little Thai work on them in addition to the typical Swedish style that so many are used to getting.
Not to brag on my classmates or anything, but quite honestly, it felt very similar to the massages I've received in class. The therapist that worked on me was also a graduate of the Baltimore School of Massage.
We spent the rest of the time there shopping and revelling in the Festival.


So, back to school and tonight's Acupressure class. We went over the element of Metal this evening, with its Archetype being the Alchemist. My buddy was one of two Alchemists (Metal) in the class. They are very methodical and there are set protocols to doing everything. According to the theories, Earth creates Metal and Fire controls Metal.
For bodywork, we traced the meridians (which are channels of energy, according to the theories) for Metal, which are the Lung and Large Intestine meridians. That sounds oh-so-enticing, doesn't it?
We also went over the flows for treatment. The flows are acupressure points related to this element, worked in a certain pattern, kinda like a recipe. I think I better get to practicin' cookin' with the cookbook, eh?

Day 91 - Earthtones

I may have mentioned previously that I have a gravy J-O-B. Especially right now when we are in between contracts/projects - basically, there is not a whole lot to do. Today, I spent most of the work day doing homework and creating study guides for the classes in which we have tests or quizzes.
I got together a study guide in Power Point for Acupressure class, and in setting it up, I had to review the material, and of course, I started grasping some of what they're trying to teach us. What a concept!!!
In class tonight, we studied more about the Body Clock as it relates to Acupressure and then we studied the element of Earth and all that entails.
Well, in the Archetype assessment we took, Earth was my strongest one, and its Archetype equivolent is "The Peacemaker." The description in our book says that this person brings people together, and is prone to lethargy. Yeah, I get it, I'm a slug who wants to throw parties.
After going through all that information, we got to get used to what "the work" potentially is for balancing this individual. For the person on the table, it's nap-time. For the person "doing the work," it's about bringing together points on the body through meridian connection. Or something like that.
Like I said, I'm just STARTING to get it.

Day 88 - Fire!

In tonight's Acupressure class, we learned about the Fire element and what do with it in doing an Acupressure session with a client.
I may have mentioned in a previous Acupressure post that one of the things we're learning is how the five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood) work together in Traditional Chinese Medicine, even with personality types...or in this case, they're referred to as "Archetypes."
According to acupuncturetoday.com, "Archetypal expressions of fire include compassion, communication, pleasure-driven, seeking novelty and excitement. This individual thrives on the ecstatic nature of new love and will do just about anything to avoid routine or boredom."
According to the "quiz" in the book, I'm pretty high in fire, so I'm not sure how to take this.
I actually tried to get something out of tonight's class. I guess that's a good thing. I think I was pretty bummed out last week by my low grade on the quiz I took. I am still not totally sure about all of this stuff, but I gotta learn it anyway, so just relax and have fun with it.

Day 87 - Eastern Mumbo Jumbo to Western Girl

Ok, so to say that this whole Acupressure thing seems a little hokey to me may be an understatement. That being said, it's still part of the curriculum of the school and I need to learn it, whether I believe or like it myself.
Mostly what I don't understand why I have to know some of this stuff is the whole Traditional Chinese Medicine stuff and the study of Tao and Yin & Yang. Maybe I'll "get it" more as I go on through this class, but for right now, it just seems so foreign to me. Well...ok it IS foreign to me.
We had a quiz this evening. Six of the 25 points were random words (warm, night, summer, external) and we were to say whether they were "Yin" or "Yang." It reminds me a lot of French class in high school when we had to learn nouns as masculine or feminine. Basic memorization.
I can grasp that the body has certain points on it that could control pain, tension, or whatever, but the rest of the stuff (Yin & Yang), I really don't have much interest in learning.
Oh. And that quiz with 25 point? I got a 15, with only getting two of those six Yin & Yang points correct. At least I know what other Mumbo Jumbo I'll need to learn for the final exam.
Speaking of Mumbo Jumbo, check this out. Hysterical!
How to Massage Your Oppossum

Day 83 - Wizard of Peacemaking Fire

WGH and I met on eHarmony.com. Yes, we're one of the couples that could be on one of those sappy commercials. Except we're not usually that sappy. Silly. Not sappy. As evidenced by our wedding - and its photos.
When signing up for eHarmony, I had to fill out an hour long personality profile to determine my 29 characteristics they would match on and also told a lot about my personality. Go figure. A personality profile to tell about my personality. How novel.
It all turned out pretty well, considering that I got the WGH out of it.
As part of our acupressure textbook, there is a profile to fill out to find out more about who we are and what potential "imbalances" we may encounter as a result.
According to the profile, I am a Peacemaker...or in the elemental terms for Acupressure, Earth. I also scored high on being a Wizard, or the element of Fire. In the description for Peacemaker, it said that someone with this tendancy brings people together. Imbalances may include lethargy, over-indulgence, and indigestion. I think that fits pretty well, frankly. On the weekends, I like to be a couch potato and eat scrambled eggs with lots of ketchup. Lethargy, over-indulgence, and indigestion. Yup, that fits.

Day 80 - Accurate Pressure?

Since last week was the final for Massage Variations, that means that I started a new five week session this week. This session includes classes in Acupressure, Pathology, and Professional Development, and tonight's class was Acupressure.
It has nothing to do with pressure being accurate or acute.
So far my understanding of it is that ancient people in the East (China) tried to understand the human body and found that pressure on certain points will help people feel better. They use terms like Taoism, Chi, Yin & Yang, Shen, and Jing.
These are my impressions of the words we went over tonight:
I read the Tao of Pooh one time, about truisms from Winnie the Pooh, one of the great philosophers. WGH has introduced me to the Chi-Lites' music - it's kinda R&B so I like it. Yin & Yang were a mime duo that guest starred on The Muppet Show in the 70's quite a bit. Shen was one of the Three Stooges. And finally, Jing is a game played with blocks stacked on top of each other. The idea is to pull one out and put it on top of the stack without knocking the whole thing over.
You may get the impression that I'm quite the Western American girl - from the East Coast. When I was growing up, my family's idea of Chinese food was Chun King Chicken Chow Mein from a can. There was one Jewish boy in my whole elementary school class and we were all shocked he didn't know who Jesus was. (Yes, the students even discussed this in a public school - in 1978!) There were very few Asians in my elementary school - I think one family. I seem to remember the words "refugee" and "Vietnam" being said about them, but I didn't know what they meant.
I guess you could say that I grew up in a very White Bread area. I think it should have have been named WonderBreadville.
Since going to college and getting out into the workforce, I have experienced much more diversity, but needless to say, my exposure to Eastern medicine or culture is next to nothing. This class will definitely present a challenge.