You may not be having an operation but hey, it's still a good read as to how Shiatsu helps your body back into balance!
I was contacted a few months ago by a lady preparing to have a hysterectomy and how she'd like shiatsu straight afterwards to combat the effects of the gas which is left over from a laparoscopy. I'll admit I had to look all this up, and I didn't find very much, just things like 'you'll have some gas left, it will go in a few days'.
The reality for someone who really researched what a post operative laparoscopy would be like was more along the lines of (from other post op people on a forum) : 'You're left with agonising pain that takes weeks to go....'
This was far more terrifying than the NHS website, and rightly made her determined to ensure she wasn't in this situation, hence a call to me. The success of the outcome surprised us both, we set a low level of expectation, but her referred pain from trapped gas in her abdomen was gone in the same day, so that was a fantastic result from Shiatsu.
However, I want to delve a little deeper into why having this treatment after an operation is vital.
Last year I broke my ankle and it required an operation to put bolts, screws and plates in; I didn't want it but I couldn't avoid it if I wanted to ensure I could walk properly again afterwards. My main problem was that it was during the first lockdown, so I couldn't receive a treatment at that time. Once before when I broke (the other!) ankle, I was straight off for a Shiatsu, the broken ankle as it turned out barely needed it, the ankle was doing pretty well, it was the rest of my body that wasn't, but thank heavens I could have a weekly treatment that felt like it was putting me back together again on a regular basis.
There are so many factors of healing going on in your body after an operation or accident, that it is exhausted; and the recovery time depends on your current health. I know this as I've experienced it a few times now, your brain feels like its wading through sludge, your body doesn't move like it used to, and you enjoy watching bland TV like never before.
So many people expect to be 'up and about' within days or a couple of weeks of an operation giving no thought to the processes your body is going through afterwards , and why would you? If you've never experienced this before and people /websites aren't going to give you a true account of how you feel afterwards you'll get a shock when it hits you full on and you just can't proceed like your old self could.
If you have a knee or hip op and you do feel you can move more easily after the op, that's great, as that was the point of it, however there could be long term niggling symptoms that are left in the wake of being cut open. Let's look at a couple of factors of an operation on the body:
CUTTING ACROSS THE MERIDIANS
This sounds quite dramatic but when you are opened, not only will the surgeon cut through skin, muscle, fascia, and maybe bone, they will cut the energetic laylines of your body too. Nerve damage can happen, (though hopefully they won't cut those), but the trauma to the layers of your anatomy take time to heal, and that includes the energetic layers too. If you feel 'too much pain' for too long, then it's more than likely it's your energy patterns that are traumatised. Inflammation from the surgery can cause blockages in the flow of your energy and so things won't feel as they should, they may feel weak, be too cold, too inflexible, feel brittle, numb, or tender.
Shiatsu will work energetically to reconnect these elements, calm the trauma and create the flow of energy again. Each time I came out of my shiatsu after my op I felt I could walk 'that much better', after the first time it actually felt as though my foot was in the right place at the end of my leg and not stuck out to one side. It wasn't physically, but energetically it was in a mess and so it felt very weak and unstable to stand on.
YOUR KIDNEYS AND FATIGUE
Anaesthetic takes its toll on your kidneys, and the older you are, or the more ops you have had, the longer it may take to you to recover from just having the operation, let alone what the operation was for. In this case it would be good to have shiatsu regularly before even going for the operation. Strong 'Kidney Ki' is at the root of good health for all of us, and life takes its toll on this, and so maintaining it is at the heart of keeping you healthy and strong.
Being a preventative treatment shiatsu can ward off many reasons for having an operation. For example keeping good joint health may mean you'll never require a joint replacement operation.
I once managed to get a client to not have her tonsils removed. She suffered from sore throats continuously and her boss had suggested she have this operation! Once she understood that it was likely to be an emotional connection to communication issues, the sore throats ceased. Shiatsu isn't just about receiving an amazingly relaxing treatment, it's about becoming aware of how and why ailments manifest in your body, and recognising them to resolve them naturally yourself. Shiatsu and its many attributes is about empowering you for your own wellbeing and great health.
POST OPERATIVE GAS ALLEVIATION
What I've learnt recently is that having keyhole surgery really does minimise recovery time in one respect, and its not necessarily going to sever critical abdominal meridians, however it can leave you in excruciating pain in the short term. To see what they are doing in the op you're pumped with gas, of which a majority of it is left inside of you post op. This gas presses on the organs in your 'Hara', the belly; like the liver, gallbladder , small and large intestines, stomach and spleen, and it has no way of escaping quickly. Whilst this gas is trapped the referred pain from it is felt through the channels which permeate your neck and shoulders leaving you in pain; which you end up taking opiates for!
When my client came for a shiatsu I had to think about alleviating gas, and the closest I could liken it to is 'Chinese Wind'. Gently stretching some pivotal channels like Liver, holding channels for support and asking the client to inhale some peppermint essential oil, shifted the 'Wind'. It had to escape the encapsulation of the diaphragm and diffuse around the body (it then escapes through the skin and not the usual 'wind' channels!). Momentarily uncomfortable yes, but instant relief, also a YES!
Follow up treatments are done 'in the moment' what you are feeling on that day, Shiatsu molds itself to what you need at that time, and that's the beauty of it It's gentle, supportive and effective and I wouldn't choose any other treatment to help my mind, body and energy heal after an operation.
Don't wait to have Shiatsu after an operation, have a regular shiatsu now to keep your body in balance, resolve gastro-intestinal issues, joint pain, muscle tension, arthritis, migraines, anxiety, fatigue, menopausal symptoms, stress , emotional disturbances. Shiatsu gently rebalances your body, so that a lot of symptoms and problems that you have dissipate.
We're lucky that our bodies warn us ahead of time that we have problems, so you may not have had any luck getting results to tests, and this can be a good thing, it means that your pain/symptom is in the energetic realm and can be alleviated in this manner.
Contact Andrea if you'd like to find out more. Shiatsu is a preventative therapy and should be had regularly like you would a massage.
