How to apply pressure without straining your body or damaging your hands is one of the greatest challenges involved in massage.

The most significant cause of early retirement from the massage profession is the cumulative strains on the body developed in the course of performing massages. The growth of the profession in recent years has been accompanied by an increase in the number of work induced problems. Practitioners can strain their hands, particularly their thumbs, fingers and wrists, and also their shoulders and backs.

This book highlights aspects of massage that can lead to these problems and offers guidance for avoiding these. The focus is on how to use your body safely and effectively in massage sessions. This includes involving your whole body to generate the power and movement that supports your working hands, saving your hands by using them skilfully and conserving them by using other body areas such as your forearms and elbows whenever possible. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in massage, whether you are a student, a professional massage practitioner or teacher, sports massage therapist or aromatherapist.

Darien Pritchard calls upon nearly 30 years of massage experience, including 25 years of training massage professionals. He teaches bodywork modules in a university degree course, provides advanced training courses for massage practitioners, and is a guest teacher on training courses for blind and visually impaired practitioners in Britain and Scandinavia.

Darien is a co-director of the Massage Training Institute (MTI), a national organisation of holistic massage schools, and serves on the executive of the General Council for Massage Therapy, UK. With Su Fox, he co-authored Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology for the Massage Therapist, which is aimed at students and the early practitioner.

Shiatsu - a Japanese bodywork therapy - is a natural healing discipline from the same ancient oriental principles as acupuncture. This text has been designed as an in-depth introduction to the basic principles and methods of this practical healing art. Shiatsu works by stimulating the body's vital energy flow in order to promote good health. The practitioner uses palms, thumbs and fingers, elbows and even knees and feet to apply pressure and stretching to the energy lines or "meridians".

This text provides a description of how and why shiatsu works and the ways in which it is applied. A straightforward explanation of the basics underlying the discipline forms the starting point, and is followed by detailed advice on how to prepare both body and mind for giving shiatsu. A discussion of the principles of applying shiatsu techniques leads into practical step-by-step instruction on a wide range of technique sequences, all accompanied by clear explanatory line drawings and colour photographs, giving the beginner an insight into how to relieve stress and promote wellbeing.

Chris Jarmey, M.C.S.P., D.S., M.R.S.S., is the Course Director / Principal of the European Shiatsu School. He has served several terms as the Education Officer, Medical Liaison Officer and Assessment Panel member for the Shiatsu Society. Chris has specialist skills in therapeutic Eastern and Western exercise, and has been practicing and teaching Shiatsu, Yoga and Qigong for over 35 years. He is the author of several best-selling books, including The Theory and Practice of Taiji Qigong, also published by Lotus Publishing and North Atlantic Books, and Shiatsu: the complete guide (Harper Collins). Chris teaches body mechanics, bodywork therapy, and anatomy extensively throughout Europe.