Many of you may have heard me say that the origin of Amatsu stems from a Japanese martial art tradition, but what does that actually mean? How do you as a client benefit from this ancient wisdom? How does it manifest itself in the treatment session and what are the deeper implications of what it means to work with and receive this treatment?
Last weekend, I took part in a course with Mark Evans, an Amatsu practitioner who has also practiced Budo Taijutsu for the past 20 years. Taijutsu translates as ‘natural body movement’ and this is the martial art that underpins the modern Amatsu that we practice today. It is the main reason why Amatsu is so effective and what differentiates it from other bodywork therapies such as osteopathy, massage and chiropractic.
But what is natural body movement? Don’t we all do that everyday? Well, sadly, the answer is no.
We sit too long, we carry bags on one shoulder, we put pressure on our spine by lifting things that are too heavy for us. We sleep in beds that don’t suit us, we overwork some muscles and under use others in our daily lives. We get into bad postural habits. In fact, Dr Massaki Hatsumi, the Grand Master of the Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, the organisation that combines nine teaching schools, states that human beings were the only animal that needs to be taught how to move. We have forgotten.
When I practice Amatsu, working with natural body movement, moving without tension and flowing like our martial artist ancestors helps me to foster better natural movement in my client’s body. It also heIps me to remain present. If I am aware of my own body movement, I can be more fully in the moment and then feel the subtle imbalances, tension and restrictions in your body which help me to decide where to work next.
As I move through a treatment, you may wonder how I often seem to find the bits that hurt!
‘How do you do that?’ you might say ‘I didn’t even know that place was sore!’
This comes back to the martial roots too. When fighting, the two combatants would be looking to see which part of the body their opponent left exposed. This would inform their next move. In the same way, when I am treating you, I look to see how your body naturally wants to move as I work my way up a limb. Does your bent leg fall in or out? Does your back arch? Does your hand naturally pull inwards? These things can be quite subtle, but these movements help me to expose the ‘weak’ bits – the parts of you that need some help.
The martial artists were always looking for ways to move that involved little effort to themselves. They used the momentum and power of their opponents movements, not muscular strength, to attack and defend. The same is true with Amatsu. Sometimes, a person may comment that I must be exhausted, treating 6 or 7 clients one after the other. But actually, I’m not because of these same principles. If I am working with my body in balance and with the natural biases in your body, I am not hauling your arms and legs into position, so it’s not tiring. It is also one of the reasons why Amatsu feels so relaxing for you – I am working with your body, not on it, and this allows you to let go.
The origins of Amatsu were made clear to me from the start of my training, but I hadn’t really appreciated how much deeper this philosophy went and how by embarking on Amatsu training and practice, I was really entering into a tradition that stretched back many thousands of years. This path was designed not only to teach participants how to fight or to heal, but how to live. I think this was the most powerful lesson from the weekend for me. The essence of the martial art we were shown was not macho, but powerful and humble. There was great respect between opponents and a sense of joy in the art. There was an emphasis on the importance of engaging without ego, but with a good heart.
And if these are not lessons for life, I don’t know what is.
Until next time,
Lorna
PS Mark will be starting an Amatsu training course in February in Doncaster, so if you would like to learn this amazing art, please contact The Amatsu Training School for more details.
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