Wataru Ohashi, the originator of the healing art of Ohashiatsu, shares with us its history
and the fundamental differences between Ohashiatsu and "traditional" shiatsu.

TMA: Ohashi, I usually like to start by asking people to talk briefly about their history. How did you come to the practice, and what were the steps that you went through?

O: I was born in 1944 in Hiroshima.

TMA: You were there when the bomb went off?

O: Yes. Fortunately our family was not in the city, but outside of it. But I still remember all the starvation and difficulty after the war. I was born unhealthy and sick, and learned to take care of my own health. That's the way I discovered oriental medicine.

TMA: How did you recover your health as you grew up?

O: Acupuncture, moxibustion, shiatsu and diet helped me tremendously. During the 1940s and 50s we did not have much medicine, so I used so-called "alternative medicine" ... the name that you in America give to traditional oriental medicine.

TMA: Was regaining your health a long process?

O: I'm still regaining it. I'm getting better, but it's a long, long process.

TMA: How old were you when you started your shiatsu practice?

O: When I was around 18 in Japan I started studying this form of the art of healing.

TMA: Did you study under any particular master?

O: Yes. My teacher is Masunaga.

TMA: What was the course of study like?

O: It's wonderful. He taught not only technique, but also spirituality.

TMA: Was there a meditative practice associated with it?

O: Not only that, but also studying other cultures, psychology and philosophy.

TMA: How long did it take for you to reach master status?

O: Well, I never reached master status at all. I'm practicing 40 years, and I'm still a beginner.

[laughter]

TMA: Shiatsu is closely associated with acupuncture?

O: Theoretically they are very similar, but acupuncture uses needles to stimulate some points. In shiatsu we use our hands and fingers instead of needles.

TMA: It uses the same meridians and points?

O: Yes.

TMA: And the moxibustion?

O: That is the application of heat.

TMA: You have established your own school that you call "Ohashiatsu."

O: My name is Ohashi and shiatsu [is the system] so when I developed my own style of shiatsu, we called it Ohashiatsu, which we registered 30 years ago. This school, a non-profit educational organization, was established in 1974 in New York state. Then we began teaching all over the world, including Chicago. We've been in existence for 30 years.

TMA: How does what you teach differ from traditional shiatsu, or does it differ at all?

O: Any generic name such as shiatsu is so vague that it is very difficult to define so-called traditional shiatsu. Everybody has their own opinions about just what it is. In shiatsu, when you receive you get better. It is for the sake of the benefit of the receiver that you give shiatsu. In Ohashiastu, on the other hand, the benefit is for the sake of the giver.

TMA: How is that?

O: The big difference here is that when you are giving, you as a giver get better, healthier and happier.

TMA: That's the same as saying it's better to give than to receive.

O: We developed this program for the sake of the givers. That's the big, big difference.

TMA: The giver and the receiver both benefit, yes?

O: Of course by accident many receivers get benefits, but that's not our business. Our business is the giver is getting better and healthier and gets benefits first.

TMA: By the action of transmitting the healing themselves.

O: When you are giving this form, you exercise, you move, you practice yoga, you practice tai chi, you practice dance and you practice meditation. So in the process of giving healing to other people, you yourself get the first benefit.

TMA: How did you develop this difference?

O: I learned in many different ways. First of all, I was so weak that I am the last person to give shiatsu. If I had kept giving the way the traditional shiatsu is given, I would have died before other people were helped. So I had to develop my own style.

TMA: Is this illness from the radiation from when you were a child?

O: Not necessarily. We were not in that vicinity of the radiation; however, I was born premature. I was undernourished and I was dying many times. My physical body doesn't allow me to continue to give shiatsu, therefore I had to combine from my experience in meditation, dance, Tai Chi, Aikido, and so forth. I developed my own style.

TMA: Did you study with different teachers from those traditions?

O: I learned from many teachers, but I mostly taught myself.

TMA: How does a typical training go for people who get involved in Ohashiatsu?

O: We teach in six levels, which we call Beginners Part 1 and Part 2, Intermediate Part 1, Part 2, Advanced Part 1 and Part 2. We have 30 hours of lessons in each level. Each 30-hour increment could be once a week for three hours for 10 weeks; or two 15-hour weekends; or three hours a day for ten days. There are many varieties of teaching arrangements. We also have many retreat programs which people can come to.

TMA: Do your students learn the traditional acupuncture meridians and sensitive points?

O: Yes, we teach traditional acupuncture point meridians in the ear and fiber elements and Oriental diagnosis and anatomy.

TMA: Talk about the essence of the teaching. What does it all boil down to?

O: The most important aspect of our teaching is practice. We teach students how to perform this modality of healing—again, good for givers and then, of course, for receivers. The most essential issue in our classes is that we demonstrate proper movement, exercise and technique, and students practice. This program is for anybody who wants to develop themselves. We are teaching for self development, therefore anybody who wants to be healthy and have well-being, can learn.

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Ohashiatsu Chicago presents a complete professional training program in Ohashi's unique form of Bodywork, Ohashiatsu. Courses are also open to those who are practitioners of other styles of bodywork, as well as individuals who simply desire to explore a deeper understanding of themselves and others, and to learn some technique in order to share this "Touch for Peace" with those close to them. Ohashiatsu Chicago is also a private bodywork session center offering sessions by Certified Practitioners.

Ohashi will be in Chicago to offer his "Touch for Psychological Health" course to bodyworkers and those interested in the psychological aspects of the energy channels which run through the body. The course will be offered in Evanston on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, from 10am to 5:30pm. For further information, call 847/864-1130.

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