Knife Hand Technique

Knife Hand is a classic shiatsu technique. First, you put the fingers from one hand together, very straight. Then you make a penetrating, sawing motion with the fingertips.

We will be applying this pressure along both sides of the center of the spine. This should be a sawing, not a rubbing, motion. It can penetrate deeply as long as the receiver does not tense their body.

This kind of pressure is very stimulating to the musculature and really gets chi flowing in an invigorating way. Doing it down the back is especially good for the central nervous system, as well as the flow of the Governing Vessel and Bladder meridians.

Many shiatsu practitioners already know how to use this technique. But they often do not use it to its full capacity. Get behind the motion with your hara. Visualize and FEEL that you are stimulating the flow of chi along the spine and through the central nervous system. Notice changes in the feel of energy through the Bladder meridian if you know where that is. Imagine that the Governing Vessel, which runs along the meninges of the spinal cord, is activated.

Bladder Meridian

Governing Vessel Meridian

Does the spine feel more alive when you are finished? Does the receiver look different in any way? Do you feel invigorated?