There are many similarities between Shiatsu, East Asian medicine and yoga, and even more between Masunaga’s approach and Hatha yoga. Keiraku Shiatsu, also known as Meridian Shiatsu, focuses on treating the entire meridian system. The concept of meridians also features in the energetic physiology on which yoga is based.
It is important to emphasise that Masunaga’s Shiatsu extensively explores and utilises the stretching of muscle chains to affect the meridian network, both conceptually and in practice. This is also evident in yoga practices.
In our presentation, we will delve deeper into specific aspects of these two disciplines and examine the main areas of overlap between Masunaga Sensei’s Zen exercise imagery model and those of the major Hatha Yoga schools.
We will also examine the relationship between meridians, muscles and superficial and deep fascia. This relationship with connective tissue, which is arguably the body’s largest organ, can be defined as the ‘fascia-muscle-organ-meridian relationship’.
We will examine the asanas in relation to the meridians, demonstrating the correct execution method that activates the deep fascia connected to organs and viscera.
Following the introductory talk, we will demonstrate a practical shiatsu exercise related to the discussed topics, followed by a segment exploring pranayama exercises. These exercises can be practised to promote the free flow of Ki by rebalancing the nadi.
Thus, we will experience the asanas in relation to the meridians using the correct execution method to activate the deep fascia connected to the organs and viscera.
Information about the speaker
Massimo Cantara
Born in Poggibonsi (SI) on 15/04/1964
High school diploma in Social-Pedagogical studies
A level in Music at Lewisham College London
8th Grade with Honors (142/150) in drums and percussion with the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Massimo is a Yoga teacher with over 500 hours of training and holds a 300-hour Yoga Therapy diploma from the International Vasistha Yoga Research Foundation (India). He has been teaching yoga since 2010 at his own center in Italy and is a founding member of “Three Treasures Yoga,” an international training school.
He has been a professional operator in Bio-Natural Disciplines and a Shiatsu teacher since 1992. In 1999, he founded the Holismos Center for health arts, a center for promoting and practicing Bio-Natural disciplines, including Yoga, where he serves as director. Massimo has been a Shiatsu operator and teacher for over 30 years and also holds diplomas in Kinesiology and Cranio-Sacral Therapy.
In 2016, together with Sara Della Torre, he founded the new Holismos Yoga and Wellness Center in Varese. He collaborates with various training courses, bringing his particular knowledge in Anatomy and Physiology and beyond.
Massimo studied Shorinji Kempo (a Japanese Buddhist martial art) for 12 years with Sensei Tameo Mizuno in London, Italy, and Japan (2nd Dan). However, his first passion was music from adolescence. He has played with numerous groups in Italy and Great Britain and performed in hundreds of concerts across Europe and Latin America. Today his main passion and interest concern the study of sound, vibrations, and their effects on our health, life, and evolution.
He has taught in training courses for social-health operators (community animators) funded by the EEC and notably participated in the project “Hospital without Pain” for ASL 7 at hospitals in Poggibonsi and Nottola (Montepulciano), delivering over 360 hours of lectures from 2003 to 2007, training nurses in pain treatment with integrated manual techniques.
For the Italian Shiatsu Federation, he has held the positions of Regional Representative, Board Member, and Exam Commission Member.
In 2024, along with three colleagues, he opened the “Mediterranean Retreats Center,” a retreat center on the island of Lesbos, Greece, where he lives six months a year.
In 2021, he released his first solo CD titled “Elemental World” under the Holismos label and published his book “Hospital without Pain – Bio-Natural Techniques in the Hospital Context” with Epigraphia Editions, now also available in English on Amazon.
Maurizio Parini
He began studying Shiatsu in 1981 with Mario Vatrini. A Rehabilitation Therapist, he holds a diploma from the Permanent Training Center in Manual Therapy.
He served as President of the Italian Shiatsu Federation (FIS), and currently plays an active role in FISieo as President of the Evaluation Department and a member of the Executive Board.
Since 1993, he has been a speaker at numerous national and international conferences organized by leading Italian Shiatsu associations.
A passionate scholar of Far Eastern Medicine, he has deepened his study of moxibustion and how Traditional Chinese Medicine principles can be applied to Japanese manual practices.
Since 1986, he has been teaching at the Hakusha School of Shiatsu and Moxibustion, where he has served as Educational Director for the Milan, Varese, and Como branches.
Together with Dr. Corradin and Dr. Di Stanislao, he co-authored the book “Medicina Tradizionale Cinese per lo Shiatsu ed il Tuina”, and contributed to the text “Visceri e Meridiani Curiosi”.
