Many turn to the practice of shiatsu for everything from anxiety to endometriosis. While shiatsu is an excellent practice, there are other therapies that are closely linked to shiatsu that might prove just as beneficial. Let us take a look at five other alternative therapies that work very well.

Acupressure has been used successfully in China and Japan for over 3,000 years. This is a form of therapy that makes use of the combination of acupuncture and massage, and may have been a precursor to shiatsu in Japan. When acupressure is done the practitioner massages the points on the body deemed as acupoints as firmly as possible with his fingertip or thumb. The pressure exerted from acupressure can be done in more than one way. Some acupressure practitioners use their fingers while others use their thumb, the palms of their hands and even their knees in some cases. How soon a person will experience relief from pain depends on the cause of the pain. Chronic persistent types of health problems will take longer to show Improvement while other problems can show Improvement fairly quickly.

Do-In is a type of alternative therapy is an excellent precursor to an acupressure treatment. Do-In is a system that utilizes stretches, exercises, beginner acupressure techniques and special breathing techniques. This is an excellent way to start with alternative health therapy if you are new these natural ways of healing.

Acu-yoga combines yoga with acupressure for pain relief. In this case yoga postures are used In order to stimulate acupressure points on the body. In this practice the entire body is used for this relaxation and not just the hands. Acu-yoga is meant to be done at home. The yoga stretches are particularly good if you want to get to hard-to-reach spots on your body and your back.

Jin Shin Jyutsu is a Japanese method of acupressure that you can do yourself. Jin Shin is not about massage. Rather, it uses cradling or touching the body for pain relief. The aim of this practice is to calm and harmonize the body as well as the spirit and mind. This is done by way of touching what are known as 26 "safety energy locks" that are located in the human body along various energy pathways. A Jin Shin Jyutsu can even involve cradling or a combination of touches or it can be as basic as holding one or two fingers over certain parts of the body.

Zen shiatsu is a strenuous involved practice that incorporates yoga-like stretches and mediation on a daily basis. Zen is a type of Buddhism that got its start In Japan. The yoga-like stretches are designed to open up the meridians of the body. Practitioners of this alternative therapy also may use of heavy pressure on their body and they put their entire body weight into relaxing the muscles. This kind of vigorous shiatsu cannot be done at home, it takes a practitioner several years to become proficient.