It is not a lack of love for nature that is going to kill us, it’s a lack of love for ourselves.
- Dr Carmody Grey
When I stepped into the world of Climate Crises Activism I could feel that there somehow is a connection to Shiatsu and Sei-ki that needs to be made. I felt that this connection is my path but for quite a while I didn’t have clarity on how this connection can be formed or what it already is. The deeper I got into the Climate Activism world and the more I learned about it the clearer this connection became. I now see a connection on two levels.
One is the use of Shiatsu and Sei-ki within the area of Eco-Grief and Eco-Anxiety.
The other is the reconnection with our own nature through bodywork and therefore hopefully a reconnection to nature all around us.
One is the use of Shiatsu and Sei-ki within the area of Eco-Grief and Eco-Anxiety.
The other is the reconnection with our own nature through bodywork and therefore hopefully a reconnection to nature all around us.
Bodywork for Eco-Grief
Meeting like minded people in the Climate Crises Activism Movement made me open up to the deep feelings of frustration, anger, despair and sadness I felt because of how humanity has been and is in relationship with nature. I listened to new found friends speak about their pain of lost species, their fears for their children's future and their anger because of the governments inactions. For some this pain is the reason to step up in to activism. The pain can also be a reason for paralyzes and disconnection from the reality that humanity is facing. When one starts researching these topics the term Eco-Grief or Eco-Anxiety comes up really quickly. In recent years more and more people report feelings of sadness, anger and despair over the decay of nature and the loss of their potential future due to the Climate Crises. Psychologists have named these conditions Eco-Grief or Eco-Anxiety. One of the main studies on Eco-Grief, conducted by Ashlee Cunsolo and Neville R. Ellis published in 2018, defines Eco-Grief as 'the grief in relation to experienced or anticipated ecological losses, including the loss of species, ecosystems and meaningful landscapes due to acute or chronic environmental change.' Facing the truth of the Climate Crises and the pain it causes can be hard. Many people feel paralyzed and ignore it. For them facing the pain alone can be too much to carry. Others throw themselves into Climate Crises Activism and burn out because the fight is seemingly endless. |
I believe that Shiatsu can help people who are experiencing Eco-Grief in multiple ways. In Shiatsu we help our clients to see and face what is going on. Often by actively listening to what our receives are telling us the receiver feels recognised and understood. We deepen that recognition by working with touch and allow their bodies to adjust.
Shiatsu touch can allow the receiver to go deeper into their Eco-Grief in a safe space. Falling deeper into the grief sounds scary but ones we have faced it, we have a clearer path to moving on to acceptance of the emotion. Acceptance helps us to move forward and in the case of Eco-Grief that can mean having the courage to join an environmental movement to volunteer to bring change about.
As the Climate Crises is evolving to be ever more threatening, Eco-Grief is not something that will disappear. In fact, and to be honest, it might get worse. Shiatsu can guide us through the spiral of Eco-Grief. The touch, deep relaxation and recognition of what is, that Shiatsu brings can help us carry on.
I believe we can bring about the system change we need to keep temperature rise to a minimum when we ourselves are working on our balance and living our full truth and from love.
Shiatsu touch can allow the receiver to go deeper into their Eco-Grief in a safe space. Falling deeper into the grief sounds scary but ones we have faced it, we have a clearer path to moving on to acceptance of the emotion. Acceptance helps us to move forward and in the case of Eco-Grief that can mean having the courage to join an environmental movement to volunteer to bring change about.
As the Climate Crises is evolving to be ever more threatening, Eco-Grief is not something that will disappear. In fact, and to be honest, it might get worse. Shiatsu can guide us through the spiral of Eco-Grief. The touch, deep relaxation and recognition of what is, that Shiatsu brings can help us carry on.
I believe we can bring about the system change we need to keep temperature rise to a minimum when we ourselves are working on our balance and living our full truth and from love.
Grief is strength in these times. Burying our emotions might shield us for a while, but grief keeps us in contact with truth, and beneath everything, it opens our eyes to the profound love we feel for the fabric of life that’s under threat. Grief is a direct expression of connection—a pain we could never feel if it weren’t for the depth of our love. And more than cheerfulness or stoicism or more information, it is love that will move us to fight. No scientific report or technological innovation will ever match that kind of power.
– Jennifer Atkinson
Bodywork and reconnecting to nature
The books, talks and podcasts I have been engaging with recently about the Climate Crises, that were the most inspiring for me, were the ones in which the topic of loss of connection with nature was raised as an issue that is underpinning the lack of action to halt further temperature rise and therefore the worst outcome of the Climate Crises. Again and again I read or heard that humanity has stepped away from the connection to nature. We see ourselves as the rulers over nature rather than being nature and living with nature. The world that we live in is making us thrive for constant growth and makes us live in our heads most of the time. It is also a world that is neglecting our nature and the connection to nature. We often do not listen to our bodies and keep on pushing. So what if we start connecting to our nature again? What if we could feel our body? Know what it needs? I believe if we do connect to our body again and recognize that we are a part of nature we can learn to treat ourselves and nature with love. The re-found connection to our nature might just be the start of a loving connection to Mother Earth and a reciprocal way of living with her rather than against her. |
Shiatsu is routed in nature believes, theories and practices. Shiatsu and Sei-ki is a Japanese Healing art. Japans traditional religion Shinto is a religion of nature. In Shinto it is believed that spirits, called kami, are manifested in wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers, rocks and life affirming thoughts like fertility.
We also work based on 5 Element Theory from Classical Chinese Medicine. Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth are honoured in our bodies as a whole balancing system. As a practitioner we look at the manifested characteristics of the 5 Elements in our receiver’s nature that might be out of balance and therefore are calling for recognition to be able to move on.
In Sei-ki one of the main theories is to meet our receiver’s truth and let their nature unfold.
All of the above and much more makes Shiatsu and Sei-ki great bodywork therapies to help reconnect back to your body, your manifestation on Earth and therefore your Nature.
We also work based on 5 Element Theory from Classical Chinese Medicine. Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth are honoured in our bodies as a whole balancing system. As a practitioner we look at the manifested characteristics of the 5 Elements in our receiver’s nature that might be out of balance and therefore are calling for recognition to be able to move on.
In Sei-ki one of the main theories is to meet our receiver’s truth and let their nature unfold.
All of the above and much more makes Shiatsu and Sei-ki great bodywork therapies to help reconnect back to your body, your manifestation on Earth and therefore your Nature.
My Inspiration for Bodywork & the Climate Crises
Eco-Grief & Eco- Anxiety
Facing It - Podcast from Jennifer Atkinson
Connection to Nature
What do We Want to Sustain? Thinking about Faith and The Climate. Dr Carmody Grey: Hook Lecture 2021 - YouTube
Eco-Grief & Eco- Anxiety
Facing It - Podcast from Jennifer Atkinson
Connection to Nature
What do We Want to Sustain? Thinking about Faith and The Climate. Dr Carmody Grey: Hook Lecture 2021 - YouTube
Daniela Voit
Shiatsu & Sei-ki Practitioner |