Complementary therapy training Shiatsu method: Mario Tonet's experience - with this form of therapy, therapists also benefit from energy balancing themselves

Mario Tonet

Who are you and why did you choose Shiatsu?

My name is Mario Tonet. Today I work in fundraising. Now I am continuing my development in Shiatsu. The personal process is an important part of Shiatsu. On the one hand, it's about the technical aspects, but it's also about becoming someone else as a person. This is a great opportunity and a challenge at the same time. During the complementary therapy training in the Shiatsu method, you will certainly experience inner growth.

What is Shiatsu about and how does it work?

Shiatsu is a body therapy. We work on the floor where the patient lies. The patient closes their eyes and is moved passively by the Shiatsu therapist. The energy pathways are pathways that run through the body and form an energetic framework. The idea is to create a balance between these energy pathways. This means that we move all the joints, as the energy may be blocked at these points. We balance the energy pathways by touching them. The person lying down is passive in this complementary therapy method and this is naturally an exciting and strange situation. When in our lives are we moved by someone else? These touches lead to deep relaxation for many people. I have many patients who tell me that nowhere else are they as relaxed as when they are on my mat in Shiatsu.

What kind of touch does a Shiatsu therapist use?

As Shiatsu therapists, we touch people with our thumbs, hands, elbows and knees. We "crawl" around the patient and perform the stretches, movements and rotations. This enables the person receiving treatment to feel themselves and to perceive where we are touching them. This gives them a different body sensation and usually results in deep relaxation.

Has the complementary therapist training also changed your professional life?

I am currently still training as a complementary therapist. But the idea is, of course, to work as a Shiatsu complementary therapist afterwards. At first I would like to work part-time as a therapist. The complementary therapy training has also given me a new motivation in fundraising and I have rediscovered my passion for it. Shiatsu has given me new impulses and enabled me to approach people differently. There are people who do Shiatsu therapies full-time. I see less of that for myself. But I notice how I feel good myself when I do Shiatsu therapies. It is one of the few forms of therapy where the therapist benefits just as much as the person being treated. Because there is an energy exchange and energy balance. Through a Shiatsu therapy I was recently able to lower my elevated temperature (not a fever, which would make treatment impossible) into the normal range. So it also has a good effect on myself, which I find very amazing. Very often we therapists are just as relaxed and balanced after the treatment as the client themselves.

How much does a Shiatsu treatment usually cost?

During the Shiatsu complementary therapist training, we naturally offer treatments at a reduced price. The rule is actually that 10 francs are added per level - so with course 5 that would be 50 francs. It is important to charge something. If people pay for it, the treatment is also valued differently. Free treatments are not equally well received by clients. After completing the training with the industry certificate recognized by health insurance companies, the official cost rate is 130 francs per hour. The health insurance company covers a large part of these costs from the complementary insurance.

What learning content did you particularly benefit from during the Shiatsu Method complementary therapy training?

The complementary therapy training method Shiatsu is divided into two parts - the technical part of Shiatsu and the whole courses for the health insurance recognition for Tronc Commun Odal KT. The second part is a whole series of medical courses and patient treatment as a complementary therapist - separate from the Shiatsu method. The whole of both parts is exciting for me. On the one hand the physical work and on the other the therapeutic knowledge part. You have to learn a lot and it is also a challenge to complete it all. I was particularly fascinated by immersing myself in the entirety of the new world of complementary therapy. In terms of the learning content, it is also the personal growth that plays a major role and has helped me progress.

Where would you be today if you hadn't completed the complementary therapist training?

If I hadn't completed the complementary therapist training, I would still be looking for something new in my life. I found that with the Shiatsu Method complementary therapy training.

Who would you recommend a Shiatsu course to?

I would recommend a Shiatsu course to people who want to develop. For themselves. And also want to support other people. We help people to recognize themselves and strengthen their own resources. This is a very central insight, which the school also teaches us well.

What do you particularly like about the IKT Institute school?

What I like most about the IKT is the serious structure of the training concept. It has top lecturers who are also networked throughout Europe and have many years of experience in the field of complementary therapy.

How was the atmosphere in the class?

We have very different participants in the class. The age spectrum ranges from 25 to 60. These are very different generations and different views. But it's fantastic how we all travel together. As a man, I have a special role in the group anyway, as there are unfortunately very few men in the complementary therapy training Shiatsu method. Which is a shame, because in other countries the majority of Shiatsu therapists are male. So in Switzerland we have some catching up to do. You get to know other people who are on the same path.

In your opinion, what are the advantages of the ICT for learning the complementary therapy method Shiatsu?

The ICT is very professional and touching for me. The school has changed my life. I was able to experience incredibly enriching moments with the lecturers. This careful selection of lecturers is also what makes the lessons so entertaining.

What are your next goals and how would you like to use your therapeutic skills?

My next goals are to graduate in order to obtain health insurance recognition. After that, I would like to work part-time as a Shiatsu therapist in a physiotherapy practice. Physiotherapists approach a problem very specifically and with Shiatsu we approach a problem much more generally. We also don't have any goals that we pursue, but we open up a space that enables development and change. A physiotherapist is very focused on the tissue or bone and the associated problem. Shiatsu is much more open in this respect and things can change, pain can disappear or insights can be triggered. The aim is more to achieve a change in behavior that then solves the problem. We work here in a complementary - i.e. additional - way. Physiotherapy is primarily active. It has been proven that cancer patients who accompany their chemo treatment with Shiatsu can reduce their side effects by half. The focus is on activating the body's self-healing powers. The process is identifying the problem, choosing a form of therapy and then the therapy is carried out - for me, healing is the sum of the whole, not just a part of it. You get time to listen to yourself - without any goal orientation.

Overview of Shiatsu training providers

Overview of providers of complementary therapist training / complementary therapist training