I didn’t really think to go into the other nice things about zen shiatsu, so here are some. For one, the…uh…shiatsu-ee remains fully clothed, which is nice for several reasons, an obvious one being their general comfort, especially considering how intimate massage is in general, and even more especially because a lot of shiatsu is done on the anterior of the body. Beyond that, any help with comfort is nice because the person being massaged gets the most benefit if they completely let the bodyworker do their thing; the more they can surrender their self to the bodyworker and furthermore relax past their innate resistance, the more they get out of it (I think that’s a good thing particularly because I have trouble with it, but at the same time consider it a very good thing to work on, so it’s impetus).

Also, the bodyworker would find it nigh impossible to wear themselves out doing shiatsu. Since a kind of combination of ki (in the aikido sense), integrating yoga poses and principles, and using the whole body and weight rather than a couple muscles (in a martial arts sense), and a meditative state is part of the definition of shiatsu, the bodyworker in fact almost ends up actually getting a lot out of giving a massage, rather than tiring. And furthermore, shiatsu is often remarkably convenient to do to one’s self, where regular massage is quite difficult (think about it, how good of a massage can you really give yourself without leverage and without slacking over time?).
And the workshop didn’t even really go that far into pushing all these aspects, to make that clear, these were the mental notes I was making.

Other news: my dad recommends the show Bones; he and I are both big fans of David Boreanaz, for one, but he says the show is intriguing enough to carry itself without relying on him, and provides interesting twists.
My mom recommends Curb Your Enthusiasm and Extras. I don’t think I can back that recommendation up; I mean, they’re both kind of funny, the first being from a producer of Seinfield and the latter being British, but they rely on the kind of humor that makes one uncomfortable too much for my taste.