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Diploma in Shiatsu Therapy

2200 hours of training in this diploma program prepares students for a rewarding and successful career as a shiatsu therapist. Students are exposed to extensive clinic experience while exploring both Eastern and Western approaches to health and well-being as well as business and communication training.

Offered as both a full-time and part-time program, students have the option of paying tuition with flexible monthly or quarterly payment plans.

What is Shiatsu?
The word shiatsu literally translates as "finger-pressure".  However, shiatsu is more than just a way to apply physical pressure to various points of the body.  It goes far beyond that to involve total communication between therapist and client.  A good shiatsu treatment is like a dance in which the therapist, through compassion and skill, awakens the client's own healing energies.

The Shiatsu School of Canada is unique among shiatsu schools in its emphasis on balancing Eastern medicine and Western medicine. Though the East and West seem to have little in common, both describe the wonder of life and the human body.  Eastern medicine has accumulated knowledge and wisdom about the human body, just as Western medicine has. Eastern medical theory describes health as a dynamic balance of body, mind, and spirit. The Shiatsu School of Canada teaches meridian style shiatsu, a form that is deeply  rooted in ancient Oriental medical practices that are over 5,000 years old. 

In meridian style shiatsu, the shiatsu therapist applies comfortable pressure to all parts of the client's body with hands and thumbs, elbows, knees and even feet.  The skilled therapist chooses the appropriate technique according to the degree of pressure required and the physical condition of the client.  Disease in traditional Oriental medicine is the result of imbalance of the life energy, "chi" or "ki".  This energy is believed to travel through the body along pathways called "meridians".  The shiatsu therapist aims to unblock the flow of energy, to bring the client's body back into balance and help the client regain the natural ability to maintain equilibrium or wellness. This relieves symptoms and, as function improves, the client regains a feeling of vitality.

Shiatsu therapy is holistic.  Oriental medicine sees the human being as inseparable, one, without divisions between mind, body, and soul. The body-mind is considered a whole construct. Its parts are inseparable from the functioning of the whole organism in its environment. The shiatsu therapist treats the whole body as well as the specific problem areas. Common conditions that shiatsu therapists treat include back, neck and shoulder aches and pains, headaches, insomnia, and digestive problems, but also emotional stress.   

From a Western point of view, shiatsu pressure stimulates the healing, conserving functions of the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system to calm the body's overactive "fight-or-flight" response.  This gives the body the space and time to heal itself and restore normal functioning.  

Tuition Payment Plans
The Shiatsu School of Canada offers number of flexible installment plans for paying tuition. Students will need to determine which plan works for them and indicate their preference at their interview.

The following plans are available for Full Time Shiatsu Diploma Program students commencing their studies in September 2007. Payments are available for part time study as well. Please ask for details.

Why A 2200-Hour Program?

Shiatsu is a demanding, but deeply rewarding career.  Most shiatsu therapists practice independently as primary health care workers.  They undertake thorough health assessments to determine ways in which clients have lost their own natural ability to keep in equilibrium.  The shiatsu therapist then tailors the treatment to meet the unique condition of the individual client.  No two treatments are ever alike just as no two people, even identical twins, are alike.

It is easy to see that shiatsu can be very challenging.  Great knowledge and skill are required and there are no short cuts.  A successful career in shiatsu is not something that can be gained quickly, by rote learning, or a hodge-podge of short general interest courses with poorly trained instructors.  A body of knowledge that has taken thousands of years to develop cannot be learned effectively in a short time span.  Our program provides a thorough foundation from both an Eastern and a Western perspective. 

Students must deeply grasp the theoretical structures and gain the analytical abilities necessary to skillfully and knowledgeably help clients with a wide range of conditions.  Students need to understand the ethics and responsibilities involved in treating clients.  Shiatsu students must have the skills to succeed as small business people, working in their own practice, or with others in a clinic or spa.  Lastly, shiatsu is not something that can be learned from a book or by distance education.  First hand instruction with practice under experienced and highly qualified instructors is the only way to achieve mastery in shiatsu.

About The Shiatsu School of Canada Inc.

In 1986 Kaz and Yasuko Kamiya founded the SSC in response to growing demand for high quality training in shiatsu therapy. Canadians from all walks of life were becoming increasingly concerned about the potential side effects of drugs and were looking for non-invasive ways of dealing with illness.  People from all walks of life wanted to take their health and well-being back into their own hands.  Shiatsu helped them do this and, as more and more people heard about shiatsu, the need for a high-quality school became evident.

On April 2, 1986, the school was registered and approved as a private Career College under the Private Career College Act. In September 1986, the Shiatsu School of Canada's first 2200-hour program began.  The Shiatsu School of Canada is now one of Canada's leading shiatsu school and continues to offer a career-training program leading to a diploma in  shiatsu therapy. The Shiatsu Therapy Diploma program starts every September and can be taken through a full-time (two years) or a part-time (three years) study option.


The SSC's first class graduated in 1988, with a graduating class every year after that.  Since we have been offering continuous quality education since 1986, we can truly offer an experienced faculty and a proven curriculum.  Our faculty is comprised of shiatsu therapists, Ph.D.'s, acupuncturists, practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, nutritionists, professionals in anatomy, physiology, pathology, psychology, kinesiology, and other fields of health care, as well as specialists in business, communications and ethics.  All our science instructors have at least a Master's degree in their field.

The career of shiatsu demands the heart, knowledge, skill and clinical experience that a 2200-hour program in a Private Career College can deliver.  The diploma program at the SSC is the oldest continuously operating 2200-hour program in Canada.  We offer students a solid grounding in both Eastern and Western medicine, including anatomy, physiology and pathology.  Working in the West, students must be able to communicate with Western medical professionals who refer clients to them. They must also be able to communicate with clients who think in terms of Western medicine.  An understanding of Western medicine, coupled with a strong background in Oriental medicine, strengthens the shiatsu therapist's practice on every level.

The SSC operates ethically and dependably, balancing our respect for the traditions of shiatsu with a responsibility to grow and innovate. The school has no religious affiliations and welcomes people from all backgrounds and walks of life. By its commitment to high ethical standards, quality in faculty and curriculum, and service to students and the community, the SSC has played a significant role in promoting shiatsu nationally and internationally. 

The 2200-hour program offered at the Shiatsu School of Canada is the highest standard in the world, comparable to that offered in Japan itself.  Graduates of the SSC are able to apply for licenses, registration and/or certification all around the world.  Currently we have graduates working across Canada and in the United States, Denmark, Mexico, England, Austria, Israel, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, etc.

At the Shiatsu School of Canada we believe that the power to change your life is in your hands.   And we have the track record, the knowledge, and the commitment to help make your study of shiatsu as rewarding as you want it to be.  

 

About the Founder

The Founder of the Shiatsu School of Canada, Kaz Kamiya, is a pioneer in teaching shiatsu. 

An accomplished practitioner of shiatsu and acupuncture, Mr. Kamiya originally worked as a tool-and-die designer in Brazil and Canada.  In his mid-30's, he learned about shiatsu.  He returned to his native country of Japan to study shiatsu and acupuncture and received his license after 3 years of study (1975-1978).  Mr. Kamiya then apprenticed at a hospital in Japan and with Shizuto Masunaga, one of  the pioneers of shiatsu therapy at Iokai Shiatsu Centre. 

After that, Mr. Kamiya returned to Toronto to practice shiatsu.  He worked at the Shiatsu Centre before establishing the Shiatsu Clinic and the Shiatsu Education Centre in 1981.  In 1986, he established the Shiatsu School of Canada in order to offer the highest standard of shiatsu training, the 2200-hour diploma program. 
Well known through his videos, Meridian Shiatsu and Shiatsu Stretching, Mr. Kamiya maintains an active shiatsu and acupuncture practice while playing a pivotal role in the life of the school as the Senior Advisor to the Shiatsu and Acupuncture programs.