What Are The Benefits Of A Shiatsu Massage Chair?

There are many benefits of regularly using a shiatsu massage chair. Massage is known to help people with certain ailments. But, unlike modern massage techniques, Shiatsu is concerned more about wellness rather than illness. What follows are the benefits of this form of massage and what makes a good shiatsu massage chair.

For the uninitiated, Shiatsu is an ancient Japanese form of massage that draws heavily on Chinese practices of holistic medicine. Shiatsu is derived from two words; "shi" and "atsu," meaning "finger pressure". It is applied using fingers, thumbs and palms in a continuous rhythmic motion. The pressure is applied to specific areas of the body. These pressure points are called Meridians and the applied pressure is believed to improve the flow of energy and thus reduce or eliminate many ailments.

The list of conditions and benefits that can be helped with this form of massage include: relaxation, tiredness, stress, depression, constipation, back pain, arthritis and insomnia.

However, if you're thinking of buying a shiatsu massage chair, you should be advised that not all chairs that are advertised as offering 'shiatsu' actually do. This Japanese form of massage has become very popular and many manufacturers just use it as a marketing ploy to sell their chairs.

Shiatsu is precise. You can't expect to lie back on a massage chair and expect it to give you a precise massage. It may very well have massage modes like kneading, tapping, rolling and compression, but unless these techniques are applied to the correct areas of the body, then you aren't getting a genuine shiatsu massage.

A genuine shiatsu massage chair doesn't come cheap. You should expect to pay from upwards of $1,800. This is because these chairs incorporate a lot of technology and sophistication. The chair must automatically adjust to your body shape and align the rollers exactly as they should be along your shoulders and spine. Manufacturers of cheap chairs will tell you that you can manually move and align the rollers yourself, but are you an experienced massager, and would you know where to align the rollers?

If you really want the best chairs, then you should look at buying a Japanese designed chair. The market leaders include companies like, Fujikura, Sanyo, Fuji, Inada and OSIM. Chairs from these companies come with sensors that will automatically adjust the chair to fit you. The Inada and OSIM massage chair use ground-breaking infrared sensors that first glide along your back to accurately measure you so the rollers can be positioned to deliver a pin point accurate shiatsu massage. These chairs are the best you can buy but you'll be paying well over $3,000 for them.

Although these chairs may seem expensive, you should bear in mind that going to a professional massager would cost you at least $100, so going to 30-40 sessions costs the same as the best robotic shiatsu massage chair; and if you do buy one, you can use it everyday as many times as you like.

Shiatsu massage chairs are becoming more and more popular, not because of intense marketing from big corporations, but because ordinary people are discovering the real benefits of using one every day.

Follow the links for a shiatsu massage chair like the Sanyo massage chair and get advice on buying a robotic massage chair like OSIM, Fujikura, HoMedics to name a few.