Shiatsu basics

What to Expect in Your First Shiatsu Session

Posted 3 April 2026

If you're new to Shiatsu, it can help to know what happens before you arrive. Sessions with Jack are fully clothed, unhurried and tailored to how your body feels on the day.

Hands applying pressure through clothing during a Shiatsu and Meridian Massage session — Shiatsu and Meridian Massage are fully clothed treatments using calm, steady pressure, movement and meridian-based bodywork.

Before you arrive

Learn how Meridian Massage differs from oil massage.

Wear comfortable clothing you can move in. Shiatsu sessions are fully clothed — there's no need to undress. Avoid heavy meals immediately beforehand if you can, and arrive with enough time to settle before your session begins.

Arriving at the clinic

Sessions are held at Ping Ming Health Melbourne CBD, Level 7, 1 Elizabeth St, beside Flinders Street Station. Clinic reception will welcome you and guide you through check-in.

For your first visit, it can help to arrive a few minutes early so you're not rushed.

The first conversation

Before the session begins, Jack will have a brief conversation with you about what brings you in. This might cover areas of tension, stress, posture, sleep, movement, or general wellbeing. There are no lengthy forms to fill out — just a quiet check-in to help orient the session around what you need on the day.

This conversation also gives you a chance to ask any questions you may have.

Root and branch: a Chinese Medicine view

Shiatsu grew out of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and sessions still draw on its diagnostic techniques. The aim is to understand not only the symptom, but the underlying pattern behind it.

Alongside the hands-on work, Jack may ask about sleep, digestion, energy and how your symptoms shift with warmth, rest, or the time of day. Palpation of the abdomen (known as the hara in Japanese practice) and attention to the meridian pathways are traditional tools used to sense how the body's deeper patterns are presenting.

Chinese Medicine distinguishes between the root and the branch. The branch is what brings you in — tension, pain, poor sleep. The root is the underlying pattern that gives rise to it. The intention in each session is to work with both: ease what's presenting now, and support the deeper pattern behind it rather than chasing symptoms alone.

During the treatment

Shiatsu and Meridian Massage are performed while you're fully clothed. You'll lie comfortably on a treatment table while Jack applies comfortable pressure using his palms, thumbs and forearms. The session may also include gentle stretches, rocking, joint mobilisation, and work along meridian and channel pathways.

The pressure and approach can be adjusted at any time — the work is responsive to your body's signals and what feels right for you on the day.

Treatment room at Ping Ming Health, overlooking Flinders Street Station — Sessions are performed fully clothed on a treatment table, combining pressure, stretches and meridian-based bodywork.

After the session

People often feel calmer, looser, quieter, or more settled after a session. Jack will close with a short debrief and may share simple breath cues or movement suggestions to take home — small ways to extend the benefits between visits.

Gentle movement, hydration, and rest can all help support how you feel afterwards.

How to book

Let me know whether Saturday or Tuesday suits you, and whether you prefer morning or afternoon. I’ll confirm a date and time by email.

Selected insurance rebates available.

Ready to book your first session?