SEIKI MERIDIAN SHIATSU
INTERNATIONAL
Tzvika Calisar
Tzvika Calisar was born in 1962 and has been a shiatsu therapist and teacher from 1985. His clinical research and extensive teaching experience led to the development of the Seiki Meridian Shiatsu method. He is the founder & teacher of the Seiki Meridian Shiatsu International association that has centers all over Europe, North and South America, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.
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Calisar studied in Tokyo from 1985 for 2 years at the Namikoshi Shiatsu School and Zen Shiatsu at Iokai center of Master Masunaga. From 1987 until 1990 he was practicing and giving Shiatsu treatments in Kyoto.
Over the next decade he built a network of shiatsu clinics and centers while travelling extensively and giving seminars and workshops throughout Europe.
In 2001-2007 Tzvika returned to Tokyo Japan and was running a Shiatsu school as manager and senior teacher to his Japanese students and further duties included responsibility for the development of the international training curriculum and programs of Shiatsu.
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Calisar wrote articles about Shiatsu and Meridian diagnosis that were published in Shiatsu & Oriental magazines around the world and was involved in the writing and translation of few Shiatsu books.
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During this decade Calisar became a well-known and highly regarded Shiatsu therapist and instructor in Japan. Simultaneously, he lectured and gave workshops and treatments worldwide at international shiatsu congresses and notable Shiatsu and Chinese medicine schools. His involvement and interaction with shiatsu patients, teachers, therapists and students, in Japan, Israel, England, Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Macedonia, Cyprus, India, Thailand, USA, Canada, Argentina and Chile, gave a unique perspective to his research. From this he has developed unique therapeutic approaches for Shiatsu treatment and training.
Michael Christini
Michael was born in 1967 in New Zealand. He entered physiotherapy school but left to go to the University of Auckland where he completed an arts degree in 1990.He has been a shiatsu therapist and teacher for over a decade 12 years. He first studied shiatsu with Nobutaka Kishi.
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“I am a Seiki Shiatsu therapist and teacher based in Auckland. I trained in Japan for three years with Tao Shiatsu founder Ryokyu Endo. The first Tao Shiatsu clinic and school in Australasia was established in 1998. I have an Arts degree from the University of Auckland where I tutor part-time in the Continuing Education Department. In 2005 I co-authored The New Shiatsu Method – Helping the Body to Help Itself.
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Clinical work and teaching experience have evolved for me into the practice of Seiki Meridian Shiatsu. I have a strong interest in sports health and fitness. I’m especially passionate about using shiatsu, ki exercises, and meridian yoga in preventing injuries and aiding recovery. In 2005 I created a shiatsu form for chair massage. This has grown into a workplace wellness and event massage company that I am currently developing.”
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He is passionate about utilising ki exercise, meridian yoga and shiatsu for sports health and fitness, injury prevention and healing recovery. By adapting eastern arts for western environments he created a shiatsu form for chair massage. His workplace wellness and event massage company Best Hands Shiatsu. His passion is taking the art of manual therapy into the environments where people work, relax, and play. Giving massage a social aspect and transparency.
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Michael has an Arts degree from the University of Auckland (1990), has trained with Nobutaka Kishi in shiatsu, and studied Iyengar Yoga in India, and Anapanasati Meditation and traditional Thai Massage in Thailand. He tutors part-time in the Continuing Education Department at Auckland University.
Stephanie Courtenay
Stephanie was born in 1966 in New Zealand and is a Seiki Meridian Shiatsu practitioner and teacher. She specialises in shiatsu for children, for pregnancy care, and women’s health.
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After studying commerce at Auckland University she graduated in 1988 and commenced work in a large multinational firm. Realising she was looking for something bigger than numbers with which to understand the world, she headed to Europe, after a spell backpacking in South East Asia. Feeling drawn back to the East, she arrived in Japan in 1990 where she worked for 2 years, attended shiatsu classes with Nobutaka Kishi, and studied the art of traditional Noh mask carving.
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After returning to New Zealand in 1993, Stephanie completed 2 years study at the South Pacific College of Natural Therapies and did a short course in Zen Shiatsu, while operating Atlantis & Pacifica, an import business specializing in hand crafted silver jewellery. In 1995, she returned to Japan and studied Tao Shiatsu for three years with Ryokyu Endo. After receiving certification to practice and teach, she established a clinic practice in 1998, and was co-founder and teacher of the first Tao Shiatsu school established in Australasia, in 2000.
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Stephanie has continued to practice shiatsu while having three children. With her accumulated experience and on going learning she now works extensively with children, supporting their mums during pregnancy, assisting their birth and aiding their health and development. She has studied homeopathy and herbal medicine and is passionate about cooking and gardening as key ingredients in healthy family life. She currently is involved in running the PMP progamme at her local primary school. Its aim is to use physical movement and coordination to aid classroom learning.
Alejandro Cohen
Alejandro was born in 1946 in Chile. He is a Seiki Meridian Shiatsu practitioner and instructor based in Santiago. He has over 30 years experience in the performance arts of dance and theatre and developed a strong background as an actor, director and drama teacher. This included extensive involvement in film and television, both in Chile and internationally.
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In 1972, he began his exploration in the field of personal development, became a vegetarian and started his journey with Yoga and Tai-Chi. This led to studies in Taoism and the martial art of Aikido, which he has studied for over 18 years. He has reached Shodan level and is a faculty member of Aikikai in Chile.
In 1988 he moved to Israel for a period of 11 years. Continuing his artistic work, he participated in theatrical productions at some of the most important theatre companies there. During this time he met Tzvika Calisar and, in 1996, commenced Tao Shiatsu studies with him for a period of three and a half years.
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Alejandro returned to Chile in 1999 and started treating patients and offering Shiatsu workshops and lectures. He attended the Shiatsu Symposium in Berlin in 2000 that bought together fellow teachers and practitioners, including the foundation members of the International Tao Shiatsu Society.
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Over the following years he continued his development in Shiatsu by attending his teacher Tzvika’s workshops in Germany in 2001. He travelled to Japan in 2002 to participate in a period of intensive Shiatsu study. That same year he separated from the International Tao Shiatsu Society, creating Tao Shiatsu Chile. Along with his senior students, he continued the healing path while implementing new techniques and commencing a training course for teachers.
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The International Seminar in Chile in 2009 with Tzvika bought real evolution in the method and effectiveness in clinical treatment and joined Seiki Meridian Shiatsu International that year. In July 2010 he received a diploma of the Scientific Grafoanalista from INGPEC (Institute of Graphology and Expertise Calligraphic of Chile). He is a board member of the Natural Health Association.
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Alejandro continues to lecture and give seminars throughout the country. Both to train practitioners in the method of Seiki Shiatsu and to share the spirit of Seiki with groups interested in eastern medicine.
Marina Ronchi
Marina Ronchi is a Seiki Shiatsu practitioner and instructor based in Brescia, Italy.
Her studies began in 1998 at FIDAB – the Naga-Iki based, Shiatsu Studies Centre in Arzignano (VI). She obtained the four year diploma and began assisting in student training.
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In 2004 she enrolled at E. Fermi Institute of Perugia and was awarded the nationally recognized qualification as a massophysiotherapist in 2006.
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At the same time she began studies in Tao Shiatsu, participating in seminars both in Italy and Austria with Sensei Tzvika Calisar. This represented a turning point in her shiatsu education. In these workshops, she found the teaching concepts synchronized with direct experience and the new methods resounded deeply with her patients.
When Seiki Meridian Shiatsu was founded in 2008, Marina shifted her practice to it, and started instructor training. In July 2011 she participated in the international conference for Seiki Shiatsu teachers and instructors in Thailand.
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Currently Marina is teaching Seiki Shiatsu and assisting Sensei Tzvika Calisar with workshops in Italy. She is the representative for Seiki Meridian Shiatsu Italy.
