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Getting an Anma Massage
1/10/2015
 An anma massage is an ancient Japanese massage practice that has heavily influenced modern day shiatsu massages. This type of massage may have actually originated in China, but it came over to Japan during the 700s. In fact, it may even be older than that. It’s a very unique type of massage that was very popular in the 17th century.
Anma is often practiced by the blind. In fact, the man who wrote one of the earliest books on the type of massage, Sugiyama Waichi, was blind. At one point, laws were passed that forbid those with sight from giving anma massages! While that’s no longer the case today, a number of blind people still master the art.
How does anma massage work? It’s mostly done by rubbing, kneading, tapping, and shaking the muscles. The masseuse works on specific points on the body and uses one of the seven different traditional anma techniques:
• Kneading
• Stroking
• Compressing
• Strengthening
• Tapping
• Vibrating
• Hand music or hand rolling
Anma massage is a fairly vigorous type of massage, and by the end of it, the body’s blood flow to muscles and tissue should have been increased. Anma may also help relieve a variety of different pains and aches.
The different types of moves are somewhat similar to shiatsu, but anma doesn’t use as much pressure. Many shiatsu practitioners actually use a blending of shiatsu and anma techniques, but an anma practitioner will only use anma message movements.
Anma differs from traditional Swedish massage in a few ways. First, the patient is almost always clothed. Because of this, no lotions or oils are used. Second, the masseuse always moves their hands away from the heart, while in Swedish massage, the strokes are always done towards the heart.
If you’re uncertain about taking off your clothing to get a massage, look for a day spa that offers anma massage. You can get all of the relaxation and relief without any of the discomfort.
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