Meet Michelle Racich of Heart of Zen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Racich.

Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Michelle Racich
(She/her) is a board certified Asian Bodywork Therapist (NCCAOM); and certified practitioner member of the AOBTA® with over 40+ years experience training and teaching Ki (Qi) cultivation through qigong, martial arts, meditation, zazen and tea practices.
Michelle maintains Heart of Zen, a private Zen shiatsu clinical practice in Suttons Bay, MI.

The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (www.nccaom.org) offers exam-based certification for Asian bodywork therapists (Dipl. ABT). The American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia® (www.aobta.org) recognizes certified practitioners of Asian bodywork therapy (AOBTA®-CP) based on educational standards.

Michelle has studied Japanese tea ceremony for the last 14 years under the guidance of Roo Heins Sensei, whose training under Yamada Kazuharu Sensei, founder and head of the Shidou Ryu tea school in Japan, espouses the philosophy that “tea is for everyone.” In addition, Michelle owned a teashop for seven years, where she regularly offered gongfu tea tastings and private gongfu tea meditations.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Heart of Zen is the premier Asian Bodywork Therapy practice in Leelanau County, MI. Located in downtown Suttons Bay. Heart of Zen offers Zen shiatsu and more to support you on your wellness journey.

Zen shiatsu is a gentle form of touch therapy that is enjoyable, generating a deep sense of calm and comfort. It is a safe and effective natural therapy for relaxation. It helps harmonize a person’s flow of energy, settling the nervous system, so that the body’s natural ability to heal is less hindered by stress.

Even if there is not a conscious awareness of any imbalance, we are always encountering stressors from the natural and man-made environment. At the very minimum, your Zen shiatsu session will help reset your sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system and strengthen your body’s ability to relax and heal. More often, this work results in remarkable positive health shifts.

Zen shiatsu is great trauma medicine. It is great anti-anxiety medicine. It is great medicine for the dense energy of muscle, tissue, bone. It is great medicine for the expansive energy of the emotional, psycho-spiritual aspects of wellness and growth.

Literally translated, shiatsu means “finger pressure.” Rooted in the traditions of Japanese and Chinese medicine, Zen shiatsu touch, a form of Asian bodywork therapy (ABT), is given to specific points and channels in the body to facilitate the innate healing power of the whole human energetic body.

Zen shiatsu sessions last approximately one hour. The client stays fully clothed.
Each session is designed to address your current state of health, the symptoms you are experiencing, your constitution and general energy levels. A variety of Zen shiatsu techniques can be used to improve your energy flow. These might include gentle holding; pressing with palms, thumbs, and fingers on the meridians; and, when appropriate, more dynamic rotations and stretches. Zen shiatsu is a therapy that works on the individual as a complete being — not just the physical body but also on the emotional and mental levels of our entire energetic spectrum.

Following a treatment, there can be a feeling of increased vitality and you may feel invigorated yet relaxed.

Dealing with mental and/or physical stress or trauma that leaves you in pain or feeling unable to enjoy your day the way you want to? Heart of Zen recommends weekly appointments until you notice a positive change.

Experiencing a recent injury or trauma that has left you with a sprain, strain, or ache? Heart of Zen recommends scheduling an appointment as soon as possible to support quick and complete healing.

Feeling healthy and strong? Heart of Zen recommends monthly appointments to continue to support the wellness habits you have incorporated into your life.

Expressions of health include appropriate breath, diet, movement, and rest so that you can function to your fullest. Our goal is to help you achieve and maintain these expressions of health in your life, even when confronted with stress or injury.

Zen Shiatsu Benefits:
Every person who regularly receives Zen shiatsu experiences some form of health improvement and meaningful change in quality of life. A regular program of Zen shiatsu increases adaptability to stress.

Harmony is the state of free flowing ki. Stress and illness are signs of ki blocked in its flow. When ki is flowing freely again, the body’s ability to heal itself is restored.

Zen shiatsu touch is enjoyable, generating a deep sense of calm and comfort. It is a safe and effective natural therapy for relaxation.

Prevention: Most major illnesses begin with these common signs of ki imbalance: fatigue; insomnia; digestive disturbances; aches and pains; irritability; anxiety; frequent colds and infections; menstrual irregularities. If you are experiencing any of these signs and symptoms, regular Zen shiatsu can help. The outcome is the successful prevention of disease. This preventative power is one of Zen shiatsu’s greatest offerings.

Zen shiatsu is based in Classical Chinese medicine and modern clinical psychology.

Chinese medicine (CM) is one of the oldest existing continuously practiced medical systems in the world, with over 3,000 years of history. This long and well-documented history is one of compassionate and successful treatment for a wide variety of conditions. As a complete and coherent system of health care, Chinese medicine’s primary goal is to create wholeness and harmony within a person by strengthening and supporting the body’s ability to heal.

The language of Chinese medicine includes a deep and rich understanding of the concept of qi and how it moves and is experienced in our lives. Qi is the expression of life. Qi is the energy of the body.  As the quality of qi changes, the symptoms associated with a lack of flow will gradually improve.

Qi: In Chinese medicine, qi (ki, chi) is the underlying vibration and resonance of life, its vital energy.

Channels: Qi resonates within the body through a matrix of channels sometimes known as meridians. This channel network governs organs, tissues, emotional and mental faculties, and cellular activities by regulating and balancing the flow of qi.
Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) is the treatment of the human body/mind/spirit, including the electromagnetic or energetic field which surrounds, infuses and brings that body to life, by using pressure and/or manipulation. Asian Bodywork is based upon Chinese Medical principles for assessing and evaluating the body’s energetic system. It uses traditional Asian techniques and treatment strategies to primarily affect and balance the energetic system for the purpose of treating the human body, emotions, mind, energy field and spirit for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of health.

Today there are many biomedical studies that support the healing properties of acupressure and therapeutic touch.

Qigong (“chee gung”) is an ancient and important part of Chinese medicine. It is a gentle form of self-healing that combines movement, breath, and visualization to balance body, mind and spirit.

Qigong is about the cultivation of qi or ki (the vibration and resonance of life) by strengthening attention and intention through relaxed, gentle, meditative movement. Literally translated, qigong is “energy cultivation.” While not a martial art on its own, qigong includes principles core to the practice of the martial arts and central to the art of life.

Qigong can increase energy, and heal or prevent many common illnesses. It is especially effective in reducing stress, strengthening the immune system, improving mental focus, supporting a healthy sleep cycle, deepening a sense of inner peace.

Our systems are incredibly resilient and capable of innate self-care and repair. But sometimes we can be overwhelmed by what we are experiencing. When you feel this way, seek professional support.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
These two are the most important lessons I have learned on this journey:
1. How incredibly powerful is the gentle touch of the disciplined hand.
2. How important the personal development of the practitioner is to the efficacy of their touch.

Pricing:

• $60-$300

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michelleracich.com