The Shiatsu Clinic in Toronto

Kaz Kamiya has over 30 years of experience in helping people to feel better and is an expert in the care and treatment of a variety of conditions including:

• Neck and back pain 
  
• Upper back pain
• Sleeping problems 
• Stress-related tension and anxiety 
• Digestive problems 
• Chronic pain, headaches & migraines 
• Asthma and allergies 
• Immune system problems

Kaz specializes in a unique style of treatment that combines traditional Japanese shiatsu, acupuncture, stretching, moxa and other Oriental therapies. He encourages his clients to take an active role in improving their own health (The Kamiya Prescription for Healthy Living) and has developed exercises such as Shiatsu Stretching and self-healing treatments such as the Qi-Tapper that can improve the speed and effectiveness of in-clinic treatments.

Depression treatment

Janice is in her mid-40s and works at a law office. She suffers from depression and indigestion and doesn’t sleep well. She takes medication for her depression. She recently had a car accident and was upset for a time. She also finds it uncomfortable to be in an air-conditioned room.

My assessment indicated that she had a lot of tension and a cold abdomen (in Oriental medicine, the abdomen is the centre of the body and coldness or weakness here reflects the state of the whole body).

I applied ginger compresses to the abdomen first to warm and strengthen it. Then I warmed up her legs with an infrared lamp. To strengthen her digestion, I used moxa heat on her legs. Once her lower body was warmed up, I treated the upper body and back especially alongside the spine with moxa heat. At the end, I gave shiatsu massage to relax her body and mind. After 4 months of weekly treatments, she feels much better; her depression is minimal and she feels more relaxed.

Successful pregnancy treatment

Pat was 38 years old and had been married for 10 years. She had surgery to remove her right ovary because of endometriosis. She underwent fertility treatment but without success. Her medical doctor diagnosed that her tubes had narrow passages. At every period, she had sharp pains in her lower abdomen and back pain. She also had cold feet all the time and needed to wear socks night and day. She was referred to our clinic by her friend.

My assessment was that she had an ‘oketsu’ problem – oketsu in Japanese means stagnation of the blood – this stagnated blood circulation in the lower abdomen creates a lack of oxygen in the tissues and impaired functioning of the body and internal organs.

At every treatment, I put a ginger compress on her abdomen to warm it and promote blood circulation. For her cold feet, I gave moxa heat as well as shiatsu massage. For her back pain, I used acupuncture with moxa heat. She came for treatments every week for one year and also did moxa treatment at home. She now has warm feet all the time and never has abdominal or back pain. We heard that she later became pregnant.

Lower back problem treatment

I checked his legs, neck and back and found that he had chronic muscle tension in his right leg; the muscles of the leg and foot had become as hard as cement indicating that the problem has existed for a long time and the circulation is poor. The leg felt cold and had no flexibility.

At the start of each treatment, I warmed up his back and leg with a ginger compress. I also used acupuncture with moxa heat on the back and sacrum. Then I used moxa heat on the lower leg. Once the legs and back were warmed up, I used shiatsu and stretching to improve circulation and flexibility. After several months of treatment every 2 weeks, his lower back felt warm and the pain was 50% less. Joe is very happy and is now able to walk further more comfortably. At home, he does leg exercises and uses the Qi-tapper. He says that he feels 80% better and he is so happy to be able to take care of himself.