Amazing Amatsu - the secret flower-opening school for the defence of the self

Article by Theolyn Cortens

I first heard about Amatsu when Margaret Brace booked an advertisement in the last issue of Pathways. Aha! I thought, another Eastern therapy which claims remarkable results, probably with a pedigree going back through many Grand Masters. Then Margaret booked another advertisement for this issue and offered a first free* treatment. This was my opportunity to discover if the treatment lived up to its claims.

The recorded history of Amatsu starts in Japan over 2000 years ago, but it was brought into Japan by a group of nomadic border people, originating in Tibet and China, and their customs, religion, martial skills, writing and medical knowledge were already established by that time. Their ancient scrolls are in a mixture of Sanskrit mixed with Old Chinese and Japanese Kana. The tradition they brought with them is called the Hichi Buko Goshin Jtsu Ryu – quite a mouthful, but it translates beautifully into ‘the secret flower-opening school for the defence of the self’.

Central to the Ryu tradition is the Amatsu Tatara, which means ‘Sky Residence’ – the Divine Residence or God’s Port, which combines martial arts, medicine, philosophy, strategy and religion. The Amatsu Tatara tradition is now in the stewardship of the Master Masaaki Hatsumi who began teaching it to Westerners in the nineteen eighties.

Practitioners in the UK have completed a course ratified by the Institute of Complementary Medicine and are members of the British Register of Complementary Practitioners.

Amatsu is a whole body treatment and takes into account the five Godai: the mind and emotions, nutrition, the environment, the physical body, and the flow of energy through the body.

Margaret says she was recommended to try it following a car accident in which she received whiplash injuries. She had tried a number of other therapies and had found no help. She was so impressed she decided to change careers and trained to become a therapist.

My first session began with the usual questions about my medical background and my current state of health. Then Margaret asked me to lie on the couch (with my clothes on), face down, so that she could look at my spine. From this she could get a picture of imbalances. Over the next half an hour or so she used a variety of techniques: muscle testing, acupressure points, mobilisation of the limbs using gentle stretching movements, and energy techniques which seemed to me to be similar to those used in hands on healing or Reiki.

When the session was finished I felt very different: one of the things that came up was the observation about one side of my body being slightly out of balance with the other. I had noticed this myself and had been going to a chiropracter about it. When I stood up from the couch I was aware that this had changed, to the extent that I felt as though I was going to fall to one side – being back in balance was rather strange!

A few days after the session I experienced a very powerful emotional discharge, which I felt was a healing crisis, and afterwards felt refreshed and full of vitality.

People of all ages benefit from Amatsu: a teenager came to see Margaret with a neck ache and after just one treatment he said "I was surprised that the treatment gave me immediate results, which were long term and beneficial. I felt taller and my neck no longer hurts." A client in her late seventies came after an operation for a blood clot. She said, "It helped me regain a sense of balance and I recovered more quickly. It was very relaxing and I benefited from the exercise and stretches that normally would be difficult to do on my own."

I have had treatments of various kinds – chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, shiatsu – and none of them have impressed me quite as much as Amatsu. I certainly found it Amazing and will be going back for more.

Margaret is a calm, professional and comfortable person to receive treatments from and I thoroughly recommend you to take up her offer of a free* first treatment.

Theolyn

 
This article was first published in Heart of Englands Pathways magazine, Spring 2001, and is reprinted with the kind permission of Theolyn Cortens. Theolyn is a writer and holds a degree in Philosophy and Religion. She runs Angel Workshops and has written several books. More information on www.soulschool.co.uk