Shiatsu is a form of massage which originated in China and Japan more than 4,000 years ago.

Lindi Bilgorri tries it out.

WHEN I was asked if I would like a shiatsu, I wondered if I was going to be offered No.33 on a Chinese menu. Shiatsu does have Chinese roots but it has nothing to do with food. It is a form of massage which uses accupressure points on the body.

Among the many ailments it can help, I am told it is good for tight shoulders. As I work on a computer every day. My shoulders are as stiff as iron. So can shiatsu soften them up?

John Hawkins, who has been a shiatsu practitioner for five years, believes so.

He works from his home in High Wycombe. The room where the massage takes place is empty, just a large thick yellow rug is on the floor with a few cushions scattered around. Shaitsu massage, I am told by John, takes place on the floor.

John first became interested in shiatsu after being a yoga teacher for more than 30 years.

"Every time I ran a yoga class, after a term, everyone was feeling much better," he says. "I wanted to know why this was."

John found out that this feeling of wellbeing was to do with the meridian theory. The meridians are imaginary lines which run through the body. Sceptics would say they don't exists, but Chinese medicine has established forms of healing on the principle and it seems to work.

"Meridians are channels within the body which carry through energy," John explains. "When you breathe in air, you breathe in Chi or energy, and when you breathe out, you breathe out Chi and waste oxygen. The idea is that the meridian has to be free-flowing. When we get an illness or symptom there is blockage of energy. When there is a blockage, there is not enough energy flowing through, so there is a depletion. When there isn't any energy flowing through, you get worse symptoms."

The classic examples of this are stiff shoulders, stiff neck, headaches and tension. With a shiatsu massage the blockage can be removed and the energy is free flowing again.

Shiatsu is carried out by pressing the pressure points along the meridian line. There are about 1,000 points all over the body from the head down to the toes. It is a similar principle to acupuncture, but where acupuncture uses needles, in shiatsu the practitioner uses thumbs, fingers, elbows, knees and feet to release the tension.

"Shiatsu is perfect for people who are scared of needles," John says.

Unlike other massages, with shiatsu you stay fully clothed for the treatment, although John does advice you to wear loose fitting clothing.

John and I sit crossed-legged on the mat in his room for my consultation. After which he concludes: "Your gall bladder channel is gitsu or blocked, particularly around the neck and shoulders."

"Gall bladder?" I reply confused. "I thought I had stiff shoulders."

"You can't confuse Western medicine with Chinese medicine. One is as important as the other. We all need Western medicine, but it works on a totally different theory. In Chinese medicine you are releasing the stuck energy, in your case that is in the gall bladder channel, and that releases your shoulders. It also makes you feel calmer and more relaxed."

There are 14 main channels including spleen and stomach, liver and gall bladder, lung and large intestine. The spleen and stomach channel is associated with digestive problems and the lung channel helps with asthmatic problems.

"Shiatsu helps everything from the common cold to a knee injury."

And it can also help with emotional problems too, including fears and phobias.

"So if you have a fear of flying, shiatsu can help."

The number of sessions you need depends on whether you have a chronic or a mild condition.

"With some clients it works instantly, with others, you have to be more patient. If it is a chronic condition, where you have built up a lot of stress in your shoulders and neck for years, it is going to take a little while to get it out, you can't cure the problem in one treatment. On the other hand, if someone has strained their back in the garden the day before, you can do something in one session."

John decides that as I had worked at a computer for years, I have a chronic condition of tight shoulders. I readily agree with him.

I lie down on the floor with my head and knee supported by a cushion, and John presses the accupressure points of the gal bladder channel. He begins on my head, goes across from my shoulders, down the side of my back, across my hips and down my leg to my toes.

Even without aromatherapy oils and candles, it is very relaxing, even more so than a normal massage, and I feel myself drifting into a slumber.

"Most people nod off," John smiles. "The treatment works just as well if you fall asleep or if you are awake."

By the end of the treatment I feel totally relaxed and my shoulders feel a lot less stiff.

But it isn't only my shoulders that feel lighter, I feel more relaxed in myself and find it easier to cope with problems the next day. Is that a coincidence or have I really opened up my meridian line?

John Hawkins: 01494 474084