Hara Massage

Hara Massage is therapeutic massage which focuses on the abdomen, pelvis and their internal organs. This article describes the nature, history and purpose of hara massage and gives information about the hara massage training programme run by Nick Hudis at Integra Massage. The article will be of primary interest to massage therapists, bodyworkers, Shiatsu practitioners and acupuncturists seeking to learn advanced skills. It will also be of interest to people looking for effective treatment for a range of health issues.

Hara is a Japanese word meaning “belly”. But its cultural connotations go far beyond a mere anatomical location. Hara is our centre. To have “hara” or to act with “hara” has the implication of strength, purpose, groundedness and presence. All oriental arts from martial arts to calligraphy, from the tea ceremony to flower arranging lay great emphasis of being in the “hara”.

In Japanese medicine hara is central to health. Most schools of healing in Japan believe that the hara is a mirror of a person’s overal constitution and state of health. The hara influences every aspect of a person’s being. The hara is our centre of gravity and its muscular walls are literally pivotal to good posture and strong graceful movement. The motility of the hara is critical to healthy diaphramatic breathing, The major blood including the Aorta and Vena Cava pass through the hara, The hara is obviously the seat of the digestive, reproductive and sexual organs. At an emotional level, the hara is the location where much of our deepest emotional armouring is found.

Energetically, the hara is the site of the lower dan tien, the storage point of yuan qi and jing which in Taoist thought are the root energies of our being and the power cell of our entire system. In Tantra, the lower three Chakras are all within the hara.

Benefits and uses of Hara Massage are

1) As part of a general restorative massage approach to maintain health and well being. Hara massage techniques can be included in full body relaxation and therapeutic massage to deepen and expand the scope of the treatment.

2) As a specific treatment protocol for a wide range of health issues that relate to the abdomen and pelvis. Hara massage is indicated in conditions described in oriental medicine as excess, that is involving, congestion, accumulation and adhesion. It is also indicated for deficient conditions characterised by poor micro circulation, weakness prolapse and atrophy. Hara massage has been used with apparent good results in the treatment of the following conditions:

• Respiratory: asthma, paradoxical breathing, chronic bronchitis
• Digestive: IBS, constipation, inflamatory bowel disorder, sluggish hepatic and bilary function, gastroptosis, gastritis. Indigestion, poor assimilation.
• Gynaecological: period pain, irregular periods, endometriosis, vulva pain, blocked fallopian tubes, prolapsed or retroflexed uterus, infertility without known cause, female sexual dysfunction, post partum problems.
• Urogenital: chronic prostatitis, male sexual dysfunction, irritable bladder syndrome, interstitial cystitis, prolapsed bladder, mild to moderate incontinence.
• General: pelvic, perineal and genital pain. Back pain related to psoas imbalances, post surgical and other scarring and adhesions.

3) As a deep, holistic energy treatment. Treatments known in oriental medicine as root treatments focus on the patient’s constitution and underlying energy imbalances. Working at core of a person’s being, hara massage is a powerful root treatment which can unblock the flow of energy, particularly at an emotional level.

Hara massage has few absolute contraindications and can be adapted by a skilled practitioner to the specific needs and limitations of each client.