En bok om Shiatsu & Livet
av Chris McAlister, Jeremy Halpin
& Jan Nevelius
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Touching the Invisible
by Chris McAlister, Jeremy Halpin och Jan Nevelius
After twelve years of toil, laughter and tears, our little masterpiece finally came out to meet the big, wide world. It is a collection of observations from life as a therapist by three colleagues who got to know each other through their journey on the path of serving others and thus growing as human beings.
Our intention was to create a book that is both a beautiful experience but also an exploration that leads gradually into process thinking. Using Eastern metaphors, imagery and explanatory models, we explain in simple terms the enormous complexity that human beings are made up of and show through their outward manifestations. We believe you will benefit from it whether you are a patient, a therapist or an observer of life in general.
The book is available here at AlternativAkademin, The English Bookshop in Uppsala, and Amazon. Below we showcase a selection of reviews by students, colleagues and other readers.
Read more about Shiatsu >
Touching the Invisible - Att Beröra det Osynliga
av Chris McAlister, Jeremy Halpin och Jan Nevelius
Efter tolvårs slit, skratt och tårar kommer äntligen vårt lilla mästerverk ut och möter den stora världen.
Det är en samling iakttagelser kring livet som terapeut av tre kollegor som lärt känna varandra genom sin vandring längs den bana som innebär att stå till tjänst för andra och således växa som människa.
Vår intention var att skapa en bok som dels är en vacker upplevelse men även en utforskning över tid som leder gradvis in i processtänkande. Vi använder oss av österländska metaforer, bilder och förklaringsmodeller och syftar då till att i enkla termer förklara den enorma komplexiteten som människan består av i sitt inre och visar genom sina yttre manifestationer.
Vi hoppas och tror att du kan ha nytta av den vare sig du är en patient, en terapeut eller en betraktare av livet i stort.
Boken är skriven på engelska men den är relativt lättläst. Den finns att köpa här på AlternativAkademin, The English Bookshop i Uppsala och Adlibris
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Nedan återger vi recensioner på boken av några läsare, elever och kollegor.
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Köp boken hos oss eller på Kumbha
Tag kontakt med Chris om du vill få boken signerad.
Tack snälla!
Boken är min morgonöppnare och min godnattsaga.
Nina L.
Started reading your book yesterday - it’s epic!
What I like the most so far is that it describes the noble path that leads to and from shiatsuRegarding your book, I find myself nodding and underlining every third sentence. There are so many sentences "of gold", where I think - Oh that's so well said!
It's funny, in a way it makes me think of the Never Ending story, do you know that book? I was addicted to it as a child, so much wanting to live a similar adventure. And now, reading this book, it really brings back this noble adventure part, in the sense, I find it really honors the life journey of shiatsu practitioners and who we become in the process, all the magical training and "becoming" that is part of it.
Irene N.
For all those who are not sure about purchasing, I'll big the book up for a moment.
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Firstly it looks beautiful and would be a graceful addition to anyone's coffee table. And a great talking point once we're allowed to have visitors to our homes again.
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Secondly the writing flows well and is non-technical, so you won't be flummoxed by big words.
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And thirdly it's really an exploration of the 3 practitioners philosophy of Shiatsu which kinda makes it a philosophy of their lives. And I can confirm that this philosophy lies behind many other practices too. For example, I'm a talking therapist working with trauma and just from the few sections of the book I've read so far, it matches perfectly to how I use mindbody work with my clients. So there's something for everyone.
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I read a few of your passages to our mother this evening, which prompted some memories of your treatments for her. I explained the style of the book and she said she'd like to read it.
Fiona McAlister
Wow, the book is out. Big congratulations to you all!
Thanks for all your kind words Chris. It was truely a great joy and very special and meaningful experience for me to join the three of you in those conversations. You all have such important knowledge, wisdom and experience and I’m so glad you are now also sharing it in this book. Can’t wait to read it...
Johanna Hök
Got it! It is beautiful! A Masterpiece. Thank you and congratulations
to the team.
Eva Solonia
I’m finding it hard to come up with the right words. You have no idea how precious and heartwarming it was to read this.... Something I really needed right now.
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I will always treasure the short time I had the opportunity to work with you. Unfortunately the timing was off, too much going on in my life back then. But it was one of the most enjoyable experiences in my shiatsu education and short career I’d also like to take this opportunity to salute all three of you for being three of the most awesome teachers I’ve ever met. What you taught me still continues to shape and fill my world with colour.
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Marie Schröder
Is there distance healing involved in the reading of this book?
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It is so good! I don't want to stop reading. The design... I'm lost for a day or two reading...
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It is even more compelling to have your book, when knowing that it's a product of such a beautiful synergy.
Snezhana S.
I think this project brought those qualities out for me to see actually. Not something I thought I had, always running onwards. Staying power. It was the ride of a lifetime and I feel honoured and privileged to have been part of it. Working with three so different and in many ways complementary Spirits as Chris, Janne and Jeremy left no room for dull moments and polished my ability to not just see and read but feel the difference in written voices and try my best to let them all shine each in their own way without taking away their unique tones and flows. I loved that - shiatsu with words!
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So grateful for the many lessons learned and all the fun meetings with dumplings to boot. It was thrilling to bring out my shining sword (once I dared!) and carefully prune what already often felt like perfection just to make the flow a little more free or frame something with a full stop!
Thank you guys for all of it and may this baby now reach many, many beings as it brings with it so much love and care for Shiatsu as a path of the Heart.
Filippa Freed
I have just received my copy directly from Sweden! I feel very honored to have been invited to be one of the first people to be touched by this work.
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I'll give you my impressions as things progress. Currently, I share the first ones with you:
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1. The title: "Touching the Invisible. Exploring the Way of Shiatsu".
We therapists having chosen the way of touching, we had, at one point in our practice, this impression of touching beyond what we see or what we feel. When I read the title, I immediately felt identified and curious to explore this Way from the hands of these three experienced authors.
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2. The copy is a square book, of a comfortable size in the hand and of a reassuring texture and weight. In addition, the photo on the cover page is spectacular: the tree, the light and the wood in the background... an invitation to anyone with an exploratory spirit to discover what lies in the center of the wood and up to where this extends.
Martha Lopez-Fonseca
So here it is! A unique book recommended by co-writer Chris McAlister. It arrived late yesterday and I am now taking a look at it. It directly, as suspected and hoped for, gives me a sense of connection. Or recognition because the topics are honest and experience driven. The interview style is very cleverly done so it reads like something you just pick up like a magazine. I'll carry on reading now....
Chris is an amazing colleague with enormous experience and a long personal learning curve among many masters in East Asia - an inspiration to me personally and the upcoming generation of Shiatsu students and therapists.
Frans Annergarn
It arrived safely, yesterday. And wow, it is truly wonderful!
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Thank you Chris. I'm savouring it slowly, like a box of chocolates I am reading it from page 1, but I also keep on jumping here and there all the time, enjoying whatever surprise I come across.
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It truly is brilliantly done, very deep but easy to read and never heavy. Very practical and certainly useful, but at the same time very poetic. All the love that was put into making it by the whole team really shines through.
Bravo everybody.
Marcella M.
Your beautiful book arrived today, am very excited about reading it. Just flipping through it exudes a calm sense of experience and hope for the future.
Rose Brown
Thank you Chris for such a beautiful book, that touches the depth of my being. I enjoy it immensely. Please express my deep gratitude to Jan and Jeremy as well.
Inbal Haleli Blass
A new friend arrived at my home. Will be well treated. I shall find the time next week to sit under the sun and InJoy the journey of the ivisible being touched.
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Ahlam B.
I am taking on a new and exciting task here, that of writing my first review of a brand new book published in the language of Shakespeare. This book, entitled "Touching the Invisible" is not about the way of God like the best-seller written by Norman Grubb but about the way of Shiatsu. Thus, the 3 authors: Chris McAlister, Jeremy Halpin and Jan Nevelius, experienced practitioners in the practice and teaching of Shiatsu, had the rich idea of combining their knowledge, experience and reflections in a single book.
Their objective:
To invite us for a philosophical exploration of Shiatsu and Oriental medicine, without forgetting multiple practical tips on the professional practice of Shiatsu.
The focus is on "awareness", "intuition" and "intention" in Shiatsu practice and "how this mind-body perspective can influence the broader health debate". The great Taoist concepts, Chi, Yin - Yang polarity, the dynamics of the 5 elements and classical meridians are discussed as well as the Japanese principle of Hara.
The notions of the invisible touching the emotional, the spiritual, the psychic - even if it is not explicitly named - characterize the framework of reflection of what is Shiatsu therapy.
In summary:
The blended perspective of three international actors with a fluid and original reading.
An aesthetic and pleasant reading, in the form of questions/answers, very didactic between experience sharing, technical explanations, case studies and informal anecdotes.
Rather than images of practice or Shiatsu positions, the authors have chosen to illustrate their words and chapters with famous quotes and the highlighting of important points to remember in the margin, which are a real plus.
The use of English is not a hindrance. An average technical level of English should be sufficient for the reader to understand this book.
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Antoine Di Novi
I wanted to let you know that your book has been sitting out on the main table in our classroom for about six weeks now. I regard it as something more precious than a book. Shiatsu has only been around us for a number of decades and perhaps this generation is the first generation of Shiatsu wizards.
During our previous class weekend we passed the book around and the students opened it randomly to read a passage. We waited and listened and thought with such admiration and respect. It reminded me of reading the I Ching. For us it is something true and holy. I think this activity will become a new tradition.
Marjorie Pivar, Director Shiatsu School of Vermont
What I wanted to say that your book is a master piece. Like how much you emphasizes the self developmental path of the practitioner. It is so crucial but so underestimated. The benefit is seen e g. pandemics like covid.
Johanna Häkkinen, Shiatsu and acupuncture practitioner, Finland.
It sure is a treasure!
I’ve read 4 chapters so far and dipped into the whole book and it has helped me understand a number of things that I have had questions to but could not find the answers anywhere else.
I bought your book ... a treasure for me as a student in the 2nd year of Zen Shiatsu training.
Catherine Dutang
YES and I love it. the interview style is very nice.
We speak the same Shiatsu language and it is so nice to hear you speak or read the book, because it in a sense confirms the way I experience shiatsu. All my work is about empowering and I think this is the only way to go. No guru's outside ourselves - the only healing comes from within. To really become 'owner' of your own potential. That's the holy grail. And we guide people, show them the way! Much love.
Christel van der Meer
Touching the invisible is visible now, the marks of my muddy fingers from working my garden are one the white pages, since i stop to rest and submerge myself in this amazing book. It is a journey about life, and life is daily action from a conscious body. I dig again, with my bare hand's, like doing Shiatsu to the soft ground.
I find myself Deepen in the last pages, and somehow knowing that I will always come back to the touching of the invisible.
I had always believed that Shiatsu books could only have theoretical content. How can you write about something as intimate and ever-changing as a Shiatsu session? Touching the Invisible made me change my mind.
Once, a client said to me at the end of a session: "I don't know how many of you have been in here with me, maybe all of humanity". This book allows you to be in the same room at the same time with Chris, Jan and Jeremy, to be the patient, the therapist, or simply to place yourself within their friendship.
After the first chapter, I was virtually overcome with a need to be the one asking the questions. To my amazement, all my questions came to the fore as I progressed through the book.
Anyone who has sat in seiza in a Shiatsu class, in a workshop, or in the intimacy of their own practice will understand that this book is organic. It reads and feels from the Hara. It roots you.
Each time I turned a page and stumbled upon a case history I was thrilled: beautiful and informative titles followed by sincere depictions of Shiatsu encounters.
I receive you, I observe you, I listen to you, I touch you, I perceive you, I immerse myself, I connect, we trust each other, we dismiss everything and at the same time we remember everything. This is what the book transmits to me, its slow reading, the essence of a human encounter within the framework of the art of Shiatsu.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced therapist, you will easily be able to extract suggestions or ideas to apply in your future Shiatsu encounters.
This book contains the universal character of the human condition.
Vlad Bulaj
