Shonishin for babies and children
Shonishin (children’s needle therapy) is a unique and specialised style of acupuncture developed over 250 years ago in Japan for babies & children. Children & their parents love Shonishin because it is both gentle & effective.
No Needles
Shonishin practitioners recognise that children do not like needles. Shonishin techniques are non-invasive and therefore non-scary. Typically, treatment consists of gently stroking, rubbing or tapping the skin with a variety of rounded silver, gold and stainless steel tools. Without penetrating the skin, these different kinds of surface stimulation have a strong therapeutic effect.
When applied for short periods of time in simple systematic patterns, these techniques have been found to be very helpful for both parents and their children.
What happens during the treatment?
Shonishin is all about bringing things back into balance. To evaluate your child’s health, we usually start with a chat to understand your child’s condition and medical history, taking the pulse and pressing the tummy gently to get an idea of what’s going on.
Initial treatment consists of a few minutes of stimulating the channels using Shonishin tools. Particular points may then be stimulated to specifically address symptoms. At the end of the treatment a small ‘press-sphere’ (a tiny round pellet of gold or silver), might be taped on the skin that can be left on for a few hours.
Home Therapy
Shonishin is a whole treatment for your child in several steps. Whilst some of these steps can only be done by an acupuncturist, other techniques can be taught to parents, so that the effects can be reinforced by regular application at home. This approach is appreciated by parents who welcome the opportunity to participate more actively in their children’s wellbeing.
Scope of Shonishin
Shonishin is typically used from birth through to age five or older. The general treatment can be very helpful for supporting your child’s vital energy and health. When correctly applied, Shonishin is very relaxing and gives a sense of well-being. It is a valuable support to parents, enabling them to reinforce these techniques at home.
