Mina Shoda is a Certified Shiatsupractor and owner of Shoda Shiatsu

Mina was born and raised in Saitama Prefecture, 80 kilometers North of Tokyo. She was a very active young woman growing up with her primary passions focused on track and field. Through prolonged training she suffered fatigue and injuries and was in need of some form of physical therapy to alleviate her muscular strains. Mina’s trainer brought her to a Shiatsupractor and she was amazed at how he was able to diagnose her problems by just a gentle touch and even more amazed when he was able to alleviate the pain and muscle stress through his thumb pressure. This was Mina’s first exposure to Eastern Holistic therapy.

Mina came to Canada in 1999 on a year long working holiday visa. Her roommate, another young Japanese woman, suffered from hives which covered 75% of her body. She sought treatment at three different clinics where they applied salves, ointments and oral medications but the hives persisted. The young woman worked as a receptionist at the Shiatsu Academy of Tokyo in Toronto and explained her problem to the Shiatsu Sensei, Kensen Saito. Sensei Saito treated her abdomen with Shiatsu and the next day her hives had completely disappeared! After personally witnessing the benefits of Shiatsu Mina researched the Holistic treatment intensively and read that the mother of Tokujiro Namikoshi, the founder of Shiatsu, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis just as her own mother had been.

Mina had been planning on studying medicine or any other form of healing therapy because of her great interest in anatomy and physiology and also as a means of helping her ailing mother. After experiencing the wonders of Shiatsu she knew her path had been decided. In 2000 Mina then applied to the Shiatsu Academy of Tokyo. After completing the two year course and 2200 hours of required studies she graduated with her diploma of Shiatsupractor. Master Saito then asked Mina to stay and work at his clinic where she stayed until becoming pregnant with her first child. After the birth of her son she and her new family moved back to Japan where she practiced at an orthopedic clinic specializing in sports injuries. Here Mina was able to glean a great deal of information on specific problems that normal people face every day and treating them with a great deal of success. Over the years at the clinic she honed her craft, developing her technique and her knowledge of the human body.

Mina then moved back to Canada with her husband and now, two children and landed in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia where she operates her home based Shiatsu clinic overlooking the beautiful Salish Sea and Georgia Straits. Mina is a practiced Yogi, kayaker, ecologist and lover of nature. Come and experience the wonders and release that Shiatsu offers. Mina would love to share with all who would care to learn.

Shiatsupractor®

Shiatsupractor® is a registered trademark of the International Shiatsu Association for Shiatsu Practitioners worldwide who have successfully graduated from a minimum of 2200 hours of curriculum study in North America, 1600 hours in Europe and 3000 hours in Japan.