Switzerland: Shiatsu Principles and Concepts course – October 16-18, 2026 in Saillon

This year, ISS Geneva is organizing an in-depth course on the principles and concepts that underlie and support Shiatsu. The course, based on Ivan’s book ‘The Spirit of Shiatsu’, will focus on structuring practice, developing power, relaxation and technical precision, as taught by the Japanese, for whom ‘Shiatsu is a millimetrically precise technique. Nothing is left to chance’.

For example: pressure comes in three stages: contact, pressure, withdrawal. Everyone says that movement comes from the hips. Yet almost everywhere we see a forward/backward movement of the hips, in other words, in two steps. How is such inconsistency possible?

Another example: do you know the 4 stages of Ki use? Ki musubi, Ki nagare, Ki awase and Ki hazuchi? Did you know that this last stage is itself full of important little details that prevent you from being drained of energy?

These are just a few of the dozens of examples that will be covered throughout the course.

The idea will be to put into practice the contents of the book, which is in 3 parts.

Each of the 3 days will focus on 1 of the 3 chapters, allowing you to explore these three levels of understanding: technical, conceptual and philosophical, each time bringing you back to practice, lots of practice…

Shiatsu IS practical, concrete, not an imaginary construct.

Programs

• Day 1: the technical principles behind the technique, not the technique itself
• Day 2: advanced principles (ma-ai, zanshin, Ki stages and more)
• Day 3: Philosophical principles and their application

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Practical details

• Dates : October 16-18, 2026
• Opening hours : 09:00 – 13:00 and 14:30- 17:30
• Teacher : Ivan Bel
• Course fee + accommodation: CHF 495
• Prerequisites : 1st year to advanced practitioner
• Location : Swiss Dojo in Saillon (Valais)
• Registration : by email(issgeneve@me.com) or by phone +41 22 343 67 77

‘Whether you have one year’s experience ( or more than 30 in my case), you’ll find plenty to nourish your practice, I found out when I took part in a course in April 2025!’ Christophe Demaison

We hope to see many of you at this particularly dense and rich course.

• About
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Ivan Bel

Ivan Bel was born in 1971 and grew up in France on the Atlantic Ocean. A sailing enthusiast, he discovered Japanese martial arts at the age of 13 and continues to do so today. After studying journalism and Chinese at the Oriental Languages School, he travelled for many years to all the countries of Asia and directed the first online magazine on Aikido: "Aïkidoka Magazine". At the age of 28, he discovered Shiatsu, a passion that would never leave him. He set up several schools in Belgium, founded the blog Ryoho Shiatsu and the NGO Missions Shiatsu Humanitaire. He finally moved to Malawi and then to Bosnia. He teaches all over the world and continues his journalistic work on Shiatsu and conducts historical research through the group "History of Shiatsu".

Latest posts by Ivan Bel (see all)

• USA: 3rd Annual Shiatsu Summit – April 17/19, 2026 - 26 January 2026
• 2nd Balkans Shiatsu Summit – in Zagreb (Croatia), April 11 & 12, 2026 - 11 January 2026
• Belgium: depression and burn-out with Shiatsu – June 19-21, 2026 in Ostend - 7 January 2026
• An intensive week to explore Emotions and Psychological Disorders – 5-11 July 2026 - 6 January 2026
• Switzerland: Shiatsu Principles and Concepts course – October 16-18, 2026 in Saillon - 10 December 2025
• Italy: Shiatsu Workshop – Energy Principles and Vacuum Concept (Xuli) in Shiatsu – 31 Jan. and 1 Feb. 2026 in Padova - 4 November 2025