Tom Banasiak
About Tom Banasiak
Tom Banasiak began his Shiatsu training in 1977 in New York City at the Ohashi Institute. His work as a classical dancer took him to Europe where he lived for seven years. There, along with Reiki, he studied Shiatsu with Japanese Master Akinobu Kishi and German teachers until 1986 when he returned to NYC to work as a Shiatsu Therapist at the Ohashi Institute and to study privately with Ohashi.
In 1989 Tom began studying CranioSacral Therapy through the Upledger Institute, and also Zero Balancing with Fritz Smith, MD. This continued through the next few years. Tom is now a Certified Zero Balancing Practitioner.
In 1991 Tom began his studies with Pauline Sasaki, who translated Masunaga’s “Zen Shiatsu” book into english. Tom’s work is heavily influenced by Pauline Sasaki’s teachings of Zen Shiatsu and Quantum Shiatsu.
“I have mainly continued my studies with Pauline Sasaki, (from 1991 through 2013 Studying her method of Shiatsu, called Quantum Shiatsu, based on Masunaga’s Zen Shiatsu,and Akinobu Kishi'd Sei-Ki. Pauline's work extended into Virtual Code Somatics –working with the Etheric and Astral Levels of energy off the surface of the body".
In addition, Tom has attended New York University studying Nutrition.
Since 2004 he has also studied Qigong self healing and treatment methods with Qigong master, Robert Peng and Aikido at the New York Aikikai.
He has been on the faculty of the Swedish Institute College continuously since 1993 teaching all levels of Shiatsu plus Clinical Strategies. Currently he is the Chair of the Eastern Department at the Swedish Institute.
Tom brings 30 years experience to his treatments and teachings.
New Course Offerred :
Quantum Shiatsu -Level 1 -The Swedish Institute in New York City on April 8, 2017
Quantum Shiatsu is a style of shiatsu developed by Pauline Sasaki. This is an expansion of Masunaga's theory of shiatsu. It explores the possibilities of working the body energetically in not only a three dimensional but also a multidimensional reality. This is thought of as a continuation or completion of the Masunaga system. It encourages the faster vibrations which define the physical form, often felt as your electromagnetic field. By working in specific ways, this electromagnetic field is activated and expanded. The expansion of this system takes the meridians from being in the body, to working with them as a wider energetic field. Here we experience the meridians holographically as vibrations or qualities in the body and then out into the energetic field.
Hara Palpation is faster and lighter. We work with the meridians and translate this to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.
Spinal alignment is emphasized.
We will balance the expansive and contractive aspects of the technique to allow us to get a greater access to the information contained within the meridians and the energetic field. We will experience the meridians as part of the wider energetic field of the body. This is known as the Etheric Field.
Upon completion of this class your evaluation skills and your meridian sensitivity will double or triple.
In Level 2 we will then work with the Light Body and the connection between the meridians and the Chakras. The Light Body and the Chakras are then experienced as part of a wider Grid where we can also begin working with the DNA.
Levels 3 will include Virtual Code Somatics, which is the next step in developing the Light Body. It is a method of infusing the cellular structure with multidimensional vibrations that transform the functioning of the physical body into the Light Body format.
Past Courses Offerred:
The Basic Structure of Shiatsu — The Physical Principles of Working with Energy
with Tom Banasiak, LMT, AOBTA, NCCAOM, ZBHA Sunday Feb 3, 2013
There is basic information about every unique human being that is expressed through the language of energy and vibration. In shiatsu, this expression of energy is manifested through the meridians and can be expressed on four different levels: the Physical, Emotional, Mental, or Spiritual.
In this class we will concentrate on the Meridians and their physical and psychological functions. This workshop will help you become more aware of what you feel on different energetic levels. We will concern ourselves with alignment for best energetic perception, and how to recognize what you perceive. Different methods of tonifcation and dispersal will also be addressed.
Your clients will be coming to you expecting you to heal all their discomforts. This is the class, which will take you out of the student mind and place you securely in the professional shiatsu therapist mind. You have, as a student, learned everything that you need. As a professional therapist, all the theory will now become real. Here you will practice bringing the clients’ energy into balance so they are ready to heal themselves.
All work will be done on a massage table.
Table Shiatsu, Expanding the QI–Sunday, March 3, 2013 10 AM -2 PM at the Swedish Institute.
This workshop is about a new way of doing shiatsu. The energetics of our bodies and the planet is now moving at a much quicker rate. The technique of doing shiatsu on the table reflects that. The techniques involved have a lighter feel to them and the physical work of shiatsu may be sharper and faster to be more effective.
The Yin energies are becoming more dominant, and this leads to expansion of the energetic body. This is what we keep in mind to increase what you see and feel during a treatment.
We will work with the expanded energetic body as the main focus, not the physical body. Here we will begin to work with the meridians off the body. We will also practice with divergent vision in order to get more in touch with the energetic vibrations.
Your reality is different when you are in different states of consciousness. This is part of the main focus in doing effective shiatsu. As we raise the level of our consciousness, we are more able to get in touch with different energetic vibrations in our client. We will explore some meditations and exercises in order to do more effective energetic palpation.
This workshop is for anyone who is interested in expanding his or her thought about what shiatsu can do. We will focus on working meridians to expand them to create the Ether body. That is, the level of energy off the physical. This begins to take shiatsu out of the three-dimensional level and we start to work multidimensional.
This four-hour class is a good introduction for a future class I would teach, “Shiatsu, Meridian Expansion, and the Chakras”. Here I will expand into what was presented in the Table Shiatsu class. This will further lead into extended weekend workshops.