My name is Fabian Bastianelli, I was born in 1974 in Belgium.
I am curious about life and like to ask questions.
Shiatsu is my main activity. I run an integrative therapy center, the Résonances center in Huy (Belgium) in which I practice shiatsu, give meditation workshops and share space with my colleagues, acupuncturist, sophrologist, masseuse and naturopath. I am also co-founder of a shiatsu school, Odo shiatsu, and I launched a publishing house, Editions du Renard Blanc.
As far back as I can remember, my attraction to Asia and the Orient goes back to my childhood. I had found a few books on the subject in the family library and I was trying to copy certain ideograms.
When I was a teenager, I immersed myself in reading certain books, trying to put into practice what I read there about meditations, self-hypnosis, and breath and body control. This has served me quite well in my sporting activities.
In this solitary impulse to put it into practice, I felt that I was plateauing. Luckily, there is a Buddhist center 10 kilometers from my house. So I pushed the door. I must have been 19 years old. The monk in charge then introduced me to Tibetan meditation practices. At 26, I wanted to take up aikido, which introduced me to Zen and shiatsu.
Liking to question, I asked my aikido teacher what ki, energy, was. I wanted to know what was behind this (I have a basic scientific background). My teacher “took my ki”, as he told me. Nothing very extravagant technically, he held my wrist and without any movement, he took my ki: my legs gave way under me, several times in a row, despite my desire to resist. I was taken aback, fascinated and I wanted to understand. He then replied: “go to shiatsu”. So I looked for a school. Luck (again) made me meet Kawada sensei, founder of the Yoseido Shiatsu Academy. My desire for Japan was doubly satisfied: I could meet a Japanese master and he was less than 100 kilometers from my home. I gone ahead.
I followed the 3 years and graduated. But I had a taste for too little. A door was open, I had the basics and I felt the need to explore its depths. A good year after graduation, Kawada Sensei offered me the opportunity to become an assistant for the first year. I accompanied him for several years during which I perceived the nuances and depth of the techniques. He also encouraged me to practice. The shiatsu continued slowly until the moment of choice: make shiatsu a recreational practice or dare to dive and make it my main activity.
I dove.
Meditation
As I said above, I was immersed very early in the Asian world and the application of principles linked to Buddhism.
My first meditation retreat in a center (at the time, only Buddhist centers offered this) was in 1994. I then began practicing. Firstly, in Tibetan meditations then I did zazen.
My practice is thus based on these 2 pillars: one root in Tibet, the other in Japan. I share this with my experience and my Western mind.
A place of synergy: the Resonances center
When I dove, as I explain above, my practice gradually became professional. At the beginning, I practiced at home in a converted space then I rented a small office in the city center. There, things changed. My practice intensified and, little by little, I moved from a relaxing practice to more therapeutic demands. Regularly, my recipients asked me who I could advise in different areas that would complement shiatsu (acupuncturist, psychologist, naturopath, aromatherapist, etc.). The idea of a center bringing together different alternative medicine practitioners was there. It was really in 2017 that I was able to implement this with a space shared between several complementary people: acupuncture, massages, sophrology, psychotherapy, naturopathy. This is the Resonances center based in Huy (Belgium).
Sharing and teaching
In 2019, during a trip to Japan where I accompanied Kyoko Kishi, I put on paper my ideal school: a dojo spirit, using transversal teaching methods, the link between all students of all levels, etc. . I proposed this basic structure to 2 friends including Stéphane Cuypers (whom you can also discover on this platform). The spark was lit, Odo shiatsu was born.
This school is based on field experience: teachers share and explain the lessons through their in-office experience, with a vision and an understanding of the roots of shiatsu and Asian culture. The school is based at Yeunten Ling, a Buddhist institute near Huy. This offers us the opportunity to really go to the roots of shiatsu.
A publishing house
This is a bit of a twist of fate: my meditation group asked me to write a book on meditation but I found that the subject was already too hackneyed. For fun, I started thinking about what I could write by looking within myself for my own experience of meditation. After a few months, a manuscript was there. I proposed it to a local publishing house but my subject did not fit into their editorial line. They suggested I self-publish. This first book was very well received (“Wandering and travel, reflections for the inner traveler”). Stéphane Cuypers then offered me his book “Shiatsu, a Japanese art”. The editions of Le Renard Blanc were launched.
After that, I xrote another book: “Instant shiatsu” based on my own experience. There’s a lot of book to advise practitionners and student but nothing to guide people receiving shiatsu. This one has this goal.
The spirit of my practice
You don’t become a practitioner/therapist by chance: my life path led me there. Like everyone, I have gone through funny or less funny moments but always rich in experience.
At first I also received a lot of shiatsu. I could feel and see the results.
It is with all this background that I practice today.
Contact:
Fabian Bastianelli
+32(0)498/43.53.02
fabian.bastianelli(at)gmail.com
The Odo shiatsu school: www.odoshiatsu.be
Editions of Le Renard Blanc: www.renardblanc.be
The multidisciplinary center: www.resonances.io
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