Boston Shiatsu School Location: 1972 Mass. Ave., Cambridge Phone: (617) 876-4048 Hours: Monday-Friday Get directions

Amid the hubbub of busy Massachusetts Avenue, the Boston Shiatsu School and Clinic is a tranquil island. The calming music, low lighting, and rice paper partitions may put you at peace even before the massage begins.

Shiatsu, an ancient Japanese massage technique, is based on the same principles as acupuncture. Finger pressure applied to specific points on the body relieves stress, soothes sore muscles, and creates a general sense of well-being. Sometimes the most effective pressure points are also the most sensitive, but otherwise the massage itself is relaxing and its benefits worth any momentary discomfort.

My body felt fluid and revived after my session. The more pressure points pushed, the more tension I let go. By the time my student began massaging that special point for insomniacs on the forehead, I felt as calm as I do after a long, hot bath. I slept soundly that night.,p> Kikuko Zutrau Miyazaki, the school's founder, is often padding about the carpeted clinic to supervise. She or another instructor check on every client to make sure the treatment is appropriate. The students - who must train for 360 hours before they may practice at the clinic - provide such relaxing massages that homemaker Nancy Reid comes all the way from Scituate. "It's a special place," says Reid. "It's nice to know that one hour a week I have that quiet time."

A one-hour massage is $25; purchasing 10 massages in advance brings the cost down to $18.