Sotai is an ingenious, easy-to-learn Japanese system of neuromuscular reeducation and structural integration that utilizes regulated breathing and gentle movements performed against light resistance; it is a sort of near-homeopathic bodywork-movement reeducation. The late Dr. Keizo Hashimoto, a Japanese medical doctor who was able to achieve impressive results with these simple tools, designed this approach. Often even chronic pain can be alleviated using the simple principles of Sotai.
Dr. Hashimoto believed true health had four pillars: proper diet, proper breathing, proper thinking, and proper movement. A Sotai treatment utilizes three of these pillars, breath, the mind, and movement. In Sotai we are educating the body-mind how to move with ease and without pain. Dr. Hashimoto spent many years studying various traditional healing styles, and Sotai emerged from this as the culmination of his years of work and study.
In a Sotai treatment the practitioner uses simple movements to identify and remove discomfort and stress, wherever it may hide in the body. A body in stress is a body open to disease. Always in Sotai we move away from pain and in the direction of ease. This contrasts with many other systems where a hard, and often painful, approach is taken to “work out” the stuck areas. In Sotai we are retraining the mind and body how to work together. The effect of a Sotai treatment is marvelously relaxing and simply has to be experienced to be appreciated. One can do either do a whole body Sotai session or just a few movements in conjunction with a massage or acupuncture treatment.
Related Writings by Bob Quinn:
- Published Article: Connecticut Sotai Revisted
- Published Article: Thoughts On Sotai As Yin-Yang Medicine
- Blog Post: Autumn
- Blog Post: Movement
- Blog Post: Three-Legged Stool