A gentle and easy technique with immediate results.
Sotai is the Japanese movement-bodywork therapy developed by Keizo Hashimoto, MD in the early 20th century. It is a gentle neuromuscular technique designed for restoring the body’s structural alignment and free flow of motion.
In Sotai, comfortable active and passive movements are facilitated with gentle counterforce and deepened breathing to release holding patterns in the myofascial tissue. This simple, elegant and effective system alleviates pain and constriction, improves range of motion, and balances structural integrity.
Sotai combines wonderfully with Shiatsu and acupuncture, as well as many other styles of bodywork and movement therapies. Applied within the Chinese medical framework of channel theory, Sotai helps restore the functioning of the sinew channels and supports the circulatory intelligence of the body’s tissue ecology.
This workshop will present the fundamentals of traditional Sotai practice and its application for treating neuromuscular pain, restricted range of motion, and key areas of structural misalignment. Students will learn the basic Sotai procedure for assessing a restricted range of motion and the Sotai technique for rebalancing musculoskeletal tensegrity. Once the basic Sotai technique is learned, it can easily be applied to any movement pattern in the body.
Sotai is effective in helping with:
acute and chronic muscular pain
injury recovery and rehabilitation
postural distortions
structural misalignments
myofascial restrictions
functional fitness: balance, coordination, flexibility
athletic performance
circulatory motions of blood and fluid

When we measure the relative health of a joint, we mostly
consider
its ease of movement. But, the space between the structures
that
allows for this freedom is as fundamental component of joints as
the
bony structures composing them . . . perhaps the most important
one.
In this workshop you will learn new skills to:
• Stabilize the axial skeleton and mobilize the joint
• Feel the joint space as clearly as the joint structures
• Orient palpation skills toward expanding the space
• Use the additional space to increase range of motion
• Open the joint and reduce pain
• Restore function to injured joints

The students’ purpose for studying this particular material is
to
understand how the differences between the same symptom in
different
meridians give a more complete view of the big picture. It will
help them, as
practitioners, be able to appropriately orient their approach to
their client’s
complaints. Additionally, it will indicate how to properly modify
the use of
their hands for the treatment that is needed for that client at
that time.
My purpose for having them study this material is to:
• Increase fluency in the language, theory and concepts of Zen
Shiatsu
• Help students become masterful in the practice of their
techniques
• Illuminate the total mind-blowing awesomeness of Zen
Shiatsu!!!