Workshops

A gentle and easy technique with immediate results.  

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:  

1. acute and chronic muscular pain  
2. injury recovery and rehabilitation  
3. postural distortions  
4. structural misalignments  
5. myofascial restrictions 
6. functional fitness: balance, coordination, flexibility 
7. athletic performance  
8. 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

To prepare for this 2-day seminar, students must study the boxes on 

pages 42-47 of ZEN SHIATSU: HOW TO HARMONIZE YIN AND YANG FOR BETTER HEALTH to:

1. Memorize the meridian functions word for word

2. Read through the symptoms, looking for similarities in:

• kyo and jitsu within the psychological category

• kyo and jitsu within the physical category

• yin and yang meridians of the same Element (similar symptoms in

Lung and Large Intestine – e.g. LU: body feels sluggish; LI: elimination

problems)

• different Elements (similar symptoms in Large Intestine and Stomach

and Gall Bladder, etc. – e.g. headache)

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!!!