Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System 1848193645, 9781848193642

Table of contents :
Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System

by Richard Gold......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
Foreword by Ted Kaptchuk......Page 11
Preface......Page 13
Introduction......Page 18
1. The Lymph System: Our Silent Protector......Page 21
2. Blood Formation According to the Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)......Page 25
3. Primacy of Abdominal Therapy (Ampuku), the Omentum and Interstitium......Page 29
4. A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu......Page 34
5. Gua Sha......Page 116
6. Cupping......Page 122
7. Introduction and Disclaimer in Regard to Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s Treatise......Page 129
8. In Search of New Medical Treatments: Towards a World Revolution in Medical Science, Pharmacology and Dietetics......Page 133
9. Additional Resources......Page 171
10. Final Thoughts......Page 173
Index......Page 175

Citation preview

“Richard Gold has written a must-read primer for anyone interested in cupping and Gua Sha. This book, like its author, is innovative, clear and opens pathways to new ideas. Read this book and learn from one of the best.” —Susan Salvo, doctor of education, author and massage practitioner

To ensure a well-functioning immune system, the lymphatic system must be healthy. This book provides detailed information on the principles and practice of techniques from East Asian medicine which vitalize and move the lymphatic system to get the immune system working at its optimal level. These techniques include Shiatsu, cupping therapy and Gua Sha. Using the author’s decades of experience working in East Asian and Integrative medicine, he expertly builds a bridge between Western theories of the immune system with Asian bodywork’s emphasis on abdominal treatment. Innovative and insightful guidance for students and practitioners working in Asian Healing modalities and lymphatic techniques.

Richard Gold has been an East Asian medicine practitioner since 1978 and was one of the original founders, faculty and Board members of the very highly regarded Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in the US. He is based in San Diego, California.

www.singingdragon.com Cover design: Black Dog Design

Richard Gold

SINGING DRAGON

Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System

“An excellent addition to the field of Asian Healing arts. It is well written and combines his spiritual journey to Japan with a clear description of how to perform Seitai Shiatsu, cupping and Gua Sha.” —Bill Helm, Founding Faculty, Pacific College of Oriental Medicine— San Diego and Director of the Taoist Sanctuary of San Diego

Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System

FOREWORD BY TED KAPTCHUK

RICHARD GOLD

Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System

of related interest Shiatsu Theory and Practice Third Edition

Carola Beresford-Cooke ISBN 978 1 84819 308 6 eISBN 978 0 85701 260 9

Japanese Holistic Face Massage Rosemary Patten ISBN 978 1 84819 122 8 eISBN 978 0 85701 100 8

Sei-Ki Life in Resonance: The Secret Art of Shiatsu

Akinobu Kishi and Alice Whieldon ISBN 978 1 84819 042 9 eISBN 978 0 85701 061 2

Kampo A Clinical Guide to Theory and Practice, Second Edition

Keisetsu Otsuka Translated by Gretchen De Soriano and Nigel Dawes Foreword by Dan Bensky ISBN 978 1 84819 329 1 eISBN 978 0 85701 286 9

Seitai (Lymphatic) Shiatsu, Cupping and Gua Sha for a Healthy Immune System RICHARD GOLD Foreword by TED KAPTCHUK Photographs by KENNETH GOFF

First published in 2019 by Singing Dragon an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers 73 Collier Street London N1 9BE, UK and 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.singingdragon.com Copyright © Richard Gold 2019 Foreword copyright © Ted Kaptchuk 2019 Photograph copyright © Kenneth Goff 2019 Chapter 8 translation copyright © Kauko Uusoksa and Kayo Sakurai-Uusoksa 2019 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the law or under terms of a licence issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. www.cla.co.uk or in overseas territories by the relevant reproduction rights organisation, for details see www.ifrro.org. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Gold, Richard, author. Title: Seitai (lymphatic) shiatsu : cupping and gua sha for supporting a healthy immune system / Richard Gold ; foreword by Ted Kaptchuk ; photographs by Kenneth Goff. Description: London, UK ; Philadelphia, PA : Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2018033349 | ISBN 9781848193642 Subjects: | MESH: Medicine, East Asian Traditional--methods | Lymphatic System | Massage--methods | Acupuncture Therapy--methods Classification: LCC RM721 | NLM WB 55.F3 | DDC 615.8/22-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018033349 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 84819 364 2 eISBN 978 0 85701 323 1

To my parents, siblings, wife, children and friends, without whom I would be devoid of love and purpose. To all my teachers, students and patients, without whom I would remain empty of knowledge and skills.

Contents Foreword by Ted Kaptchuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1. The Lymph System: Our Silent Protector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2. Blood Formation According to the Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 3. Primacy of Abdominal Therapy (Ampuku), the Omentum and Interstitium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 4. A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 5. Gua Sha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 6. Cupping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 7. Introduction and Disclaimer in Regard to Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s Treatise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 8. In Search of New Medical Treatments: Towards a World Revolution in Medical Science, Pharmacology and Dietetics . . . . 131 9. Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 10. Final Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Foreword For over 40 years, Dr. Richard Gold has continued to be a pioneer in the Western encounter with East Asian medicine. He is a fearless seeker who has never been afraid to transgress disciplinary boundaries and use multiple perspectives to mutually illuminate each other. He searches deeply. Dr. Gold has studied with both mainstream practitioners and also with healers who have transgressed normative boundaries. Dr. Gold’s teachers include Dr. Tin Yau So (1911–2000), who is often credited with bringing acupuncture to America. Dr. So was a leading student of Cheng Dan-an (1899–1957), who is thought to have rescued Chinese acupuncture from superstition and oblivion in the early 20th century by using modern anatomy to describe acupuncture points and meridians. (In 1955, Dr. Cheng was the first Chinese doctor to be appointed to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.) Perhaps at the other extreme, Dr.  Gold looked for nuggets of truth in the unorthodox and daring work of Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s (1914–1991) approach of using shiatsu and diet to treat patients with catastrophic and likely fatal illnesses. These two approaches and many other healing perspectives situated somewhere in between—such as various forms of traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese medicine, different Asian massage traditions, Western psychology and critically examined biomedicine—shine through and are synthesized in his new publication. The extensive and valuable discussion of Gua Sha and cupping demonstrates Dr. Gold’s abilities to look at the neglected margins for inspiration to enrich the mainstream. Dr. Gold’s life work has been recurring cycles of academic learning, then practice, and finally teaching. He is a founder (1986) and was one of the leading faculty members of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He has taught throughout Europe, Canada, Brazil and Israel. His publications clarify, challenge, perplex and move the reader to examine their overlooked assumptions and consider new approaches to respond to irreducible uncertainty embedded in the question of healing. Ultimately, Dr. Gold’s hands and heart inform his intellectual and scholarly work. Dr. Gold finds truth with his hands. Hands and hearts defy lofty theoretical 9

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commitments to abstract truth and certainty; the truth is in the practice. This new volume opens up challenging intellectual doors but ultimately it points to the hand-heart connection that underlies healing. The book is a treasure of insight and practical information that provides concrete ways for us to help our patients on their journey. Ted Kaptchuk Author of The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine Cambridge, Massachusetts 2018

Preface It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. Mahatma Gandhi

The first wealth is health. Ralph Waldo Emerson

These quotes speak to a truth from ancient times that has remained true all throughout human history up until today and will remain true even through an infinite number of tomorrows. The equating of health with wealth has been a truism even before a single medication or procedure could cost thousands of dollars, which is the insane situation we face today in much of the Western world. Excellent, vibrant health is priceless. The pursuit and maintenance of health and the prevention of disease has been my lifelong mission, both personally and professionally. I am a firm believer in the precept expressed since ancient times in East Asian medicine that the human body is endowed with the ability to resist the invasion of pathogenic factors (the anti‑pathogenic factors). The greatest importance in theory and practice of the  East Asian traditional medical systems is focused on these anti-pathogenic factors. A crucial aspect of this is the strengthening of the immune system. In distinction, modern Western medicine is much more focused on pathogenic factors, those factors that can cause disease such as bacteria and viruses. Western medicine seeks to identify and destroy pathogenic factors, often regardless of the deleterious secondary effects of this approach. Clearly, human beings are always facing multiple pathogenic factors with the capacity to create illness. Thankfully, most of the time most people are able to ward off and destroy the pathogens and remain healthy. This ability to remain healthy is the result of our anti-pathogenic factors, primarily our immune systems and, in terms of East Asian medicine, the balance of our innate bio-energies, Qi or Ch’i. We remain healthy not because medicine can overcome disease, but because 11

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our body’s innate wisdom has the capacity to ward off pathogens and restore balance, culminating in good health. In the winter of 1986, I set off for Asia to deepen my life experience and my knowledge of healing approaches and with the hope of meeting a teacher(s). I had no set agenda nor had I enrolled in any specific program. I was full of hope, trust and naivety. I am grateful that my experiences actually exceeded my dreams. At the risk of sounding clichéd, I was led to my teacher, Sensei Kyoshi Kato (b.1914–d.1991) the founder and leader of Kenko Saisei Kaikan (The Center for the Restoration of Health). At that time, there were three Kenko Saisei Kaikan residential treatment centers in Osaka, Japan. These three centers together had the capacity to house approximately 80 individuals. Thankfully, Sensei Kyoshi Kato recognized that I was a serious student and worthy of his time. From the first moment I entered the Kenko Saisei Kaikan #2 residential treatment center in Osaka I felt a profound sense of connectivity and belonging. All the residents of the Kenko Saisei Kaikan were terminally ill individuals. They had all been released from their medical doctors’ care after all measures (chemotherapy, radiation and surgery) had failed to stop the spread of cancer. They had all been sent home to die. Even with this “death sentence” always present, the Kenko Saisei Kaikan environment was filled with love, light and hope. The core treatment strategies at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan centers included Seitai Shiatsu, controlled diets and deep emotional processing. Residents received two Seitai Shiatsu treatments daily during their three-week residency at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan. The emotional processing took the form of open group therapy sessions. The controlled diet approach I will discuss in Chapter Seven of this book. I met many remarkable individuals at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan. In the constant presence of death, radiant hope and love permeated the environment. One day a week, “alumni” of the program came to share their stories with current residents and potential new residents. Individuals who were supposed to be dead years ago voluntarily returned to share with others their stories of survival and life. As amazing and life changing as my time at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan and with Sensei Kyoshi Kato was, the purpose of sharing this information in this book is not to promote a cancer treatment. There are many legal and ethical issues surrounding the treatment of cancer that does not follow the accepted treatment protocols of Western medicine. I choose not to challenge these rules and regulations. As a licensed practitioner and teacher of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, I abide by this ancient Chinese proverb: Superior doctors prevent disease Mediocre doctors treat impending disease Inferior doctors treat actual disease

Preface

The goal of this text is to promote preventative approaches to maintaining health and vitality. The same theories and approaches that Sensei Kyoshi Kato taught and practiced in the treatment of terminal illness are totally applicable in the pursuit of health and the prevention of disease. Mounting evidence supports the concept that cancer is generally a polygenic multifactorial disease, which makes environment an important modifier in the risk of cancer, stated Kari Hemminki, Karolinska Institute. It is estimated that only 1 percent of cancers are caused by “cancer syndromes” and up to 5 percent result from highly penetrant single-gene mutations; thus, the majority are polygenic. Unquestionably, cancer is intertwined with environmental factors including diet.1

This refers to changes in gene function and expression that do not involve changes in the actual DNA sequencing. The environment that exists in and around our cells can have a dramatic effect on the expression of the DNA. This can be an important contributing factor to many cancers.2 Individual cancer cells are a common occurrence in human beings. Our immune system is engineered to identify, target and destroy these aberrant cells. This amazing physiological activity takes place in the lymphatic system, specifically the lymph nodes. In order for the immune cells to attack aberrant cells effectively, they must be able to “see” and identify the distorted cells. For this to happen, the lymphatic system must not become overly sluggish and stagnant. Keeping the lymphatic system moving and non-stagnant is at the core of an effective immune response. If the immune cells are unable to destroy the initial cancerous cell, this cell will divide and multiply and express its aberration. This begins the process of tumor growth. The lymphatic system can easily become stagnant, especially for individuals who live a highly sedentary lifestyle. Yet, there is another challenge that we all face that actually arises from another key function of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is also the “sewage system” of the body at the cellular level. All cells (with the exception of the brain and spinal cord) are bathed in lymph. Cells release the waste byproducts of their cellular metabolism through the cell walls into the circulating lymph. The lymph is then responsible for carrying these waste materials away from the cells to be eventually excreted from the body. In cases of lymph stagnation, these waste products linger in the body, inhibiting the immune response, causing local inflammation and inhibiting the delivery of nutrients to the cells. This is the type of environment where cancer can develop and flourish. Health and the ability to overcome disease are dependent upon a highly functioning lymphatic system and immune response. The single biggest 1 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220897 2 www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances

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challenge the lymphatic system faces is stagnation, a lack of flow and movement. An important way to recognize early stages of blood and lymph stagnation is tenderness and  pain to touch. Persistent muscle tension is both a cause and a result of blood and lymph stagnation. For example, when even moderate pressure is applied to the upper shoulder region, many if not most people feel some level of pain. This is generally accepted as normal. It is commonplace, but should not be accepted as normal. It is actually an indication of stagnation and inflammation. When this type of stagnation is also examined from an energetic perspective, it indicates blockage of energy flow. Blocked energy flow (obstruction of Qi flow) is yet another way to describe underlying mechanisms of disease processes. The essential goals of the techniques presented in this text are to promote blood and lymphatic movement, prevent stagnation, relieve inflammation and enhance the flow of vital energy (Qi). This is the root of preventative health care. Also included in this book are two highly effective and easy-to-learn techniques that are part of traditional East Asian medical tradition: Gua Sha and cupping. Both of these techniques help relieve stagnation in the lymph and myofascial tissues. Both of these techniques are appropriate for lay people to provide for their family and friends. Knowledge of medical theory is not required to practice these techniques safely and with positive effect. Specific indications and contraindications are presented in the text. Both techniques work very synergistically with Seitai Shiatsu. The techniques described in this book are for everyone, not only health care providers. The primary subject, Seitai Shiatsu, is a profound and effective preventative approach to health. No previous study of Shiatsu theory or technique is required in order to practice this method safely and effectively. No knowledge of acupressure points or meridian flows is required. Neither Eastern nor Western medical knowledge is required. (Certainly, awareness of contraindications is required and this is discussed.) The one crucial understanding that remains as a mantra to effective practice is that all lymph flows back to the heart. Beyond that fact, all other physiology, anatomy and pathology is of interest, and is fascinating, but is not required for the effective practice of Seitai Shiatsu. In addition, Seitai Shiatsu is performed with the client clothed. No oils or any other lubricant are utilized. A certain level of friction upon the recipient’s skin is required for the techniques to be effective. Also, Seitai Shiatsu does not require the use of a treatment table, although the procedures can be done on a treatment table. Traditionally, the treatment is given utilizing a padded futon or mat positioned on the floor or a low platform. The essential point I seek to communicate is that lymph and blood stasis is at the root of a compromised immune system. Lymph and blood stasis renders the human body weakened in its ability to ward off pathogens and also contributes to premature aging.

Preface

I first and foremost want to acknowledge my teacher and the creator of Seitai Shiatsu, Sensei Kyoshi Kato. To this day, it is very unusual for a foreigner (much less one who does not speak Japanese) to be welcomed into a healing teaching environment in Japan. That Sensei Kyoshi Kato welcomed me and shared his vast knowledge and clinical experience with me still astounds me and fills me with gratitude. Additionally, I want to offer my deepest thanks to Kauko Uusoksa and Kayo Sakurai-Puerto, senior students and translators of Sensei Kyoshi Kato, who welcomed me into their home in Osaka and served as my primary tutors and translators. Their knowledge, friendship, language skills and patience were crucial for my acquiring the skills and understanding of Seitai Shiatsu. I want to thank all of the severely ill patients and their families at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan residential centers in Osaka who allowed this “gaijin” (foreigner) into their lives at such a sensitive and vulnerable time. I want to thank my first students in San Diego who helped me refine my ability to share this work in a manner that suited typical American students. This includes, especially, Skip Kanester, Majid Mohkberry and Beth Spong. I want to thank and acknowledge Dr. Tin Yao So, the primary instructor at the New England School of Acupuncture when I attended in 1977–1978. Dr. So provided me with my first experience of Gua Sha and inspired me in my development as a practitioner of Chinese medicine and acupuncture. I am very grateful to my editor at Singing Dragon, Claire Wilson, and her entire team who recognized the importance of this work and helped bring this book to fruition. A big thanks to the models, Gavin Garcia, Karyn Tammaro and Pnina Riter, and our photographer, Kenneth Goff. I am honored that one of my first teachers of Chinese medicine and now a leading light in academic placebo research at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Ted Kaptchuk, contributed the foreword. I extend a special thanks to Emily Sabolsky who provided skilled editorial assistance and Denise Paccione for her help with the photo shoot. Finally, I am eternally grateful for the love and support of my wife, Pnina, and our children, Ella and Roee. For readers interested in contacting the author, please email: richardmgold17@ gmail.com.

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INTRODUCTION The early and mid-1980s were a very busy time for me. Beginning in 1981, I was on the Board of Directors and Faculty of the International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB), an early leader in the field of somatic education and massage. By the end of 1983, I had completed four years of graduate studies in psychology and defended my doctoral dissertation to earn my Ph.D. in psychology. In addition, I completed the required coursework in traditional Chinese medicine required by California and successfully passed the California licensing examination to earn my license as a primary care practitioner to practice Chinese medicine and acupuncture. In 1985, with two dear friends (Alex Tiberi and Joseph Lazzaro), we established the Pacific Center of Health, a professional medical corporation and an integrative health center. Finally, to top things off, Alex, Joseph, Ana de Vedia and myself founded the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM), a stateapproved graduate school of traditional East Asian medicine. At PCOM, I served on the Board of Directors, the academic faculty and the clinical faculty. As 1986 approached, I knew deep down in my bones that I needed a change of scenery. Additionally, I knew I needed to deepen my understanding of healing. I recognized that I needed to actively return to the role of student and to seek out teachers. Therefore, I planned a four-month self-funded sabbatical to travel to Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. I did not enroll in any specific program but went with the idea of being open to whatever opportunities arose. At the time of my departure, I only had one scheduled meeting with Dr. Yoshide Hagiwara in Osaka. (Dr. Hagiwara was the original investigator and inventor of a health‑food nutraceutical product known as Green Magma. Green Magma had been instrumental in helping me regain my health and vitality. I wanted to meet and express my thanks and gratitude to the originator. Thankfully, by being persistent, I was able to gain an introduction to Dr. Hagiwara and a meeting was 16

Introduction

scheduled for early February 1986.) It was this meeting that brought me to Osaka, which, coincidentally, was the same city where I would meet Sensei Kyoshi Kato. I arrived in Hong Kong in the last week of December 1985. I had a letter of introduction from a former classmate and friend, Dr. Randall Barolet, to meet Dr.  C. K. (Gary) Butt, a well-respected practitioner and author in the field of Chinese medicine. Thankfully, Dr. Butt was very open to having me observe in his clinic. Dr. Butt spoke fluent English. This facilitated my learning process greatly. His practice was an interesting mix of people from Hong Kong and European and American expatriates. His office was in a great location, just off Nathan Road on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, quite near the Peninsula Hotel and Star Ferry. From my first day in the clinic with Dr. Butt, he made a point of wanting me to meet a mentor of his, Dr. Lam, a retired physicist and Qi Gong (breath exercises) master. Thankfully, Dr. Lam stopped by the office during my first week. At that time, Dr. Lam was teaching Qi Gong to bed-ridden and paralyzed patients in a local hospital. He explained to me that to achieve the “Qi Gong effect,” movement was not necessary as long as the mind and breathing were highly focused. To this day, I find this to be a profound teaching. When Dr. Lam learned that I would be traveling to Osaka, without me knowing it, he set in motion a series of events that would be life changing for me. It turned out that Dr. Lam’s sister was married to a Japanese man and was living in Brazil. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had received treatment in Brazil. Unfortunately, the treatments had been unsuccessful, the cancer had metastasized and she had been told her condition was terminal. In desperation, she had returned to Japan and sought out the treatment protocol developed by Sensei Kyoshi Kato. These natural treatments were being administered in residential treatment centers known as the Kenko Saisei Kaikan, first established in 1969, and by 1986 they had grown into three residential facilities scattered around Osaka. Under the care of Sensei Kyoshi Kato, Dr. Lam’s sister’s cancer went into remission. This wonderful result so impressed Dr. Lam that he sought out Sensei Kyoshi Kato and developed a personal and professional correspondence. It was from this relationship that my life path was steered into an unexpected direction. Dr. Lam encouraged me to meet Sensei Kyoshi Kato and, as the two men had never met in person, to share a personal thanks and a letter. Unbeknownst to me, Dr. Lam had also written directly to Sensei Kyoshi Kato, introducing me and requesting that he accept me as a student to learn his healing methods. By the time I reached Osaka a month later and called the training center, I was already a known and welcomed person. When I called the number Dr. Lam had given to me and spoke in English, my call was immediately transferred to Kauko Uusoksa, who was a senior student of Sensei Kyoshi Kato and spoke fluent English. Kauko, who is a Finnish national, invited me to come the next day to

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meet Sensei Kyoshi Kato, tour the facilities and to set a training schedule. Training schedule! I had no idea about any of this. The next day, I made my way to the residential training center and was greeted by Kauko. During the tour of the center, we connected in a deep and meaningful way. We went to lunch and before our lunch was over, Kauko invited me to stay at the small apartment he shared with his Japanese wife, Kayo, and their small daughter, Kimi. From that day and for the next month, six days a week, we traveled the short distance from the apartment to the training center where I was schooled in the Kato Method for treating terminally ill patients. The core of the Kato Method is Seitai Shiatsu, the main subject of this book. Sensei Kyoshi Kato recognized me as a serious student deeply committed to natural medicine. I fully embraced this special opportunity to learn with a master practitioner. When I inquired about how I could compensate my teacher for his teachings, he explained to me that all he wanted in return for his teaching was for me to learn his methods very well and to then teach others. This, I faithfully have done. Upon my return to California, I took my handwritten notes and converted them into a teaching manual with a step-by-step protocol in a format that was familiar to Western students. This included Western anatomical landmarks, maps of lymphatic pathways and meridian maps from the acupuncture energy model. At first, I gathered a small number of senior students from the IPSB School to “beta test” my teaching manual and my ability to transmit the knowledge I had gained in Japan. From there, because of my standing at both the IPSB School and at PCOM, I was able to have Seitai Shiatsu accepted as an approved course in their accredited curriculums. Subsequently, I introduced Seitai Shiatsu to larger groups at conferences and symposia in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand and Israel. Now, with the publication of this book, I have further honored my teacher and his work and created a lasting tribute to his dedicated work to help relieve human suffering and bring deep healing. (Note to the reader: As this book is being published at a time when more and more printed books are also available in electronic formats and most readers/ students will have their cell phone, tablets or laptop nearby, I have chosen to include links to websites where many resources, charts and images are readily available. In places in the text where readers would traditionally have a chart, graph or image, you will find a link to online resources.)

CHAPTER ONE

THE LYMPH SYSTEM Our Silent Protector

The lymphatic system is a complex and vital component of our physiology. Among the vital functions of the lymphatic system, the immune function is paramount. Our lymph system is constantly vigilant, on the lookout for pathogens at the cellular level. Most of the time, the lymph system goes about its dynamic functions silently and certainly away from an individual’s conscious awareness. Our immune cells are able to identify and target pathogens, shuttling the pathogens off to the lymph nodes where our vast array of fighter cells take over and destroy the pathogens. Most of the time, most human beings are not ill, even though we exist in an environment that is filled with toxins and pathogenic factors. Recent published reports indicate that the virus biomass has an enormous variety and complexity in the environment, including in the oceans. Viruses are the most numerous microbes on Earth, with an estimated 100 million different types. Research even indicates the high probability that viruses exist in space and on other planets.1 According to a study published in 2018 in The ISME Journal, trillions of viruses fall from the sky each day!2 It is important to note that not all of the effects of viruses are negative from a human perspective. Viruses play a central role and are essential to the human gut microbiome and even our immune systems. From an even broader perspective, viruses play a role in the evolution of all species and even climate regulation. Viruses are absolutely misunderstood in popular culture, where people use numerous consumer products to “kill” viruses. Even in Western medical practice, the treatment of viral conditions with antibiotics remains commonplace, even though antibiotics are useless in these situations and often have a secondary effect of weakening the immune system and diminishing beneficial gut bacteria. This is foolishness, as a virus is a disease-causing, yet non-living particle. A virus does 1 www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180118142558.htm 2 www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/science/virosphere-evolution.html 19

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not grow, develop nor carry out respiration. What viruses can do is replicate, and in order to accomplish replication, a virus must enter a host cell. A virus injects its own DNA into a host cell. Viruses are parasites and, in order to function, must remain inside living organisms. At times, our immune system is not able to accomplish an early detection and elimination of virus replication and we fall ill. Only when we become ill and our immune system launches a dynamic counterattack, often resulting in fever, body aches and increased discharges, do we become aware of our lymphatics and the dynamic activities they encompass. The more that we learn about the lymphatic system and the dynamic actions of our immune responses, the more astounding it becomes. It is not the purview of this book to delve into the microscopic dynamics of the lymphatic system and the different types of disease-fighting cells, but rather to explore the primary responsibilities of the lymphatic system and to discuss ways to enhance these functions. The lymphatic system is responsible for: • cleansing the cellular interstitial environment • defending the body against disease • returning proteins and tissue fluids to the general blood circulatory system • providing the pathway for the absorption of fatty acids into the bloodstream. The lymphatic system is composed of five major components: • lymphatic vessels • lymph nodes • the tonsils and adenoids • the thymus • the spleen. Of these essential functions of the lymphatic system, there are two that create a conundrum. On the one hand, the lymph system is essentially a sewage system for the body at the cellular level. All the metabolic byproducts of cellular activity leave the cells and enter the lymphatic system to be carried away and eventually be expelled from the body. On the other hand, the lymph system, and in particular the lymph nodes, is the location where the dynamic activity of immunity occurs. In the lymph nodes, the fighter cells of our immune system identify, target and fight to neutralize and destroy pathogens of all types. In order to accomplish this struggle successfully, the active immune cells must be able to “see,” target and identify the pathogens when they are present. The immune system has evolved

The Lymph System

in remarkable ways to recognize and respond to a wide variety of pathogens and to produce distinct responses against these diverse and changing pathogens. In an individual with lymphatic stagnation, this ability of the immune response to identify and target pathogens can be highly compromised. If this is the case, the pathogens can multiply and the individual will become symptomatic and ill. Relieving lymphatic stagnation is a vital aspect of a healthy immunity and, therefore, a healthy individual. In order to function properly, the lymph system must not become sluggish or stagnant. This can be especially challenging to achieve for sedentary people. There is no lymphatic pump in the body and, as a result, lymph is propelled as a secondary effect of arterial blood flow with the contracting of the heart’s left ventricle. Additionally, exercise and the functioning of the musculature facilitate lymph movement. Lymph is also moved by breathing and the action of the diaphragm. Lymph movement is enhanced when the body is in an inclined position with the legs raised above the level of the head and heart. This can be achieved utilizing a slant board3 or practicing a yoga headstand. Finally, lymph movement can be enhanced by manual, body therapy techniques, for instance Seitai Shiatsu, cupping and Gua Sha.  Lymph (as distinct from its time in the general blood circulation) only flows in one direction: from the extremities and central core of the body back to the area just below the clavicles (aka: collar bones) to join the two subclavian veins and then dumps back into the heart. I encourage the reader to search online for diagrams of the lymph system in order to gain a visual understanding of this vital system. In the heart, the returning lymph joins the general blood circulatory system and is expelled from the left ventricle of the heart into the aorta to begin the recirculation process again, first as part of the blood and then gradually filtering out through the tiny blood capillaries and seeping into the interstitial and intercellular spaces. During this process of filtration, the lymph emerges from the general arterial blood circulation. What is designated as lymph spends part of its time circulating in the general blood circulation. Lymph is derived from blood by filtration through the tiny capillary walls in the tissues. Blood and lymph: • circulate ceaselessly in an endless cycle • are two aspects of one system • continually join and then separate.

3 www.colonhealthinfo.com/equipment/slant_board.htm

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In Western physiology, the lymphatic system is considered a separate system from the cardiovascular (circulatory) system. From a reductionist perspective, this is accurate. From a holistic (synthetic) perspective, the circulatory and lymph systems are two aspects of one great system. Both systems are intimately associated developmentally. They flow together at various sites, especially when exiting the heart. What is designated as lymph spends a significant part of its lifetime in the general blood circulation. Lymph and plasma have essentially the same composition, with the location being the primary distinguishing factor. The  source of plasma is ingested water and the liquid components of foods. Plasma flows within blood vessels and lymph flows within lymphatic vessels and in the interstitial spaces. Lymph pours into the bloodstream at the junction of the internal jugular and subclavian veins located just below the clavicle.

Epigenetics A necessary consideration in the discussion of the importance of lymph and the environment of the intercellular and interstitial spaces must include the emerging field of epigenetics. Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. This discipline focuses on the study of the biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off. In other words, genes might be present in an individual that point to the potential of a certain disease process (e.g. breast cancer). The determining factor in whether or not the individual will develop breast cancer is not just in the presence of the gene for breast cancer, but also in the cellular and intercellular environment. Therefore, if attention is paid to maintaining an optimal intercellular and intracellular environment, the potential to prevent the expression of gene alteration and genetic-based diseases can be increased. This is an important reason why it is essential to maintain lymphatic integrity and flow. What we eat, how well we digest and assimilate nutrients and how well we eliminate waste products, the social and chemical environment of where we live, who we interact with, when and how well we sleep, how much and the quality of our exercise, stressors and even aging can eventually cause chemical modifications around the genes that will turn those genes on or off over time. Some things we can control and it is to these areas that effort must be directed. We can affect the internal environment of our bodies with conscious effort and discipline.

CHAPTER TWO

BLOOD FORMATION ACCORDING TO THE THEORY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) The theory of blood formation in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) differs from the Western scientific understanding of blood formation. The written history of Chinese medicine traces back to approximately 236 bc with the appearance of the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, also known as the Huangdi Neijing. It is important to recognize that within TCM there is a coherent and time-tested theory that travels from physiology to pathology and then to treatment principles and approaches. Although the theories of TCM might seem to be irrational and without scientific basis to the Western mind, this is not the case. TCM is a rational, logical and coherent system of thought and medicine. Clearly, TCM is based on a different paradigm, rationale and logic than Western medicine. These differences do not make it wrong, non-scientific or illogical. TCM is a system of thought and practical application that is based on a different paradigm than Western medical logic. It is important to entertain the possibility that this rationale and logic has validity, specifically in regard to human health and disease. Chinese medical thought is based upon an energetic paradigm, in distinction from Western medicine, which is based on a materialistic paradigm. Quantum physics teaches us that energy and matter are equivalent (e=mc2) and that all that is perceived as matter simultaneously has inherent energy potential. This must also be true for human beings. Whereas Western medical thought is considered to be analytical and reductionist, TCM medical thought is empirical and synthetic. Both paradigms are logical and rational. The Western paradigm need not have hegemony over all scientific and intellectual thought and practice. By analytical, I am specifically referring to the gathering of information through analysis and accepted scientific research protocols. This is best exemplified 23

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in the double-blinded, placebo-controlled research model. In distinction, in TCM information is gathered empirically, through observation and experience over long periods of time. The Western medical paradigm is foundationally reductionist. In this pursuit, science surrounding Western medicine seeks to understand the complex nature of humans while mostly ignoring the dynamic interactions of multiple factors in each situation. TCM theory is synthetic (holistic), a systems approach to understanding. Our human physiology is a complex, dynamic system. When the extraordinary complexity of human life is reduced to individual, single and not interconnected aspects, the vital dynamics of life itself is often eliminated. The TCM paradigm recognizes and emphasizes the interactivity of all the bodily systems. Human physiology is extremely complex. Interactivity between systems of our bodies is constant and essential. In TCM thought, it is often the disharmony between systems that underlies much of disease. From this perspective, it is hard to imagine that any intervention in human physiology can be an isolated event. The synthetic (holistic) perspective can be utilized to help understand the secondary and tertiary effects of pharmaceutical medicines. This is extremely important as more and more disease and suffering is considered to be iatrogenic, i.e. doctorinduced disease. The synthetic (holistic) approach to the gathering of knowledge and furthering of understanding recognizes and emphasizes the interactivity of all the bodily systems. Furthermore, it is important to consider that treatment of diseases based on TCM theory has proven to have a high degree of efficacy. This has been established over many centuries and in a variety of cultural settings. In recent years, this efficacy has been established through the application of the Western scientific method of research.1 The most important post-natal (after the birth event) physiological process in human beings is the formation of blood. TCM theory does not distinguish between red blood cells and the wide variety of white blood cells. Additionally, no distinct lymphatic system is identified. All of these varied components  are grouped together as blood. According to TCM, blood performs the vital processes of constructing, nourishing, enriching, safeguarding and moistening the tissues and organs of the entire body.  The origin of blood is described thusly. 1. It originates through the digestive transformation of foods and fluids.

1 For more recent information, please see: https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/ introduction and www.acupuncture-health.org/clinical-trials

Blood Formation According to the Theory of TCM

2. The Spleen (of TCM) then distills an extremely fine and purified essence from the food that has been “ripened” by the stomach. In TCM theory, the physiological actions of the Spleen encompass the transformation of food and fluids into blood and energy (Qi). In the TCM model, the Spleen refers not only to the anatomical structure, which is the largest single component of the lymph system that resides on an individual’s left side along the mid-axillary line, but also encompasses a variety of functions, including, along with the stomach, the digestion of food and fluids. 3. The energy (Qi) of the Spleen then transports this refined essence upward to the lungs. 4. During the upward movement, Nutritive energy (Qi) begins the process to transform this essence into blood. 5. This transformation is completed when the essence reaches the Lungs and the food essence combines with the “clear” (pure) portion of the air in the Lungs. 6. The blood is then propelled throughout the entire body by the energy (Qi) of the Heart. The following quotes are from the ancient manuscripts of TCM, Complete Writings of Jing-Yue (c.1563–1640): …wherever there is form or substance in the human body, these all depend on blood. Wherever the blood is deficient, disease will be observed.

With an awareness of the above theory from TCM regarding blood formation, let us now consider the assimilation of fatty acids from a Western perspective. The assimilation of fatty acids in the body follows a different pathway than the assimilation of carbohydrates and proteins. After bile salts created in the liver and excreted from the gallbladder have broken down the long-chain fatty acids, these lipids are absorbed through the lacteals in the small intestines. The lacteals are the lymphatic capillaries of the small intestine. The lacteals are located in the villi of the small intestines. The villi are tiny, finger-like projections that reach into the lumen of the small intestines. The villi dramatically increase the absorptive surface area of the small intestines. The villi do not aid in digestion of nutrients, but they are vital in the absorption and assimilation of nutrients. The absorbed fats then gather at the chyle cisterna, also known as the lacteal duct. (In TCM theory, the chyle cisterna lies beneath the acu-point ST23, Taiyi, Supreme Unity.) The fats then drain into the thoracic duct. The thoracic duct, also known as the lymphatic

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duct, begins at the chyle cisterna, just in front of the second lumbar vertebra on the right side of a person’s body. The thoracic duct sits posterior to the aorta, the body’s largest artery. The thoracic duct extends upward and terminates where it connects to the left subclavian and internal jugular veins. With this joining of the thoracic duct to the veins at the nape of the neck, the digested fatty acids join with the returning lymph and become part of the general bloodstream entering the right atrium of the heart. Interestingly, the thoracic duct is structurally more complex than all the other lymphatic vessels in the body. The walls of the thoracic duct contain smooth muscles with the ability to contract with sufficient force to propel the fluids upward. It is worth noting that the assimilation of carbohydrates and proteins follows a different path. In the small intestine there are areas of concavity called crypts that are infused with veins. The chyle, made up of the metabolized proteins and carbohydrates, is absorbed into these veins of the crypts. From here, the chyle is sent to the portal vein of the liver. The portal vein also gathers older venous blood from the viscera of the abdomen. This rich stream of nutrients then flows through the hepatic veins into the vena cava and then re-enters the heart to be redistributed throughout the body. I want to emphasize that the description of blood formation in TCM theory describes the same path as lipid absorption in Western physiology. The creation of blood is an essential component of Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s approach to restoring the health of his patients. Sensei Kyoshi Kato embraced the theoretical work of a highly regarded and award-winning Japanese scientist, Dr. Kikuo Chishima (1899–1978). Dr. Kikuo Chishima was honored during his lifetime with multiple commendations from his peers and the Japanese government. He was a distinguished professor of Western physiology at Nagoya University. According to Dr. Kikuo Chishima, the accepted theory of the marrow of the long bones of the body being the primary site of blood formation is incorrect. He believed that blood formation started in the villi of the small intestines. He maintained that the marrow of the long bones is also a site of blood formation, but not the primary site. According to Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s theory, digested food is absorbed by the intestinal villi, enters the blood vessels and becomes red blood corpuscles. Red blood cells have no nucleus and therefore can differentiate to become leukocytes, lymphocytes and all the other cells and tissues of the body. This is called pluripotency, a concept that is now applied to stem cells. Essentially, this is the same description we find in classical Chinese medical theory.

CHAPTER THREE

PRIMACY OF ABDOMINAL THERAPY (AMPUKU), THE OMENTUM AND INTERSTITIUM In all East Asian healing approaches, the importance of a healthy abdominal region is held in the highest esteem. The organs of the abdomen are likened to the roots of a tree. Without healthy roots, a tree cannot absorb nutrients and transport them to the trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and fruits above the ground to ensure a long life and the promise of the next generation. Likewise, without well-functioning internal organs of digestion, assimilation and elimination, a human being cannot be fully healthy, vibrant and reaching full potential. The essential viscera associated with digestion, assimilation and elimination are all located in the abdominal region, also labeled the “Hara” in the realm of Shiatsu therapy. In addition to the well-known organs of the abdomen, there is also a lesser-known organ, called the omentum. (The omentum is further classified as the lesser and greater omentum.) Often considered relatively inert and without vital physiological function, the omentum is actually a vital and dynamic aspect of human physiology with remarkable physiological potential. In many anatomy books, the omentum is simply pulled aside to reveal the more “vital” organs that lie beneath it. Often, the omentum is not even identified. This is an unfortunate omission. Most likely, most people would simply shrug unknowingly if asked if they had an omentum, much less what significance their omentum might have for them. The omentum is a double fold of the peritoneum, the serous membrane that lines the walls of the abdominal and pelvic cavities. The omentum lies over the internal organs like a quilted blanket with attachments to the stomach, colon, spleen, diaphragm, liver, duodenum, portal vein, bile duct and hepatic artery. With all these numerous attachments, the omentum helps integrate the functions of 27

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the internal organs. The omentum is a thin, membranous bag, quilted into little pockets that are filled with fat. When there are superfluous fatty materials and other elements of nutrition in the blood that are not immediately needed, they can be stored in the omental pockets. These fats and nutritional elements can then be readily reabsorbed back into the bloodstream in time of need. Structurally, it acts as a shock absorber, protecting the inner viscera from physical trauma. The omentum distills an oily vapor that lubricates the surfaces of the viscera, allowing them to remain in perpetual, albeit subtle, motion over one another. This subtle motion is vital in order to avoid adhesions and obstructions. The omentum has the capacity to wall-off infection and inflammatory processes, thereby protecting the vital organs from damage. The omentum is a rich source of active biological materials such as neurotransmitter nerve growth factors involved in central nervous system axon regeneration. Omental tissue contains stem cells, the dynamic master pluripotent cells that can differentiate into a vast variety of other cell types. Omental areas designated as “milky spots” are capable of generating specialized immune cells (macrophages) that facilitate healing. The lymphatics of the omentum have an enormous capacity to absorb extraneous edema fluids. This protects the other organs from the damaging effects of potentially toxic fluid retention. Furthermore, the omentum has biological factors that prevent fibrosis (scarring) and angiogenic factors that stimulate the growth of new blood vessels. The omentum is infused with nerve cells, which help control the internal organs, and has a remarkable ability to generate new nerves, nourish them and help them grow. And finally, the omentum and the enterochromaffin1 cells in the gastrointestinal tract are the site of the majority (approximately 90%) of the serotonin production in the body. Serotonin contributes to various essential functions, such as the regulation of moods, appetite and sleep. In addition, serotonin has a role in the cognitive functions of memory and learning. Since such a significant amount of serotonin is produced in the nerve endings of the gut, the omentum is an essential part of the “brain of the gut” phenomenon. Whenever any abdominal body therapy is administered, the omentum is involved. Even if the practitioner’s primary intent is to affect the liver or intestines, for instance, before the energy of touch and intention reaches the internal viscera, the omentum is influenced. Often ignored and considered relatively inert and without vital physiological function, the omentum is actually a vital and dynamic aspect of human physiology. I encourage Shiatsu practitioners to keep the presence and the dynamic functions of the omentum in their mind and intentions every time they touch a client’s abdomen.2 1 www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/enterochromaffin-cell 2 For further information and diagrams, please visit: www.med-health.net/Omentum.html

Primacy of Abdominal Therapy (Ampuku), the Omentum and Interstitium

Intestinal permeability (aka leaky gut syndrome) An additional mechanism that further congests and compromises the integrity of the lymph system is what is commonly referred to as “leaky gut syndrome.” Also known as intestinal hyper-permeability, this internal mechanism allows for partially digested foodstuffs, bacteria and other molecules (e.g. synthetic food additives and sugar substitutes) to pass through the extremely thin lining of the small intestine directly into the lymph fluids and eventually into the flowing bloodstream. The result of a leaky gut is three-fold. • The additional congestion in the lymphatics impairs the ability of fighter cells (i.e. white blood cells) to locate, identify and fight pathogens. • Many of the molecules that do pass through a hyper-permeable intestinal lining are not true pathogens, also known as antigens. Man-made molecules, incompletely digested foodstuffs and environmental toxins cannot be identified by the immune fighter cells and therefore cannot be adequately eliminated. • Often, when there is a heightened immune response but there are not true antigens to fight, our fighter cells can attack healthy cells in the body. This is a contributing factor in autoimmune disorders wherein our own immune system attacks our own healthy cells, tissues and organs. Oftentimes, leaky gut is not diagnosed nor even recognized as an accepted diagnosis by Western medical professionals. Over time, and often exacerbated by continued dietary error and emotional stress, leaky gut can worsen into more dramatic abdominal diseases such as enteritis and colitis. At this point, the symptoms cannot be ignored and therefore diagnostic tests are performed and medical interventions are required. There are a variety of dietary and supplemental approaches to help treat a leaky gut. A health care professional is the best supervisor of these approaches. There is a home treatment approach that I can highly recommend and, since nothing is ingested, I am confident in presenting this as a home remedy that can be utilized by everyone without direct professional oversight. This is the utilization of external castor oil poultices directly over the abdominal region.3 Used externally, the oil of the castor bean is safe, gentle, beneficial and easy to utilize. 3 Please see: www.edgarcayce.org/content/the-readings/health-and-wellness/holistic-healthdatabase/therapies-castor-oil-packs and www.scribd.com/document/262221953/Castor-Oil

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External castor oil packs have been shown through analytical research to: • provide an anti-inflammatory effect without immune suppression (pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories, e.g. prednisone, are immune suppressors; the so-called NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) act to block pain signals to the brain) • be immune enhancing, increasing white blood cell count • increase T-cell counts • enhance lymphatic flow • support normal functioning of the internal organs. It is recommended to utilize external castor oil packs in conjunction with Seitai Shiatsu treatments. They can be offered during treatment and are also recommended as a home therapy treatment.

The interstitium During the final stages of preparing this manuscript, a very interesting report was published on March 27, 2018 in Scientific Reports.4 This article suggests that a “new” organ in the human body has been identified and has been called the interstitium. As research progresses, more will be understood about this finding. At this time, what has been revealed is that subcutaneous layers of the body, long thought to be dense and isolated connective tissues below the skin surface and lining the digestive tract, lungs and urinary system and also surrounding the arteries, veins and the fascial layers between muscles, are actually interconnected, fluid-filled compartments. This is a moving, flowing and interconnected pathway of fluid throughout the entire body, both within and between tissues. This flowing network is a source of lymph and also drains into the lymphatic system. In addition, protein bundles have also been identified in this flowing network that are piezoelectric, meaning that they have inherent electric potential. This might be an important clue to the scientific understanding of the energetic meridian system described and utilized in the practice of acupuncture and other energy‑based healing modalities. Although this represents a profound breakthrough in the scientific understanding of human physiology and ultimately in understanding pathology, especially the spread of malignant cells, this is not a surprise to people schooled in East Asian medical theory or experienced bodywork therapists. The idea of 4 www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23062-6

Primacy of Abdominal Therapy (Ampuku), the Omentum and Interstitium

interconnected fluid movement throughout the entire organism is a well-established aspect of East Asian medical theory. This is best described as the theory of the San Jiao, also known as the Triple Warmer (Heater). The designation of the Triple Warmer in TCM theory dates back to the earliest texts from approximately 230 bc.5 Additionally, in the theory that describes the meridians (the Jing Luo) of acupuncture, each of the 12 main meridian pathways that correlate to the primary organs of the body (e.g. Liver meridian, Lung meridian) has five points that are described using imagery relating to flowing water. Each meridian has a well point, followed by a spring point, then a stream point, then a river point and finally a sea point. This imagery clearly points to an interconnected system of fluids and mirrors what is observed in nature.6 Experienced manual therapist Gil Hedley demonstrated this quite a few years ago and called it the Fuzz.7 More recently, he has termed it the perifascia. Deane Juhan in his highly regarded book, Job’s Body, has similarly described the qualities of the fascial connective system. From a holistic, synthetic perspective, this simply has to be the case. The possibility of a closed system of fluid metabolism and fluid movement in the body is preposterous. There is a continuous interconnected movement of fluids throughout the body and at all levels. For the purposes of this text, this breakthrough further supports the basic theme of seeking to facilitate fluid circulation as a means of supporting health and, specifically, a healthy lymph system and immune response. Stagnation, whether it is of blood, lymph, interstitial fluids or vital energy (Qi), is a primary source of disharmony in the body and leaves the body vulnerable to the onset of disease and premature aging. The techniques described in this text––Seitai Shiatsu, Gua Sha and cupping—are all focused on relieving and resolving fluid stagnation.

5 For further information please see: www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/ san-jiao and also https://med-vetacupuncture.org/english/articles/sanjiao.html 6 https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/point_categories 7 www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf_2TSnlagM

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CHAPTER FOUR

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE Seitai Shiatsu

Introduction The intention of Seitai Shiatsu is to invigorate blood and lymph circulation and the flow of vital Qi, thereby reducing stagnation and enhancing the functioning of all the systems of the body, especially the immune system. There is a basic “recipe” for the application of Seitai Shiatsu. This basic recipe is the foundation of Seitai Shiatsu. Seitai Shiatsu can be described as “whole-body Shiatsu” or “Shiatsu to affect the entire body.” The work is done on the entire body with an intention to affect the entire person’s mind, body and spirit. The intention is to treat the whole person, not the disease or any particular area of pain. Depending on the needs of any individual recipient and the knowledge of the practitioner, the practitioner can modify the recipe as they see fit for the benefit of the recipient. The practitioner should apply a firm pressure, but not to a level where the recipient feels uncomfortable pain. If the client tenses as a response to painful touch, instead of achieving the goal of increased lymph and blood flow, more stagnation can occur. There might be areas of significant pain where the lymph and blood are especially congested, causing a local inflammation. The goal of the practitioner is to find a balance where they apply adequate pressure to create change, but not so much pressure that they elicit a tension response from the recipient. Seitai Shiatsu is practiced in a rhythmic manner, not too fast nor too slow. It is totally appropriate to request feedback from your client about their preferred depth of touch. There is no substitute for experience and no way to gain experience without practice. So please, go for it! Note: The terms “proximal,” “distal,” “medial” and “lateral” are used throughout the technique descriptions. Proximal and distal are opposites in anatomical terms. Something that is proximal is closest to the point of reference; something that is distal is farthest from the point of reference. Medial and lateral are also opposites. Something that is medial is towards the middle; something that is lateral is towards the outer side of the body. 32

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

The essential hand techniques of Seitai Shiatsu 1. Figure 4.1 Press and spread with two thumbs. With the thumbs side by side, compress into the specific point or area to be treated, with the vector being perpendicular to the body surface or with a slight angle back toward the heart area. Rather than lifting the thumbs back off the body, the thumbs create a fanning motion, the right thumb fanning in a clockwise manner and the left thumb fanning in a counter-clockwise pattern. If you traced the thumb movements, a heart shape would be drawn. As you fan, the pressure lightens slightly beginning at the 12 o’clock position so that when the thumbs return to being next to each other, there is no downward pressure. The press and spreads will be traveling distally while all along the intention is to move blood and lymph proximally. Although the thumbs are the primary focus of this technique, the fingers remain alive and vital, in contact with the skin and providing a gentle kneading of the adjoining tissues.

Figure 4.1

2. Figure 4.2 Press and spread with one thumb. This is the same procedure as with two thumbs, but is utilized in more narrow areas, for example the forearm.

Figure 4.2

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3. Figure 4.3 Direct thumb pressure. The tip and pad of the thumb are utilized to provide a specific and deep-penetrating experience at individual acupuncture points and along muscle attachments. Care must be taken to not over-extend the thumb, a common occurrence for body therapists.

Figure 4.3

4. Figure 4.4 Full hand friction. Place the entire palmar surface of the hand(s) on the recipient and with vigorous circular and back-and-forth movements, create friction and heat. Always focus on pushing lymph back in the direction of the heart.

Figure 4.4

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

5. Figure 4.5 Sawing. This is a technique that utilizes the edge of the hands on the little-finger side to create friction, heat and dispersion. This is especially important to treat the cluster of lymph nodes along the inguinal creases.

Figure 4.5

6. Figure 4.6 a, b, c, d Percussion techniques (tapotement). Using a loose fist, the body surface is lightly struck. Also, the back of the fingers can be used to percuss. A third technique involves clasping the hands lightly together. Place the back of one hand on the recipient’s body and then bring the palms together, creating a light pounding, vibrational effect. This technique is labelled “pau-ing” in the text.

Figure 4.6 a

Figure 4.6 b

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Figure 4.6 c

Figure 4.6 d

7. Figure 4.7 Palm circles. The entire palm of the hand is placed on the client’s body and is rotated in a clockwise direction.

Figure 4.7

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

The form of Seitai Shiatsu: step-by-step instructions Recipient supine 1. Figure 4.8 Kneeling at your client’s feet, take a moment in quiet contemplation to focus your thoughts and intentions.

Figure 4.8

2. Figure 4.9 a, b Place your hands under both knees and bring the knees up, bringing the feet to lie flat on the treatment mat.

Figure 4.9 a

Figure 4.9 b

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3. Figure 4.10 Shift your hands to cup both of the patellae and, leaning forward, press the client’s knees toward their own chest. (The client’s feet can be placed on the practitioner’s abdomen to facilitate the process.)

Figure 4.10

4. Figure 4.11 Repeat the knees to chest, changing the pressing angle toward the left shoulder area and then to the right.

Figure 4.11

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

5. Figure 4.12 The final press toward the chest should be straight ahead.

Figure 4.12

6. Lower the legs to the mat. 7. Figure 4.13 a, b While kneeling facing the client, lift the left leg at the ankle area and place the leg across your right thigh. This creates a slight incline of the leg, with the foot higher than the body. This position encourages the movement of lymph back toward the heart.

Figure 4.13 a

Figure 4.13 b

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8. Figure 4.14 Visualize the medial thigh with three parallel lines running down from the inguinal crease to the superior border of the patella.

Figure 4.14

Figure 4.15 a, b, c Starting at the area of the inguinal crease just medial to the anterior iliac spine of the left hip, begin the press-and-spread technique using the thumbs moving distally toward the knee area. The press-and-spread technique is applied to each of the three lines three times.

Figure 4.15 a

Figure 4.15 c

Figure 4.15 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

9. Figure 4.16 Utilize the edge of the left hand on the little-finger side as a friction tool and vigorously saw the inguinal area while simultaneously applying a full hand friction on the lateral aspect of the left leg along the iliotibial tract (iliotibial band).

Figure 4.16

10. Figure 4.17 a, b Grasp the entire left thigh with both hands, with one hand on the medial thigh and the other on the lateral thigh, and vigorously shake the thigh, moving distally from the inguinal area down to the knee. Repeat at least a few times.

Figure 4.17 a

Figure 4.17 b

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11. Figure 4.18 Place one hand over the patella and the other hand under the knee in the popliteal fossa area. The hand on the patella will isolate the patella. Gently rotate the hand in both a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction creating a subtle movement with the patella.

Figure 4.18

12. Figure 4.19 Lift the leg at the ankle and move to the side of the client. Remain in a kneeling position and place the client’s lower leg across your upper legs.

Figure 4.19

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

13. Figure 4.20 a, b Place your right hand just below the knee and your left hand next to your right. Apply a firm downward pressure on the leg while rolling the client’s leg across your thighs. This will create a deep compression on the client’s gastrocnemius muscle. Move your legs in conjunction with moving your hands distally in order to compress the entire gastrocnemius muscle. Repeat at least three times.

Figure 4.20 b

Figure 4.20 a

14. Figure 4.21 a, b Keep the client’s leg resting across both of your thighs (on the quadriceps muscle group). Place your one thumb over your other thumb or have the thumbs side by side (whichever thumb feels more comfortable to you on the top is correct for you). Your fingers will reach across the leg and will be pressing along the posterior border of the medial aspect of the tibia. Beginning just below the knee in the sulcus along the lateral border of the tibia, press deeply with your thumbs while simultaneously grasping with your fingertips. Continue pressing with your thumbs and grasping with your fingertips as you work distally down the entire leg to just above the ankle. You will press in approximately eight non-specific locations between the knee and the ankle. Once you reach the ankle, return to the spot just below the knee and repeat the pressing and grasping another two times.

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Figure 4.21 a

Figure 4.21 b

15. Figure 4.22 a, b, c Lift and hold the left foot at the arch. With your other hand, wiggle the toes.

Figure 4.22 a

Figure 4.22 c

Figure 4.22 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

16. Figure 4.23 Holding the foot at the ankle, apply pressure at both the medial and lateral malleoli. With the other hand, rotate the ankle in a clockwise and then counter-clockwise direction. Repeat the rotations three times.

Figure 4.23

17. Figure 4.24 a, b Hold the left foot by cupping the heel in the palm of your left hand with the toes resting against your forearm. Your other hand will rest on the left patella. Simultaneously lift at the heel and press the toes into your forearm as you make a lateral stretch. This will create a deep stretch of the Achilles tendon.

Figure 4.24 a

Figure 4.24 b

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18. Figure 4.25 Set the foot down on the mat. Grasp the toes and direct them slightly toward the head. With your other hand, make a loose fist and pound the entire surface of the sole of the foot, creating a pulsation through the client’s entire body up to the crown of their head.

Figure 4.25

19. Set the foot down. Change your position so you are kneeling again at the client’s feet. Lift the right leg at the ankle and place the lower leg across your left thigh. 20. Repeat all the procedures from Step 7 to Step 18 on the right leg.

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

The head and face The client remains in a supine position. Sit at the head of the client, either kneeling or cross-legged. 1. Figure 4.26 a, b Starting at the acu-point Yin Tang, between the eyebrows on the midline (aka the third eye), utilize the thumbs to press firmly and continue pressing across the eyebrows and around the orbits of both eyes (Figure 4.27).

Figure 4.26 a

Figure 4.27

Figure 4.26 b

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2. Figure 4.28 If the client is not wearing contact lenses, gently rotate your thumbs across the closed eyelids.

Figure 4.28

3. Figure 4.29 Starting along the ala-nasal region, use the thumbs to fan along the face, working laterally onto the cheeks and the jaw line.

Figure 4.29

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

4. Figure 4.30 a, b Utilize the thumbs and forefingers to press and squeeze the masseter muscle using the mandible as a counter force.

Figure 4.30 a

Figure 4.30 b

5. Figure 4.31 Returning to the acu-point Yin Tang between the eyebrows, press with the thumbs along the centerline up the forehead (Figure 4.32) and continue to the crown of the head at the acu-point GV20, Ba Hui (Figure 4.33).

Figure 4.31

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Figure 4.32

Figure 4.33

6. Figure 4.34 Utilize a press-and-spread technique with the thumbs from the crown of the head back to the acu-point Yin Tang, between the eyebrows.

Figure 4.34

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

7. Figure 4.35 With the arms crossed at the wrists and the palms facing your body, gently percuss the client’s head from the forehead area to the crown and back to the forehead area. This can be repeated three to five times.

Figure 4.35

8. Figure 4.36 Clasp the hands together lightly and deliver the “pau-ing” technique across the entire forehead and scalp region.

Figure 4.36

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9. Figure 4.37 Using the thumbs and index fingers, massage the external auricles of both ears firmly.

Figure 4.37

10. Figure 4.38 Cradling the head in one hand, use the other hand to grasp the hair and gently pull the hair to stimulate the roots. Change hands and repeat on the other side of the head.

Figure 4.38

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

11. Figure 4.39 Utilize the heels of your hands and briskly rub the forehead region.

Figure 4.39

12. Figure 4.40 Continue utilizing the heels of your hands and, with a circular motion, massage the temple regions, the area between the eyes and the ears.

Figure 4.40

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13. Figure 4.41 Rub your hands together briskly to create more warmth and place them over the client’s eyes with an intention to provide deep quiet. Hold the hands in place for up to a minute.

Figure 4.41

14. Figure 4.42 Place your palms gently over the ears to obstruct the hearing. Hold in place for 30–60 seconds.

Figure 4.42

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Client lying in a lateral recumbent position 1. Figure 4.43 The client changes into a lateral recumbent position, with their right side on the mat and their left side facing upward. If desired, place a pillow between the client’s knees and they can hold another pillow in their arms against their chest.

Figure 4.43

2. Figure 4.44 Place the left palm gently against the forehead and with the right thumb begin pressing along the occipital ridge, starting at the mastoid process and continuing to the midline, into the area just below the occipital protuberance. The vector of the thumb press is inward and slightly up toward the crown of the head. The hand on the forehead is holding the head in place and providing a slight counter force.

Figure 4.44

3. Repeat the thumb presses from the mastoid process to the midline at least three times. The thumb presses should be deep, but not uncomfortably painful.

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4. Figure 4.45 a, b Utilizing sweeping thumb circles, massage the entire neck region, starting at the level of the occiput and moving distally down to the clavicle. The most medial thumb sweep should terminate at the medial end of the clavicle adjacent to the sternoclavicular notch. Figure  4.46 Return to the area along the occiput and repeat the thumb circles at least twice. The entirety of the neck region needs to receive treatment, from the midline along the back of the neck to the area just alongside the trachea. All the thumb sweeping must be applied while moving distally, toward the region of the heart.

Figure 4.45 a

Figure 4.46

Figure 4.45 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

5. Figure 4.47 a, b Utilize your fingertips and press directly down between the clavicular and mastoid aspects of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, reaching to touch the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae. Repeat this direct compression twice.

Figure 4.47 a

Figure 4.47 b

6. Figure 4.48 With both hands side by side, firmly grasp and squeeze the upper trapezius muscle, working medially to laterally. Simultaneously, with each grasp, rock the client’s body back and forth. Repeat twice.

Figure 4.48

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7. Figure 4.49 Identify three parallel lines traveling down the back from the level of the seventh cervical vertebra to the lumbo-sacral junction. The first line will be right along the spine in the lamina groove, in the depression between the transverse and spinous processes of the vertebrae. The second line will be approximately 1.5 inches lateral to the midline of the back in the sulcus of the sacrospinalis muscle. This line corresponds to the location of the back Shu points of the acupuncture system incorporating points on the Urinary Bladder meridian. In Western anatomy, this line travels over the nerve ganglia of the autonomic nervous system. (These nerve ganglia are responsible for communication between the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system and control all the neuro-vegetative functions of an individual.) The third line runs along the medial border of the scapula and continues down to the upper border of the pelvis. This line corresponds to the outer line of the Urinary Bladder meridian of acupuncture.

Figure 4.49

Figure 4.50 a, b The Shiatsu treatment utilizes deep thumb presses with a rocking motion down each of these three lines. Although the thumbs are doing the majority of the work, the fingers remain active in helping hold the client’s body in position on their side so that they do not roll over onto their belly. All three lines are thumb pressed at least three times. When you reach the terminus of each line in the hip area, return to the top of the line near the neck/shoulder area.

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Figure 4.50 a

Figure 4.50 b

8. Figure 4.51 Bend the arm at the elbow, holding the elbow in your left palm, and interlock the fingers of your right hand with the client’s left hand, cupping the shoulder joint. Guiding from the elbow, create rotations of the bent arm, articulating the shoulder joint.

Figure 4.51

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9. Figure 4.52 a, b Still guiding from the elbow, stretch the shoulder anteriorly and posteriorly, exploring the range of motion of the shoulder joint.

Figure 4.52 a

Figure 4.52 b

10. Figure 4.53 Directing the movement from the elbow area, bring the bent arm upward, bringing the client’s hand into proximity of their ear. This opens up the axillary area. (The axillary region is infused with numerous lymph nodes.) Vigorously massage the upper arm (triceps muscles) with a firm, grasping technique, thereby directing the movement back toward the heart region.

Figure 4.53

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Figure 4.54 Switch to an open palm and, using the fingertips, palm or heel of your hand, vigorously rub in a circular motion directly into the axillary region.

Figure 4.54

Figure 4.55 Continue with full hand friction in a circular motion along the ribcage area from the axilla down to the lower ribs. When the palm circles reach below the heart region, make certain to change the circling pattern to direct the fluids and energy back toward the heart region. Repeat this motion three to five times (Figure 4.56).

Figure 4.55

Figure 4.56

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11. Figure 4.57 Extend the arm down along the client’s side, allowing the arm to rest against their body. Working from the elbow back toward the shoulder, grasp the upper arm (biceps and deltoid muscles) region in four or five areas. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.57

12. Figure 4.58 Utilizing the little-finger sides of both hands, ‘saw’ the shoulder joint area on both the anterior and posterior regions.

Figure 4.58

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

13. Figure 4.59 Utilizing the heels of both hands in circular movements, work the pectoral region and the scapular region.

Figure 4.59

14. Reposition yourself just distal to the client’s waistline. Visualize three lines running from the wrist to the elbow. The three lines are: • along the radius bone • in-between the radius and ulna bones • along the ulna bone. Lift the arm slightly at the wrist. Figure 4.60 Utilizing the thumb of your other hand, do one thumb press and spread from the wrist to the elbow working on the three lines on the lower arm. Repeat the press and spreads on all three lines three times.

Figure 4.60

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15. Figure 4.61 a, b Rotate the client’s arm medially, bringing the inside of the arm to face upward.

Figure 4.61 a

Figure 4.61 b

Visualize three lines on this medial aspect of the arm. Press and spread with one thumb these three lines three times. (Note: The lines on the arm correspond to the three yang meridians on the lateral aspect—Large Intestine, San Jiao and Small Intestine. On the medial aspect, the three yin meridians are the Lungs, Pericardium and Heart.)

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

16. Figure 4.62 a, b The palm of the client faces upward. Coming from below the hand, interlock the fingers of both of your hands with the client’s fingers, leaving your thumbs free from the interlocking. Use both your thumbs in deep, sweeping thumb strokes into the client’s palm up to their wrist joint.

Figure 4.62 a

Figure 4.62 b

17. Figure 4.63 Release the interlocking fingers. Hold at the wrist with one hand and, with your other hand, massage, pull, and snap each of the client’s fingers.

Figure 4.63

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18. Figure 4.64 a, b Kneel facing the client’s head and hold their hand in both of your hands with the palm facing downward. Shake the entire arm somewhat vigorously so that you sense the shaking all the way to their head.

Figure 4.64 a

Figure 4.64 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

19. Figure 4.65 Turn the palmar surface of the client’s hand toward you while grasping at the wrist with both of your hands. Keeping the client’s arm close to their side, lean back, pulling the arm so the pull is felt up to the shoulder joint. The client’s head can lift slightly off the mat.

Figure 4.65

20. Figure 4.66 Release your grip at the wrist. With both palms vigorously massage and knead the hip and gluteal region.

Figure 4.66

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Figure 4.67 Complete this section with a two-handed direct compression down onto the gluteal region.

Figure 4.67

Assist the client to slowly turn over to their other side, set the pillows so they are comfortable and repeat all the above procedures from Step 2 to Step 20. After completing the second side, move any pillows or bolsters aside and bring the client to lie fully prone.

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Client lying prone Working the posterior legs 1. Figure 4.68 a, b, c Kneeling at the client’s feet, lift both legs at the ankles and press the feet forward toward the buttock region.

Figure 4.68 a

Figure 4.68 b

Figure 4.68 c

2. Figure 4.69 Cross the feet at the ankles and repeat the press forward toward the buttock region. Reach your palm over the toes and curl the toes forward.

Figure 4.69

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3. Change the position of the feet so that the other foot is forward and repeat the press toward the buttock region. 4. Position yourself so you are kneeling between the client’s legs and place the client’s left leg across your left thigh. 5. Picture the posterior thigh (hamstring area) with three lines running from the gluteal crease down to the popliteal fossa, behind the knee. The most lateral line is along the posterior border of the iliotibial band (lateral border of the biceps femoris muscle). The middle line runs directly down the middle of the hamstring group (between the biceps femoris muscles and semitendinosus muscle). The most medial line is along the medial border of the semitendinosus muscle. Figure 4.70 Work these three lines three times, utilizing the technique of clockwise thumb circles, with the thumbs next to each other or with one thumb on top of the other.

Figure 4.70

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

6. Figure 4.71 a, b Work the same three lines three times each, utilizing the thumb-press-and-spread technique.

Figure 4.71 a

Figure 4.71 b

7. Figure 4.72 Vigorously saw along the gluteal crease with the little-finger side of your right hand while simultaneously frictioning along the iliotibial band with your left palm.

Figure 4.72

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8. Figure 4.73 Utilize both hands to vigorously shake and roll the entire thigh region, working distally from the upper thigh region down to the knee area.

Figure 4.73

9. Figure 4.74 Press and spread with your thumbs directly behind the knee into the popliteal fossa area.

Figure 4.74

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

10. Figure 4.75 Apply full hand friction along the entire hamstring area working from the area behind the knee up to the buttock region. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.75

11. Figure 4.76 Picture three lines on the lower leg (on the gastrocnemius muscle) from the knee down to the ankle. Utilize the thumb-circling technique in a clockwise pattern, working on all three lines three times.

Figure 4.76

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12. Figure 4.77 a, b Press and spread with your thumbs along these three lines on the lower leg three times.

Figure 4.77 a

Figure 4.77 b

13. Figure 4.78 Utilize a full hand friction along the calf region, directing the procedure and intention back toward the heart.

Figure 4.78

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

14. Figure 4.79 Use your thumbs and index fingers and pinch deeply along the Achilles tendon area.

Figure 4.79

15. Figure 4.80 Lift the lower leg to a 90-degree angle. Use either one hand or both hands and grasp the entire lower leg region, working from the ankle proximally toward the knee. Repeat.

Figure 4.80

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16. Figure 4.81 Grasp the ankle with one hand and with the other hand rotate the foot both clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Figure 4.81

17. Figure 4.82 Pound (percuss) the sole of the foot with a soft fist.

Figure 4.82

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

18. Figure 4.83 Place one hand in the popliteal fossa to create a wedge and press the leg forward from the ankle toward the buttock region with your other hand. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.83

19. Repeat all procedures from Step 4 to Step 18 on the right leg. 20. After completing all the procedures on the second leg, stand up and face the client’s head. Utilize your own feet and body weight to press into the bottom of each of the client’s feet, one at a time.

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21. Figure 4.84 Turn around facing away from your client and utilize the heels and the lateral edge of your feet to do deep compressions into the soles of the feet.

Figure 4.84

22. Figure 4.85 a, b Stand along the client’s side and use one foot to rock the client’s entire legs and torso. Change sides and continue using your foot to create a gentle rocking motion.

Figure 4.85 a

Figure 4.85 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Treatment for the back and neck: client remains prone 1. Figure 4.86 a, b, c The client brings the head into “zero position.” The bottom hand rests palmar surface down against the mat (or pillow) and the other hand lies palmar surface down against the back of the first hand. The forehead is then placed on the hands. Kneel to the right side of the client and utilize your thumbs to press deeply into the area just along the occipital ridge. Press with both thumbs simultaneously, working from the midline just under the occipital protuberance laterally to the mastoid processes. Return to the midline and repeat the thumb presses twice.

Figure 4.86 a

Figure 4.86 c

Figure 4.86 b

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2. Figure 4.87 Utilize rotating thumb circles to massage the entire neck region from the occipital ridge down to the upper shoulders. Work one side at a time, moving from the midline laterally to impact the entire neck region. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.87

3. Figure 4.88 Change sides of the neck and repeat. If it is more comfortable, the practitioner can also change their position to the other side of the client.

Figure 4.88

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

4. Figure 4.89 a, b Vigorously knead the upper shoulder region, working on both sides simultaneously. Knead from the nape of the neck moving laterally to the area of the shoulder joint. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.89 b

Figure 4.89 a

5. Figure 4.90 a, b Place the client’s arms above their head in a bent position, with the palm facing downward. Apply full hand circular friction to the hands and up to the elbows, return to the hand region and repeat twice. Work both sides simultaneously.

Figure 4.90 a

Figure 4.90 b

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6. Figure 4.91 Lift at the elbow and bring the client’s arms back along their sides.

Figure 4.91

Figure 4.92 Knead both upper arms, starting at the shoulders and moving down to the elbows. Repeat.

Figure 4.92

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

7. Figure 4.93 a, b, c Straddle the client. Use the press-and-spread technique with both hands working from the area lateral to the first thoracic vertebra down to the sacrum. Work the three lines identified previously (Step 7, Figure 4.49) on either side of the midline, three times. Your thumb presses can be done with both thumbs side by side on one side of the spine and then the other side. An alternative approach would be to work both sides of the spine simultaneously, so your thumbs will not be side by side. This second approach will shorten the time allotted for this procedure and not sacrifice efficacy.

Figure 4.93 a

Figure 4.93 c

Figure 4.93 b

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8. Figure 4.94 a, b Position yourself to the right side of the client. Vigorously knead the right low back region, along the iliac crest and the buttocks. Switch sides and apply strong kneading to the left low back, along the iliac crest and buttock region.

Figure 4.94 a

Figure 4.94 b

9. Figure 4.95 a, b Straddle the client and apply deep circular friction to the entire back, starting at the nape of the neck and working distally to the sacrum, including the gluteal area. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.95 a

Figure 4.95 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

10. Figure 4.96 Use the palms of the hands to provide a linear friction, working from the sacrum proximally to the upper back region, covering the entire area of the back. Repeat this friction three to five times.

Figure 4.96

11. Figure 4.97 Gradually slow down the vigorous friction, allowing your touch to evolve into a gentle rubbing with a calming intent.

Figure 4.97

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12. Figure 4.98 Hold one palm over the neck area and the other palm at the sacrum. Simply hold this position, bringing this vigorous section to a calming conclusion.

Figure 4.98

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Ampuku therapy: Shiatsu for the abdominal region (the Hara) Note: Ampuku can be translated as “the pulse of the will” or “to calm the abdomen.” The Hara is defined as the area below the ribcage, above the pubic bone and medial to the mid-axillary line on both sides. We utilize the abdominal region (the Hara) both for evaluation of overall health and as an area of treatment. 1. Position yourself along the right side of the client. If requested, place a bolster (pillow) under the client’s knees. This provides a comfortable position for their lower back region as you work deeply into the abdominal region. 2. Figure 4.99 Gently place your palm over the client’s navel. Just rest your palm here, opening your touch sensitivity and intuition to the client’s inner being. You might feel the pulse of the aorta, which runs down the midline of the abdomen.

Figure 4.99

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3. Figure 4.100 a, b With the back of your hand touch all around the abdominal region, sensing areas of temperature difference. If the abdomen feels cold, this can be indicative of a deficiency of digestive fire, needed for transformation of food and fluids into blood and Qi. Often, there are areas of temperature differences. For instance, it can be warm over the liver area, which is indicative of stagnation, and simultaneously cold at and below the navel, which indicates a deficiency of energy.

Figure 4.100 a

Figure 4.100 b

4. Figure 4.101 Under the ribcage on the client’s right side, press deeply to access the liver. Note any tenderness or firmness.

Figure 4.101

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

5. Figure 4.102 Change your position to kneel at the feet of the client. Reach under the knees and lift the legs, placing the feet either on the mat or against your own abdomen. If the knees were bolstered, slide the bolster to the side for this procedure. Cup your palms over the patellae and press the knees downward to the client’s chest. Repeat a few times.

Figure 4.102

6. Place the legs back on the mat and place a bolster under the knees, if desired. 7. Figure 4.103 Kneel along the right side of the client. Utilize broad palm circles with both palms into the areas of the pectoralis muscle (upper chest region).

Figure 4.103

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8. Figure 4.104 Use the fingertips of one hand to provide circular pressure all along the sternum area. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.104

9. Figure 4.105 a, b Utilize the press-and-spread technique with your thumbs, starting just below the xiphoid process of the sternum and working down the midline of the abdomen to the pubic bone.

Figure 4.105 a

Figure 4.105 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Figure 4.106 As you work, flowing distally from the xiphoid process toward the pubic bone, the vector of your press and spreads is always back toward the heart region. Repeat at least three times.

Figure 4.106

10. Figure 4.107 a, b Continue with the press-and-spread technique, working from medial to lateral on both sides of the midline, covering the entire abdominal area. Start with gentle press and spreads and gradually deepen your touch. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.107 a

Figure 4.107 b

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11. Figure 4.108 The direction of peristalsis in the large intestine (colon) is up along the client’s right side to just below the ribs (ascending colon), crossing the body (transverse colon) and then descending down the client’s left side (descending colon). With the press-and-spread motion, work the entire colon area following the direction of peristalsis. Repeat three times. Follow the thumb press and spreads with palm circles all along the abdominal region, still following the direction of peristalsis. Repeat three times. Figure 4.109 a, b Many people have abdominal gas and bloating. When working deeply into the abdomen, give your client permission to pass gas if needed. This is natural and no cause for embarrassment. If the client struggles to hold their gas in, this will limit the benefit of the session and also create more stagnation.

Figure 4.108

Figure 4.109 a

Figure 4.109 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

12. Figure 4.110 Gently place your right palm over the navel while encourag­ ing the client to breathe deeply into your palm. Verbal encouragement to help the client deepen their breathing is totally appropriate.

Figure 4.110

13. Figure 4.111 Place your palm over the client’s left knee and with your other hand provide full hand friction on the entire medial thigh area from the knee toward the inguinal crease. Switch to the right knee and thigh and repeat the hand friction on the medial thigh, directing the blood and lymph back in the direction of the heart.

Figure 4.111

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14. Figure 4.112 Return to kneeling at the client’s feet, lift the legs from under the knees and repeat the knees-to-chest procedure (Figures 4.10, 4.11 and 4.12).

Figure 4.112

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Lift to seated and the bridge 1. Figure 4.113 a, b Stand in front of the client. The client crosses their legs. Reach down to hold the client’s wrists. Instruct the client to hold your wrists. Bending your knees slightly, primarily use your arm strength and the straightening of your legs to lift the client’s upper body and assist the client to come into a seated position. Be careful to not strain your back.

Figure 4.113 a

Figure 4.113 b

2. Invite the client to come into a kneeling position with their arms along their sides. Sit behind the client with your legs stretched out along their sides. 3. Position your knees just behind (posterior to) the vertical line of their back. 4. Figure 4.114 Reach under the client’s arms at the axillary area and place your palms against their upper chest (pectoralis muscle region).

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Figure 4.114

5. Figure 4.115 a, b In one fluid motion, simultaneously raise your knees slightly, aiming for the client’s sacroiliac joints while you pull the client back onto your knees.

Figure 4.115 a

Figure 4.115 b

6. Figure 4.116 Your feet will be flat on the mat with your knees raised. As you pull the client into position, rest your upper body flat on the mat. The client can rest their head against your chest. This bridge procedure will provide an anterior lumbar stretch for the client.

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Figure 4.116

7. Figure 4.117 a, b Remain in this position for up to one minute.

Figure 4.117 a

Figure 4.117 b

8. Figure 4.118 a, b To come out of the bridge, simultaneously slide your feet forward as you push the client gently into their back. This will allow the client to return to a kneeling position.

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Figure 4.118 a

Figure 4.118 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

Head and face (client seated) and completion 1. The client remains in a kneeling position. (If kneeling is difficult, they can sit cross-legged or even on a low stool or pillow.) Stand behind the client, allowing them to rest their back against your lower leg. 2. Figure 4.119 Place the client’s forehead into the palm of your hand. Encourage the client to surrender the weight of their head into your palm.

Figure 4.119

3. Figure 4.120 a, b With your other hand placed on the top of the client’s head, rotate the head in clockwise and then counter-clockwise directions. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.120 a

Figure 4.120 b

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4. Figure 4.121 a, b Keep one hand on the client’s forehead for support and with the other hand deliver deep thumb presses all along the occipital ridge from the mastoid process to the centerline. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.121 a

Figure 4.121 b

5. Change hands and provide deep thumb presses to the other side of the occipital ridge while supporting the head with your other hand. Repeat three times. 6. Figure 4.122 a, b Create a U-shape with your thumb and index finger and slide along the mastoid processes. With one hand on the forehead and the other along the mastoid processes, lift the head straight up creating an extension/elongation of the neck. Relax the elongation and then repeat twice.

Figure 4.122 a

Figure 4.122 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

7. Figure 4.123 With both hands, firmly grasp and massage the neck and upper back. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.123

8. Figure 4.124 Use direct thumb presses deep into the upper trapezius muscle, working from the nape of the neck laterally to the acromial extremities. Repeat three times.

Figure 4.124

(The practitioner has the option of repeating the application of the procedures to the head and face that were done previously or to do them for the first time if they were left out before. Alternatively, they can be left out a second time if the first time was adequate or if time is limited. Some clients will prefer to have this work seated if lying on their back for too long becomes uncomfortable. Encourage your client to share their preferences, especially your return clients.)

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9. Figure 4.125 a, b Starting at the acu-point Yin Tang, between the eyebrows on the midline (the third eye), utilize the thumbs to press firmly across the eyebrows (Figure 4.126) and around the orbits of both eyes (Figure 4.127 a, b).

Figure 4.125 a

Figure 4.125 b

Figure 4.126

Figure 4.127 a

Figure 4.127 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

10. Figure 4.128 If the client is not wearing contact lenses, gently rotate your thumbs across the closed eyelids.

Figure 4.128

11. Figure 4.129 Starting along the ala-nasal region, use the thumbs to fan along the face, working laterally onto the cheeks and the jaw line (Figure 4.130).

Figure 4.129

Figure 4.130

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12. Figure 4.131 Utilize the thumbs and forefingers to press and squeeze the masseter muscle using the mandible as a counter force.

Figure 4.131

13. Returning to the acu-point Yin Tang between the eyebrows, press with the thumbs along the centerline up the forehead and continue to the crown of the head at the acu-point Ba Hui, GV20 (Figure 4.132).

Figure 4.132

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

14. Figure 4.133 Utilize a press-and-spread technique with the thumbs from the crown of the head back to the acu-point Yin Tang.

Figure 4.133

15. Figure 4.134 With the arms crossed at the wrists and the palms facing your body, gently percuss the client’s head from the forehead area to the crown and back to the forehead area. This can be repeated three to five times.

Figure 4.134

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16. Figure 4.135 Clasp the hands together lightly and deliver the “pau-ing” technique across the entire forehead and scalp region.

Figure 4.135

17. Figure 4.136 Using the thumbs and index fingers, massage the external auricles of both ears firmly.

Figure 4.136

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

18. Figure 4.137 Cradling the head in one hand, use the other hand to grasp the hair and gently pull the hair to stimulate the roots. Change hands and repeat on the other side of the head.

Figure 4.137

19. Figure 4.138 Utilize the heels of your hands to briskly rub the forehead region.

Figure 4.138

20. Figure 4.139 Continue utilizing the heels of your hands and, with a circular motion, massage the temple regions.

Figure 4.139

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21. Figure 4.140 Rub your hands together briskly to create more warmth and place them over the client’s eyes with an intention to provide deep quiet. Hold the hands in place for up to a minute.

Figure 4.140

22. Figure 4.141 Take the client’s arms, holding at the wrists. Extend their arms up directly above their head. Repeat, pulling upward two additional times.

Figure 4.141

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

23. Figure 4.142 a, b Bring the arms down and have the client interlock their fingers behind their head. Reach out to hold each arm at the elbow. Pull the arms back from the elbow area while simultaneously pressing your upper thigh into their back. Repeat twice.

Figure 4.142 a

Figure 4.142 b

24. Figure 4.143 a, b The client releases their interlocking fingers while you continue to hold at their elbows. Pull back and slightly upwards. Repeat twice.

Figure 4.143 a

Figure 4.143 b

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25. Figure 4.144 Slide your hands from the elbows down the arms and grasp at the wrists. Pull both arms back and slightly toward each other. Repeat twice.

Figure 4.144

26. Figure 4.145 a, b Place your palms together and utilizing the littlefinger sides of your hands, deliver a firm chopping action over the entire back region.

Figure 4.145 a

Figure 4.145 b

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

27. Figure 4.146 Cross your hands at the wrists, palmar side down, and percuss the entire back region.

Figure 4.146

28. Figure 4.147 Cup your palms together into the “pau-ing” position and “pau” the entire back region. Increase the strength of your procedure and then gradually reduce the force.

Figure 4.147

29. Figure 4.148 Utilize your palms and brush the client from the crown of their head all the way down to the sacrum. Repeat three to five times.

Figure 4.148

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30. Figure 4.149 a, b Gently place your hands on your client’s head and hold your hands in place while channeling love and healing energy into the client.

Figure 4.149 a

Figure 4.149 b

31. Figure 4.150 Kneel in front of your client, bow deeply, giving thanks for this opportunity to serve them. Domo arigato.

Figure 4.150

The Seitai Shiatsu session has been completed. As you become more experienced, full body sessions will take approximately 50 minutes. Starting out, they will take longer. This is to be expected. You never want to feel hurried. Find a rhythm that

A Step-by-Step Guide: Seitai Shiatsu

works for you and maintain this rhythm as much as possible. After the session, it is appropriate to offer the client some room-temperature water or warm tea. If time allows, they can rest a little while. Encourage the client to take a hot mineral bath when they return home and to continue to hydrate. Keep in mind that at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers the residents receive Seitai Shiatsu sessions twice daily. As you set a treatment schedule for your client, depending on their needs and means, once or twice a week is not over treating. A health maintenance program with healthy clients can include a bi-weekly or monthly Seitai Shiatsu session.

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CHAPTER FIVE

GUA SHA Introduction My first encounter with Gua Sha was entirely experiential: no verbal or written introduction, no explanation, no warning, no preparation, no description and, simply, no nothing! It was one of the most profound, effective and positive healing experiences of my entire life. In the autumn of 1977, I moved from rural Kentucky to Boston, Massachusetts, to begin studying Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture at the New England School of Acupuncture. After five years of doing hard manual labor and living in a restored century-old log cabin, my body was a wreck. I ached everywhere, but my neck, shoulders and upper back were way beyond achiness. I was in acute, persistent pain. I could barely rotate my neck 10 degrees in either direction. Even at night, I could not find a comfortable position to rest my head. The first Saturday after beginning my studies with Dr. Tin Yao So, the principal teacher at the school, I scheduled a private session with him. After a few preliminary questions and palpation of my worst painful areas, Dr. So began my treatment. I was excited, anxious and curious. I was seated on a stool. In addition to Dr. So there was one other person in the room, who was working as an assistant, an advanced student at the school who I had met earlier that week. Dr. So inserted the first needle on my hand and stimulated the point creating an electric sensation that ran down into my thumb. I promptly fainted onto the floor. The assistant picked me up (he was a big, strong martial artist) and placed me back onto the stool. I was completely diaphoretic and only slightly alert. The next thing I knew, without any explanation, Dr. So began to Gua Sha my neck and shoulders! In just a minute’s time, my pain significantly reduced and I could rotate my head. From that moment on, I was a Gua Sha convert! Now, writing at my desk 40 years later, I remain a devoted practitioner and teacher of Gua Sha. I utilize Gua Sha often in my clinical practice and also with my family members. And yes, I still get Gua Sha done for my own myofascial tension and discomfort.

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Gua Sha

The technique of Gua Sha is a folk-healing technique that predates any specific form of traditional medicine. The name “Gua Sha” comes from the Chinese language and tradition. This type of treatment is found throughout East Asia. In Indonesia this is called “kerikan,” in Vietnam, “cạo gió,” and in Thailand, “chet hark.” Gua means “to scrape” and Sha means “sand like,” which is a descriptive phrase of how the skin surface feels after the technique has been applied. Often, small raised petechiae form after the scraping. When you run your fingers across these raised areas, they feel sand-like. Depending on the degree of stagnation in the tissues, the petechiae will appear discoloured, ranging from bright pink to blue, deep purple and even black at times. A literal translation is that “we scrape to relieve local blood and lymph stagnation in the myofascial tissues.” From a Western perspective, the practice involves the intentional focused scraping of the body surface (skin) to create temporary therapeutic petechiae. Physiologically, this is an extravasation of blood into the subcutis. Properly applied, there will be no bruising, although there will be discoloration. The skin surface will be rough, but there should not be the capillary rupture that is present in a bruise. In distinction to bruising, the discoloration from Gua Sha will usually disappear within 24–36 hours, whereas a bruise will last significantly longer. The primary reason that Gua Sha is performed is to relieve musculoskeletal pain. According to East Asian medical theory, blood stagnation contributes to inflammation and pain. Along with the stasis, there might also be trapped wind, cold or heat. Although massage and even needling with acupuncture can be helpful, unless the stasis is removed, the pain will persist. Gua Sha helps remove the stasis. Gua Sha is also often applied in the early stages of a head cold (viral infection). In these instances, the technique is specifically aimed at relieving either wind cold or wind heat, which are descriptive terms for a head cold or flu in East Asian medicine.

Determining the presence of Sha/ diagnosing the presence of Sha When the patient complains of musculoskeletal pain, the practitioner palpates the painful area. The practitioner wants to rule out a more significant problem in the area, such as a bone fracture or ruptured tendon. Questioning and orthopedic testing both do this. If it is determined that the problem is not acute, the practitioner may then decide to proceed with the application of Gua Sha. The practitioner presses into an area of pain and when the pressure is lifted, the impression left by the pressure quickly disappears and the skin appearance returns to normal. This indicates that Sha is not present. If Sha is present, once the

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pressure is removed, the whitening or blanching of the skin remains for longer than usual. This is caused by the presence of the Sha (stagnation) preventing the skin from returning to normal quickly by restricting local circulation to the periphery.

Treatment process Once the presence of Sha has been determined, the practitioner is ready to apply the scraping technique. The practitioner applies a lotion or other lubricant (e.g. massage oil or aloe vera cream) to the area in order to lessen the friction of the scraping. The lotion is not rubbed deeply into the skin but is allowed to remain on the surface. The tool for applying Gua Sha needs to have a smooth, firm surface and be comfortable in the practitioner’s hand. In ancient times, a smooth stone from a riverbed or the edge of an animal bone that had been smoothed down could be used. The technique of Gua Sha is also called “coining” in parts of Asia. This name derives from the utilization of a simple coin to provide the scraping. Today, we can utilize something as simple and easy to acquire as the round lid of a jar as long as it has smooth edges. Currently, various companies have developed and sell tools for Gua Sha treatment. These tools do add to the professional presentation of this ancient technique but are not necessary for the technique to be effective. Once the area of blood stagnation has been determined, the skin has been lubricated and the proper tool is in hand, it is time to apply the technique. Using the smooth edge of the tool, the practitioner begins stroking along the skin surface following the line of the fibers of the underlying muscle. The pressure of the stroking can be firm but should not be overly painful to the recipient. The area should be “scraped” until a discoloration begins to emerge. This can be labeled as the petechiae. In addition to scraping following the line of the muscle fibers, a cross-fiber technique can also be applied. The practitioner must keep in mind that this is a release technique and not a technique to organize the myofascial tissue. The actual time of scraping should not exceed three to five minutes. Whenever the scraping becomes too uncomfortable for the recipient, stop scraping in that area and either pause for a minute or so or scrape in a different area. Subsequent to the release via Gua Sha, a more organizing application of massage techniques can be applied.

Gua Sha

Figure 5.1 The client’s back before Gua Sha treatment

Figure 5.2 Showing the “simple” tool for Gua Sha

Figure 5.3 The skin has been lubricated and the Gua Sha technique is initiated

Figure 5.4 Gua Sha starting along the nape of the neck and then along the medial border of the scapula, a common location of blood stagnation and discomfort

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Figure 5.5 The discoloration on the skin surface indicating the release from the tissues below; this is not bruising

Figure 5.6 Applying Gua Sha on the other side for balance

Figure 5.7 Final results; total time elapsed: five minutes

Gua Sha

After-treatment care After a Gua Sha treatment, the recipient is advised and encouraged to drink a lot of water. Distilled water is indicated, as it has the ability to bond with the released toxins and help eliminate them from the body. The recipient should avoid eating stagnating, oily foods and sweets. Drinking a glass of green juice and eating fresh salads is highly recommended. In addition, the area(s) where Gua Sha was applied should be shielded from the wind and direct sun or cold. The discoloration will fade quite quickly; usually it will all be gone within 24–36 hours. Usually, significant reduction in pain and limitation of movement will change immediately. Often, individuals will present for Gua Sha with very old injuries and longstanding areas of pain and movement limitations. These areas will often need further treatment with Gua Sha. Additional Gua Sha treatments should  not be done until all the discoloration has receded and the skin color returns to normal. For a more comprehensive discussion about Gua Sha, including history and current scientific findings, I encourage the reader to study the book Gua Sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice1 and visit the website: http://guasha.com. The book and website are creations of my dear friend and long-time colleague, Dr. Arya Nielsen.

Contraindications Gua Sha is not performed if the recipient has a high fever or convulsions. Care must be taken if there are any raised moles or skin tags in the area to be scraped. Gua Sha is not advised in the low back area or upper shoulders during pregnancy. If the recipient is on blood-thinning medications, great caution is advised and only small areas should be treated. Patients who are very weak or infirm should not be treated with Gua Sha. Gua Sha is not applied over areas of eczema or any open skin lesions.

1 http://guasha.com/project/gua-sha-book

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CUPPING Introduction In the winter of 1980, I received a U.S. Embassy invitation to visit China (PRC) to study the traditional medicine at Xinhua Hospital in Shanghai. (Back in those years, you could not just travel to China from the U.S.; this was a special opportunity.) What an eye-opening and wonderful learning experience this was! I witnessed treatments that to this day still leave me in wonderment. I especially appreciated how the traditional medicine practices were fully integrated into the hospital system. It was during my clinical observation at Xinhua Hospital that I first witnessed fire-cupping therapy. For reasons unknown to me, cupping therapy was not part of the curriculum at the New England School of Acupuncture, so when I saw fire cupping being done in China, it was a profound revelation. After this first observation of fire cupping, I made certain to ask as many questions as I could about its utilization and to insist that I receive instruction on how to safely practice this effective, ancient technique. The first cups I ever purchased were during this trip to the mainland of China. Since that time, cupping became and remains an important clinical modality that I use often in my private practice. Over the ensuing years, I have taught hundreds of students to safely and effectively practice this wonderful healing modality. Currently, cupping has received widespread interest in the general population and the media. Hollywood stars, professional athletes and Olympic athletes have all proudly displayed their cup marks and lauded the benefits they have received from cupping. This ancient practice has fully arrived in the modern world. In this section, I will only discuss the utilization of silicone cups (Figure 6.1). Everyone can easily and safely learn silicone-cupping techniques. Fire cupping is the oldest, most traditional method, dating back thousands of years. Early cups were fashioned from hollowed-out bones. Subsequently, bamboo was utilized. Modern fire cupping primarily utilizes glass jars that are specifically fashioned for therapeutic effect. Fire cupping must be taught and learned in person with an experienced instructor and should only be practiced by a licensed professional. In addition, various types of cups have emerged that use a hand-held pump with 120

Cupping

suction tubes. The cups have a pressure lock onto which the suction tube attaches. All the various cupping methods are effective. The cups that utilize a hand pump are also easy to use, but often they can leave small, raised blisters. These blisters form due to the strong pressure in the cup and the fact that the tissues where the cups have been utilized have some hidden edema (i.e. fluid gathering). The presence of edema is to be expected in areas of pain, as this is a way that the body seeks to minimize the inflammation in the area. When blisters do occur, they must be treated to prevent infection. On the other hand, silicone cupping can be viewed as a home remedy and can be practiced safely by any layperson as long as they follow instructions and take heed of contraindications.

Figure 6.1

Indications for the utilization of cupping In the language of traditional East Asian medicine, cupping is a technique that uses suction devices of various types that are placed upon the skin surface in order to break up and disperse stagnant blood, lymph and energy (Qi). The stagnation of blood, lymph and energy (Qi) is the cause of pain. Therefore, cupping is a painrelieving technique, especially for the myofascial tissues. Additionally, cupping can be utilized to relieve lung congestion and to enhance the functioning of the internal organs, especially the large intestine and liver.

Contraindications to the utilization of cupping Cupping should not be applied if the recipient has a high fever, convulsions or cramping. Cupping is not done over areas with allergic skin conditions or areas of eczema or psoriasis. Cupping is not done on the lower abdomen or the lower back of a pregnant woman. Anyone who has a bleeding condition or who is taking medication to thin the blood, for example Coumadin, should not be cupped. If an area shows severe edema (swelling), cupping should not be done directly over the edematous area. Recipients who are ill with serious medical conditions, such as cardiac or renal failure, should never be cupped. If the practitioner has any doubt

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about the use of cupping with recipients, I recommend that they always err on the side of caution. Keep in mind that the entire lip area of a cup must be on a relatively level surface so that a suction seal can be achieved. Therefore, an area of a bony prominence will not allow a suction to be achieved. Also, on a narrow area such as the forearm, a small cup must be used so that the entire lip area is on the skin.

The technique for the utilization of silicone cups After discussing with the recipient the reasons for their interest in receiving cupping and ruling out all contraindications, the practitioner determines the area(s) for placement of the cups. The practitioner is advised to palpate the area to help find the most tender points and to determine if there is edema (fluid collection) in the area. Silicone cups work best if the lip of the cup is lightly lubricated with an oil or lotion (Figure 6.2 a, b). In addition, the area to be cupped can also be lightly lubricated utilizing a massage lotion or oil. If the area to be cupped is covered with body hair, a lotion or oil must be utilized to smooth down the hair so that suction can be achieved.

Figure 6.2 a

Figure 6.2 b

The practitioner holds the cup with their fingertips on the lip of the cup and their thumbs pressing down into the top of the cup. As the thumbs are pressing down from the top, the fingertips simultaneously pull the lip up and back (Figure 6.3 a, b). The cup is placed down upon the skin as the fingertips are removed. Once the entire area of the cup’s lip is touching the skin, the thumb pressure from the top is released. A pulling suction should now be achieved. The cup should feel tightly held in position (Figure 6.4). The cup can remain for approximately 10–15 minutes. Simply slide a finger under the lip to relieve the pressure and then lift the cup (Figure 6.5 a, b). Often, a dark circle will be seen on the skin where

Cupping

the cup had been placed (Figure 6.6). The color can range from a pink to a dark purple, depending on the severity of the stagnation that was present in the area and the strength of the suction. This discoloration will disperse in a few days. If pain and stiffness remain in the area once the skin color has returned to normal, cupping can be reapplied.

Figure 6.3 a

Figure 6.3 b

Figure 6.4

Figure 6.5 a

Figure 6.5 b

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Figure 6.6

Sliding cups There is an additional cupping technique known as sliding cups. Sliding cups are utilized to work along the length of a muscle and along the spinal column, and also to follow the direction of peristalsis of the large intestine. The technique for application of the cups is the same as with stationary cups, with the addition of lubricating the entire area where the sliding will take place. The cup is firmly applied to the skin surface. The practitioner then grasps the cup from the top and slides the cup along the lubricated skin (Figure 6.7 a, b). The sliding motion can be done very slowly or moderately rapidly, depending on the recipient’s comfort level. If the suction is lost, simply reapply the cup and start the sliding again. Additional lubricant can always be applied. The skin will often discolor as toxins are released from the underlying tissues. This is normal and expected (Figure 6.8). Once you determine the sliding is complete, the cup is removed by releasing the suction by sliding your finger(s) under the lip of the cup as you simultaneously pull the cup back from the top (Figure 6.9).

Figure 6.7 a

Figure 6.7 b

Cupping

Figure 6.8

Figure 6.9

Cupping the chest and abdominal region Although cupping is mostly associated with musculoskeletal issues, it is highly recommended to cup the abdominal and chest regions. Cups over the lungs on the upper chest can be helpful with coughs, lung congestion and shortness of breath. Cups in the epigastrium can be helpful with GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease). The liver area responds very well to cupping, helping with digestive issues,  withheld emotions and cleansing. The entire abdominal region can be cupped with the intention of stimulating the internal organs of digestion and elimination. With awareness of the omentum and its dynamic physiological capacities, general cupping anywhere in the abdominal region can impact and energize the omentum. Cupping below the navel can be very helpful with menstrual cramps. Cupping the abdominal region is highly recommended.

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Cupping: after care The recipient is encouraged to drink plenty of water and to avoid heavy, sugary and oily foods. Shield the cupped area from the wind, cold or direct sun. A hot Epsom salt bath is highly recommended. The discoloration will recede in a couple of days.1 The silicone cups that I prefer are available online.2 An entire excellent book, Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy, is devoted to cupping.3

1 For further information, please see: www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/09/20/ many-benefits-chinese-cupping 2 www.cuppingtherapy.org 3 www.elsevier.com/books/traditional-chinese-medicine-cupping-therapy/chirali/978-07020-4352-9

CHAPTER SEVEN

INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER IN REGARD TO SENSEI KYOSHI KATO’S TREATISE “In Search of New Medical Treatments: Towards a World Revolution in Medical Science, Pharmacology and Dietetics”

In Chapter Eight, you will read the words (in translation) of Sensei Kyoshi Kato. This book, written in 1985, is direct, radical, controversial and compelling. Reading and rereading this book, I clearly hear and feel the words and passion of my teacher. Sensei Kyoshi Kato was a serious and outspoken individual. He cared deeply about his patients. He was direct and forceful. He spoke from extensive clinical experience. He was highly critical of much of the accepted allopathic medical practices in the treatment of cancer. His outspokenness and growing popularity eventually landed him in trouble with Japanese government authorities. During my time at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers, I was a student, a participant in the healing program, an apprentice practitioner and an observer of a medical subculture. I questioned what I was being taught even as I sought to absorb as much information and experience as I possibly could. Of what I learned, the most enduring component is the Seitai Shiatsu protocol. Seitai Shiatsu has health benefits that reach across time and culture. Although my apprenticeship took place amongst terminally diagnosed individuals, from the start I could see the potential benefits in the realm of preventative medicine. With this in mind, I want to state categorically that the purpose of my book is to promote preventative health care strategies. I am not promoting alternative approaches to the treatment of people with cancer. 127

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I share with the reader the thoughts and experiences of Sensei Kyoshi Kato. It is for each reader to evaluate the ideas and approaches presented and to determine if these approaches are applicable in their own life or in the lives of friends, family and patients. I do want to clarify a few aspects of the Kato Method that the reader will encounter. Keep in mind that all patients arriving at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers were considered terminally ill and beyond the point of being able to be helped by Western medicine. Simply stated, they had been sent home to die. They were all terribly weak and emotionally fragile. Besides the specific illnesses that they were afflicted with, they were also in various stages of recovery from surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Their immune systems were highly compromised and their digestive and elimination systems were very weakened. All the patients expressed emotional fragility and a sense of being overwhelmed. All the patients I met were accompanied by loved ones. The presence, support and encouragement of loved ones was certainly at least one positive component in their dire circumstances. The spouses, family members and significant others all received training in Seitai Shiatsu. The residential program at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers lasted 20 days. After the 20 days, patients were directed to continue with twice-daily Seitai Shiatsu treatments and to follow a healthy, nutritive lifestyle. Additionally, all patients, loved ones and family members were encouraged to be open emotionally and to feel safe to express their feelings. The daily Seitai Shiatsu sessions after the residency were considered critical. This was the primary reason family members were taught the protocol. This also gave me insight into the practicality of this protocol and the fact that it can be learned and practiced without knowledge of Western physiology and pathology and Eastern energy theory, and without any previous experience with Shiatsu. Upon arriving at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training center, each individual was personally evaluated by Sensei Kyoshi Kato. If Sensei Kyoshi Kato thought the patient was strong enough, he would instruct them to fast for one to three days, only taking in purified water. If the patient was too weak to benefit from fasting, he would have them start on what is referred to in the text as the “milk diet.” (To Western health enthusiasts, the idea of a milk diet in the treatment of terminal cancer sounds highly counterintuitive and even misguided. I fully acknowledge this.) The basis of the milk diet was a high-quality, powdered, baby milk formula. I recognize that this approach is wide open to criticism, especially in the U.S. where milk products are used in excess and are often considered to be stagnating and phlegm producing. In addition, health-minded individuals (including myself )

Introduction and Disclaimer to Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s Treatise

strongly encourage breastfeeding of infants as a much more natural and healthy approach than formula. In short, breast milk formulas are not considered as healthy  as breast milk and for many, they are considered to be unhealthy. For terminally ill patients, baby milk formula is very easy to acquire, very easy to digest, very easy to assimilate and very easily eliminated. Terminally ill patients have a very compromised alimentary tract. Baby milk formulas promote growth and new cell and tissue formation or, as Sensei Kyoshi Kato would explain, the formation of red blood corpuscles. In the context of Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s approach, a high‑quality baby milk formula is an ideal food. As patients started to regain strength, the milk drinks would have raw eggs, probiotics and some fruit or vegetables added. All the nutrients were blended and taken in liquid form. If patients felt too much internal cold, they would be encouraged to drink miso soup. Miso is an ideal food in this situation. It is a pre‑digested protein with additional active probiotics. The emotional component of the program was particularly compelling for me. In general, Japanese people are extremely private and emotionally withheld, especially in public situations. At the time I was studying at the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training center, it was very common for patients to have not even been told they were dealing with cancer while undergoing allopathic medical treatment. I realize that this is hard to fathom, but it was commonplace. Once the patients and their families became part of the Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers, this was no longer the case. Sensei Kyoshi Kato was always direct and forthright. In addition, when he worked directly with individuals it would be in front of all the other participants and family members. The entire group would be sitting or kneeling on the floor in a big circle with Sensei Kyoshi Kato in the middle. Sensei Kyoshi Kato would call each person, one by one to join him in the center of the circle. Speaking directly to the patient, but with everyone else listening and observing, he would ask very personal health and emotionally pertinent questions. I want to impress the reader with how “un-Japanese” this type of open encounter was. It was much more a California-style encounter group. Keep in mind that often the patient would not have been asked these types of questions, even in private, nor been given the whole story of their own condition by their physician. These open circle encounters were often riveting and were certainly empowering for everyone present. An important theoretical basis for Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s methods is the academic work of Dr. Kikuo Chishima (1899–1978). Dr. Kikuo Chishima was a distinguished and honored professor, writer and researcher. Although much of his work has been maligned in scientific circles, the practical application of his theories of red blood formation and cancer have been proven empirically to be

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effective in the clinical work of Sensei Kyoshi Kato. Dr. Kikuo Chishima published nine lengthy volumes detailing his lifelong research and philosophy. One volume, number nine, has been translated into English.1 It is not my intention to either promote or disparage Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s work. His work was extremely important to Sensei Kyoshi Kato and therefore I want to provide additional resources for any interested reader. It is my impression that what Dr. Kikuo Chishima identified as red blood corpuscles that held the pluripotency of differentiating into all types of somatic and germ cells is actually what we now know as stem cells. In my mind, this lends significant scientific support to his ideas and theories, in addition to providing a reasonable theory of how and why Sensei Kyoshi Kato’s program was able to heal some terminally ill individuals. For more information on stem cells, please visit the “Stem Cell Information” site from the National Institutes of Health.2 Through his clinical work, lectures and publications, Sensei Kyoshi Kato contributed greatly to the recovery and health of numerous individuals over many years. He profoundly affected many families by restoring the health of loved ones. Unfortunately, in his later years he did run afoul of the establishment and found himself in trouble. By the time of his death in 1991, all the residential treatment centers had closed. He was not able to fulfill his dream of opening a treatment center in Hawaii. Thankfully, his memory and the influence of his work live on.

1 For further information, please see: www.aipro.info/drive/File/Revolution%20of%20 biology%20and%20medicine.%20Kikuo%20Chishima%201.pdf 2 https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/1.htm

CHAPTER EIGHT

IN SEARCH OF NEW MEDICAL TREATMENTS Towards a World Revolution in Medical Science, Pharmacology and Dietetics KIYOSHI KATO

Kiyoshi Kato was born in the Chiba prefecture of Japan in 1914, and has been a therapist since 1934, when he started treating cancer and other serious diseases with fasting and Shiatsu. He came to Osaka in 1969 and established Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers. He is the president of Gan Shizen Chiyu Sekai Fukyukai (Association for the Global Promotion of Natural Healing of Cancer). Kiyoshi Kato is the author of many books, including Cancer Is Curable. Edited by Naniwasha Publishing Company Translated by Kauko Uusoksa

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Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Part 1: The insanity of modern medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 A housewife who underwent four operations in ten months . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Cancer found in a group health screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Modern medicine: an erroneous approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Treating the illness instead of the patient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Cancer cells develop in order to maintain life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Cancer cells are symptomatic of partial senility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Part 2: Anyone can cure cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 The slowly approaching tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 “Your wife has cancer” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Be informed about cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Love is a part of the cure for cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Trust in the natural healing of cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Part 3: The quest for a new form of therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 The basis of the natural healing of cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 The intramedullary hematopoietic theory: a strange idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 A doctor who decided to give up his medical license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Man does not die of cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Closing remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 How to obtain Kato therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Inquiries and consultations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 The training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Translators’ Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

In Search of New Medical Treatments

PREFACE Every day, seriously ill cancer patients visit my three Kenko Saisei Kaikan training centers. On busy days, between 40 and 50 people come to consultation or treatment, and even on slow days we see up to 20 patients. At present, we can accommodate only about 70 patients, and cannot find room for all those who come. Upon their arrival, we examine those who so wish and take appointments for treatment. Most patients are in the terminal stage of cancer and have been pronounced incurable. However, there are various forms of the “terminal stage”: these patients are not people who have simply been subjected to detailed testing and as a result been given up as hopeless cases; they have generally undergone a number of operations and have finally been pronounced incurable after all possible modern medical treatments, including irradiation and chemo have been tried and have proved fruitless. I have been dealing with patients of this kind for over ten years, and have finally found a natural way to cure cancer. People from the mass media who have observed my methods described this work as “clearing up the mess left by modern medical science.” After seeing so many wretched patients, I finally arrived at the conclusion that modern medicine had come to an impasse in its methods for treating cancer, and this aroused my indignation. Although there are a few cases in which surgical operations have led to a successful outcome, cancer cannot be cured by radiation therapy or by chemotherapy. Why on earth, then, do doctors insist on carrying out distressing forms of treatment such as the use of cobalt-60 radiation and the administration of powerful anti-cancer drugs with serious side effects? It is such practices that are the reason for my indignation. Irradiation and chemotherapy not only cause pain to patients, but also shorten their lives. People treated by these methods soon become weak and lose their appetites, their intestinal villi (which are responsible for absorbing the nourishment from food) decrease in size and cannot perform their function properly, and this leads to a fast and fatal decline of the patient’s constitution. That these methods are ineffective and bring only suffering is best known to the doctor in charge. This is the reason why he does not generally (in Japan, at least) reveal to a cancer patient the nature of his illness. So why do the doctors, who are well aware of this situation, still continue to administer radiation and toxic anti-cancer drugs? It is because textbooks of

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medicine tell them to do so. For lack of knowledge of other possible methods, they do as stated in the textbooks. The horrible fact is that the patients’ lives are shortened at the hands of their doctors. The nature of cancer is misunderstood. Cancer cells do not respond to such treatments. The only way to cure this disease is through natural methods. With the use of these methods, the tumor decreases in size, and it becomes possible to live with what remains. In the clutches of modern medicine, however, not only is the cancer incurable, but even the aspects of it that can be cured are rendered incurable. In principle, I am against treating cancer surgically, too, but since it is quite unavoidable in certain cases, I am prepared to make some compromise on this. However, I do advocate that if nothing can be removed during the operation, the incision should be closed without the introduction of any anti-cancer preparations and without irradiation. The practice of inserting all kinds of bypasses should also stop. They serve no purpose. I only wish that doctors would listen to their own consciences and send patients who cannot be helped by modern methods to places where natural healing is being used. We can already cure even seriously ill patients after they have undergone torturous hospital treatments. With the possible exception of some special cases, I am confident that we are able to cure all patients who come both before surgical operations have been performed and before the administration of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Only 20 days of treatment is sufficient to prove that cancer can be healed naturally, or, if it cannot be healed completely, that natural methods can reduce its size sufficiently for the patient to live with. If any doctor is willing to visit my training center with a patient of his, and to witness for himself the success of my method, I am entirely willing to treat that patient free of charge, and to pay the accommodation costs of the doctor. I am already 71 years of age, and am not after fame or wealth. If any qualified medical practitioner with a conscience would study my system of natural healing and present it in an academically acceptable and deserving way, that would be more than enough to satisfy me. I have already come a long way to finally discover this wonderful natural method of curing cancer. My dearest wish is that the method can be spread throughout the world in order that no more patients should fall victim to the methods of modern medicine, and that the lives of more and more cancer sufferers can be saved. Kiyoshi Kato March 11, 1985

In Search of New Medical Treatments

PART 1: THE INSANITY OF MODERN MEDICINE A housewife who underwent four operations in ten months In October 1984, a housewife of 37 years of age with an advanced case of cancer came to my training center. The cancer had invaded her stomach, liver and intestines, and I was surprised to find that both of her breasts had been removed. The scar from her armpit to the nape of her neck was still fresh when I examined her. The radiation used to treat her back had left it burnt black and sore. “What on earth happened?!” I exclaimed in astonishment when I saw her. My patients are mostly those whose cancer has already reached the terminal stage, and who have been given up on by modern medicine. I have seen a lot, and am not easily taken aback, but witnessing this poor housewife’s condition really shocked me. She told me that she had received treatment in a hospital in January 1984. Cancer was found in her right breast, and it was recommended by her doctor that she have an operation. She agreed. A month after the operation, cancer was found in her left breast. She was told that another operation would save her life, and so she agreed again. Later, she was diagnosed as having cancer in the lymphatic vessels running from the neck to the armpit, and so those were removed. This was followed by a lung operation. During this period, her vitality disappeared, and she lost her appetite as well. It is impossible to maintain one’s physical strength after major operations or following radiotherapy or chemotherapy for cancer. The doctors then told her husband that the cancer had begun to invade her internal organs, and that it was now inoperable. She was given about three months to live. “How was your health before you were examined at the hospital?” I asked her. “Not bad, really,” she replied. “And actually, I felt quite all right.” Anyway, after those ten months, her condition had deteriorated to the point where she could hardly walk, and it was in this state that she was brought to my Kenko Saisei Kaikan training center. I will not reveal the name of the hospital concerned, but this terrible story is true, according to the words of the victim herself.

Cancer found in a group health screening Hearing such an account, you may be able to accept it easily as merely the story of an unfortunate stranger. But if it happened in your own family, you would probably be able to understand the pain and suffering involved both for the patient herself

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and for the whole family. This is the sort of horrible thing that is actually going on in the world of modern medicine nowadays. Let me give another example. This is the story of a 42-year-old male highschool teacher from Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo. In May 1980, cancer was found in his lungs during a routine school medical screening, and he was operated on. As everybody is aware, we each have two lungs. The right lung is divided into three parts, the upper, middle and lower lobes, and the left lung into two, the upper and lower lobes. This teacher had a tumor in the upper lobe of his left lung, and this growth was removed. However, in May 1984, cancer was found in the middle lobe of the right lung, so the patient underwent another operation. Later, another examination revealed a malignant tumor in the lower lobe of the left lung. This was also removed. Again, cancer was found in the middle lobe of the right lung, and again it was taken out surgically. But even this was not the end. After a little time, yet another cancerous growth was discovered in the lower lobe of the left lung. Yet again, he underwent surgery to remove it. Thus, his lungs had been subjected to five surgical operations in about as many years! When I heard this, I could only remark, “Well, they can hardly go any further, can they?” This man had only the lower lobe of his left lung and the upper and lower lobes of his right lung left. This is worse than having only one lung. He told me with a bitter smile, “Yes, I don’t think they can do much more now. That is why I have come to see you.” He had a fairly healthy color, but speaking was laborious for him and he was suffering from headaches and an irregular heartbeat. After all the operations he had been through, one could hardly expect a better condition, and in fact, it was a small miracle that he looked even as healthy as he did. His surgeon himself had said that it was really rare to see a person in such good condition after five operations. What can these words mean? It looks very much as if they indicate that even when the doctors know that an operation will not help, they will do it anyway if they can. This teacher said, “Before the cancer was first found in me, I was very healthy, and I had no symptoms at all.” To his misfortune, though, after the tumor was found he had to suffer through five operations. I cannot say that I am absolutely against surgical operations, but I think that they should at least remove or alleviate the patient’s distress. If an operation brings this kind of relief, it has at least some value, even if there is a risk of reducing the patient’s lifespan. However, the fact is that modern medical treatment tends to overvalue the usefulness of surgery, and thus leads to more pain and suffering for the patient.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

Doctors pay far too much attention to the disorder, while disregarding the patient as a human being. This tendency to treat the illness alone is on the increase, not only in the field of cancer therapy, but also in all areas of modern medical science. If the teacher had not had that initial examination, would he be suffering now? I cannot help believing that, without the examination, he might well be living peacefully and in good health today. My entreaty to both doctors and patients is: Avoid this easy, unheedful reliance on surgical operations!

Modern medicine: an erroneous approach Every day I see sad cases of patients who have suffered through treatments of their diseases alone, without any consideration for their existence as human beings, and all have the same bitter experience. There is no end to the list, but allow me to give just one more example. As is generally known, leukemia is also called cancer of the blood. A 15-year-old youngster entered a hospital in April 1984 with a diagnosis of acute lymphadenitis. In case of leukemia, surgery is out of the question, and this disease is generally treated with anti-cancer drugs. Before, this patient had always been very healthy, but after his examination started to lose his hair and his appetite as a result of the medication he was given. Six months after entering hospital, he became unable either to speak or to eat. He was isolated in a germ-free room by a physician who judged that he had also lost his resistance to bacteria. Although at the time that his course of treatment began, between 4 percent and 8 percent of his white cells were cancerous, by this point, the proportion had risen to 50 percent. As a result, his medication was increased, and he was put on an intravenous drip infusion of anti-cancer drugs for 72 hours no less than five times. The boy then developed stomatitis and his body was as if torn to shreds. It was in this condition that his guardian brought him to see me. I have now given just three examples of the victims of modern medical science, but believe me, they are merely the tip of the iceberg. Why are hospitals, whose business it is to save people’s lives, actually—when the results are examined—working in the opposite direction, so that they just impose greater suffering on their patients? It would of course be easy enough to make direct attacks on the doctors involved, but they are not the ones who carry the real responsibility for these terrible acts. I think that they are just trying to do their best to fulfill their duties in their assignments as doctors. In fact, I am sure they are. Then, why is there no end to this misery? It is because modern medical science itself is headed in the wrong

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direction, and not only its treatments, but also its very principles themselves, are at fault. If the erroneous ideas of modern medicine could only be changed, it would perhaps enable the confusion in current therapeutic methods to be avoided.

Treating the illness instead of the patient The most incomprehensible aspect of the image of modern medical science is the beliefs held about cancer. The fact is that people who are cured of cancer are those operated on at a very early stage of the cancerous growth. If it is left to grow for some time, no operation can help, and it becomes all the more incurable after chemotherapy and irradiation. These methods are mere consolations for doctors and patients. In Japan, it is the policy of the medical profession not to tell the patient of his cancer. The patient is just put through painful treatments, while the truth of his condition is hidden from him until he dies. Presently this practice is considered normal, and that is something I just cannot understand. In spring 1984 I read a news article about the possibility of curing lung cancer completely. The idea was that, because of a new blood examination method, cancer in the lungs could be traced very early, so as to make an operation feasible. This report sounds a little strange to me. Let us take cancer of the breast as an example. Now, if both breasts are removed, a patient has naturally no further poss­ ibility anymore of getting breast cancer. If this were claimed to be a cure for breast cancer, wouldn’t even an elementary school kid think the method a bit suspect? Isn’t the word “treatment” intended to mean a procedure for returning an affected region to normal or at least for improving its condition? Treating cancer by surgery is illogical. I cannot believe that suddenly one day cancer cells are born in the body “just like that.” There must have been an original cause and an accumulation of factors that eventually led to the formation of the cancerous cells. Merely removing the resulting cancerous cells without even a glance at the cause gives nobody the right to claim that the patient is cured. If doctors say that because cancer is easy to find in a blood examination it is 100 percent curable by an early operation, I would counter that by stating that the percentage of recurrence would be 100 percent. The recurrence might not be in the lungs, but, owing to the nature of cancer, it is sure to arise somewhere else in the body. This is how this disease behaves. As I said earlier, I am not absolutely against operations, but I do think that they should be the very last step.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

Presently, surgery is anyway the prevailing method. Doctors are encouraging it, and patients, seeing it as the only way, are willing to undergo operations. Still, this body that we have received from our parents has no unnecessary parts. All the 40–60 billion cells in our body function so as to build it up and maintain it. If they are being chopped out without good reason what will be the result? If this excessive mutilation brought about a cure, then it would be at least understandable, but the sad fact is that the great majority of cases cannot be helped. One reason why it is possible to commit these acts is the general idea of modern man that everything should be easy to get. Furthermore, there is no positive effort to obtain more correct medical knowledge, and ignorant patients just entrust themselves to modern medical science. Modern men are sick not only in their bodies, but also in their minds. However, the treatment of sickness only is spreading in the manner of the three examples I just gave. There is a not-so-funny joke among medical practitioners that “The sickness was cured, but the patient died.” The time has come to bring medical practitioners and methods back to the original principle of saving the patient. It is not only for the specialists to change, but the general public also must understand the importance of this.

Cancer cells develop in order to maintain life According to modern medical science, the most effective control of cancer depends upon early diagnosis, followed by immediate surgical operation if possible. If surgery is not feasible, cobalt radiation and anti-cancer medicines are used. These are the three standard methods for treating cancer, though other ways do exist. These methods, like the Maruyama vaccine, could be of great use when perfected. But they have still a long way to go, and their real power and usefulness have yet to be displayed. As a result, as it is, the trinity of surgery, irradiation and chemotherapy are being used freely. These methods differ in means, but they do have one thing in common: they treat cancer according to the idea that cancer is an enemy of the human body and must be destroyed fast. However, this idea is just an assumption: there are many cases of patients who, though diagnosed as having cancer, did not agree to the suggested operation because of being old, and still lived to reach 80 or even 90 years of age. Whether cancer is an enemy or not depends on one’s way of thinking, but modern medical science insists on regarding it as an enemy. It is thought that if it is left untreated it will eat up its host in a short time. Thus, the general idea of modern medicine is that the enemy must be cut out, burnt or somehow disposed of as fast as possible. As mentioned before, this is still just a hypothesis, not a fact.

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For example, the appearance of ascites in a patient’s stomach is usually considered as a sign of impending death. However, ascites appears only to cool off the inflammation of internal organs, thus working to maintain life as long as possible. Without it, the death of the patient would occur even sooner. It is the same with any sickness. Without pain, we would not know about the worsening condition of the body. According to the great religionist and sociologist Ichiro Tsuneoka, sickness is like a letter from heaven, like a warning signal. By paying heed to it, we can start defensive treatment and reflect upon ourselves. This is the reason why sickness is not considered as an enemy in Oriental medical science. Cancer is no exception in this. Without it the body would be ruined faster by some other sickness. The body develops cancer in order to delay the approach of death. In short, in order to help the body as a whole, one part is sacrificed, because nature gives the whole priority over the part. When I say, “Be grateful to cancer,” I do not think it is understood, because everybody believes it is better not to have it. However, even if we develop a cancer, we have no right to resent it.

Cancer cells are symptomatic of partial senility What is the difference between cancerous and normal cells? Both are units in the construction of a living body, and no clear difference can be seen. The cancer cell is like a juvenile delinquent compared to a “good-boy” ordinary cell. But even though a juvenile delinquent causes harm to society, nobody thinks that he should be killed as fast as possible. Instead, he should be guided to a right way of living and changed into a good and worthy citizen. Since a cancerous cell is like a juvenile delinquent, medical science should search for ways to bring it back to normal again.

Dr. Yuro Fukae of Kyoto, Japan, who has a deep understanding of my methods, made this statement. When cancer is suspected, a sample of the patient’s cells is taken to a pathologist to examine and compare them with normal cells. It is his duty to indicate a possibility of cancer if the sample differs even a little from normal cells. “Because cancer cells are also cells and do not differ greatly from the normal cells, can the pathologist’s decision be trusted?” Dr. Fukae asked me. And a surgeon, a close friend of mine, says that the existence of visceral cancer cannot be confirmed without an operation. Cancer does not occur suddenly, but is a result of a prolonged unnatural way of living. I see cancer cells as normal cells that have grown old. To use Dr. Fukae’s expression, “Cancer cells are symptomatic of senility.” “Senility” here signifies the

In Search of New Medical Treatments

loss of vigor by the whole body, but in the case of cancer, according to this theory, only a certain part has declined. My method prevents that partial senility from growing larger, and brings back its lost vigor and youthfulness. I see cancer as a symptom of partial senility, and it is my belief that everybody over 40 years old has cancerous cells. Because of the loss of data, the accuracy of the following information may not be perfect, but in autopsies carried out on victims of traffic accidents in West Germany during the last decade, cancer was found in 50 percent of cases. On the basis of my long years of experience, I am ready to support this figure. If everybody really did have cancer, it would not help much to go wild and crazy about it, and operations and other violent methods would be in vain. Therefore we should find new treatments based on a new way of thinking—that of living together with cancer. Modern medical science out of hand denies this, deeming it impossible, and continues fighting cancer as an enemy to the bitter end. I have had several young female patients whose ovaries and uterus have been removed because of cancer, and there is one terrible example of a woman who had cancer elsewhere in her body, but her uterus was still removed, because the possibility of recurrence there was said to be great. I am not trying to say that getting married and bearing babies is the only happiness in the world, but to a young single woman who has no possibility of marriage or of having children owing to such an operation, what can be left of the happiness of being a woman? I cannot help wondering why doctors do not restrain the hands that hold the surgical scalpels, and do not instead try to find a solution other than surgery to cure patients, rather than mutilating them. There are many women who have been cured of cancer of the uterus by my method, but no matter what I do, I cannot heal organs that have been removed in operations. Perhaps these organs could not have been saved by my method either, but I cannot help feeling sorry that the patients did not know about the possibilities of my method before being operated on. Doctors operate with no consideration for a woman’s private life or age. This is because the doctors cannot see the patient: all they can see is the cancer. Without a thought for a patient’s life and happiness as a human being, they are obsessed with how to dispose of the cancer confronting them. Medical practice bereft of humanity becomes a terrible weapon. How many can deny that modern medical science, in particular its cancer treatments, has become like that? Upon hearing this, a doctor will surely say that without the operation, the patient would die, and after that there is no happiness or life anyway. This kind of thinking is one of the great causes of the problems of modern medical science.

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Anyway, I have already stated my views, and I would really like to have everyone consider this matter seriously, too. Among the patients who have come to my training centers during the years have also been those who were beyond further treatment. However, I have always told them that they still have one last hope of recovery. In Part 2, I would like to introduce a wonderful testimony, which I trust will bring the light of hope both to all those who are sick and desperate, and to their families.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

PART 2: ANYONE CAN CURE CANCER The slowly approaching tragedy Anyone can cure cancer. This is something I keep on saying over and over again. My method is not difficult at all if the basic principles governing cancer are well grasped. Let me tell you about a cancer patient who came to my training center with no strength left and was still cured. Let’s hear about her from her husband’s point of view. The patient’s name was FM, born in Adachi, Tokyo, in 1942, a 43-year-old mother of three lovely girls. In this drama, she played just a supporting role. It was her husband, KM, a printing shop owner who took the leading part. FM’s health started weakening in January 1982. Her stomach was in poor condition and heavy and she always felt tired. Her husband told her to have it checked to be sure it was not cancer of the esophagus. A pathologist of good reputation examined her. The X-rays taken showed nothing abnormal, and she was told not to worry about it anymore. She then resumed her everyday life without any particular changes. During her summer holiday of 1983, FM and her family visited her parents in Yamagata Prefecture. They came back to Tokyo very tired after enduring extremely heavy traffic conditions during the trip. From then on, FM felt continually tired; it was difficult for her to get up in the mornings, her body felt heavy and she could not do much housework before having to lie down again to rest. Her body had felt strange before the trip to Yamagata. She could not finish even a small portion of food, and felt full after just a few mouthfuls. She blamed it all on her age. FM’s husband KM also noticed that her color was not as good as usual. He just thought, “Women really get worn out after they pass 40.” He told her to chew her food better, because after each meal she drank plenty of water. During that time there were no serious symptoms of any kind. Little by little FM started to have stomachaches and when she ate her lunch she felt a little pain when the swallowed food passed from the gullet into the stomach. After some time, she started to feel the pain after meals also, and she felt more tired. FM went to the same hospital as before for an examination, and a barium test revealed an ulcer at the entrance to the stomach. Her doctor said that it was better to have it operated on, and introduced an experienced and very skilled surgeon in Nichidai Hospital. FM accepted the doctor’s opinion, but she also had an endoscopic examination.

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Before the results of the endoscopy were available, she made an appointment at Nichidai Hospital. Her nurse told her to bring her husband with her. KM thought this sounded strange, but he still felt happy to go with his wife. The doctor had said it was just an ulcer. They had no idea it might be anything else.

“Your wife has cancer” When KM and FM got to Nichidai Hospital in Kanda Surugadai they were amazed to see the size of the place. They did not have the slightest idea of FM having cancer. To their surprise, the doctor said that FM must be operated on as soon as possible, otherwise her gullet would become closed. KM was the head of a printing company and FM took care of all office matters. At that time they were badly behind in their work schedule and were very busy. FM had a lot of important paper work to do in order to manage the business, and they asked if they could have the operation postponed for a month. The doctor said that it was not possible and that the operation must be done within ten days. KM was very surprised by the urgency of the situation, because he did not know the facts. KM thought that it was all a matter of business, that the hospital had to get a certain number of patients during a certain time to keep up the system. Finally, they reached an agreement that FM was to enter the hospital as soon as their office matters were somewhat in hand. FM did not spare herself, and she got everything done in just a week. During that week she also took part in local parents’ volleyball games and did not come home before 11 o’clock on many evenings. She said she felt good and relaxed after exercise. On November 7 she entered Nichidai Hospital. The operation took place on the 21st of the same month. During those two weeks in the hospital, she underwent countless examinations. To KM it was quite odd and very slow in comparison with the doctor’s earlier behavior. Later he was told that this was due to the doctor’s very busy schedule. Two days before the operation KM was asked to come to the hospital. He was to give his agreement for FM’s operation. When he arrived he was shown a CT‑scan picture of FM’s afflicted area. “Your wife has cancer. Weren’t you aware of that?” The doctor’s words fell as a bolt from the blue sky on KM. He said, “It must be some kind of mistake, it is an ulcer.” “No, it is cancer without a doubt,” the doctor said. “The cell test proves it quite definitely.” At Nichidai Hospital, cancer is classified in three categories: early stage, advanced stage and the terminal stage. “Your wife’s cancer has already advanced

In Search of New Medical Treatments

almost to the terminal stage.” Hearing this, KM was utterly shocked, and just could not believe it. The doctor told him that they might have to remove FM’s stomach completely. KM asked, “Why? One and a half years ago my wife was said to be in good health! What do you mean by this?!” “The affected area is one that is very difficult to examine properly. This may have led to a misunderstanding of the situation earlier. If we remove the stomach, she will live a little longer, and then only if it has not spread anywhere else. If it has, there is nothing we can do. Anyway, I want to have your consent for the operation.” KM did not know what to do, so he gave his consent and left the hospital. KM did not say anything to any other relatives, but just called FM’s parents in Yamagata and asked them to come to Tokyo for the operation. He did not want the children to know, so he left home to make the call from outside. But he could not feel at ease. He wanted to tell his worries to somebody, and he contacted his best friend. The friend consoled KM by saying things like, “Maybe, after all, it is not cancer,” “Miracles still happen in this world,” and “I hope the operation goes well,” and so on, but this did not make KM feel any better. He went to the hospital on the day of the operation at 8 o’clock in the morning. Surgery was scheduled to start at 8 o’clock and end about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. He was told to come back that afternoon. He went to his office, but decided soon to return to the hospital. FM’s mother was supposed to be there around noon, and he did not want her to wait alone in the big hospital. When he reached there, he met a nurse he knew who told him that his wife’s operation was already finished. “Really!” He had heard stories about cancer being operated too late, when doctors could not do anything, and just close the wound again. He sensed that FM’s case must be one of those. “Was it too late?” he asked. The nurse answered: “Please ask the doctor,” but KM could read from her eyes that nothing could have been done. When he asked the surgeon he learned that the removal of FM’s cancer was impossible as it was stuck to the diaphragm. In the human body there are 17 lymphatic vessels, and in the examination cancer cells were found in 15 of them. Also, the operation was carried out in very difficult conditions because of the abnormal accumulation of serous fluid in FM’s abdominal cavity. In short, it was too late. KM asked, “You say it is too late. Now what are you going to do about it?” The doctor answered, “All we can do is to try to prolong her life by cobalt radiation and with anti-cancer medicines. Actually, I have already written the protocol for radiation treatment.” Later when KM looked at FM’s chest he could see the lines drawn with a marker pen there. All he could say to the doctor was, “I do not know if it will

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prolong her life or not, but I beg you to do your best for her.” He asked with a heavy heart how long her life could be extended. “Not more than six months,” was the answer. “Is it possible that she may die even before that?” he asked. “It depends on the individual,” the doctor answered. KM felt desperate and hopeless. On the way back home to the children, who were waiting, he went to a restaurant near the hospital with FM’s mother, who was staying in the hospital to be at her daughter’s side. They discussed what to do. KM had no appetite. He tried to drink some rice wine, but it only gave him a stomachache. He tried to talk with FM’s mother, but tears just kept rolling down his cheeks. He blamed himself for quitting his job as an office clerk and starting his own business, which had made FM so busy. He blamed himself for not being a better husband to his dear wife and he felt sad and miserable. It was like hell to him and he felt that he had been sentenced a capital punishment without a court hearing. Never before had he felt such a shock at another person’s words. For one week he could not sleep. He thought about the funerals and where to have them. His wife was a Christian, and the rest of the family Pure Land Sect Buddhists. He decided to have the funeral in Ganko Temple, because he did not know how earthly remains are treated in a Christian church. He wondered if FM had any insurance; all in all, he thought only about the dark side of things. The youngest child in the family was five years old, and because FM stayed in the hospital, KM had to take her to the kindergarten and back every day. He experienced very concretely life without a wife. He kept on thinking that he would have to continue this way of life for the rest of his days. The business also was not going too well, and he believed it must have been his destiny to be born to such a life of misery. KM’s nephew recommended a fortune teller to him, and he went. While he was waiting for his turn, he saw many people with different kinds of worries, and he found out that he was not the only person who was suffering. That made him feel a lot better, and when he finally got to talk to the fortune teller, he learned something about life and its ways. The fortune teller told him that man lives by his mind, and this made a strong impression on him. He thought, “I am thinking only about FM’s death, but what if I think she will not die? If she died I would be in big trouble!” He understood that if he let things continue as they were his wife would surely die. He decided to do his best to avoid it; anyway, she was not dead yet, and he still had time to find a way to cure her. To change the current of thoughts in this way took him two weeks.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

There is a song that KM will never forget. It is called “A Pig Crossing The Road”: “A car is coming down the road. The pig does not want to die, so it dodges the car.” His youngest daughter had learned it in her kindergarten, and it was so new that FM in the hospital had not yet heard it. KM told his daughter to sing it for her next time they went to visit her. The little girl looked so cute when she sang it with funny little gestures, and seeing her made him decide that FM may not die. It would be too cruel to die and leave a pretty, innocent girl without a mother.

Be informed about cancer Let us take a look at FM’s condition in the hospital. Regardless of KM’s worries, she felt very good. This was because nothing had been removed in the operation. However, when the radiation treatment started, her condition became rapidly worse. Before it she had been able to eat easily without pain, but after three to four days of irradiation she lost her appetite. Her stomach became worse again, giving her severe pain after each meal and making her vomit violently with her whole body. She was rapidly losing her vitality. When KM saw this he thought, “It does not matter, whoever can help, Christian God or Buddha or anyone,” and he went to see a clairvoyant. “Your wife will not die of this sickness,” the clairvoyant said. “That would be most welcome,” KM said, “but how can you be so sure about it?” The clairvoyant answered: “Are you not the kind of person who has never had faith in God or Buddha? Isn’t it very hard for a man like you to come here? All you want is to help your wife and that is the only reason you came to see me, isn’t that right? As long as you have such a loving and caring heart your wife will not die.” These words had a very strong effect on KM. In the hospital FM’s condition was worsening daily. KM visited her every day, and also called her frequently to see if she was strong enough to come to the phone. FM started to observe KM’s facial expressions for some suspicious signs that would indicate that she had cancer. But KM was very careful not to show any negative expressions in front of her. He thought to himself, “If there is a way to cure cancer somewhere in the world, I will borrow money and have FM cured. It is easy to pay back borrowed money; it just needs hard work and that’s it!” Already he was thinking only of how to help FM and how to keep her alive. Around that time, a sister sent him a water ionizer from Nasu hot spring resort with a message that some people had been cured by ionized water. From then on, KM brought the water every day to the hospital, and told FM it would make her healthy faster and enable her to leave the hospital sooner.

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She did not drink it regularly and KM felt very anxious about this, because he saw the water as the only way to make his wife well again. “Why don’t you drink it!?” he scolded FM sometimes. He really wanted her to drink the water, because he had evidence that it could cure cancer, and at least it was not harmful in any way. This was not the only remedy he tried. When he heard that carp extract was beneficial he brought some for FM to drink. She could not drink it all and it made her vomit. KM also prepared garlic in many different ways and gave it to her and bought a very expensive American herb medicine for her, only to hear later that the whole thing was a fraud. During that time KM had no knowledge of the nature of cancer. He had read some articles in weekly magazines, but without much interest. To him, cancer was something like a traffic accident; never had he had the slightest thought that his own wife might also get it. He realized that he did not know anything about cancer. He decided that he must get more information and knowledge about it.

Love is a part of the cure for cancer To KM, Nichidai Hospital was located in a very good place. Near it in the Kanda area were many second-hand bookstores, and he was sure that he could find there a book that would give him the information needed to cure FM. As soon as he entered one shop, the title of my book, Cancer Is Curable, leapt to his eyes. “Cancer Is Curable!” That was all he could see. He told me later, “To tell the truth, I don’t believe my wife could have been saved if that book had never been published.” Cancer Is Curable cost just over a dollar in that shop. KM bought it immediately and read it, but did so very carelessly, because his mind was attached to the title, Cancer Is Curable, and to the testimonials of the people who had actually been cured. He called one of my training centers right away. The person who took the call was Mrs CM, once a patient and now working for me. “I would like to bring my wife there for treatment,” KM said. He was asked if his wife could walk, but at that time FM was not able to walk even to the phone when KM called her at the hospital. In a short time KM had collected a lot of information about different methods and cancer. He had noticed that these methods did not cure the cancer completely, and there were usually just a few people who were presumed cured. Even with the Maruyama vaccine, cures were just hearsay, as far as KM was concerned. But the title of my book, Cancer Is Curable, shook KM; the power of the word “curable” had a great impact on him. He came to my training center on December 21, the day after he found my book in Kanda. He said later that he was surprised to see so many patients with such bright attitudes and outlooks. He did not feel the gloomy mood of a hospital at all.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

Many of those who come to see me come to learn how to cure their sick family members. I cannot remember all of them, and so I do not have any memory of KM’s first visit. He stayed one day and studied my Seitai Shiatsu (finger pressure massage for the whole body) and how to prepare diet drinks. He discussed his wife’s condition and was advised to put her on my special milkshake diet. He paid the fee of $35 and went back to Tokyo the same day. KM decided to have FM leave the hospital and return home. She had started to have doubts about the hospital treatment and she had stayed there longer than any of the other patients in her room. KM had had such thoughts before, too, because FM was not getting any better, but instead her condition was worsening little by little. Her injection wound had started to suppurate and her arms were too thin for injections. Even KM could see with his non-professional eyes that treatment with such results could not be any good. He thought, “If FM is not going to make it anyway, it is better that she should die at home. It is good for the children to be able to be by their mother’s side at the time of her death.” However, that time he did not have a strong conviction, and when the doctor said it was better to leave her in the hospital for all the possible treatments, he agreed. Also, he did not want the relatives to think that he was stingy and uncaring about his wife. But just before he came to see me his mind was made up. He wrote a love letter to FM, something that he had not done in 15 years, and said, “As you are not getting any better in the hospital let’s put our strength together to overcome this situation and start anew.” He gave her instructions not to accept any medication or radiation anymore. He told her that she should do everything to prevent it, even to behave as if she were crazy if necessary. KM was sure he would find a way to have her cured. FM first asked her doctor if she could have a break in the treatment because of the feverish feeling she said she was having. To her surprise, he agreed very easily. After KM returned to Tokyo from Osaka he went directly to see FM’s doctor. He said, “My wife wants to go back home, and I think she is right.” The doctor agreed. He thought it was good for FM to stay home and take care of the children; anyway he had lost all hope in her case already. He said, “Today is an auspicious day, maybe she should leave before noon.” KM did not know about signs and omens, but he got FM out as fast as he could. FM left the Nichidai Hospital on December 3, just two days after KM’s visit to my training center in Osaka. From that day his hardships started. FM got much better back home with her children. KM gave her Cancer Is Curable. FM wanted to know why she should read such a book. “What do you mean?” said KM. If the cancer is curable, a mere ulcer should be piece of cake!” Anyway she could not find a word about ulcers in the book, since it was all about cancer. “So I do have cancer after all, don’t I?”

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“What do you mean?” KM asked again. “If cancer is curable, an ulcer must be too.” This was all he could say. It is quite usual for people who have cancer to be vaguely aware of it. Still, they do not want to believe it before they are told explicitly that it is true. If those around them wish to keep it a secret, it is very easy to do so. FM started receiving my method of treatment the day she left the hospital. That included Seitai Shiatsu twice a day with a bath and one cup of specially prepared powdered milk drink three times a day. KM had studied my method only for a day, so he could not have been very good at it. But he supplemented it strongly with the love and affection he felt for his wife. FM could not take a bath by herself, and even just a shower made her feel ill and very tired. KM called Osaka immediately. Miss RM taught him a way over that problem. She told him to mix ginger juice with hot water, immerse a big towel in it, squeeze the towel dry and wrap it around FM’s chest and abdomen. Another difficulty was the milk: FM could not drink it. Even when she took three hours to drink a single cup she would vomit all of it out. This seemed very bad, and KM called again, asking what he should do. “It does not matter if she throws up. Keep on giving her the milk. She will get used to it and finally will be able to drink it all without any problem.” The person who gave that answer was Miss RM, another person who had once come to my training center as a patient. At the time she first came, her navel was suppurating and her face and whole body were covered with brown spots. She had tumors in her stomach, intestines, uterus and breasts. The tumors can still be found after three years, though they are much smaller now. She is a typical example of someone living together with cancer. I do not want to use her as an example for patients, but it makes it easier for them to gather their own strength when they meet a person who has recovered. That is the reason why I asked her to work for me. She is very well versed in my methods, and her advice is direct and correct. KM took her advice and continued FM’s milk diet, although she could not keep it down. Finally, after the third day, she no longer threw up, and KM felt very happy. He knew of course that the cancer was not yet beaten, but at least one obstacle was gone. He told her, “I will teach you how to prepare the milkshake. From tomorrow you can start making it yourself.” He had been told by Miss RM that it was not advisable to treat a patient as sick. Whenever any questions arose, KM would call Miss RM. He treated her as if she was in charge of FM’s case. “She feels hungry, what should she eat?” “Isn’t eight eggs a day too much?” “She has constipation, what should I do?” Frequent questions like these came from KM for Miss RM to answer. I praised her only once: “Miss RM, it is quite an achievement to be able to cure cancer over the phone!” But yet greater was KM’s achievement. It was the end of

In Search of New Medical Treatments

the year and his office was very busy. But he still continued to give FM Shiatsu twice a day, going to his office in-between the treatments. In my Shiatsu method the stomach is treated last. At first, FM’s stomach was very hard, but it got softer day by day. Also the bad feeling she had up to her throat when her stomach was pressed eased up and stopped in the chest. This, too, KM felt was progress. By January 2, 1984, KM was able to tell FM to take her bath by herself. First she went in only up to her waist. It felt very good, and she said she could feel the blood circulating all over her body. That meant that there was one less obstacle. To a healthy person, letting out gas and belches is quite normal, but when FM was able to do it again, KM felt really glad. Though seemingly insignificant, it meant great progress in her body’s condition and served as an incentive to him. Her physical vigor was also coming back. The day she left the hospital the usually tight panty stockings she wore were wrinkled on her thighs. Seeing that, KM knew for sure that she would die if left in the hands of the hospital. However, after just one week of Shiatsu her thighs became firmer and regained some of their shape. Actually there was nothing that did not become better after the start of Shiatsu and the milk diet. In the middle of January FM’s periods started again and KM called Miss RM. She told him, “That is wonderful! It is a proof that her body’s hormonal balance has been restored. This is a very good sign!” KM was tremendously happy. According to Japanese tradition, he cooked rice with red beans to celebrate the happy event, just as is done when a girl has her first menstruation. He could feel the sweet taste of a victory already half won. By the end of that month FM was able to prepare meals for her children, but she also started eating the food she was cooking. KM got very angry with her: “You may not eat!” But she kept on, because she felt hungry: “Daddy! Daddy! Mommy is eating again! Get angry with her quickly, Daddy!” the daughters would shout if they caught her eating. KM told me later that around that time he had decided to let FM know about her cancer. He did not want her to eat anything before she was strong enough to go to Osaka, except of course the thrice-daily milkshake. He knew there was nothing he could have done if her condition had got worse again. At the beginning of February KM attended a party at a bank he used and for the first time since FM became sick he got drunk. When he returned home he told FM that she had cancer. He did not intend to do it; he wanted to keep the secret until they were in Osaka and let me tell her the truth. However, because FM just kept on eating regardless of what he said, he decided to tell her. That was a right decision; each patient should know the facts concerning him or herself. KM had it in his mind to bring FM to my training center after having her examined by a doctor. He went to see the doctor who had first diagnosed

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her  condition. The doctor’s greeting was, “What have you been doing all this time!” FM’s release from the hospital was made on condition that she visit a doctor daily, and they had not done so even once. KM told the doctor everything. He did not have any expectations, but he had thought that the doctor’s reaction might be something like, “Oh, that sounds like an interesting method!” or, “It really seems to be an effective treatment!” but all he could manage was a plain, cold, “Oh, I see.” “Anyway would you have a look at her, please,” KM asked. “No, I cannot,” the doctor said. “It is because of that method you have tried. It is a matter of trust, of faith, that’s why.” Throughout FM’s sickness, KM had come to see the untrustworthiness of treatments based on modern medical science, but he still had left a certain feeling of respect for doctors. After these words of the doctor, that feeling had completely vanished. He had believed earlier that sick people should seek the aid of a doctor first, but now he decided, “I will never seek the help of the doctors again. If I am rushed to a hospital unconscious by an ambulance, or if my death certificate must be written, I cannot help it. But from now on, my family and I will take care of our health ourselves!” KM felt free from all relations with doctors. He told FM, “We cannot trust the doctors. You have to cure your cancer yourself.” He wanted to get her to Osaka for the treatment as soon as possible. FM had got much better and she was able to do some work, but she had not gone out since she had come home from the hospital. KM urged her to go for a walk whenever the weather was good. However, that winter was really hard and it snowed a lot. FM could not go out as often as KM would have liked and this situation continued until March. KM and FM came to my training center in Osaka on March 16. It was the first time I had examined her and I did not know anything about the hardships the couple had gone through. After completing my examination, I said, “This is a good and soft stomach, better than many of those that are supposed to be healthy.” I was kind of talking to myself, but it made a strong impression on KM. He told me later that those words had made him so happy that he felt like crying. His original plan was to keep FM on a milk diet for 30 days only, and then to bring her to see me, if she was strong enough. But she could not go out often because of the cold weather, and KM was afraid she might catch cold if they came to Osaka. So it turned out that FM had to stay on a milk diet for three months. KM had thought it better to be thorough and it brought very good results. I have to say that I admire his faith. FM stayed in my training center for two weeks. During that time she fasted on water for two days.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

KM said later, “When FM came back from Osaka her foul breath had completely gone, whereas before it was so bad that the whole house was reeking. I remember how the children asked me why their mommy smelt so bad. Now it is gone and her breath is fragrant as that of a young girl; her skin is much better than before and she looks so much younger than before. She has also gained some weight.” That was just about a year ago, and she is living an ordinary life and working. For breakfast and lunch she just drinks powdered milk and she eats something light for dinner. A huge scar from her chest to her lower abdomen is left as a reminder of the useless hospital treatment. Her husband says, “This scar is like the medal of a dying cancer patient who returned alive from hell. I have decided to brace myself up and live right. I ask her every now and then to show me the scar to remind me not to let this kind of trouble occur again!”

Trust in the natural healing of cancer This is the true story of the healing of FM’s cancer. The Kato Method cured her, but I was not the one who gave the treatment: All the credit for that goes to KM, her husband. I believe that anyone can fully understand KM and FM’s story, but I would like to complement it with some of my own opinions. FM was saved by KM’s strong faith: “My wife will not die! Isn’t she alive here right in front of me?!” I believe that he was successful—even though he did not know the principles of my method—because he believed in it with his whole heart. I often say, “Cancer is possible and easy to cure without operations, radiation or poisons. Anyone can do it,” but there are only few who seem to believe it. I think KM, who cured his wife without the help of the doctors, is a great person. His act was, even from the standpoint of modern medical science, proof of my method, and he proved it using his own wife as a guinea pig. For the treatment of cancer, doctors are not to be depended on. I can understand KM’s feelings when he realized this. Somebody once said to me, “If your treatment is that excellent, it should be used in university hospitals.” I have been to all the major hospitals in Osaka and Tokyo, even to the National Cancer Center, but none of the doctors would take my words seriously. One of them even told me, “If you have such confidence why don’t you put up a sign and start up your business next to us?” I have cured cancer patients without operations, though their doctors had told them they would die if not operated on. When I took them to see their doctors, the doctors would not say anything. I just wanted to hear something like,

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“Why was he cured? I want to know about this method,” but never have I heard any such reaction. Doctors are useless. They just cling stubbornly to their textbooks and do not care a scrap about any other remedies, especially Oriental ones. Who do they imagine they are? I would like to know. A few doctors with a right conscience do exist among them, though. There was a case of a 70-year-old man with a brain tumor. He was told in Ryosai Hospital in Sakai city that it must be operated on. He did not like the idea and he came to see me. After completing the treatment he went back to the hospital for another examination. “Incredible, the cancer seems to be gone,” his doctor said. “Would you please come back after a month, just to make certain?” The man did that and the doctor had to admit the fact that he was cured. It is very rare that this kind of fact is so easily admitted by a doctor. Lately, many doctors have recommended me to their patients: “It cannot be cured here, but how about going to Osaka to see Mr Kato?” These doctors are not acquaintances of mine, but they number more than my fingers can count. Still, to find a doctor like this is much harder than trying to find a diamond in a desert. Ordinary doctors are hopelessly ignorant of what cancer is and of how it can be cured. I am very well aware of the fact that there still are many of my readers or listeners who cannot feel safe before they have heard the doctor’s opinion. Just remember, your life may depend on that opinion, so please try to find as good a doctor as possible. Let me tell you a story of a successful doctor who was the head of a public health center. During an operation for gallstones, cancer was found in his liver and in the sigmoid colon (the lower part of his large intestine). It was too late to operate on both of the tumors found, and he came to my training center in February 1984. He stayed the usual 20 days and went back home feeling much better. He returned after about ten months for my re-examination surprised and delighted. In a detailed examination at his hospital, the cancer had been found to have completely disappeared, having healed naturally. I was able to assure him that he was well. I asked him to give me a testimonial, because, being a doctor of high reputation, he would surely be believed. Anyway, he asked me to wait for five years. The reason was that he was an adviser for two hospitals and a former head of a public health center. His salary amounted to a great sum and he felt that he could not advertise my method, which is so much in opposition to modern medical science. Indeed, this was too bad. A sense of righteousness is hard to come by nowadays.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

PART 3: THE QUEST FOR A NEW FORM OF THERAPY The basis of the natural healing of cancer The former chairman of the board of directors of a certain big hospital attached to a university said: There is no specific medicine for cancer, and there is no possibility that any such drug will be discovered in the near future, either. Even if it were found, what would be its fate? Doctors would prevent official publication of it and hush it up entirely. There would be no way that patients could benefit from it. This is because cancer is the biggest source of income for hospitals. Just one month in a hospital costs about $15,000, with extremely expensive operations and different kinds of medical treatments padding out the bill. Nowadays, the burden is not directly on the patients’ shoulders, as most of the costs are being paid through health insurance. Further, cancer is generally believed to be incurable and nobody can complain even if the patient dies during treatment. For doctors, there is no other illness that translates so easily or so copiously into hard cash as cancer does. There is no possibility of discovering a medicine for cancer, and even if there was, it would be kept secret.

When I heard that, I realized that doctors are no good, and it is worthless to rely on them. Doctors! Stop cutting and burning as you please. Stop killing your patients! I have tried everything in my power to stop these practices. Once I even went to Tokyo to meet a friend of one of my patients. The friend was a section chief in the Metropolitan Police Board. “Modern cancer treatment is killing people,” I said. “Though it is legal, it is still murdering patients and I want to sue the Japanese Medical Association for it. I want to have them prosecuted. Is there anything I can do?” “There is nothing you can do alone,” the police chief said. “The Medical Association cannot be touched, not by even the police or politicians. They are very privileged people.” “Well, what can I do?” “It is gaining power because its foundations are so strong. If your patients would try banding together and start moving slowly and steadily as a single body, maybe something could be done. They would then gain strength in society and have political power.” “I cannot wait so long,” I said. “There are people being killed every day.” “But for now there is just nothing you can do,” he said, and that was as far as I could go.

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I felt rather disappointed and decided to camp by Tsukiji National Cancer Center and start a hunger strike in order to draw public attention to the matter. When I spoke about my plans, ten former patients of mine were willing to go with me. Finally, though, my family and those around me were strongly opposed to it and I had to give up the idea.

The intramedullary hematopoietic theory: a strange idea Cancer is curable without operation by natural treatment. My method is unquestionably opposed to modern medical science. I am not alone, though; my method is based on a matchless theory. There is an old saying that our food becomes our flesh and blood. Everybody knows it but medical science denies it. One great scholar who scientifically revealed the truth of these words was Dr. Kikuo Chishima, former Professor of Biology at Gifu University. According to his theory, digested food particles are absorbed in intestinal villi, particularly in the smaller villi, enter the blood vessels and become red blood corpuscles. These red blood corpuscles then differentiate to become leukocytes, lymphocytes and all the other cells and tissues of the body. Dr. Kikuo Chishima advised that to maintain health, to prevent sickness and to slow aging, the ingredients and the amount of food must be considered carefully. Bad food becomes bad blood, and this dirty blood does not circulate well enough, resulting in “stagnation” and decomposition, and eventually causing the red blood corpuscles to become diseased and cancerous cells. However, Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s intestinal hematopoietic theory was ignored by academic circles because of the ready-made and established intramedullary hematopoietic theory. The intramedullary hematopoietic theory was established by three American hematologists, Doan, Cunningham and Sabin. In 1925, they published their findings that after chickens and pigeons had been starved for nine to ten days, or after they had had excessive bleeding, their bone marrow turned red and numerous red blood corpuscles were seen there. They then recklessly applied this fact, observed only under ill-fed conditions in birds, to animals and men in a healthy and well-fed condition, producing the theory that red blood corpuscles are always produced in the bone marrow of the long bones. The measurement of the lifespan of the red blood corpuscles is also questionable. In man, it is said to be about 115 days, but this is unlikely to be correct. The lifespan is measured by tracing radioisotope-labeled cells given in a blood transfusion until they disappear. However, this cannot give the correct

In Search of New Medical Treatments

results. Such a cell is abnormal in nature and may well trigger rejection reactions by the body. It is also possible that it is stopped by the liver or spleen, and it may not flow smoothly in the blood vessels. Then again, it may have some kind of influence on normal red blood corpuscles. And even if radioisotope-labeled cells can pass for normal, it is too hasty to say that, if it cannot be traced in the body, it must be dead; it cannot be verified that it has perished. In other words, it may have differentiated to another type cell, as Dr. Kikuo Chishima suggested. In that case, it may well still be alive in the structure of the body. There is a lot of uncertainty even in the very fundamental understanding of blood. If something is “proved” by science, we tend to believe it, swallowing it hook, line and sinker. But if a closer look is taken at how it was proved, questions can often arise. According to the textbooks, a human red blood corpuscle is shaped rather like a donut without a hole in the middle, 7.5–8.5 microns in diameter. This is when it is carried along in the blood vessels. However, when it enters tissues or is released from the body by bleeding, it changes to a spherical shape. Everything changes according to time and place. When something is observed only under certain conditions and at a fixed time the results cannot be said to be incontrovertible or applicable to any situation. After making a study of various books on hematology, Dr. Kikuo Chishima could not understand why the body should do such an unreasonable thing as to prepare blood in the bone marrow; and the more he read, the more confusing the books became. In general terms, all the books propounded the same ideas, but in examination of the details, it was impossible to see who was right and who wrong: the opinions were completely different. No matter how hard he tried, he remained at a loss. “So it must be that the general idea is wrong!” Dr. Kikuo Chishima concluded. He conducted different kinds of experiments on chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats and frogs, comparing the results of the tests done on well-nourished and starved animals. The results confirmed that digested food substances stick in the intestinal villi, are absorbed by the mucous membrane and are changed in form by this process, eventually maturing into red blood corpuscles. The roots of plants absorb the water and nutrition from the ground and make the plant grow. If the roots die, the whole plant dies. In case of animals and men, the “roots” are the intestinal villi. Invertebrate creatures do not have bone marrow, and their blood is formed in the digestive organs. Dr. Kikuo Chishima discovered that the blood of men

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and vertebrate animals is produced in the embryonic stage first in the yolk sac villi, then in the placental villi and after birth in the intestinal villi. These are all attached only to organs of the digestive system. In locations such as the bone marrow of the long bones, which are far removed from the digestive organs and have no villi, no blood can be produced. The intramedullary hematopoietic theory is one of the basic doctrines of modern medical science. It is believed and accepted without criticism. This is because the bone marrow contains all kinds of cells and because the bloodproducing function is observed under starvation or undernourished conditions. The so-called blood-producing function of the bone marrow is not what it is thought to be. In a normal, healthy condition, the bone marrow is full of fatty tissues, and most certainly cannot produce blood. But common sense dictates that in a healthy condition, more and more blood must be produced. In a state of starvation, the intestinal villi cannot make enough blood and so some cells revert to red blood corpuscles. The so-called extra-medullary hematopoietic theory is also thus explained. Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s intestinal hematopoietic theory explains the primary blood-producing function of the human body. The intramedullary and extramedullary theories describe secondary functions for starved conditions. Through his diligent efforts, Dr. Kikuo Chishima was able to solve some mysteries of the blood. Let us sum up his findings here. • The digested food substances become red blood corpuscles. • Red blood corpuscles are produced in the intestines. • The blood vessels do not have closed ends. • The red blood corpuscles can leave the system freely, not only in cases of inflammation or sickness. • The ends of the capillaries are open. The red blood corpuscles can flow out freely into the interstitial spaces of the tissues. • In healthy and normal conditions all red blood corpuscles differentiate into all of the various types of cells required. • When the body’s health fails, the red blood corpuscles differentiate to form diseased and cancerous cells. • During fasting, reduced diet, and after excessive bleeding or sickness, tissue cells revert to red blood corpuscles. • In the case of an injury, regeneration and wound healing occur because of the differentiation of the red blood corpuscles into tissue cells.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

To summarize briefly, our food becomes our flesh and blood. Modern medical science sees the red blood corpuscles as cells without nuclei that are just a step away from dying. Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s theory indicates that this is not so; it indicates that the red blood corpuscles differentiate to any kind of somatic or germ  cells, and thus have a long lifespan as well as a very important function in the structure of the body. Red blood corpuscles in animals below the birds have their own nuclei. Only mammalian red blood corpuscles have not.

A doctor who decided to give up his medical license If Dr. Kikuo Chishima’s theory and my method are recognized, it will cause a worldwide revolution in medical science, pharmacology and dietetics. Medical and biological textbooks will have to be rewritten from page one on. No matter how hard I try to convince doctors, they will not understand, and the fact is that they will not even try. The reason is plain to see: Western medical science has piled up enormous volumes of data, all of which was beaten into their heads by their professors. If everything they studied were to be proven mistaken, all that suffering and hardship would have been in vain. If they were to deny modern medical science, they would be denying their whole life. The instinct of self-defense prevents them from believing facts presented before their very eyes. There are of course some doctors who have a kind of passive belief in my method, but none of those doctors who have seen the astonishing effects of this method have put it to active use in their hospitals. Some are ready to give their support and help, but none of them really wants to practice it. As I said, their heads are packed full of Western medical data. They just cannot change their minds that quickly. Some doctors think my method is just a one-man medicine show. I have not heard a single one of them saying, “The treatment I have been giving is wrong. I  will throw away my medical license, and from now on start practicing the Kato Method!” But no! There was actually one case three years ago. For the honor of the medical profession, let me tell you about him. He was a doctor in a small town in Kyushu. He came to my training center after he fell ill, partly to study and partly to get well again. He was not an ordinary cancer patient, but if closely examined, I am sure cancer would have been found. His stomach was swollen and I could see that there was a big possibility of cancer. This doctor stayed in my training center for about a week and left saying: “I will return my medical license when I get back to Kyushu. The treatment I have been giving has not helped my patients, it has been wrong. I am sure Dr. Kikuo

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Chishima’s theory and your method is correct. I will just settle things in my hospital and come back to Osaka. Though I am quite old, I will start anew. Mr Kato, please take me as your student.” As he said this, the elderly doctor was in tears and holding my hand. I answered him: “There is no reason to throw away the license, it is very useful. You do not have to be my student. Let us work together and spread this method.” I was deeply moved by his words. I looked forward to his return, but after half a year I heard from his wife that he was dead. He had lost his appetite soon after he returned to Kyushu, and seemed to be lost in his thoughts. I consoled her for this tragic occurrence, but I could not help thinking that he had committed a “natural suicide.” I still believe that this is what happened.

Man does not die of cancer The elderly doctor died naturally. The easiest way for a human being to die is by fasting. We feel hungry just because there is a will to stay alive. If it is replaced with the will to die, we will lose our appetite, weaken and die as peacefully as going to sleep. Every man must die once. Death is the great equalizer, and nobody stays here forever. I am presently 71 years old and very healthy for my age. I, too, have to die one day and that will most likely happen sooner than for those who are 50 years old now. If I could predict my death, I would stop eating and die peacefully without suffering. I am not recommending any particular way to die, but when we deal with cancer and other diseases, we also have to take death into consideration. Euthanasia is discussed openly nowadays, and I would like to say something about these matters also. Cancer. The reasons why it is so feared are that it is generally regarded as fatal and much pain is associated with it. However, these ideas are not facts. I have already talked about the former, so allow me to discuss the latter. Cancer is hard to find because of the lack of subjective symptoms. The patient does not feel pain and there are no reasons for him to believe he is sick. Why then is it so painful in the end? It is because the whole body is forced to suffer irradiation and anti-cancer medicine treatment. Not only the cancerous cells, but also the normal cells are giving rise to pain. There are some exceptions, but the above is certainly true in most cases. I have had phone calls from family members of the deceased, who have passed away peacefully and without pain. They thanked me for my method, which made it possible. Many of those who are cured do not call even once after they leave,

In Search of New Medical Treatments

but the gratitude of those whose loved ones have passed away convinces me that I was right to devote my whole life to cancer treatment. Even when it is too late to save the patient, my method can ease the pain and thus help a body tortured by radiation and medicines. My method is completely natural and puts no strain on the body. From that point of view, my method is good for dying, too, though I am against those places where hopeless cases are given the opportunity to die peacefully. The people who run these places do not believe that cancer is curable. They give up and try to give patients as easy a death as possible. This is basically wrong. Doctors cause a great deal of suffering to their patients and shorten their lives with mistaken treatments and then leave them to “die peacefully.” What kind of peaceful death is this? My method is a natural and non-violent one. I always do my best to cheer up patients with positive words like, “You will get better for sure.” No matter how bad a patient’s condition is, it is essentially important to give him hope. Everybody knows that we must die once, maybe tomorrow, but we are still able to live at ease. Man does not die of cancer. Man dies because it is his time to die. This is my philosophy, and I am strongly opposed to destroying people’s hopes and scaring their families.

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CLOSING REMARKS Eight years ago, in 1977, Dr. Kazuhiko Nishiura, former chairman of the Medical Association of Nara Prefecture and presently a director of the Nishiura Hospital, visited me in Osaka, and advised me, “Mr Kato, your method is becoming troublesome to the Medical Association. I think you should have a chart made that shows the treatments given, together with a photograph of each patient and an indication of his afflicted organs. It would be enough to have just ten of those to help you in case the Medical Association tries to give you problems.” He gave me this advice because we were friends. My method is natural and does not violate medical laws; I do not use medicines. In those days I did not yet have any training centers. Seriously ill patients stayed in nearby hotels, while those that were not so ill just came daily to receive Shiatsu massage. Some of them had only stiff shoulders or lumbago, but these common symptoms are not to be taken lightly. According to Oriental medical science, these symptoms are considered to be just one step ahead of cancer. People with possible or diagnosed cancer also received daily Shiatsu. Among those people were Miss MI and Mrs IS, who were introduced in the books Cancer Is Curable and Cancer Is Curable Part 2 (published by Shufu No Tomo). Following Dr. Nishiura’s advice, I had the charts made. Now, after eight years, there are more than 20,000 charts in my files, which means that I have diagnosed over 20,000 people in those eight years! The chart with the picture of the baby from Izumisano town with a swollen stomach whom I introduced in Cancer Is Curable is in my files, too. I wonder what would have happened if that child had been operated on as the doctor in Midoribashi Municipal Children’s Hospital wanted. It is too terrible even to think about. Even little children get cancer. Let me give you some examples of this. One is a girl in the third year of elementary school, who had three operations on her internal organs and on both lungs. In addition, she was given anti-cancer medicines, which caused her to lose her hair. The poor girl looked like a boy when she was brought to me. She was promoted to the third class in her school, though she had not been there for two years. Her arms and legs were just skin and bones; it was really a pitiful sight to see such a small, young body so ruined by three major operations. Even more horrible was the case of an 18-month-old baby who had four liver operations in Kyudai Hospital. The infant had jaundice, and ascites had swollen her stomach. Her heart was beating as if after hard exercise, making her chest vibrate visibly.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

After torturous treatments like that, even I could not tell for sure if it was possible to cure her. With a desperate hope to help this poor baby I gave her Shiatsu. I taught her parents the fundamental principles and techniques of my method. I could do no more than hope that their love and affection would help the natural healing of the child, just as had happened in FM’s case. I really wonder why doctors operate and prescribe anti-cancer medicines when those methods do not help at all. Even if left untreated, these patients would not have deteriorated so much. Modern medical science and modern treatments are sadly wrong. Once I thought that the Ministry of Health and Welfare could correct this great mistake of modern medical science, but I soon found out that they know nothing about the real nature of modern cancer treatments, and do not even want to know. For example, if Shiatsu therapy were under the national health insurance system, all the Shiatsu centers would be full of patients; everybody knows how good Shiatsu is for the body. The Ministry of Health and Welfare does not do anything to correct this situation. If they did, the hospitals would soon find themselves in big trouble, and the Japanese Medical Association, which is closely related to the Ministry, would soon pass the trouble back to it. It also occurred to me that if the Ministry cannot do anything, how about the Ministry of Education? Fifth-graders in an elementary school are not too young to learn my Shiatsu method. It would be wonderful if children could help to cure their parents’ cancer by methods taught at school. However, that seemed impossible, and I do not think the Ministry of Education would have listened. Education in the schools nowadays stresses only knowledge, not how to live healthily. When we take a look at the present condition of modern medicine and the bureaucracy, we can easily see that doctors and public officials think only of their own positions and their own profit, and have little, if any, concern for the good of the nation. To think of the loss of humanity and morality in present-day Japan makes me feel so ashamed to be Japanese that I wish I could throw away my nationality. When I was thinking along these lines, I was asked to go to Hawaii to promote my method. I went for the first time in June 1983. It is the only time that I have been  there, but I have already lost my heart to those islands of the rainbow. I experienced the magic of the everlasting summer in Indonesia, where I stayed three years during the war and I really like the sun and warm weather. But Hawaii’s balmy winds and ever-ripe fruit made me feel at ease and wiped away my daily worries. The island of Oahu with its capital, Honolulu, was very beautiful, but I was charmed by Hawaii, the island of the volcano Kilauea. The population is only

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90,000 and the whole island has only two traffic lights. Sixty percent of the people are of Japanese origin and I was able to communicate in Japanese. All in all, life there was very carefree and relaxing. Anyway, I did not go there for a vacation. I was invited by Shufu No Tomo magazine in order to teach my method in the U.S. I gave lectures in various places and examined people, giving on-the-spot guidance and advice. A woman came to me there and said, “Mr Kato, if you want to have your training center in Hawaii I am willing to offer my home for that purpose. Please, come to Hawaii! People from all over the world come here.” It was all quite sudden, but I went to see the place she spoke about. It was a classical English-style building; small, but very beautiful, with a pool. From the Japanese point of view it was almost a mansion! The husband of this woman had died of cancer. He was treated by the best doctors in the best hospital in Hawaii, but he died within three months. The cost of the treatment was $200,000. She was going to donate her property to Honolulu city, and had had the required assessment made, in which the value was estimated at $1,700,000. But she said that if I came to Hawaii to cure cancer, she would donate the property to me instead, as a kind of service to her dead husband. She was of Japanese origin, but seemed to have an American spirit. I have cured leaders of the financial world, but never have I been offered a donation that big! If I had, the management of my training centers would have been quite a lot easier! This was in Oahu, but the second invitation came from Hawaii Island. I would like to leave Japan and take up permanent residence in Hawaii. There I will start a center for the natural healing of cancer. Starting with Americans, I will cure people from all over the world. I will make Hawaii a place for curing cancer patients of the world. I am already over 70 but I really would love to see this dream come true. I had a patient once who had visited the Philippine faith healers nine times, spending over $30,000 and not getting any better. I asked him, “Why did you go and waste your money, when they could not even cure you?” He answered, “In Japanese hospitals they cannot cure anyway. When I heard that it is possible in the Philippines, all I could do was to go and give it a try.” I understood his point very well. Even if I go to Hawaii, those who believe in my method will come there for treatment anyway. This is why I think again and again of the offers I was made over there. I discussed this with the great religionist and philosopher Dr. Katsumi Tokuhisa, the former chairman of the board of Seicho-No-le. “Mr. Kato, you should go for it and do your best. There are lots of Seicho-No-le members in

In Search of New Medical Treatments

Hawaii, and I will help what little I can. The Japanese Medical Association and the doctors’ association are in ruins. Spread this method in America, and then bring it back to Japan from there. The Japanese have always been attracted by imported things, and in that way the Japanese people may be helped faster,” he said encouragingly. Apart from being one of the leaders of Seicho-No-le, Dr. Tokuhisa also has a degree in medicine. He shares my opinion that modern medical science is corrupted and that the doctors cannot help patients anymore. This he says with great dignity even in front of the thousands of people who come to hear his lectures. When I met him, I was moved deeply, and I knew that here was a man who stands behind his opinions. Some years ago, the U.S. government budgeted a great amount of money for a team of top-class specialists to tackle cancer and uproot it for good. This ended in a well-known failure. This was because the specialists did not consider peaceful coexistence with cancer at all. They applied modern international politics and strategies to cancer. If mankind wants to continue its existence on this planet, a philosophy of coexistence must be applied. The green earth and the ever-abundant blue ocean are not creations of man. All man does is to draw borders as he pleases, claiming territories as his own, and fighting wars and killing for them. If this goes on, the human race will surely perish soon. To prevent such a disaster, men must learn to live together in peaceful coexistence with each other; even with cancer, too. The philosophy of peaceful coexistence in mutual prosperity is the only possibility we have, as I see it.

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HOW TO OBTAIN KATO THERAPY Inquiries and consultations Anybody with cancer, or with a cancer patient in their family, can contact my training centers. Consultations can be conducted by telephone or by letter, as well. The telephone reception is open from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm Japanese time; Sundays and Thursdays are rest days. In letters it is very important to write the patient’s age, sex, family members, the stage of the disease, treatments received, the patient’s exact present condition, the inquirer’s phone number and the name of the person to ask for on the phone. My method does not finish merely in the 20 days usually spent in a training center. The patient must continue the milk diet and receive daily Shiatsu. This makes the cooperation of the family members most important. If the patient cannot drink or walk, has renal failure or is on artificial dialysis, he cannot be admitted. Much as I understand the family’s concern, I must state clearly what we can do and what we cannot.

The training The training in my training center takes from 18 to 20 days. The aim is to have the patient and his family members learn the method during that time. Each room has four patients, and they are asked to encourage each other and do their routine work, such as laundry, cleaning, bathing, milk preparation, etc., by themselves. When the Shiatsu is over, the rest of the time is free. During this time it is recommended to go for walks to nearby parks, or to go shopping, etc., instead of sitting indoors. Family members should clearly understand that whatever the patient’s condition is, he or she will be informed of it exactly. Reservations are needed for examinations, so please make them in advance by telephone.

In Search of New Medical Treatments

TRANSLATORS’ NOTE The Kato Method treats cancer mainly by a combination of Seitai Shiatsu (pressure massage) and special reduced diets. It is based on the innovative theory of the well-known biologist Dr. Kikuo Chishima (1899–1978), which states that cancer cells are formed from blood cells. According to Dr. Kikuo Chishima, digested food becomes red blood corpuscles, and red blood corpuscles differentiate to all kinds of cells. In sickness, or during fasting, the cells revert to red blood corpuscles. This is true in everyday circumstances. But when food is poor in nutrition, after overeating, or when the whole body is sickly, the red blood corpuscles become unhealthy or cancerous cells. Even according to Hippocrates, the “founder of modern medicine,” our food becomes our blood. This is stated also in the McGovern report (written under the leadership of senator George McGovern of the U.S.), which showed that geriatric diseases and cancer are the result of prolonged unnatural eating habits.1 The Chishima theory, that cancer comes from blood cells and blood cells from food, is ignored by modern medical science. However, his revolutionary hematopoietic theories deserve serious study in research laboratories. The Kato Method of therapy stresses the importance of blood quality and circulation, and overcomes cancer by doing so. It improves the general blood circulation by Seitai Shiatsu, concentrating especially on the stomach, since the digestive organs are responsible for producing new blood. Fasting is the most effective form of therapy. But in cases where patients are very weak, it cannot be applied. By giving the essential nutrition for blood production, the cancer is made to decrease in size. Through fasting or semi-fasting, the production of new blood cells lessens and the tissue cells—first from the sick and cancerous ones—revert to red blood corpuscles, thus ridding the body of unwanted and unnecessary material. The Kato Method does not consider cancer as an enemy, as modern medical science does. It is a gentle and natural method, and leaves open even the possibility of a healthy coexistence with cancer. The Kato Method was created in Japan, bringing its blessings to Japanese cancer patients. But in order to help the people of the world, the door must be opened so as to spread this method as far and wide as possible.

1 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3910043

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Now it seems that the time for this is at hand. The first step is to find a new foothold in Hawaii, to act as a base for spreading the Kato Method to other countries as well. Our heartfelt wish is that this will be accomplished as soon as possible. Kauko Uusoksa Kayo Sakurai-Uusoksa

CHAPTER NINE

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Epigenetics www.whatisepigenetics.com/fundamentals www.brucelipton.com/books/biology-of-belief www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392256

Chinese medicine theory www.novoherb.com/education/fundamental-substances www.slideshare.net/sixabot/the-web-that-has-no-weaver-free-96327280 http://maciociaonline.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-clinical-use-of-back-shu-points.html www.fareastsummit.com/market/AGING-BLOOD-STASIS-A-New-TCM-Approach-toGeriatrics_moreinfo.html www.acupuncture.com/education/points/urinarybladder/ub_index.htm www.acupuncture-meridian.com/urinary-bladder-meridian

Lymph system and healthy lipids https://quizlet.com/217060114/lymphatic-system-diagram https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisterna_chyli www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/thoracic-duct www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-super-healthy-high-fat-foods www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/dietary-guidelines-and-myplate/choose-healthy-fats www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-healthy-fats https://elsonhaasmd.com/products/staying-healthy-with-the-seasons http://susansalvo.wixsite.com/susansalvo

Home devices to assist with lymph movement https://bestreviews.com/best-zero-gravity-chairs www.yogamatters.com/feetup-headstand-yoga-stool-classic.html 169

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www.real-ease.com www.biomat.com/products/professional-biomat http://gettinghealthier.com/slant-board-overall-health

Viruses www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180118142558.htm https://phys.org/news/2018-01-viruses-space.html

Other forms of Shiatsu www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Shiatsu-Therapy-Fingertips/dp/087040461X www.ohashi.com www.aobta.org

Dr. Kikuo Chishima www.aipro.info/drive/File/Revolution%20of%20biology%20and%20medicine.%20Kikuo%20 Chishima%201.pdf

Music to support healing www.mettamindfulnessmusic.com

CHAPTER TEN

FINAL THOUGHTS Our bodies are our gardens—our wills are our gardeners. William Shakespeare from The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Maintaining good health does not occur by accident. Certainly, some people are blessed with certain advantages (e.g. inherited genes, living standards, living environment, love, beliefs) that contribute to good health. Often, these advantages are squandered by lifestyle choices and global societal stresses. We live in unprecedented times of health challenges, many of these of our own creation. Human beings are endowed with remarkable abilities to adapt and survive. In East Asian medical traditions, we are taught to “support the normal,” to seek to understand what helps us to be and to stay healthy. As amazing as modern scientific medicine has become, I believe much of it is misguided. There is no way that societies can afford to provide high-tech interventions and expensive pharmaceutical treatments to all their citizens. In many instances, the treatments are needed because of people squandering their health. As an example, consider Type 2 diabetes (metabolic disorder). The incidence of this in Western societies is reaching epidemic proportions. It is a self-inflicted disorder. Drug companies are rushing to invent and sell medications to treat it. Food companies keep producing and marketing foods that contribute to the disorder. It is becoming an endless cycle of insanity. Each individual must exert their will to support their health. We cannot depend on the government, medical professionals, food companies or pharmaceutical companies to keep us healthy. One division of a corporation wants to sell you something that will make you need something from another division to counteract the damaging effects of the first product. There are so many layers of deception. Consider what we call health insurance in the U.S. Health insurance is not about health but how to pay for and divide up the riches caused by illness. Only recently have insurance companies embraced the possibility of encouraging preventative care. Health insurance companies keep limiting what they cover while enhancing their own profitability. This certainly is a tendency in the wrong direction. 171

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(An important caveat in strong support of modern Western medicine must be given to emergency medicine. In this realm, modern medicine is outstanding and far outperforms all other approaches. It is worth noting that even in emergency situations, when complementary healing is combined with modern medicine, the outcomes are often enhanced. Research in the field of complementary medicine is expanding.1) Ultimately, each individual must take an active role in his or her health. Purposeful behaviors and attitudes must be directed to supporting health. Likewise, known behavioral causes of illness and suffering must be limited if not totally eliminated. Health-enhancing activities (i.e. diet, exercise, gardening, time in nature, meditation, stress reduction, sleep) must be embraced and practiced. Certainly, disease can be highly motivating to help us seek to change behaviors, but practicing prevention is a much wiser choice. Nothing comforts an individual more than the educated, informed and intentional touch provided by one human being to another human being. Even uneducated touch can provide remarkable benefit, especially when it is delivered from a place of loving kindness and compassion. Touch-based healing modalities can treat disease, but this is not the highest application of healing touch. The highest application, intention and focus are best placed on supporting health and preventing disease and suffering. All the techniques introduced in this book are easy to learn and apply. Certainly, with time, practice and further education in the science of health, higher levels of skill and competency can be achieved. The only way to achieve increased skill and competency is by taking action and practicing with an open heart and mind. I hope that my words and efforts encourage the reader to take action.

A journey of 10,000 li begins with the first step. Ancient Chinese saying

1 See: nccih.nih.gov, https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/journal-of-alternative-andcomplementary-medicine-the/26/overview and www.acupunctureresearch.org

Index

abdominal gas and bloating 92 abdominal organs Shiatsu for 87–94 as tree roots 27 abdominal palpation 87–94 press and spread 90 temperature difference 88 abdominal region cupping 125 abdominal therapy (ampuku) primacy of 27–31 Achilles tendon pinching technique 75 stretch 45 acu-points back Shu points 58 GV 20 49, 104 Yin Tang 47, 49, 50, 102, 105 adenoids 20 adhesions role of omentum in 28 ala-nasal region 48, 103 ampuku therapy 87–94 angiogenic factors in omentum 28 ankle rotation 45 anterior lumbar stretch 96 anti-inflammatory effects castor oil packs 30 anti-pathogenic factors 11 antibiotics 19 aortic pulse 87 arm extension 108, 110 arm massage biceps and deltoid muscles 62 triceps muscles 60 arm pull 67 arm rotations shoulder joint 59

arm shaking 66 ascending colon 92 ascites 162 as protective strategy 140 Association for the Global Promotion of Natural Healing of Cancer 131 autoimmune disorders leaky gut role in 29 axillary area 60 palm rubbing 61 axon regeneration 28 baby milk formula 128, 153 promotion of cell/tissue formation by 129 back and neck chopping action 110 circular friction 84 holding technique 86 palm friction 85 pau-ing technique 111 percussion technique 111 press and spread technique 83 prone position 79–86 back Shu points 58 Barolet, Dr. Randall 17 biceps femoris muscle 70 biceps muscles 62 bio-energies, innate 11 blood and lymph circulation invigorating 32 blood formation 157 in bone marrow 156 origin in digestive transformation 24 role of digestion in 167 similarity to lipid absorption 26 in small intestinal villi 26 TCM theory of 23–6 blood stagnation cupping for 121

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blood-lymph relationship 21 blood-thinning medications cautions for cupping 121 Gua Sha cautions 119 bone marrow blood-producing function 158 as site of blood formation 156 brain of the gut 28 breast cancer 22 breastfeeding 129 breathing deep 93 lymphatic movement through 21 bridge pose 95–8 brushing technique 111 Butt, Dr. C.K. 17 calf region full hand friction 74 calming intent 85 cancer Chishima theories of red blood formation and 129 death without pain from 160 disappearance in doctor 154 epigenetics role in 22 found in group health screening 135–7 infant case history 162–5 keeping secret 150 as life maintenance strategy 139–40 living with 165 in lymphatic vessels 135 as medical income producer 155 misunderstanding of 134 natural treatment in Japan 12 need to inform oneself 147–8 as non-cause of death 160 ovarian and uterine 141 as polygenic multifactorial disease 13 as result of unnatural lifestyle 140 staging 144–5 surgeries for 135 as symptom of senility 140–2 terminal 17 treating with fasting and Shiatsu 131 cancer cure 133 availability to all 143 basis for natural 155–6 medical distrust of 152 natural methods 134 role of love in 148–53 trust in natural 153–4 Cancer Is Curable 131, 148, 162 Cancer Is Curable Part 2 162

cancer treatment Kato’s criticism of 127 legal and regulatory issues 12 cardiac failure cupping cautions 121 cardiovascular system Western understanding 22 castor oil poultices 29–30 catastrophic illnesses 12 shiatsu and diet for 9 cell differentiation 158 cell regeneration 158 Center for Restoration of Health 12 see also Kenko Saisei Kaikan chemotherapy 163 case history 145 impossibility of cancer cure by 133 chest region cupping 125 Chinese Academy of Sciences 9 Chinese medicine theory 169 Chishima, Dr. Kikuo 26, 129, 130, 156, 157, 167 application to cancer therapy 159 doctor’s validation of 159–60 resources 170 stem cell theory and 130 chopping technique back region 110 chyle 26 chyle cisterna 25, 26 circular friction back region 84 circulatory system unity with lymphatic system 22 coining 116 colitis 29 colon palpation 92 complementary medicine 172 Complete Writings of Jing-Yue 25 contraindications cupping 121–2 Gua Sha 119 convulsions cupping cautions 121 cramping cupping cautions 121 cross-fiber technique in Gua Sha 116 crypts 26 cupping 9, 14, 31, 120–1 after care recommendations 126 chest and abdominal region 125 contraindications 121–2 discoloration from 123, 124

Index

duration of treatment 122 fire-cupping 120 hand-held pumps 120–1 as home remedy 121 indications 121 for lung congestion 121, 125 media attention 120 for menstrual cramps 125 pregnancy cautions 121 silicone cups technique 122–4 sliding cups technique 124–5 suction seal 122 Dan-an, Cheng 9 de Vedia, Ana 16 deep breathing 93 deltoid muscle 62 depth of touch 32 descending colon 92 diaphragm role in lymphatic movement 21 diet after cupping 126 at Kato treatment centers 129 post-Gua Sha recommendations 119 role in cancer genesis 13 role in serious illness 167 dietary therapy for catastrophic illness 12 digestive fire 88 digestive system weak 128 direct compression gluteal region 68 neck region 57 direct thumb pressure 34 discoloration versus bruising 118 from cupping 122, 123 in Gua Sha treatment 115, 116, 118, 119 disease prevention 11 distal 32 double-blinded research model 24 ear hold 54 ear massage 52, 106 early diagnosis 139 eczema cupping cautions 121 Gua Sha contraindications 119 edema fluids absorption by omentum 28 after cupping 121

cautions for cupping 121 determining presence of 122 elbow hold 109 elimination system weak 128 emergency medicine 172 Emerson, Ralph Waldo 11 emotional fragility 128 and genesis of illness 139 emotional processing 12 cupping for 125 Japanese issues 129 empiricism in TCM thought 23 energetic paradigm in TCM 23 enteritis 29 enterochromaffin cells 28 environment role in cancer genesis 13, 22 epigenetics 22 resources 169 esophageal cancer case history 143–54 euthanasia 160 exercise epigenetics and 22 role in lymphatic movement 21 external auricle massage 52, 106 eye hold 54, 108 eye massage 48 eye orbits 102 eyelid massage 103 family members teaching Shiatsu to 149 fasting 128, 152 in cancer treatment 131 death by 160 fat storage in omentum 28 fatty acids role of lymphatic system in 20 Western perspective 25 fevers cupping cautions 121 fibrosis prevention in omentum 28 fighter cells 19 finger interlocking 65 client seated 109 fingers massage, pull, snap techniques 65

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fire-cupping therapy 120 cautions 120 fluid stagnation modalities relieving 31 food transformation to flesh/blood 146, 159 foot rotation 76 forehead and scalp pau-ing technique 51, 106 rubbing 107 forehead rub 53 Fukae, Dr. Yuro 140 full hand friction 34 medial thigh area 93 posterior lower legs 74 posterior thigh 73 ribcage area 61 shoulder region 81 Fuzz 31 gaijin (foreigner) 15 Gan Shizen Chiyu Sekai Fukyukai 131 Gandhi, Mahatma 11 gas, passing 92 gastrocnemius compression 43 gluteal crease 70 sawing technique 71 gluteal region direct compression 68 massaging and kneading 67 Gold, Richard 9 as PCOM founder 9 grasping and squeezing neck region 57 posterior lower leg 75 Green Magma 16 group therapy 12 Gua Sha 9, 14, 31, 114–5 after-treatment care 119 cautions in pregnancy 119 contraindications 119 cross-fiber technique 116 diagnostics 115–6 dietary recommendations 119 discoloration in 116 duration of treatment 116 as folk-healing technique 115 goal of 115 hydration recommendations 119 international equivalents 115 lubrication for 116 pain relief with 115 pressure 116

skin blanching from 116 tools 116, 117 treatment process 116–8 Gua Sha: A Traditional Technique for Modern Practice 119 GV 20 104 thumb pressing 49 Hagiwara, Dr. Yoshide 16 hair pulling 52, 107 hamstrings full hand friction 73 hand rotation knee area 42 hand techniques pounding/pulsation 46 in Seitai Shiatsu 33–6 hand-heart connection 9–10 happiness need to consider in medicine 141 Hara 27 Hawaii Dr. Kato’s dreams of 130 dreams of clinic in 163–4, 168 head rotation 99 zero position 79 head and face ala-nasal region 48 client seated position 99–113 ear hold 54 external auricle massage 52 eye hold 54 eye massage 48 forehead rub 53 hair pulling 52 masseter pressing and squeezing 49 percussion 51 pressing and spreading 50 Seitai Shiatsu form 47–54 temple massage 53 thumb pressing 47 head colds Gua Sha for 115 head lift 100 healing intention 112 healing touch 172 health pursuit and maintenance 11 role of lymphatic system in 13 self-responsibility for 172 health maintenance 13 health-enhancing activities 172

Index

health-wealth equation 11 heart lymph flow return to 14, 21, 39, 56, 61, 93 Heart meridian 64 Hedley, Gil 31 Hemminki, Kari 13 hip and gluteal region massaging and kneading 67 holding technique neck to sacrum 86 hope need for 161 of recovery 142 host cells 20 Huangdi Neijing 23 hydration 113 after cupping 126 after Gua Sha 119 iatrogenic disease 24 iliac crest 84 iliotibial band 70 sawing technique 41 illness emotional roots 139 as enemy in Western medicine 140 treating instead of patient 138–9 as warning signal 140 immune system castor oil packs and 30 compromised 128 lymph and blood stasis role 14 role of lymphatic system 13, 19 strengthening 11 incurable illness 133 infection walling off by omentum 28 inferior doctors 12 inflammation lymph role in 13 relieving 14 inguinal crease 40 sawing technique 41 International Professional School of Bodywork (IPSB) 16, 18 interstitial spaces 22 interstitium 27, 30–1 intestinal hematopoietic theory 156 intestinal permeability 29–30 intestinal villi damage from cancer treatments 133 role in blood formation 156 intramedullary hematopoietic theory 156–9, 167 ionized water 147

Japanese Medical Association 162, 163, 165 Japanese medicine 9 Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare 163 Jing Luo 31 Juhan, Deane 31 Kaptchuk, Dr. Ted 10, 15 Karolinska Institute 13 Kato Method 159, 167 clarifications 128 family member participation 128 for terminally ill patients 18 treatment by 166 Kato, Sensei Kyoshi 12, 15, 16, 17, 26 biography 131 criticism of cancer treatment 127 treatise disclaimer 127–30 treatment center closings 130 trouble with Japanese government 127, 130 Kenko Saisei Kaikan 12, 15, 17, 113 cancer patients at 133 dream of Hawaii center 130 kneading technique low back region 84 upper arms 82 upper shoulder 81 knee-to-chest procedure 94 kneeling position 97, 99 Kyudai Hospital 162 lacteal duct 25 lacteals 25 Lam, Dr. 17 lamina groove 58 large intestine cupping indications 121 Large Intestine meridian 64 lateral 32 lateral malleolus 45 lateral recumbent position Seitai Shiatsu form 55–68 Lazzaro, Joseph 16 leaky gut syndrome 29–30 legs Achilles tendon stretch 45 ankle rotation 45 foot pounding/pulsation 40 gastrocnemius compression 43 knee area 42 knees to chest 38 lateral stretch 45 leg lift and incline 39 leg lift and side movement 42

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legs cont. prone position form 69–78 Seitai Shiatsu form 37–46 toe wiggle 44 lift to seated 95–8 lipid absorption similarity to blood formation 26 liver area cupping indications 121, 125 palpation 88 warmth in 88 love role in cancer cure 148–53 touch delivered through 172 low back pain 162 low back region kneading technique 84 lower leg press and spread technique 74 three line visualization 73 lower legs leg lift 75 lubrication for cupping 122 prior to Gua Sha 116, 117 for sliding cups 124 lung cancer 136 possibility of cure 138 lung congestion cupping for 121, 125 Lung meridian 64 lymph cupping uses 121 and plasma 22 lymph and blood stasis immune system compromises and 14 lymph nodes 13, 19, 20 inguinal creases 35 lymph system resources 169 as silent protector 19–22 lymphatic congestion home devices for 169–70 in leaky gut 29 lymphatic duct 25–6 lymphatic movement castor oil pack enhancement 30 invigorating with Seitai Shiatsu 32 promoting 14 techniques for enhancing 21 towards heart 14 lymphatic stagnation 13 early signs of 14 relieving 21 as sewage system 20

lymphatic system blood and 21 cancer fighting activity in 13 cleansing roles 20 components 20 functions 20 as sewage system 13 Western physiological understanding 22 macrophages origin in omentum 28 manual techniques lymphatic movement through 21 Maruyama vaccine 139, 148 masseter muscle pressing and squeezing 49, 104 mastoid process 55, 79 McGovern, George 167 medial 32 medial malleolus 45 mediocre doctors 12 menstrual cramps cupping for 125 meridian system flowing water metaphors 31 Heart meridian 64 interstitium and 30 Large Intestine meridian 64 leg visualization 40 Lung meridian 64 Pericardium meridian 64 San Jiao meridian 64 Small Intestine meridian 64 three yang of arm 64 three yin of arm 64 Urinary Bladder meridian 58 milk diet 128, 149, 150, 151, 152 gradual acclimation to 150 milk products stagnation and phlegm from 128 milky spots 28 miso soup 129 modern medicine insanity of 135 music supporting healing with 170 Nagoya University 26 Nasu hot springs 147 national health insurance 163 navel palpation 87 coldness signs 88 neck elongation 100

Index

neck massage 56 client seated 101 direct compression 57 prone position 80 trapezius muscle 57 neck treatment prone position 79–86 neurotransmitter nerve growth factors role of omentum in 28 New England School of Acupuncture 114 absence of cupping at 120 Nichidai Hospital 143, 144, 148, 149 Nielsen, Dr. Arya 119 Nishiura, Dr. Kazuhiko 162 occipital protruberance 79 occipital ridge 79, 80, 100 pressing technique 55 omentum 27–31 dynamic functions 28 role in nutritional storage 28 as shock absorber 28 subtle motion in 28 one-thumb pressing and spreading 33 open skin lesions Gua Sha contraindications 119 Oriental medicine sickness as non-enemy in 140 Osaka 12 ovarian cancer 141 overwhelm in Kato’s patients 128 Pacific Center of Health 16 Pacific College of Oriental Medicine 9, 16 pain death without 160–1 Gua Sha to relieve 115 palm circles 36 axillary region 61 colon pathway 92 pectoralis area 89 ribcage area 61 palm friction back region 85 patella 42, 89 pathogenic factors identification by lymphatic system 20 Western emphasis on 11

patient treating instead of illness 138–9 pau-ing technique 35–6 back region 111 forehead and scalp 51, 106 pectoral region 63 pectoralis muscle 89, 95 percussion techniques 35–6 back region 111 head and face 51, 105 sole of foot 76 see also pau-ing technique Pericardium meridian 64 perifascia 31 peristalsis direction of 92 peritoneum 27 petechiae 116 after Gua Sha 115 piezoelectricity 30 placebo research 15 plasma similarity to lymph 22 pluri-potency 26 popliteal fossa 42, 72 portal vein 26 posterior thigh 70 full hand friction 73 press and spread technique 71, 72 sawing technique 71 shaking and rolling 72 pregnancy cupping cautions 121 Gua Sha cautions 119 premature aging 14 press and spread abdominal region 90, 91 back region 83 crown of head 105 posterior lower leg 74 posterior thighs 71, 72 pressing and grasping legs 43–4, 69 pressing and spreading head and face 50 one thumb 33 thighs 40 two thumbs 33 pressing and squeezing masseter muscle 49, 104 pressure levels 32 for Gua Sha 116 preventive medicine 11, 13, 172 lymphatic stagnation and 14 promotion of 127

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probiotics 129 prone position leg routine 69–78 proximal 32 psoriasis cupping cautions 121 Pure Land Sect Buddhism 146 Qi manufacture by Spleen 25 Qi flow invigorating with Seitai Shiatsu 32 obstruction 14 Qi Gong effect 17 quadriceps muscle group 43 quantum physics 23 radiation therapy 147 case history 145 impossibility of cancer cure by 133 raw eggs 129 recovery hope of 142 red blood formation Dr. Chishima’s theories 129 reductionism in Western medical thought 23, 24 renal failure contraindications to Kato method 166 cupping contraindications for 121 resources 169–70 rhythm 112–3 rocking technique back region 58–9 lateral recumbent position 57 legs and torso 78 rolling technique posterior thigh 72 Ryosai Hospital 154 sacroiliac joints 96 sacrospinalis muscle 58 sacrum holding technique 86 press and spread technique 83 San Jiao 31, 64 sand like 115 sawing technique 35 inguinal area and iliotibial band 41 posterior thighs 71 shoulder joint 62 scapular region 63 Gua Sha in 117

scraping 115 seated position 99–113 sedentary lifestyle lymphatic stagnation and 13, 21 Seicho-No-le 164, 165 Seitai Shiatsu 18, 31 in cancer treatment 131, 166 for catastrophic illness 12 duration of treatment 112 frequency of treatment 113 goals 32 hand techniques 33–6 head and face form 47–54 in Kato Method 167 lateral recumbent position form 55–68 legs form 37–46 recipient supine 37–46 step-by-step guide 32 teaching to family members 149 twice daily 150, 151 semitendinosus muscle 70 senility cancer cells as sign of 140–2 serotonin production in omentum 28 session duration 112 sewage system lymphatic system as 13, 20 Sha diagnostic signs 115–6 shaking technique arms 66 posterior thigh 71, 72 thighs 41 shiatsu for catastrophic illnesses 9 Shiatsu 170 shoulder joint arm rotations 59 kneading technique 81 sawing technique 62 stretching and ROM 60 shoulder stiffness 162 Shufu No Tomo 162, 164 silicone cups procuring 127 technique 122–4 slant board 21 sleep importance to epigenetics 22 sliding cups 124–5 small intestine role of lacteals 25 Small Intestine meridian 64

Index

So, Dr. Tin Yao 9, 15, 114 soles deep compressions 78 percussion 76 spinal column sliding cups along 124 spleen 20 food and fluids transformation by 25 in TCM 25 stagnation 156 addressing with Gua Sha 115 indications for cupping 121 in liver area 88 lymphatic 13 reducing with Seitai Shiatsu 32 as source of physiological disharmony 31 starved conditions blood formation in 158 stem cell cell differentiation 158 stem cells 26 Dr. Chishima’s theory and 130 in omentum 28 see also intramedullary hematopoietic theory sternocleidomastoid muscle 57 sternum 90 stressors epigenetics and 22 stretching techniques shoulder region 60 suction seal 122 superior doctors 12 supine position 37–46 surgery for cancer 135, 136 limitations 138, 145 overvaluation of 136 synthesis in TCM theory 23 systems theory in TCM 24 T-cell counts role of castor oil packs in 30 tapotement 35 temperature difference abdominal 88 temple massage 53, 107 tenderness as lymphatic stagnation sign 14 terminal illness 127 case history 143–54 Kato Method for 18 at Kenko Saisei Kaikan 133

thankfulness 112 thighs press-and-spread technique 40 sawing technique 41 shaking technique 41 thoracic duct 25, 26 three parallel lines back region 58, 83 lateral arm region 63 legs supine 40 medial arm 64 posterior legs 70 posterior lower leg 73, 74 thumb circles neck region 56 posterior thighs 70 thumb pressing ala-nasal region 103 back region 58 colon area 92 direct 34 eyebrows 102 head and face 47 head and neck 100 lateral arm 63 lateral recumbent position 55 legs 43 occipital ridge 55 trapezius muscle 101 Yin Tang 49 thumb sweeping neck region 56 palm to wrist joint 65 thymus 20 Tiberi, Alex 16 toe wiggle 44 Tokuhisa, Dr. Katsumi 164, 165 tonsils 20 tools for Gua Sha 115, 116 touch healing 172 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) 9 blood formation theory 23–6 as logical, coherent system 23 synthetic/holistic thought in 24 Traditional Chinese Medicine Cupping Therapy 126 trapezius muscle 57 thumb presses 101 triceps massage 60 Triple Warmer (Heater) 31 trust in healing of cancer 153 Tsukiji National Cancer Center 156

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Tsuneoka, Ichiro 140 two-thumb pressing and spreading 33 back and neck 79 upper arms kneading technique 82 Urinary Bladder meridian visualizing 58 uterine cancer 141 Uusoksa, Kauko 15, 17 villi 25 origin of blood formation in 26 virus biomass 19 viruses misunderstanding of 19 as non-living particles 19 as parasites 20 resources 170 role in climate regulation 19 vitality loss after cancer treatment 147

Western medical thought comparison with TCM 23 reductionism in 24 whole person treatment 32 wind cold 115 wind heat 115 Xinhua Hospital 120 xiphoid process 90 Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine 23 Yin Tang 102, 105 pressing and spreading 50 thumb pressing 47, 49 yoga headstand 21 zero position 79