“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
10
SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
12
SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
2
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK220897
www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances
13
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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.
15
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
17
18
SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
2
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180118142558.htm
www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/science/virosphere-evolution.html
19
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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:
3
•
circulate ceaselessly in an endless cycle
•
are two aspects of one system
•
continually join and then separate.
www.colonhealthinfo.com/equipment/slant_board.htm
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
2
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/enterochromaffin-cell
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
6
7
For further information please see: www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/
san-jiao and also https://med-vetacupuncture.org/english/articles/sanjiao.html
https://theory.yinyanghouse.com/acupuncturepoints/point_categories
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
119
CHAPTER SIX
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
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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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
2
3
For further information, please see: www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2014/09/20/
many-benefits-chinese-cupping
www.cuppingtherapy.org
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.
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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
2
For further information, please see: www.aipro.info/drive/File/Revolution%20of%20
biology%20and%20medicine.%20Kikuo%20Chishima%201.pdf
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
131
CONTENTS
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
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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.
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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
173
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
175
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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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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SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
179
180
SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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
181
182
SEITAI (LYMPHATIC) SHIATSU, CUPPING AND GUA SHA
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