Sotai

Sotai was developed in Japan in the 1970’s by Dr. Keizo Hashimoto, MD, who wrote a paper on how the integrity of our physical structure can be maintained through a balance between breathing, diet, physical activity, and mental activity.  Focusing on breathing and physical movement, the exercise of Sotai was formed to restore balance in the body and to:

Release tight muscles

Release tension in joints and vertebrae

Remove structural interference

Facilitate nervous system function

Improve blood flow

Improve circulation and qi circulation

Reduce pain

SELF – SOTAI

In my previous article on “ Warm-Ups ” you may have found that certain ranges of motion were more inhibited than others.  For example: If you rotated your head to the left and then to the right, you may have found that that you had less range in one of the directions , which felt  a bit tighter, and possibly you felt some pain in that direction. In applying Self-Sotai you want to move in the direction of greatest ease on your exhale breath to its end point ( point of feeling resistance).  Starting from the neutral position of facing forward in this particular example, move in the direction of greater ease on your exhale breath and then back to your neutral position on your inhale. This should be repeated with deliberation (not too fast and not too slow at an even pace) approximately 3, 5, 7, or 9 times.  One sequence of this exercise is enough. You can then check to see if the direction of inhibition or pain has changed. The key phrase to remember for performing Self-Sotai is to move in the direction of greatest ease on the exhale of our breath. Other examples would be shoulder extension or flexion, torso side bending, hip extension or flexion and so on.  You may find that you can apply this technique to yoga positions or other stretching exercises, to help facilitation when you feel a bit stuck in one direction. To review, whatever direction of movement feels inhibited, you want to move in the opposite direction, that of greater ease, on your exhale breath and then back to a neutral starting position on your inhale, repeating this 3, 5, 7, or 9 times.  There are sometimes unnoticeable results, and sometimes very noticeable results. In general there are very subtle changes taking place and with time along with the warm-ups you may feel more permanent changes in your ranges of motion.

Disclaimer: These articles contain the opinions and ideas of its author, Dennis James.  They are intended to provide helpful and informative material with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in these articles. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions from this article or drawing inferences from them.  Dennis James specifically disclaims all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of these articles.