KOICHI TOHEI KIATSU develop your innate energy in order to heal yourself and others by realizing the principles of the mind and the body. KI NO KENKYUKAI H.0.When our Ki is interchanging with Ki of the universe, this creates the most natural and the strongest state with the most vigorous life power. This state is called mind and body unification and by living with mind and body unified, one can stay healthy all through one’s life. That is why | am teaching the four basic principles to unity mind and body. However there are many people who are actu- ally suffering from illness and problems. Once a person has fallen ill or if the body or mind is damaged, one’s life power is so low that it is very difficult to recover it by oneself. Sometimes ‘one suffers over 10 or 20 years. In that case we must supply Ki to this person, just as when the power of the battery of a car is drained, it must be charged from outside. By sending Ki into the body from outside, the life power can be en- couraged. Once the life power starts working, it can easily heal all illness and problems. This method of sending Ki into the body is named “Kiatsu Ryoho.” In order to practise it, one must first know how to extend Ki using the four basic principles to unify mind and body. It is dif- ferent from Shiatsu, Acupression, Accupuncture, etc., theoretically and practically. If you send your own Ki to others, naturally you consume a lot of Ki, it is no use to fall ill by curing others. One must first learn how to supply Ki from the universe. This is Ki breathing. The Ki of the uni verse is infinite. If one knows how to supply Ki from the universe, one never lacks Ki however much one sends to others. One must, therefore, know how to unify Ki and how to breathe Ki before learning Kiatsu_ Ryoho.PREFACE Why we need Kiatsu Ryoho. Kiatsu Ryoho is a method to promote human health, encouraging the ori- ginal life power by sending the Ki of the universe to the damaged part of the body of the patient through the unified body of the healer. Kiatsu means “press with Ki” and Ryoho means therapy. In ancient Japan it was said that life’s span was SO years and to live seven- ty years was rare. However nowadays the average life expectancy is 73 for men and 76 for women, thanks to the development of medicine and other advances of civilization, Most people are dependent on doctors and medication. Many elderly people are spending their lives in bed or in hospitals, To enjoy a long life should mean more than just to stay alive long; one should be able to be healthy all one’s life. One of the problems that society now faces is how to make life worth living for retired people, but it would be useless simply to promote leisure activities, when the elderly people are suffering from bodily aches and breathing difficulties. To make life worth living one should be healthy, vigorous, gentle to other people; in sum, one must be needed by others. The key to a life worth living is to be needed by others, Retired people need, above all, to maintain their health. The problem of a society with an ever-growing number of elderly members can also be solved by making young people vigorous and healthy so that one youth can easily earn 5 or 10 retired people's living. However the reality is that all the nation is half ill and half healthy. It is very rare to find anyone with complete health, while many are dependent on medicine.In order to solve all these problems I started the “Kiatsu Ryoho Schoo!” which I developed through my life-long research. I hope all readers practise so that they can manifest their original Ki power and give it to others. My concem is that as many people as possible should lead a happy healthy life.KIATSU. Preface CHAPTER | CHAPTER CHAPTER 3. 1 3. 4 5. CONTENTS PARTONE: KIATSU RYOHO Maintenance of health What is Ki? . How to supply 2. FIVE PRINCIPLES OF KIATSU RYOHO.... 1. Extend Ki from the one point in the lower abdomen. Do not put any strength in the body... Press perpendicularly toward the center without damaging the tissue............ Concentrate Ki infinitely smaller at the fingertips. Think of the lines instead of points... HOW KIATSU RYOHO WAS DEVELOPED.......... ~erauaene Diarrhoea in the battlefield . Curing eye disease. . Giving the name of Kiatsu. A blister on the foot Heart problem (1) My father’s sciatica . ‘Arm problem. . Nose bleed Migraine headache (1). . Knees and arms Stiff neck . Neuralgia of the arm . Migraine headache (2) Stomachache. . Sprain of the ankle Stroke . 13 13 14 15 17 19CHAPTER 4. 28, 29. 30. KIATSU TECHNIQUES. ........... noe . Contusion .. . Menstrual irregularity . Migraine headache (3) Beye Eye problem... . Heart problem (2) The backbone . . Stiff shoulders. . Stomach ulcer , Old pain in the shoulders. . A sprain of the loin. Leg. Fright Brain Tumor . . Cold feet .. Backbone . Hip Leg Neck... _ 1) Migraine headache 2) Whiplash . : 3) Shoulder pain. Chest Stomach . AMM... 0... 1) Shoulder . . 2) Upper arm... 3) Elbow . 4) Wrist . Eye Nose Mouth . Ear . Throat. Finger . Knee Ankle .. Fester . . Breast .. Nose bleed. Kappo... . MelancholiaPAA awn > ll. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. CHAPTER 1. CHAPTER 2. PART TWO : KI EXERCISES FOR HEALTH Twisting the trunk by swinging the arms. - 120 Bending the trunk to the side . 122 Bending forward and backward. . 122 Shoulder-blade exercise. . . . 124 Bending the neck to the side. . » 125 Bending the neck forward and backward............. 126 Turning the head to the side .127 Knee exercise . : 128 Stretching knees ...... . 129 Wrist bending exercise (1) 130 Wrist bending exercise (2) . 131 Wrist stretching exercise 132 Arm swinging exercise. . 133 Swinging both arms. 135 Wrist shaking exercise 136 Legs stretching exercise. 137 Rolling exercise........ 141 PART THREE : MEDICAL LECTURE (by Dr. Kanemizu Ariizumi) FUNDAMENTALS OF CURE .......6.0200s0000+4 147 1. Giving Ki directly . . . 148 2. Kiatsu Ryoho . . + 149 3. Remote cure —— + 149 4. Breathing method .. . + 149 5. Sleep cure... + 150 HOW TO MAINTAIN HEALTH. .......... 0.000005 151 1. The life force. .. . 7 . 151 2. Aneffect of mind and body unification . . 1513. How to promote the life power 152 Air... . 153 Food. . 157 Sleep. 161 Sunshine 162 Earth..... 163 Excretion . . CHAPTER 3. HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE RESISTANCE TO DISEASE 166 1, Improving the resistance of the skin 166 2. Improving the resistance of the internal organ: 167 3. Exercise. feces +. 169 4. Air conditioning sickness. . 170 CHAPTER 4. PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE.........6.000000 55 173 1. What is psychosomatic medicine? . .. . . 173 2. What is the mind? 123 CONCLUEIN «rans ey casevee eens ran cnnws os esers ot owes 175PART ONE Kiatsu RyohoChapter What is Kiatsu Ryoho? 1. Maintenance of health Everybody wants happiness. The first requirement for happiness is a healthy mind and body. For the mind, please read my “Ki in Daily Life” and “Book of Ki”, Here I would like to broach the subject of physical health. To be healthy means to live without physical problems. In other words whether to live a normal life or an abnormal life. Then what is a nor- mal life? Medically speaking life is a metabolism of three things; matter, energy, and form. This is done in the cell body and high metabolism means health, low metabolism means diseases, and when the metabolic process stops, one is dead. Metabolism is the process by which a cell body takes in the nourishment and fuelled by the energy created through the function of enzymes, acts on the substances and finally throwing out the waste mate- rials, In other words we take in the food and water, burn them in our whole body, and change them into energy. This is the physical definition of living, We need oxygen from the air in order to burn the nutriments. Nutrition it- self is useless without oxygen. That means breathing is indispensable for liv- ing. When the nutriments are burned in the body, naturally carbonic acid gas and other impurities are created. They must be thrown out immediately, otherwise they block the metabolism. Sending the oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body through the blood stream and taking back the impurities again through the blood stream, the body throws out cabonic acid gas from the nose. This process is vital for the human life. So the primary requirements for health are good food, good water, and 13good air. I have been teaching aikido almost every year in Hawaii since 1953. Hawaii is abundant in good food and good water. It has specially good air because it is situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. However by no means all the people living on these islands are healthy. There are many people suffering from heart problems, high blood pressure, liver problems, kidney problems, and diabetes. They have as many problems as the Japanese people. It is surprising how many people there are in Hawaii who are suffer- ing from asthma. It is understandable that a place with bad air pollution like Tokyo gives rise to many diseases but it is strange to be ill in a place like Hawaii. The question arises: are food, water, and air in fact sufficient for health? Actually there is one more indispensable thing for the maintenance of health. It is called Ki, Then what is Ki? 2. What is Ki? In the Japanese language Ki is often used in daily conversation. However even Japanese people have no understanding of Ki, In Japan the source of the absolute universe is traditionally called Ki, Just as the fish forgets the existence of water, the human being also forgets the existence of the Ki of the universe. The reality is that we fix one part of the Ki of the universe with our physical bodies and call it “I”, When the human Ki is in inter- change with the Ki of the universe, we are alive. When the interchange is temporarily cut off, one faints and if it is cut off eternally, one is dead. We should not forget that we are living in the Ki of the universe, We more oe less consume Ki while awake. In the morning we are vigorous. By the evening we get tired even if we do nothing in the day time. That is because we consume Ki, just like the battery consumes electricity. We will die if we do not supply Ki after consuming it. Then when do we supply Ki? We do it while asleep. Sleep is a state of complete relaxation when one 14‘opens oneself completely to the universe. In this state all the small veins in the whole body are open and the brain is very calm. Just as you can replace dirty air with fresh air by opening the window after using the stove, while asleep the dirty Ki of the human being can be replaced by the Ki of the universe. In the morning we are full of Ki. Perhaps you have not yet fully understood why Ki is indispensable to human life but if you replace the word Ki by the word sleep, it is very easy to understand. Sleep is necessary for human beings. Sleep is the time of repose, the time to renew the supply of Ki, which the universe gives everybody. Recently many people are irritated, under stress and suffering from nervous ailments. In this way they become rigid, disturbing the blood cir- culation, and consuming Ki unnecessarily. If you consume too much Ki, you cannot recover completely in one night’s sleep. First of all it becomes very difficult to go to sleep. Then many people start depending on sleeping pills. However sleeping pills only create within the body a syncopic state. They do not make the body relax. The cell bodies do not work and there is, little interchange between them and the Ki of the universe. In the daytime the Ki is considerably diminished and at night the supply of Ki is cut. Naturally there is not enough Ki. The life power will falter. If you continue living like this, you will surely fall ill and finally die. If you park your car with its lights on, you will find the battery used up. But if you drive it with the lights on, the battery is always automatically charged. We can also charge our bodies with Ki while we are active in the daytime. Then 5 or 6 hours’ sleep at night will be enough to be full of Ki. If one extends Ki while awake, one can improve the interchange of the Ki of the human body and Ki of the universe. 3. Life power IsBenjamin Franklin said, “A doctor is a person who takes money after God has healed the diseases.” Life can be prolonged by the life power. The life power heals the disease and protects our bodies. No doctor nor medicaments can work if there were no life power. The function of the doctor is to discover the disease and think out a method to strengthen the life power. It is the life power which is given by the universe which heals the illness, We take food consciously. But digesting it in the stomach, absorbing the nutri- ments in the liver and intestines cannot be done consciously. Nor do the nutriments absorbed immediately become our blood and flesh and energy. These nutriments are changed into another form and then changed again into energy. Our bodies are like a very refined chemical factory. The work is done even when we are asleep. What is doing all this work? This question cannot be fully answered even by science or medicine despite their ad- vances, We call it the life power. The universe is one living body. By sur- rounding a part of it I and my life come in being. Human life cannot be con- tinued independent from the universal life. Oneness with the universe is the essence of human life and when this is achieved the life power can manifest maximum force. If this life power functions strongly all the cell bodies are protected by the life power and work well. Then we can be completely healthy. Recently many people have forgotten this life power and depend only on doctors and medication. The doctors also tend to forget the life power, relying too much on medication, machines and scientific data. The con- tinual progress of research in the medical field is very important for human beings but such research alone cannot eradicate the causes of illness. All medicine is a help to the life power, though not a substitute for it. In that sense it is a welcomed thing to observe that research in the fields of home- 16opathic medicine or psychosomatic medicine is gaining recognition world- wide. There are many methods of promoting health but one must be careful to choose the correct methods. A human being cannot exist without follow- ing the principles of the universe or nature. The true methods of promoting health must be in accordance with the principles of the universe and nature, 4, How to supply Ki When our Ki is interchanging with the Ki of the universe, this creates the most natural and the strongest state with the most vigorous life power. This state is called mind and body unification and by living with mind and body unified, one can stay healthy all through one’s life. That is why I am teach- ing the four basic principles to unify mind and body. However there are many people who are actually suffering from illness and problems. Once a person has fallen ill or if the body or mind is damaged, ‘one’s life power is so low that it is very difficult to recover it by oneself, Sometimes one suffers over 10 or 20 years. In that case we must supply Ki to this person, just as when the power of the battery of a car is drained, it must be charged from outside. By sending Ki into the body from outside, the life power can be encouraged. Once the life power starts working, it can easily heal all illness and problems, This method of sending Ki into the body is named “Kiatsu Ryoho.” In order to practise it, one must first know how to extend Ki using the four basic principles to unify mind and body. It is different from Shiatsu, Acupression, Acupuncture, etc., theoretically and practically. If you send your own Ki to others, naturally you consume a lot of Ki. It is no use to fall ill by curing others. One must first learn how to supply Ki from the universe. This is Ki breathing. The Ki of the universe is infinite. If one knows how to supply Ki from the universe, one never 17lacks Ki however much one sends to others. One must, therefore, know how to unify Ki and how to breathe Ki before learning Kiatsu Ryoho. 18Five Principles of Kiatsu Ryoho order to transmit Ki to the body, one must know how to extend Ki and to send Ki to others. Just imitating the form is no use. One must do with correct principles. There are five principles for Kiatsu Ryoho. ‘1. Extend Ki from the one point in the lower abdomen. Before sending Ki to others, one must have a body full of Ki and also know how to extend Ki. To keep the one point in the lower abdomen is the first principles of the four basic principles to unify mind and body and one can maintain a body full of Ki by always keeping one point photo 1 A extends his arm. B tried to bend A’s arm by putting his left hand on his elbow and pushing his wrist with the right hand. If A puts strength in his arm and resists, B will be able to bend it easily. If A relaxes and thinks 19that Ki is flowing through his arm and fingers, B will not be able to bend it however hard he tries. By thinking that Ki is extending one can actually extend Ki. Arrange the middle three fingers together. B tries to push back the finger- tips of A’s hand toward the shoulder. photo 2 photo 3 If A puts strength in his fingers or arm, his fingers can easily be bent or pushed back. If A relaxes his arm and fingers and just concentrates on his fingertips which are touching B’s palm, B will not be able to bend them. The same thing will happen with the thumb. When water rushes out from a hose, the highest pressure is at the tip of the hose. In the same way a strong Ki rushing’ out from the fingers makes the high pressure at the fingertips. In other words focusing sensibility at the fingertips is a method of extending Ki. One must learn to develop this sensi- bility. There is also a relation between keeping one point and extending Ki. 20° the four basic principles are the same thing expressed differently. If principle is kept, automatically all the other three are kept. If one prin- is lost, automatically all the other three are lost. If one always thinks ‘extending Ki from the fingertips, one can sometimes fall into an illusion unconsciously put strength in the arm or shoulders. In that case it is ad- ble to take the hand off the patient's body, keep one point, and then “resume pressing. (photo 4) 21A stands keeping his mind on his one point and extends his arm. He does not have to think Ki is extending. B will not be able to bend the arm. A stands keeping one point. He does not have to concentrate on his finger- trips. He only puts together his three middle fingers toward B. B tries to push them back with his palm but A’s fingers will be very firm. When one point is kept, Ki is naturally extending through the arm and the fingers. B sits on his knees or cross-legged. A stands behind B and presses with his thumbs on the two points between B’s neck and shoulders. (photo 4) If A pushes with his thumbs, B will feel pain or an unpleasant sensation of pressure, He will not feel good. But if A presses very lightly, A cannot cure B. Pressing by the power of the thumbs is difficult to regulate and Ki is not extended. A first keeps one point in the lower abdomen, then puts his thumbs on B’s shoulders. First he takes up slack of the soft part under the skin, then he will be able to detect the hard part inside. Do not push farther. Just keep the thumbs there and concentrate Ki on the fingertips. Then the hard place will be gradually softened by the Ki of the fingertips. As it gets softer, the thumbs naturally penerate into B’s shoulders. In that case B will not feel much pain. B will be able to feel physically that A’s Ki flows into B’s body. Sometimes B might feel a little pain on his shoulders but it is a pleasant pain. There is a pleasant pain and an unpleasant pain, Pleasant pain is a sign of healing and unpleasant pain is a sign of getting worse. While doing Kiatsu, sometimes one unconsciously puts strength in the arm or shoulders. Then the Kiatsu is not effective. A gets tired and B has unpleasant pain. A must ask B how he feels. Then there is no mistake. If B feels unpleasant pain or pressure, A should take off his hands and keep one point and’ then resume pressing. 222. Do not put any strength in the body To concentrate Ki in the fingertips does not mean to direct strength into the fingertips. If you gather force into the fingertips, the K + halted, When the Ki stops, strength accumulates in the arms and other parts of the body. It is useless if you get a stiff shoulder by curing the other’s stiff shoulders. If you keep one point and do Kiatsu, it is impossible for strength to gather in your body. However sometimes bad posture or position could cause you to make this mistake. (photo 5) 23B sits on his knees. A sits behind B and does Kiatsu. A is obliged to keep the arms high in order to press B’s shoulders, Even though he tries to relax, strength stays in his arms and shoulders. (photo 5) B sits with his legs stretched forward. A sits on a chair, Now A’s fingers are lower than his shoulders and Ki flows very easily. (photo 6) B sits on a chair. A stands and does Kiatsu. This position is also easy to extend KI. (photo 7) (photo 6) 24above examples show that the position relative to the patient is fant for relaxation, Always be aware ofsthis and adopt the easiest from which to extend Ki, Sometimes use the middle three fingers of the thumbs so that you can extend Ki to the patient without tired. (photo 7) 253. Press perpendicularly toward the center without damaging the tissue. When you pump up a pneumatic tyre, if you put the tip of the air pump into the valve of the tyre correctly, the air goes in easily. But if you place it incorrectly or if you move the tip, the air will not go into the tyre. In the same way when massaging the shoulders, some people try to crumple the (Fig. 1) muscles, When the massage is done the muscles become softer and feel good, but it does not last long. Next morn- ing the shoulders become stiffer. As this process is repeated, the muscles and tendons get used to it and lose sensibility. Then however hard they are massaged, they do not feel pain, If a rubber hose is left outside on a cold winter day for a certain time, it freezes stiff. If one tries to crumple it up, the tissue will be broken. But if ‘one warms it up, it becomes elastic again. In the same way if one tries to crumple the damaged part, the tissue will be broken. The broken tissues will require more energy to recover and so will become stiffer. To that hardened tissue one should not crumple but just press with the fingertip toward the center of the tendon or muscle perpendicularly and send Ki inside the body. Then the life power will make the tissue soft. In order to learn how to press perpendicularly to the center, try the fol- lowing exercise. 26A puts a pencil on a table. He presses it with the thumb. B flips the pencil with his forefinger and the middle finger. If A presses the pencil obliquely as in figure 1, the pencil will be flipped away by B easily no matter how A tries to press it. If A puts the thumb perpendicularly to the table and presses the pencil with a relaxed thumb thinking that his Ki penetrates through the pencil to the table, the pencil can move but never leaves A’s thumb when flipped by B. In that case the Ki from A’s thumb is actually penetrating the pencil. 4. Concentrate Ki infinitely smaller at the fingertips. The effect of Kiatsu Ryoho differs greatly according to the strength of Ki of the healer. The strength of Ki depends on the concentration of the mind. When I give seminars in the U.S.A. or Europe, I sometimes invite people who have physical problems such as migraine headaches, stiff shoulders, whiplash, sciatic pain, sprain, etc. Five minutes’ treatment each and their pain is gone. In five minutes the headache will have vanished, the arm can go up, a person who came limping with a stick can run without a stick. The audience is always surprised. Yet this miracle can be achieved by every- body. The only difference is whether it takes five minutes or several hours. The life power is very great. The secret of Kiatsu Ryoho is to activate the life power. To do this one must practise to extend Ki very strongly with concentration. As you practise, you can shorten the time. In all probability many people will have. difficulty understanding what I mean by the instruc- tion to ate Ki infinitely smaller at the fingertip) Nowadays science has developed an atomic bomb which is small enough to put in a bag, yet when exploded wipes away a whole town. The smaller the particle is, the stronger energy it can generate. The same is true of the mind. The more it is concentrated, the stronger its power becomes. This is Ki meditation. 27Mathematically speaking, first assume one, Half of one also becomes one. If one is divided by half infinitely, it is always one and never becomes zero. Zero can never produce one. The universe is an assembly of infinitely small particles, These constitute the Ki of the universe, The absolute quantity of the Ki of the universe does not change. It does not increase or decrease. But it is a transmutable continuum flowing without a break as time does. The universe itself is an infinite circle of an infinite radius. I am the center of the universe because wherever I am, the universe is always infinite in all direc- tions. When one understands the nature of the universe, one can be one with the universe. Try to think while sitting calmly. The universe is an infinite circle with an infinite radius. This universe condensed becomes myself and again condensed becomes my one point in the lower abdomen. This one point is not a tangi- ible point but an infinitely small point which keeps on getting smaller. When the one point is too small to perceive, just let it continue. Do not stop its movement. This is Ki mediatation. By thinking like this you can become one with the essence of the universe. You will be very stable mentally and physically. This is called keeping one point in the lower abdomen. In this state a very strong Ki flows out of the fingertips naturally. However when the patient has a very grave problem, the stiff part does not yield easily. If you take time and apply Kiatsu many times you will succeed in making it soft but if you want to achieve the result more quickly, you can use this method of concentrating Ki infinitely smaller at the fingertip. The fingertip is a round circle. This circle is one. Make it half, Even though it becomes infinitely smaller by half, you must continue mak- ing it smaller. (figure 3) 28