The creation of Satoro
by creator Roy Mulholland
I would like to share my experience.
I had been giving Shiatsu for 5 years before I discovered Chi Kung.
It transformed my shiatsu.
by creator Roy Mulholland
I would like to share my experience.
I had been giving Shiatsu for 5 years before I discovered Chi Kung.
It transformed my shiatsu.
It’s interesting that influential teachers of the healing arts had also spent a lifetime practicing Chi Kung. For example Usui, the founder of Reiki, studied Kiko, the Japanese version of Chi Kung, which is a health and healing discipline based on the development and use of life energy. The Reiki inner circle in Japan also practiced Kiko, meditation, chanting and prayer. Kishi, who founded Sei Kialso studied Kiko (chi kung) energy work and Sai Tei.
I believe that the more subtle the touch, the greater the clarity, intuition and internal power that is needed.
Developing the internal structure, intuition, connection and power begins with self development and the practice of Chi Kung.
The principle is that of a child’s antique spinning toy, a spin top. The toy must be activated or initiated so that it spins internally by gyroscopic action before it generates enough power to spin externally.
A shiatsu practitioner must be able to generate the internal power in order to access (or atune like tuning into a radio channel) before it can manifest externally.
The Taoist yin/yang mandala is not a flat static symbol on T shirts but a wisdom key to the dynamic creative/destructive forces of the universe in this dimension expressed in a wave form between positive and negative, inhalation/exhalation, convergence/divergence etc.
We live in a waveform universe. Light, sound, electricity and water all travel in waves, a sine wave. Naturally the body also works in waves; the heart pumps the blood, the muscles pump the lymphatic fluid, food travels down the digestive tract in peristaltic waves, spinal fluid travels up the spine to the cranium in waves, neurons fire in waves and so on.
Energy therefore must first be generated internally within you by the dynamic process symbolized by the Yin/Yang mandala.
Imagine that you are the center of the Yin Yang mandala, an enormous sphere with the polarities of black and white engaged in a galactic wrestling match.
The secret is contained within the line that flows between the two forces.
If you were to extend the line beyond the circle what do you see? Waves like the waves of the sea. Hidden in the mandala is the fact that the wave twists into a spiral. Energy travels in pulses, between positive and negative like a whip.
The flowing moves of Tai Chi are wave form and generate the power of the whip. When a practitioner is giving a treatment the movement pulses up from the earth and up through the spine in a wavelike motion. Between the crest and the trough there is a mid point, a
neutral point the Masters describe as the Yuan Chi, the neutral force. It is like the tiny pause between the outbreath and the inbreath, between the tidal flows, which is the key, the access point, the doorway between one state and another. Meditators and healers look for that neutral space to go inside (to the Source).
How is the Yin/Yang mandala generated within you?
The dynamic energetic structure must first be established and it begins with the breath. In order for the breath to begin there must be a vacuum. Air gushes in to fill the vacuum and it is the beginning of creating the hara.
The hara is more than just an energetic space
it is the anchor point for connecting with all that is
that diffentiates between you
and a rock or a tree or another person.
Where there is no breath there's no hara
Where there is no hara there's no power
Where there's no connection in the hara there's no connection between
heaven
and
earth
Where there's no energetic structure there's no flow
Without the dynamic flow of universal energy there's no healing.
Breathing into the hara involves abdominal breathing: into the lower DanTien below the navel, into the kidneys at the back (kidney breathing), into the right side the liver (hepatic flexure), into the centre above the navel in the solar plexus and into the left spleen (splenic flexure).
It creates not only the elasticity and resilience but the firmness of a rubber ball and a reservoir of energy termed ‘a sea of chi’.
Because the mind follows the breath, the energy becomes rooted in the hara. A practitioner thinks from the hara and moves from the hara. When the practitioner is working with a client the energy, intuition and movement emanate from their hara. It makes for quite a difference in the quality of the treatment.
As for the connection to universal energy, micro and macro (small and heavenly) circuits must be established and extended with heaven and earth. Thrusting and girdle channels support that function. Note that these are not meridians but are more closely associated with the glandular system and significant energy nexuses that have capacity to ‘breathe’ and to give and receive energy.
Masters describe the meridians as wiring in the walls. The meridians loom between the geometries of the organs and glands in relationships that are continually in flux, like the wind and currents of the earth. The geometries, say the triangle between the kidneys and the hara are like scaffolding that underpin fundamental structures.
There is a Tantric saying:
' form is the envelope of pulsation’.
Here's a question, does the wind blow or is it sucked? The answer is, it is induced or drawn from the high to the low pressure. That is the way that energy flows and explains why chi does not like to be
forced or coerced but to be invited to flow at its best.
***
I believe that the more subtle the touch, the greater the clarity, intuition and internal power that is needed.
Developing the internal structure, intuition, connection and power begins with self development and the practice of Chi Kung.
The principle is that of a child’s antique spinning toy, a spin top. The toy must be activated or initiated so that it spins internally by gyroscopic action before it generates enough power to spin externally.
A shiatsu practitioner must be able to generate the internal power in order to access (or atune like tuning into a radio channel) before it can manifest externally.
The Taoist yin/yang mandala is not a flat static symbol on T shirts but a wisdom key to the dynamic creative/destructive forces of the universe in this dimension expressed in a wave form between positive and negative, inhalation/exhalation, convergence/divergence etc.
We live in a waveform universe. Light, sound, electricity and water all travel in waves, a sine wave. Naturally the body also works in waves; the heart pumps the blood, the muscles pump the lymphatic fluid, food travels down the digestive tract in peristaltic waves, spinal fluid travels up the spine to the cranium in waves, neurons fire in waves and so on.
Energy therefore must first be generated internally within you by the dynamic process symbolized by the Yin/Yang mandala.
Imagine that you are the center of the Yin Yang mandala, an enormous sphere with the polarities of black and white engaged in a galactic wrestling match.
The secret is contained within the line that flows between the two forces.
If you were to extend the line beyond the circle what do you see? Waves like the waves of the sea. Hidden in the mandala is the fact that the wave twists into a spiral. Energy travels in pulses, between positive and negative like a whip.
The flowing moves of Tai Chi are wave form and generate the power of the whip. When a practitioner is giving a treatment the movement pulses up from the earth and up through the spine in a wavelike motion. Between the crest and the trough there is a mid point, a
neutral point the Masters describe as the Yuan Chi, the neutral force. It is like the tiny pause between the outbreath and the inbreath, between the tidal flows, which is the key, the access point, the doorway between one state and another. Meditators and healers look for that neutral space to go inside (to the Source).
How is the Yin/Yang mandala generated within you?
The dynamic energetic structure must first be established and it begins with the breath. In order for the breath to begin there must be a vacuum. Air gushes in to fill the vacuum and it is the beginning of creating the hara.
The hara is more than just an energetic space
it is the anchor point for connecting with all that is
that diffentiates between you
and a rock or a tree or another person.
Where there is no breath there's no hara
Where there is no hara there's no power
Where there's no connection in the hara there's no connection between
heaven
and
earth
Where there's no energetic structure there's no flow
Without the dynamic flow of universal energy there's no healing.
Breathing into the hara involves abdominal breathing: into the lower DanTien below the navel, into the kidneys at the back (kidney breathing), into the right side the liver (hepatic flexure), into the centre above the navel in the solar plexus and into the left spleen (splenic flexure).
It creates not only the elasticity and resilience but the firmness of a rubber ball and a reservoir of energy termed ‘a sea of chi’.
Because the mind follows the breath, the energy becomes rooted in the hara. A practitioner thinks from the hara and moves from the hara. When the practitioner is working with a client the energy, intuition and movement emanate from their hara. It makes for quite a difference in the quality of the treatment.
As for the connection to universal energy, micro and macro (small and heavenly) circuits must be established and extended with heaven and earth. Thrusting and girdle channels support that function. Note that these are not meridians but are more closely associated with the glandular system and significant energy nexuses that have capacity to ‘breathe’ and to give and receive energy.
Masters describe the meridians as wiring in the walls. The meridians loom between the geometries of the organs and glands in relationships that are continually in flux, like the wind and currents of the earth. The geometries, say the triangle between the kidneys and the hara are like scaffolding that underpin fundamental structures.
There is a Tantric saying:
' form is the envelope of pulsation’.
Here's a question, does the wind blow or is it sucked? The answer is, it is induced or drawn from the high to the low pressure. That is the way that energy flows and explains why chi does not like to be
forced or coerced but to be invited to flow at its best.
***
Setting the intent and creating the Sacred Space is of great importance, like programming the computer.
The intent is the impulse and direction of the energy. This applies to all healing and to all body workers. In Satoro the Sacred Space is set at the beginning of the treatment and an affirmation spoken either spoken out loud in partnership with the client ‘to the highest good’ (for the protection of the practitioner and receiver) or set ahead of time by the practitioner if it’s considered that the client is not in the right condition to engage in such a contract. However there are great benefits to be gained if it is done as it engages the client in their own healing process and shifts the perception away from being a passive receiver to an active participant.
The principle is that a practitioner establishes their own connection first and then the connection for the receiver. If a practitioner has developed their Chi Kung and established their own connection there is a certain knowingness, a surety, that surpasses theoretical practice because it derives from actual experience of the now.
***
The deepest work is in releasing cellular memory. Negative thoughts and emotions are held in the body’s tissues in what has come to be known as cellular memory.
Accessing the cellular memory and releasing the thought patterns and emotional roots through a positive conscious connection is the fundamental key to all healing.
The cellular release is revealed through a sudden flash of memory.
That is the gold.
To treat only aspects of the meridian energy is unlikely to lift out these emotional roots.
***
I have developed a portfolio of principles based on Japanese terms used frequently in the martial and healing arts. One of these is Misogi. Misogi describes the practice of the Samurai as they polished their swords daily to prevent rust in the humid climate. The Samurai sword has been called ‘the soul of the Samurai’ and Misogi illustrates the practice of self renewal, the cleansing of the spirit and the daily ritual of self empowerment.
Toning is a part of my practice along with Buddha breathing and spinal cord rocking. Toning is not about producing an external sound for yourself or others but an internal scanning of the internal geography, clearing and harmonizing and reinforcing positive energetic patterns. It also creates positive energetic mandalas which support the internal geometries. Intoning the creation vowel
sounds is the most powerful.
The spinal cord sequence exercises are a vital part of the structural integrity because it mobilizes the spinal pumps that martial artists use to generate their power and kinesthetically educates the body in wave form motion.
Buddha breath is very effective for clearing the supportive thrusting channels like cleaning a pipe before use. The secret lies in extending the breath beyond the physical body to the greater heavenly circuit and down to the earth and out to the universe. The meditation is about connecting with the centre of the earth.
The principle is that the deeper the roots the higher the reach of the
branches. To go up one must first go down. The earth is our home, Giai is our mother. It’s easy enough for meditators to go travelling, the trick is to find your way back and a powerful homing instinct is essential.
Yoga meditations are often portrayed as assuming the lotus position which curtails the connection to the earth to send it heavenward. Chi Kung meditations are very earth based. This is where we are born, in this dimension. The meditator might imagine themselves at the centre of their Yin/Yang mandala, connected from the hara, rooted in the earth, and connected to everything that is, as if they are suspended in space with the earth as their footstool with the whole of the universal and stellar energy to draw upon.
Bodyworkers frequently tell me that they know this already
but they might ask themselves if they have got past the first step:
which is the establishment of the hara:
out of chest/anxiety breathing and into abdominal breathing, breathing from and moving from the hara, and the creation of hara structure and
the pearl at the centre of the hara.
It is fundamental.
Without the hara connection there is no ability to connect with all that is or even worse a connection is made from the third eye (Yin Tang) or the crown (Bai Hui) with the ungrounded consequences (space cadet syndrome) that follows.
The Hara connection is the anchor.
I describe Satoro as unfurling/unraveling and gathering the chi and use a coil of rope and a katana as the motif. The treatment philosophy is that of following the thread to its cause. It’s rather like digging out dandelions, just pulling off the leaves is only good for making tea.
***
The intent is the impulse and direction of the energy. This applies to all healing and to all body workers. In Satoro the Sacred Space is set at the beginning of the treatment and an affirmation spoken either spoken out loud in partnership with the client ‘to the highest good’ (for the protection of the practitioner and receiver) or set ahead of time by the practitioner if it’s considered that the client is not in the right condition to engage in such a contract. However there are great benefits to be gained if it is done as it engages the client in their own healing process and shifts the perception away from being a passive receiver to an active participant.
The principle is that a practitioner establishes their own connection first and then the connection for the receiver. If a practitioner has developed their Chi Kung and established their own connection there is a certain knowingness, a surety, that surpasses theoretical practice because it derives from actual experience of the now.
***
The deepest work is in releasing cellular memory. Negative thoughts and emotions are held in the body’s tissues in what has come to be known as cellular memory.
Accessing the cellular memory and releasing the thought patterns and emotional roots through a positive conscious connection is the fundamental key to all healing.
The cellular release is revealed through a sudden flash of memory.
That is the gold.
To treat only aspects of the meridian energy is unlikely to lift out these emotional roots.
***
I have developed a portfolio of principles based on Japanese terms used frequently in the martial and healing arts. One of these is Misogi. Misogi describes the practice of the Samurai as they polished their swords daily to prevent rust in the humid climate. The Samurai sword has been called ‘the soul of the Samurai’ and Misogi illustrates the practice of self renewal, the cleansing of the spirit and the daily ritual of self empowerment.
Toning is a part of my practice along with Buddha breathing and spinal cord rocking. Toning is not about producing an external sound for yourself or others but an internal scanning of the internal geography, clearing and harmonizing and reinforcing positive energetic patterns. It also creates positive energetic mandalas which support the internal geometries. Intoning the creation vowel
sounds is the most powerful.
The spinal cord sequence exercises are a vital part of the structural integrity because it mobilizes the spinal pumps that martial artists use to generate their power and kinesthetically educates the body in wave form motion.
Buddha breath is very effective for clearing the supportive thrusting channels like cleaning a pipe before use. The secret lies in extending the breath beyond the physical body to the greater heavenly circuit and down to the earth and out to the universe. The meditation is about connecting with the centre of the earth.
The principle is that the deeper the roots the higher the reach of the
branches. To go up one must first go down. The earth is our home, Giai is our mother. It’s easy enough for meditators to go travelling, the trick is to find your way back and a powerful homing instinct is essential.
Yoga meditations are often portrayed as assuming the lotus position which curtails the connection to the earth to send it heavenward. Chi Kung meditations are very earth based. This is where we are born, in this dimension. The meditator might imagine themselves at the centre of their Yin/Yang mandala, connected from the hara, rooted in the earth, and connected to everything that is, as if they are suspended in space with the earth as their footstool with the whole of the universal and stellar energy to draw upon.
Bodyworkers frequently tell me that they know this already
but they might ask themselves if they have got past the first step:
which is the establishment of the hara:
out of chest/anxiety breathing and into abdominal breathing, breathing from and moving from the hara, and the creation of hara structure and
the pearl at the centre of the hara.
It is fundamental.
Without the hara connection there is no ability to connect with all that is or even worse a connection is made from the third eye (Yin Tang) or the crown (Bai Hui) with the ungrounded consequences (space cadet syndrome) that follows.
The Hara connection is the anchor.
I describe Satoro as unfurling/unraveling and gathering the chi and use a coil of rope and a katana as the motif. The treatment philosophy is that of following the thread to its cause. It’s rather like digging out dandelions, just pulling off the leaves is only good for making tea.
***
I like to work from a standing position as degrees of weight can be transferred. It is very comfortable and ergonomic for the giver and most convenient for putting the receiver into stretches and works in a rocking motion.
Mothers rock their babies. Some meditators rock their bodies (releasing their spines) in a motion called Davening. Rocking releases stuck energy and allows the muscle spindles to unwind and find their natural place.
From Chi Kung there is a sequence of exercises called the Rag Doll which applied during the treatment to the client allows their body to unwind. If you have ever seen a dog shake off water you will notice how it begins from its centre outward. Works for the dog!
That is the active stage.
The passive stage is the gathering and listening phase: to dip the hand in the pool so silently so as not to disturb it, to allow the hot confluence of released energies to settle where they are most needed and in particular the kidneys, liver and hara.
It’s usually during the passive stage that cellular release occurs.
It is when the real work is done.
***
Satoro certainly has a different feel to it, because of its weight and depth and mobility it has been described as the Tai Chi of bodywork.
It is not prescriptive nor denies a practitioner from working within their own style of bodywork, whatever that is. It can be applied in any situation. I think Satoro partners some bodywork particularly well: Shiatsu, Thai, Tui Na, Bowen, Polarity, No Hands. It also links in well with the ‘soft’ martial arts such as Aikido, Judo, Ninjutsu, Tai Chi, Kung Fu who are used to being bodily mobile, using chi and are already founded in a spiritual philosophy, particularly Taoist
philosophy.
***
Satoro was developed for treating injuries and illnesses. It’s also very helpful for practitioners who have work related injuries and find it hard to work on tables or upon their knees upon a futon. Satoro prevents injuries.
***
Satoro workshops are available on request particularly if a group or a class is formed or for special interest groups such as at dojos, schools and academies.
***
As Satoro is a serious healing art and begins with creating a ‘Sacred Space’. Satoro happily gives a practitioner more freedom, more gears and more tools to work with.
***
Roy Mulholland:
Naturopath, Herbalist, Iridologist, Shiatsu & Chi Kung teacher, Creator of Satoro.
Tel 079 581 422 86.
27P Findhorn Place, The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland
[email protected]
Mothers rock their babies. Some meditators rock their bodies (releasing their spines) in a motion called Davening. Rocking releases stuck energy and allows the muscle spindles to unwind and find their natural place.
From Chi Kung there is a sequence of exercises called the Rag Doll which applied during the treatment to the client allows their body to unwind. If you have ever seen a dog shake off water you will notice how it begins from its centre outward. Works for the dog!
That is the active stage.
The passive stage is the gathering and listening phase: to dip the hand in the pool so silently so as not to disturb it, to allow the hot confluence of released energies to settle where they are most needed and in particular the kidneys, liver and hara.
It’s usually during the passive stage that cellular release occurs.
It is when the real work is done.
***
Satoro certainly has a different feel to it, because of its weight and depth and mobility it has been described as the Tai Chi of bodywork.
It is not prescriptive nor denies a practitioner from working within their own style of bodywork, whatever that is. It can be applied in any situation. I think Satoro partners some bodywork particularly well: Shiatsu, Thai, Tui Na, Bowen, Polarity, No Hands. It also links in well with the ‘soft’ martial arts such as Aikido, Judo, Ninjutsu, Tai Chi, Kung Fu who are used to being bodily mobile, using chi and are already founded in a spiritual philosophy, particularly Taoist
philosophy.
***
Satoro was developed for treating injuries and illnesses. It’s also very helpful for practitioners who have work related injuries and find it hard to work on tables or upon their knees upon a futon. Satoro prevents injuries.
***
Satoro workshops are available on request particularly if a group or a class is formed or for special interest groups such as at dojos, schools and academies.
***
As Satoro is a serious healing art and begins with creating a ‘Sacred Space’. Satoro happily gives a practitioner more freedom, more gears and more tools to work with.
***
Roy Mulholland:
Naturopath, Herbalist, Iridologist, Shiatsu & Chi Kung teacher, Creator of Satoro.
Tel 079 581 422 86.
27P Findhorn Place, The Grange, Edinburgh, Scotland
[email protected]