Einstein once commented that if he ever came back to earth he would be a plumber! One can understand the attraction to something so apparently logical operating on the principles of high and low pressure, gravity, suction, free flow and the release of blockages it might come to resemble aspects of shiatsu including that of being on your knees a lot of the time. Work on ki connection and development is probably the most important part of a shiatsu course. Satoro certainly does work with these principles including working with organic energy, emotional energy and chasing the winds but the Satoro practitioner also acts as an initiator and catalysor both from their own energy and that of the greater connectivity to universal energy.
It begins with 'The Draw'. The draw centers at the Hara and with breathing into the Hara and the kidneys. On the exhalation the energy is mobilized and directed out from the heart and lungs down the Yin meridians of the arms through the Lao Gong points in the center of the palms to the Client. The Draw creates a kind of suction in the palms (of either hands or feet) which is a palpable difference to that of merely placing a finger or thumb on the skin. I think of the placing of fingers in line work on a meridian as baby walking, like a toddler pitter-pattering over the surface, because it remains superficial and never connects with the energy.
... To read more - click below.
It begins with 'The Draw'. The draw centers at the Hara and with breathing into the Hara and the kidneys. On the exhalation the energy is mobilized and directed out from the heart and lungs down the Yin meridians of the arms through the Lao Gong points in the center of the palms to the Client. The Draw creates a kind of suction in the palms (of either hands or feet) which is a palpable difference to that of merely placing a finger or thumb on the skin. I think of the placing of fingers in line work on a meridian as baby walking, like a toddler pitter-pattering over the surface, because it remains superficial and never connects with the energy.
... To read more - click below.
If I might make an analogy to making a fire. First one sets the wood into the right shape and makes sure that there is an airway beneath and an airway above. Kindling (moss or paper) is prepared and a spark is struck to the kindling and a few puffs of breath are carefully applied. Good, the kindling has taken. The spark takes hold and passes to the thicker twigs.
But to really get the fire going a bellows is used to oxygenate the fire more and a draw is induced between the air rushing in from below and the air that is induced from the chimney.
A good chimney creates a good draw. If the chimney is blocked the smoke backtracks and smokes out the room. A roaring fire depends upon a good draw.
In Satoro terms 'The Draw' begins with you, the practitioner.
It is oxygenated with the powerful bellows breathing from the Hara and sustained with connection to Heavens and Earth. Therefore the Draw is not cold.
It doesn't begin with cold hands only to warm up on the client later on in the treatment.
The energy of a client doesn't always obey the points and meridians of an acupuncture chart.
They flow and meander and loop back like rivers, surge and waterfall in some places and pool in others. ‘The Draw’ enables the practitioner to search out for these mysterious energy flows (like underground springs) until the energy of the client is 'meeted and greeted'.
That cannot be done through baby walking. On the other hand the Draw is not about hard pressure either, no more than a vacuum cleaner is about hosing down hard with the nozzle.
It is the characterization of the movement of air that catalyzes the work of the fire.
We might think of it as a metabolic process, a metabolism of energy (in the hara).
In many ways, the plumbing analogy also has an application too because ‘The Draw’ of water through the system of channels as the water transmutes through the various elevations and phases ; from one body part to the next, from one geographical region to the next, as the air currents and ocean currents mirror one another, as everything moves in spirals.
On Priming the Pump
I have observed some Korean bodywork in which the practitioner uses bellow breathing as part of the treatment. This is not necessary in Satoro because the work is already established in the Misogi personal practice which we term 'priming the pump'. If the draw has already been established then when it is called upon it will naturally flow, like turning on a tap. It just needs a bit of focus (in the Sacred Space) so that the mind, body and spirit are switched on to the fact there is going to be a treatment. Sometimes I reinforce the Hara energy with a little quiet bellows breath particularly if I want to direct my energy towards a particular place or
if I don't want to take onboard a client’s energy into myself or
if I use both hands (facing each other) to 'steam' an organ in the abdomen.
But this method (steaming) is energy intensive and high maintenance.
Another question that I have been asked is as to whether the palms employ the same energy as the soles of the feet. I think that there is a difference in emphasis. The arms extend from the heart and lung meridians wheras the feet extend from the kidney/bladder spleen energy.
As the heart is the emotional center it is something of an emotional outflow.
Again to operate purely from this center is draining to the heart energy.
The standing foot is connected directly to the earth. There is a strong earthy, common sense, pragmatic, stabilizing effect from the earth. It's also easier to vent sticky, sickly, negative energy from the legs and feet into the earth. In many ways I think that the standing posture induces a better alignment between heaven and earth.
Plucking the String and Playing the Piano:
The classical concept of a tsubo is that of a vase or a jug of energy that lies beneath the surface of the skin. A vase has a narrower neck than the belly of the vessel. To enter into the vase the finger or needle must penetrate at the right angle. If the finger or needle is placed flat and parallel to the surface it will not enter and the chi will not be met.
This is all true but as Satoro is concerned with vibrational energy musical allegories come to mind. Happily both playing the guitar and the piano are two handed and provides a mother hand and a supporting hand. On playing the guitar a string is depressed to create the note that you want. In effect it is a monocord. But depressing the string does not sound the note. To sound the note the finger must reach beneath the string to pluck it. Plucking the string releases and resonates the sound.
There is something of this nature that happens both physically and energetically with Satoro. The string of energy is engaged and 'plucked' in a subtle way. Imagine an energetic finger reaching into the tsubo, engaging the energy, and plucking it so as to resonate throughout the whole meridian.
It's true also with playing a piano. Merely placing a finger on the key is not going to sound the note. The key must be depressed so that the internal workings of the hammer literally plucks the string. It's a dynamic process and getting the power and control that leads to the expression of the music takes some time and practice to master.
But to really get the fire going a bellows is used to oxygenate the fire more and a draw is induced between the air rushing in from below and the air that is induced from the chimney.
A good chimney creates a good draw. If the chimney is blocked the smoke backtracks and smokes out the room. A roaring fire depends upon a good draw.
In Satoro terms 'The Draw' begins with you, the practitioner.
It is oxygenated with the powerful bellows breathing from the Hara and sustained with connection to Heavens and Earth. Therefore the Draw is not cold.
It doesn't begin with cold hands only to warm up on the client later on in the treatment.
The energy of a client doesn't always obey the points and meridians of an acupuncture chart.
They flow and meander and loop back like rivers, surge and waterfall in some places and pool in others. ‘The Draw’ enables the practitioner to search out for these mysterious energy flows (like underground springs) until the energy of the client is 'meeted and greeted'.
That cannot be done through baby walking. On the other hand the Draw is not about hard pressure either, no more than a vacuum cleaner is about hosing down hard with the nozzle.
It is the characterization of the movement of air that catalyzes the work of the fire.
We might think of it as a metabolic process, a metabolism of energy (in the hara).
In many ways, the plumbing analogy also has an application too because ‘The Draw’ of water through the system of channels as the water transmutes through the various elevations and phases ; from one body part to the next, from one geographical region to the next, as the air currents and ocean currents mirror one another, as everything moves in spirals.
On Priming the Pump
I have observed some Korean bodywork in which the practitioner uses bellow breathing as part of the treatment. This is not necessary in Satoro because the work is already established in the Misogi personal practice which we term 'priming the pump'. If the draw has already been established then when it is called upon it will naturally flow, like turning on a tap. It just needs a bit of focus (in the Sacred Space) so that the mind, body and spirit are switched on to the fact there is going to be a treatment. Sometimes I reinforce the Hara energy with a little quiet bellows breath particularly if I want to direct my energy towards a particular place or
if I don't want to take onboard a client’s energy into myself or
if I use both hands (facing each other) to 'steam' an organ in the abdomen.
But this method (steaming) is energy intensive and high maintenance.
Another question that I have been asked is as to whether the palms employ the same energy as the soles of the feet. I think that there is a difference in emphasis. The arms extend from the heart and lung meridians wheras the feet extend from the kidney/bladder spleen energy.
As the heart is the emotional center it is something of an emotional outflow.
Again to operate purely from this center is draining to the heart energy.
The standing foot is connected directly to the earth. There is a strong earthy, common sense, pragmatic, stabilizing effect from the earth. It's also easier to vent sticky, sickly, negative energy from the legs and feet into the earth. In many ways I think that the standing posture induces a better alignment between heaven and earth.
Plucking the String and Playing the Piano:
The classical concept of a tsubo is that of a vase or a jug of energy that lies beneath the surface of the skin. A vase has a narrower neck than the belly of the vessel. To enter into the vase the finger or needle must penetrate at the right angle. If the finger or needle is placed flat and parallel to the surface it will not enter and the chi will not be met.
This is all true but as Satoro is concerned with vibrational energy musical allegories come to mind. Happily both playing the guitar and the piano are two handed and provides a mother hand and a supporting hand. On playing the guitar a string is depressed to create the note that you want. In effect it is a monocord. But depressing the string does not sound the note. To sound the note the finger must reach beneath the string to pluck it. Plucking the string releases and resonates the sound.
There is something of this nature that happens both physically and energetically with Satoro. The string of energy is engaged and 'plucked' in a subtle way. Imagine an energetic finger reaching into the tsubo, engaging the energy, and plucking it so as to resonate throughout the whole meridian.
It's true also with playing a piano. Merely placing a finger on the key is not going to sound the note. The key must be depressed so that the internal workings of the hammer literally plucks the string. It's a dynamic process and getting the power and control that leads to the expression of the music takes some time and practice to master.