CM 615 - Asian Bodywork

Credit(s): 1.50

Bodywork in most traditional systems of medicine is considered foundational. Other key elements of Traditional East Asian Medical practice—e.g., pulse diagnosis, channel diagnosis, abdominal diagnosis, needling, gua sha, cupping, moxibustion—depend on refined touch skills. The cultivation and development of palpatory sensitivity in the practice of somatic therapies allows one to quickly advance in these other skills.

In this course, students explore a Japanese and a Chinese style of bodywork, both of which boil down to creative use of the yin-yang dynamic in the body. The Sotai system from Japan, developed by Dr. Keizo Hashimoto—and its later evolution into Yin Sotai and Sotai Intuitivo—and the ancient Daoist qigong tuina system are the core of this course. Students learn to assess their patients from a gross structural perspective, but also on the subtler level of fascial distortions. They learn to deliver effective treatments that move patients to a greater sense of ease in their physical and emotional selves. Note: Additional fee required