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My name is Yuki Matsuoka, founder of KaradaNaoru. Having worked with more than 3,000 people through my bodywork practice, I often find myself returning to the same realization. People frequently ask me: “Can you cure cancer?” “Can you cure leukemia?” Whenever I hear these questions, I find myself thinking the same thing. I am not looking at the disease. I am looking at the person. ⸻ Symptoms Alone Tell Me Very Little No two people are the same, even if they share the same dia

Tonight, I’m going to Ginza to have yakiniku with Sergio. Or, more accurately, I’m going to be treated to yakiniku. Sergio comes to Japan from Mexico about once a year, and every time he does, he takes me out for something delicious. We’ve known each other for more than ten years now. We first met when I was living in Mexico City. Back then, we weren’t especially close. Still, whenever we met, we would talk about all sorts of things, and occasionally we’d end up having drinks

Back when I was still living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I discovered a service called Couchsurfing. The idea was simple: if you had an empty couch or spare room, you could host travelers from around the world. And when you traveled abroad yourself, someone else might host you in return. This was long before Airbnb became mainstream — it was a far more idealistic and almost pastoral kind of platform. I loved the concept immediately, so I decided to open up my home in Buenos A

Accompanying a Mother from Hyogo Yesterday, a client came all the way from Hyogo Prefecture. She had booked her very first Zoom session with me the previous week, and after feeling satisfied with the results, she decided to visit in person this time together with her mother. Her mother, in her late seventies, had recently become unsteady on her feet and had already suffered two falls. She had bolts in her back and metal implants in her hip. In many ways, her body had been thr

A tango-loving woman from Kyoto had been asking me for some time, “Could you teach me Diego & Aldana’s technique?” So the other day, I finally did. Diego & Aldana are, without exaggeration, among the most popular tango dancers in the world today. They were the winners of the 2025 World Tango Championship and now tour internationally across the globe. Their studio is located in Yutenji, Tokyo. I used to live in Nakameguro, close enough to walk there, and I had already been tak

Yuki Matsuoka, founder of KaradaNaoru, here. In the previous article,“‘He Has a Selfless Heart’ — The Beginning of KaradaNaoru (1),”I wrote about the intense bodywork teacher I encountered in my twenties. This time, I would like to continue the story by writing about my family — especially my father. Born in Arashiyama, Kyoto Whenever people ask where I’m from and I answer,“Arashiyama, Kyoto,”they usually react with envy. But in reality, Kyoto is a basin. The summers are hu

People sometimes ask me how I first entered this world. It began when I was still in my twenties. I had just returned from London and was calling myself a “freelance photographer,” although in reality I barely had any work and spent most of my time drifting aimlessly. Around that time, my mother discovered a certain bodywork teacher, and I began attending her workshops regularly. Originally, she practiced fairly ordinary physical therapy. But before long, her methods evolved

Earlier today, while speaking with one of my longtime clients, I suddenly remembered another client from years ago. “How is that French chef from Nishiazabu doing these days?” I asked. “He’s doing extremely well,” the client replied. Hearing that made me genuinely happy. In the end, that chef only visited my salon once. And yet, I still remember him vividly. From the moment he opened the door to the Meguro salon, I felt something unusual. As I focused more carefully, it felt

This happened not long after I started this work. It was about eight years ago. Back then, I wasn’t yet able to sense things as specifically as I sometimes do now. Still, every once in a while, there were people who felt somehow unusual the moment they entered the room. One day, a middle-aged man came to the salon. He wasn’t particularly large or physically intimidating. Just an average build with nothing especially remarkable about his appearance. And yet, the moment I touch

There is a man named Mr. Isoe who travels every month from Kitami, Hokkaido, to my salon in Meguro, Tokyo. He is a highly respected engineering Ph.D. who even wrote a testimonial for the KaradaNaoru website. But he was not always healthy. Originally, he had suffered for years from severe unexplained dizziness. Standing was difficult. Even sitting was painful. Despite being in such a serious condition, every hospital he visited reportedly told him there was “nothing abnormal.”

It all started because yesterday happened to be my day off, and I noticed that my father-in-law had written “grass cutting” on the whiteboard where he keeps track of his schedule. My wife and I decided to join him. My wife had participated the previous time as well, so it felt awkward to be the only one out of the three not helping. Once I decided to join, I figured I had better work seriously. At 192 cm tall, I stand out enough already. So I threw myself into cutting grass w

Everyone wants to live a healthy life. That is why so many people are careful about their daily habits. Sleep. Exercise. Food. All of these are important, and there is nothing wrong with paying attention to them. And yet, even with all that effort, people still become ill.And eventually, people still die. Lately, through various experiences, I have been reminded of that reality very strongly. But I have also seen the opposite. To be honest, my father has lived for more than e

When people talk about health, they usually say that the three most important things are exercise, diet, and sleep. I think that is true. However, after many years of working with people’s bodies, I have come to feel that, in the end, the most important factor is a person’s will to live. That said, exercise, food, and sleep cannot simply be ignored. And among them, daily food is especially important. Personally, I have come to believe that what matters is not only what we eat

Mr. T worked in the real estate business. I still vividly remember the very first time he came to my Meguro salon. He had been referred by one of my clients. He arrived on crutches with a fractured left foot. It was painful just to look at him. These days, however, fractures are not always treated with a full cast like they were in the past. In many cases, the injured area is only lightly stabilized while the body heals naturally. That was also the case for Mr. T. So first, I

So… What Exactly Is KaradaNaoru? I have known Mr. T for a long time now.I think he first came to my Meguro salon around four or five years ago. Since then, he has attended many of the ongoing monthly training workshops I host. In fact, I had just done a Zoom session with him last week. Back then, he lived in Tochigi. Now he has moved to Tokyo. About two or three years ago, Mr. T came to the salon with a rather serious concern. His main complaint was: “Bleeding from the rectum

It has been many years since Mr. A first came to my salon. Back then, I was still using a device called CS60 and was often referred to as “the most painful practitioner in Japan.” Since then, my work has evolved significantly into what is now known as KaradaNaoru. But Mr. A has continued coming ever since those early days. At first, he came because of asthma. After the sessions, his symptoms improved considerably, and he continued visiting the salon from time to time afterwar

I think it was around the spring of 2022. That was when I held my first workshop in Hokkaido. At the time, there were still very few participants from Hokkaido itself. So I used the large amount of ANA mileage I had accumulated and gifted flights to three men who had become regular participants at my Tokyo workshops, and together we traveled to Hokkaido. Looking back now, it was probably quite an extravagant use of miles. The venue and accommodation we used was a place called

Recently, perhaps because I have been writing more about remote support and the atmosphere of spaces, people often ask me: “Have you always been interested in these kinds of invisible worlds?” To be honest, it was less about “interest.” If anything, I feel as though I had already been inside that world before I was even born. That feeling is probably closer to the truth. My maternal grandmother was deeply devoted to a certain spiritual teacher. People referred to him simply a

This is a story I often share during workshops. It involves a woman in her thirties. She was still quite young. Her main issue was a gynecological condition, especially severe menstrual pain. It had become serious enough to interfere with her daily life. So when she first came to the salon, the priority was simple: how to relieve that pain. As usual, I placed my hands lightly near her head and began quietly observing her body as a whole. After a few moments, I felt something

I believe it was about a year and a half ago, during one of our training workshops. A physical therapist had joined that day, and for the purpose of practicing remote support and reading through photographs, he brought many photos of his clients. As I looked at each one, I simply spoke out whatever first came to mind. And strangely enough, it was often accurate. For one woman, I suddenly said: “This person seems to have financial problems.” And apparently, she was in the midd