The Body That Forgot How to Twist

Today, a man who teaches tea ceremony came to see me for the first time in a while.

He first came to me three or four years ago.

At that time, his knee was in bad condition, and he could not bend it deeply.

He had been introduced by one of my regular clients, and I worked with him several times.

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As a tea ceremony teacher, he often sits in seiza.

In his school, there are moments when one must stand up from seiza in a single movement.

When he first came, his knee would not bend.

Naturally, standing up from seiza was difficult.

Now, he can do it normally.

Looking back after three or four years, I think it is quite a recovery.

After seeing that her son could sit in seiza again, his mother once came to see me as well.

She was 92 at the time.

Now she is 95.

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This time, it was not his knee.

What bothered him was his lower back.

When I looked at his body, the movement between the upper and lower ribs was very limited.

The whole rib cage had become fixed, and its range of motion was small.

The cause of knee trouble, or lower back pain, is not always in that area itself.

The body is connected.

When one part becomes fixed, another part has to compensate.

That compensation can appear as pain.

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This time, I gave him two movements to help restore motion around the ribs.

I think one of the movements most lacking in daily life is twisting.

In ordinary life, we rarely twist the body in a large way.

Walking.

Sitting.

Standing.

Looking at a phone.

Working at a computer.

All of these can be done while keeping the body fixed toward the front.

As a result, the upper body gradually hardens.

The ribs, spine, and shoulder blades lose the need to move.

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After the session, he said,

“I haven’t been here in a while, but I feel much lighter.”

Then he left.

When I hear words like that, I am reminded again how important daily use is.

Even after the body is adjusted, it hardens again through everyday life.

So we need time to loosen it.

It does not have to be anything special.

Twist a little.

Stretch a little.

Let the breath pass through a little.

Even that can change the body.

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But lack of movement is not the only thing that hardens the body.

In many cases, behind it, there is tension.

Work.

Relationships.

Family.

Responsibility.

Anxiety.

Without even realizing it, the body receives these things and tries to protect itself.

It hardens.

The breath becomes shallow.

Movement becomes small.

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Loosen the tension.

Let the breath pass through.

Release unnecessary force.

When the body moves from there, it gradually remembers its original movement.

A body that has forgotten how to twist remembers again by twisting.