Sotai is a system of physical therapy that was developed in Japan by Dr. Kiezo Hashimoto.  Sotai is principally muscle/energy techniques that he devised over a period of years, through the study of kinesiological principles in relation to the restoration and maintenance of health and wellbeing. This system is based in the belief that each individual has the inherent means to facilitate healing.  Hashimoto noted that while such potential existed, people lacked the ability to make use of it because of their attitudes and lifestyles; also, human sensitivity to this awareness had become numbed to the significance of the development of minor symptoms as indicators of disharmony.  He concluded that lacking sensitivity and the ability to act in response to such indications resulted in a ‘spiralling’ of symptoms, which could develop into further illness or disease.

Hashimoto observed that the body had a tendency to manifest disharmony of function as pain or discomfort, and that the development of pain and discomfort (with the postural and structural distortions that arose from them), were representative of deeper underlying disharmonies within the body.  The persistence of pain and discomfort, in addition to the maintenance of postural and structural distortion, added to existing problems causing stress, continual and deteriorating loss of function which leads to the condition becoming worse owing to the inability of the body to engage its own healing resources.
Sotai was developed to facilitate the inherent healing abilities of the body.  Once healing is established, Sotai can be used to aid the rehabilitative process and to maintain postural and structural integrity.  The underlying principle behind this system is the use of assisted restricted movement, performed gently with an emphasis on:

1. Gentle movement in a direction away from pain and discomfort.
2. The use of ‘correct’ breathing in conjunction with movement.
3. The achievement of complete relaxation following movement.

This combination of movement, breathing and relaxation relieves somatic tension throughout the muscular –skeletal system, and because of the inter-relationships of the body, affects the neuro-endocrine, myofascial and neuro-muscular systems. Sotai works by backtracking through the multiplicity of tension patterns that arise in relation to functional disharmony, giving the body the opportunity to eliminate long-established patterns of tension, achieve relaxation, and maximize the body’s ability to heal and maintain health. Reproduced with the kind permission of Sarah Wale, Principal of the Genki School of Shiatsu, Clophill, Bedfordshire.