The “Sotai” method was developed by Keizo Hashimoto. M.D. in Japan, who was a Professor of Physiology as well as an Internist at the prestigious Tohoku University. 

He was later involved in the treatment of local farmers, who tended to engage in hard labor day and night and, consequently, developed all sorts of pain and aches. Combining his experience in Physiology and clinical practice, he developed a unique exercise and rehabilitation program. He named the program as “Sotai Method.”  “Sotai” means “body adjustment.”

This method allows people to heal or rehabilitate themselves from many of their pains and aches without taking up much time and effort. Tired and exhausted farmers cannot afford much time and effort in the first place. Therefore, this method had to be practical even for those tired and aching farmers. Because it was so effective and yet simple, it soon spread among many suffers of chronic pain and suffering of all kinds.

Dr. Hashimoto’s Sohtai Method has four basic principles:

Diagnose your problems by moving all parts of your body to all directions and listen to what your body tells you.

1. Move your body towards the directions you feel comfortable and never force your body to move in painful directions.
2. Balance your body functions by moving both sides of your body evenly rather than concentrating only on the parts that need to be healed.
3. Utilize your body’s natural “rebound” process by first keeping a part of the body in tension for a while and then suddenly loosening it.

Dr. Hashimoto developed many specific techniques for various ailments such as arthritis, backaches, asthma, gastritis, constipation, and allergies. The following are the “basic” six exercises that will take only 5 to 8 minutes and allow you to keep your body in shape.

I  Arm Raising and Dropping

Stand with your feet apart at shoulder width.

1. Slowly raise your arms sideways to the shoulder level, while slowly breathing in from your nose.
2. Hold your breath, with your body in this position for a few counts.
3. Let your arms drop, letting go of all the muscle tension in the arms and the shoulders and also letting go of your breath.
4. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.

II  Stationary Walking with Arm Swinging

Take steps on the spot 30 to 50 times, with the legs raised as high as you can and the arms swinging all the way to the front and the back while breathing rhythmically inhaling during steps four to eight and exhaling during the next four to twelve steps.

III  Forward-Backward Bending

1. Stand with your feet at shoulder width and breathe in slowly.
2. Slowly bend your body down forward while breathing out from your mouth.
3. Hold your breath for a few counts with your head weight stretching the back muscles of your body. Keep your abdomen partially full and tight to prevent over-bending.
4. Slowly rise, while breathing in from your nose, by pushing the floor with your toes.
5. Slowly bend your body backwards with your hands at the both sides of upper waists, while breathing out from your mouth, letting the head weight stretch the front part of your body.
6. Hold your breath for a few counts while stretching the front part of your body.
7. Slowly rise to the straight position, while breathing in from your nose.
8. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.

IV  Lateral Bending

1. Stand straight with your feet apart at shoulder width and breathe in slowly.
2. Slowly bend your body to the right with the left arm raised over the head, while standing on the left foot with the right heel off the floor and breathing out from your nose.
3. Slowly rise to the straight position, while breathing in from your nose.
4. Do the same to the left with the right leg straitened and the left heel off the floor.
5. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.

V  Body Twisting

1. Slowly twist your body to the right with the body weight on the right foot and the left heel off the floor, while breathing out from your mouth.
2. Hold your body in this position for a few counts, while holding your breath.
3. Suddenly let go of your force and let the body swing back to the original position.
4. Do the same to the left with the body weight on the left foot and the right heel off the floor.
5. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.

VI  Stretching Up

1. Stand straight with the feet at shoulder width and breathe in slowly.
2. Stand on the toes and stretch the arms as high as possible, while breathing out.
3. Hold your body in the stretched state for a few counts while holding your breath.
4. Suddenly let go of all your force and let the arms drop to the sides
5. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.

Note: This method is simple and effective because it incorporate all of the needs of body maintenance with "stretching," "breathing," and "toning." As you may see, this method is like a simplified form of "Yoga," which is also basically utilizing "stretching" and "breathing." 

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