Based on the eclectic Western-Eastern teachings of Nakamura Tempu Sensei, this step-by-step introduction to Japanese yoga (Shin-shin-toitsu-do) presents stretching, healing, and meditation exercises designed for mind/body integration. It is the first book in English to detail the life and teachings of Mr. Nakamura. In Japanese yoga, which is based on mind and body unification principles, the ultimate goal is enhanced concentration, calmness, and willpower for a longer, healthier, and fuller life. H. E. Davey Sensei also shows how Japanese yoga relates to various classical Japanese arts as part of a tradition of spiritual practice with spiritual and aesthetic roots in India, Japan, and the West. Developed by Nakamura Tempu Sensei in the early 1900s from Indian Raja yoga, Japanese martial arts and meditation practices, as well as Western medicine and psychotherapy, Japanese yoga offers a new approach to experienced yoga students and a natural methodology that newcomers will find easy to learn. After a brief history of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, H. E. Davey Sensei presents Mr. Nakamura's Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body. These principles relate the meditative experience to the movement of everyday living and thus make it a "dynamic meditation." Each of the Four Basic Principles is illustrated with step-by-step explanations of practical experiments. Readers are then introduced to different forms of seated and moving meditation, health exercises, and self-healing arts. All these are linked back to the Four Basic Principles and can enhance performance in art, music, business, sports, and other activities. Readers learn to use Japanese yoga techniques throughout the day, without having to sit on the floor or seek out a quiet space. Included at the end of the book are simple but effective stretching exercises, information about ongoing practice, and a glossary and reference section. Amply illustrated and cogently presented, "Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation" belongs on every mind/body/spirit reading list.
About the Author: H. E. Davey is the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, which offers instruction in Japanese systems of yoga, martial arts, healing arts and fine arts. His introduction to the arts of Japan came via traditional martial arts. Since the age of five, he's studied jujutsu extensively in the USA and Japan. He has received a seventh-degree black belt and the title of Kyoshi from the Kokusai Budoin, a Tokyo-based international federation. Kokusai Budoin defines Kyoshi as comparable to a "Master's Certificate" and equivalent to modern ranks of sixth- to eighth-degree black belt. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association. In middle school, Mr. Davey began studying Shin-shin-toitsu-do, a system of Japanese yoga and meditation founded by Nakamura Tempu Sensei. He's the only member of Tempu-Kai, an organization established by Mr. Nakamura, who is a full-time professional instructor of Shin-shin-toitsu-do. He is also a member of the Wakuwaku Honshin Juku in Osaka, and he holds the highest level of teaching certification from this association, which is devoted to meditation and the teachings of Mr. Nakamura. He's practiced in Japan and the USA under Nakamura Sensei's senior disciples, including Sawai Atsuhiro Sensei and Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei. Mr. Davey's also received extensive instruction in Nakamura Sensei's methods of bodywork and healing with ki ("life energy"), which he teaches. He's furthermore received training in Hatha yoga and Pranayama breathing exercises in the tradition of Indra Devi. Mr. Davey also studied shodo, or Japanese brush writing and ink painting, for 20 years under the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei of Kyoto. Mr. Davey holds the top rank in Ranseki Sho Juku shodo and frequently exhibits in Japan. He's received numerous honors in these exhibitions, including Jun Taisho ("Associate Grand Prize"). H. E. Davey's articles on Japanese arts and his artwork have appeared in numerous American and Japanese magazines and newspapers. He's the author of: - "Unlocking the Secrets of Aiki-jujutsu" (McGraw-Hill) - "Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony" (Stone Bridge Press) - "Living the Japanese Arts & Ways: 45 Paths to Meditation & Beauty" (Stone Bridge Press) - "The Japanese Way of the Artist" (Stone Bridge Press) - "The Japanese Way of the Flower: Ikebana as Moving Meditation" (Stone Bridge Press) - "Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation" (Michi Publishing)