Your Body Is Always on Your Side — What Your Symptoms Are Telling You 

Introduction

Within Imoto Seitai, there is a method called the Hot Towel Method. It is so widely applicable to a variety of symptoms and rehabilitation that we sometimes call it a “universal self-care method”.

I have personally used this method, together with Jintai Rikigaku Exercises and the Imoto Seitai approach to making use of colds, to avoid medical expenses for decades. I know many other members of the Imoto Seitai community have had similar experiences.

In this article, I would like to explain how to use the method. However, first I need to explain something important: healing is accompanied by elimination. Just as cleaning produces rubbish and repairing a machine produces discarded parts, the process of healing also involves things being removed from the body.

Your body is always on your side, right to the very end.

However, many people call the pain, coughing and other reactions associated with the body's natural healing processes “symptoms”. They feel as though their body is rebelling against them, and try to stop these reactions. In doing so, however, they also stop the healing process.

The waste products that should have been eliminated then change in form and may return at some point as more serious “symptoms”. If these are suppressed as well, the body gradually gives up trying to heal itself. It becomes less responsive and less sensitive.

Instead, according to the theory of Imoto Seitai, the body accumulates old waste products and toxins, forming lumps or masses. When physical strength declines, these masses may spread to other parts of the body.

Even if I introduce an effective self-care method, it is pointless if people stop the resulting reactions because they think, “Oh no, I've developed symptoms!”

For this reason, I feel I should explain the meaning of symptoms before describing the Hot Towel Method in detail.

Understanding Symptoms

In the Imoto Seitai approach, most “symptoms” are regarded as reactions through which the body eliminates waste products. Many people, however, consider them signs of illness and focus on stopping them.

But if we think about it carefully, a body that cannot eliminate waste products could itself be considered an unhealthy body.

For example, it would be abnormal not to feel pain after an injury, just as it would be abnormal not to develop diarrhoea after eating spoiled food. In Seitai, this condition is called mubyōbyō (無病病), literally “the illness of having no illness”.

This is also why people who are usually very healthy and never even catch a cold sometimes die suddenly from a serious illness. In Seitai, this is expressed as “Suppressing minor illnesses leads to major illness”. Regular elimination, in the form of minor illnesses or symptoms, is considered important for maintaining health.

Therefore, if you experience any reaction that seems like a healing response after using the Hot Towel Method or receiving Seitai treatment, please do not panic and try to stop it immediately.

Below, I will explain various symptoms and their meanings from the perspective of Imoto Seitai. If you still feel concerned after reading this, please consult an accredited Imoto Seitai instructor.

Pain and Inflammation

When part of the body becomes stiff due to an impact or fatigue, circulation may deteriorate and the area may become cold. From the perspective of Seitai, this means that the affected area is approaching a state of localised death. The body responds by releasing inflammatory substances, such as prostaglandins, to widen blood vessels and restore warmth and circulation.

In Seitai, this is described as “using pain and heat to gather the body's healing power”.

Accordingly, cooling an area or suppressing pain is generally thought to create stiffness within the body. This, in turn, can cause waste products to stagnate and leave what Seitai calls an “old wound”.

Head injuries and internal bleeding are exceptions. In other cases, the Hot Towel Method is used to warm the affected area and promote circulation, with the aim of relieving pain.

This may sound strange, but the idea is that the pain itself becomes unnecessary once the body no longer needs to produce it.

Fever and Chills

A baby's body is warm, whereas a dead body is cold. In this sense, heat represents the power of life.

When the body becomes stiff or cold, or when circulation deteriorates—in other words, when it is approaching a state of death—Seitai theory suggests that a body with sufficient vitality will develop a fever in an attempt to restore warmth and renew itself.

Before the fever develops, the body may experience chills as it prepares to raise its temperature and increases its demand for heat.

According to this approach, a fever should generally be allowed to run its course rather than suppressed. When the fever has run its course successfully, the body will regain its flexibility, warmth and circulation.

If a fever is slow to develop, fails to rise fully or lingers for a long time, the Hot Towel Method is used to stimulate the temperature-regulating centre at the back of the head.

The method is also used when chills continue for a long time, as this is interpreted as a sign that the body is not developing a fever effectively.

Coughing and Sneezing

In Imoto Seitai, coughing and sneezing are regarded as spontaneous movements that shake and loosen stiff rib muscles.

When the rib cage is stiff, the movement of the organs inside it—including the heart, lungs, stomach and liver—may be restricted, reducing their function. There are also many lymph nodes between the ribs, so stiffness in the intercostal muscles is thought to interfere with lymphatic flow.

According to this approach, coughing and sneezing can be allowed to occur naturally until the intercostal muscles relax, at which point they should subside on their own.

Exercises that loosen the rib cage, or applying the Hot Towel Method to areas of discomfort, are also used with the aim of helping the process proceed more smoothly.

A Runny Nose

A freely dripping nose is regarded in Seitai as a way of moistening the lungs when they have become dry. The idea is that moisture is carried towards the lungs as we breathe in.

For this reason, placing a warm, damp towel over the face and inhaling the steam may also help relieve a runny nose.

It is also said that when nasal discharge is allowed to run its course, the lungs gradually regain a gentle warmth.

A Blocked Nose

According to Imoto Seitai, when the digestive system is tired and needs rest, the nose may become blocked, reducing the sense of smell and appetite.

If the nose is unblocked with medication and the person continues eating as usual, the theory suggests that the digestive system may become overworked and eventually break down.

Instead, reducing food intake or temporarily skipping a meal is said to allow the nose to clear naturally.

If the problem does not resolve, other causes besides eating or drinking too much, such as stress, may be involved.

Itching

In Seitai, itching is interpreted as a signal that circulation is poor in a particular area. Scratching the skin is thought to help restore circulation.

The theory also holds that substances which could not be eliminated through the digestive tract, for example during diarrhoea, may instead be eliminated through the skin. If this process is suppressed as well, the substances are said to accumulate inside the body and form lumps or masses.

A principle of Seitai is therefore, “If it itches, scratch it.” If scratching causes blood or pus to come out, this is traditionally regarded as even better, as it is interpreted as the elimination of toxins.

According to this view, once the blood and pus have finished draining, the skin will become clear again. If you are uncomfortable with scratching, however, the Hot Towel Method can be applied to the affected area.

The theory also suggests that when toxic substances accumulate in the body, a person may experience an itch deep inside the body, beyond the reach of scratching. The Hot Towel Method is also considered very useful in such cases.

Atopic Dermatitis and Eczema

As described in the section on itching, these skin conditions are interpreted in Seitai as forms of elimination through the skin. If scratching causes pain, the Hot Towel Method is applied to the affected area instead.

Conventional treatment often involves suppressing symptoms with medicines such as steroids. From the perspective presented here, some people turn to the idea of elimination only after their symptoms become increasingly difficult to control and even high doses of steroids no longer seem to work.

Although the process of eliminating what has built up in the body can sometimes be difficult, I have seen clients gradually recover over several years when they do not give up.

It also claims that when steroids have changed the body's DNA, complete recovery becomes difficult. For this reason, I recommends using a hot towel to encourage elimination from the outset, if possible.

In my work with clients, I have heard countless reports of the Hot Towel Method relieving itching immediately.

Vomiting and Diarrhoea

When a person eats spoiled food or a poisonous substance, someone with a sensitive system, such as a child, may vomit quickly to eliminate it. If vomiting does not occur in time and the substance reaches the intestines, the body may try to eliminate it through diarrhoea instead.

According to this theory, people who are less sensitive may accumulate toxic substances without experiencing either reaction.

It is desirable, in this approach, for harmful substances to be eliminated promptly. Applying the Hot Towel Method to a specific point on the liver known in Seitai as the Rishō Katen (痢症活点) is said to make the process of elimination easier and quicker.

Morning sickness during pregnancy is considered more common among people with a weak stomach. In Seitai, it is also interpreted as a way of eliminating toxins and as a spontaneous adjustment of the pelvis through the movements involved in vomiting.

People whose stomachs have become stiff due to stress may also experience dry heaving, or the urge to vomit even when their stomachs are empty. This is interpreted as an attempt to loosen the stomach through movement.

Similarly, when the fifth thoracic vertebra (T5)—a point associated in Seitai with the semicircular canals of the inner ear and sweating—becomes stiff, it may affect the area associated with the stomach near the sixth thoracic vertebra (T6), leading to nausea. Motion sickness is given as an example.

Conclusion

In Imoto Seitai, symptoms such as those described above are regarded as forms of elimination and should not be suppressed. A traditional expression in Seitai is, “Whatever comes out is benign.”

In psychology, people often speak of the “inner child”. Your body, too, works for you like an innocent child, acting entirely for the benefit of your conscious self.

Rather than behaving like a parent who suppresses a child and constantly tells them to be quiet, I would like you to listen carefully to what your body is telling you.

In this way, just as a child feels safe enough to talk openly about anything, your body gradually becomes more sensitive and healthier, allowing elimination reactions to occur rather than suppressing them.

The Hot Towel Method and Jintai Rikigaku Exercises are intended to help restore this sensitivity.

However, even children sometimes do extraordinary things despite their good intentions. If the process of elimination continues indefinitely and you begin to feel increasingly exhausted, please consult an accredited Imoto Seitai instructor in your area. Of course, in an acute situation, always consult a doctor.

In the next article, I will explain how to put the Hot Towel Method into practice.

Read the next article: Practising the Hot Towel Method