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Nakamura Tempu Sensei

Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. Shin-shin-toitsu-do = "The Way of Mind and Body Unification."

"Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation," is a book focused on the mind and body unification principles and exercises of Nakamura Tempu Sensei. New, signed copies of this book by H. E. Davey can be purchased at http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html.  

Free Class!

The Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will offer a free introduction to the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. The class will take place in Albany, California on Thursday, September 14 at 7PM. If you would like to take part in this introduction to mind and body unification principles, call 510-526-7518 to reserve your place for the class.

Healing Arts at the Sennin Foundation Center

Nakamura Tempu Sensei, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga, also taught a method of self-healing and bodywork (hitori ryoho or hitori massage). His emphasis was on yuki, which is the transference of life energy through a massage-like technique. In most aspects of life, it is vital to be able to throw 100 percent of ourselves into the moment at hand, and this positive mental state is called Ki no dashikata, or "the projection of life energy." When our life energy freely exchanges with the life energy that pervades Nature, we're in our happiest and healthiest state. We've all met exceptionally positive and animated individuals, people who project a "large presence." The intangible, but unmistakable, "big presence" an energetic individual is projecting can be thought of as universal life energy, and it is an indispensable aspect of yuki. And in Japan, the universal essence that pervades all of the Nature has a name. It is called Ki.        An understanding of Ki is not something that can be fully detailed on a web site. For the moment, the principal points to remember are that Ki amounts to the animating force that vitalizes all creations, and that a relaxed body, along with a positive mental state, sets it free. On the other hand, physical tension and/or the negative use of the mind cause Ki ga nukeru--"the withdrawal and the loss of Ki." Ki has been described in a variety of ways, by an equally wide variety of people. In the Sennin Foundation, we are thinking of Ki as the essential building block of nature. That universal substance from which all things emanate, exist as, and revert to . . . the connective membrane of the absolute Universe. (Of course, just as all the cells in the body are inseparable from the body, we can only draw an artificial separation between the Ki that links all creations in Nature and Nature itself.) Unfortunately, discussions of Ki are frequently covered in mystical tones, and some writers have suggested that Ki is invisible. This depends on one's point of view. Certainly it is hard to observe the motion of Ki as something which is apart and different from the various and boundless different aspects of Nature. A nondualistic worldview does not inevitably reject the relative world, but instead, sees the absolute oneness of Nature that underlies all relative differences. In this case, a willow tree is Ki, and when the wind causes the tree to lean, it is Ki blustering. And we are Ki watching the motion of Ki in the Universe, which is Ki itself. The wind blowing the willow, the swaying tree, the mind that sees and moves with the wind and willow--all are external reflections of diversified elements of Ki, or of the sum total of the Universe. Ki is then not some much preternatural, invisible, or elusive, but it is instead, all encompassing. Ki's genuine far-reaching and down to earth character is reflected in the Japanese language itself, which uses this ordinary term in a seemingly immeasurable number of popular compound words and expressions. Yuki means "transfusion of Ki," and it functions in a way that is not dissimilar to a blood transfusion (yuketsu). In essence, it is possible, by studying methods of mind-body coordination and Shin-shin-toitsu-do meditation, to learn to transfer Ki from the thumbs, fingertips, and palms to weakened parts of the body, as a way of boosting the natural healing process. Students at the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts can receive instruction in this unique art of healing. Visit www.senninfoundation.com for more information. "I've found the healing arts instruction at the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts to be logical, simple, and comprehensive. Of equal importance, I've been able to use these techniques to help heal my own injuries and illnesses as well as those of some of my friends."--A Sennin Foundation student.

Kevin Heard

Recently, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts promoted Kevin Heard to So-shihan in the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. He received the same advanced teaching certification in this discipline’s related healing arts (yuki). This is the highest possible rank and similar to a PhD. Mr. Heard has been studying and teaching at the Sennin Foundation Center for nearly 30 years; he is the first and only person to have received So-shihan certification.

On a related note, Mr. Heard was also recently promoted to rokudan, sixth-degree black belt, by the Shudokan Martial Arts Association Jujutsu Division. The SMAA is an international coalition of Japanese and Western martial arts experts. Mr. Heard is now one of the highest ranking members of the SMAA Jujutsu Division. You can read more here: http://shudokanmartialartsassociation.blogspot.com/2011/04/kevin-heard-receives-sixth-dan.html.

Mr. Heard earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. After working in the software development industry, he returned to the University to become Director of Computing and Information Services for UCB's School of Information. His professional interests include UNIX/Linux system administration, building information systems based on open standards, open source software, and privacy and security in the digital age. He is co-author of Mastering Netscape SuiteSpot 3 Servers (Sybex).

He regularly teaches Japanese yoga, healing arts, and martial arts to children and adults at the Sennin Foundation Center. You can read more at www.senninfoundation.com.

The Essence of Japanese Yoga

Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body

1. Maintain a positive mind.

2. Train the mind to arrive at full concentration.

3. Use the body obeying the laws of nature.

4. Train the body progressively, systematically, and regularly.

Nakamura Tempu, founder of the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation



Free Japanese Yoga Class

On Thursday, April 7, the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts will offer a FREE introductory class in Japanese yoga and meditation. The class will start at 7 PM at 1053 San Pablo Ave., Albany, California. The teacher will be Kevin Heard Sensei, who has nearly 30 years of training. He will focus on principles of mind and body unification. To attend, call 510-526-7518, and leave your name, phone number, and indicate that you would like to participate. Wear loose clothing and arrive 10 minutes before the class starts. Take a look at the text below for more information.

Japanese Yoga & Meditation

Shin-shin-toitsu-do is the form of Japanese yoga and meditation offered at the Sennin Foundation Center. Shin-shin-toitsu-do, "The Way of Mind and Body Unification," was founded in the early 1900s by Nakamura Tempu Sensei.

Nakamura Sensei lived in India, where he studied the art of Raja yoga, the yoga of meditation. After studying medicine at Columbia University, he blended Indian meditation and health improvement with his background in medicine, psychology, Japanese healing arts and meditation, and Japanese martial arts. He taught for many years in Japan, authored best-selling books, and counted among his students a large number of Japan's top executives, politicians, fine artists, athletes, martial artists, and people from every walk of life. But few Westerners have yet been exposed to these extraordinary teachings.

Our Shin-shin-toitsu-do class offers you practical forms of seated and moving meditation, breathing methods for health, stretching exercises, autosuggestion for altering negative habits, stress management, and self-healing techniques that are little-known in the West. Emphasis is also placed on the development of ki (chi in Chinese). Ki amounts to life energy, and its cultivation has a profound effect on mental and physical health. You, like many of our students, may experience greatly enhanced concentration, willpower, calmness, relaxation, and physical fitness.

Make a positive and life-altering decision. Consider adding Shin-shin-toitsu-do to your life, and discover a way of living rooted in health, happiness, and harmony.