I’ve had some good talks with so many of you, about what happens when you’re injured, sick, or just running a little slow. It can feel frustrating, maybe knowing it’s from not moving so well through everything. Old habits getting in the way, too much stress and tension, too much disconnection.

Often it’s some parts of you working too much, other parts not enough, not the whole you working well all together. And at the same time, knowing the cause isn’t fixing it. Plus there’s this worry that maybe you’re causing more harm while trying to heal, trying to get better. And even bigger, you're not alone here. If you can figure out how to heal and help yourself through all this, you'll be have something to give, that everyone needs.

You already know it’s not so simple as “push this button to get that result.” Wrist wraps, foam rollers, making sure there’s exactly one inch between each finger every time you touch the ground . . . nearly anything can work for a short time, if only because it gives you something to focus on. But in general, humans are not so simple. We need solutions that are a bit more holistic.

For this, I think it’s difficult to heal when you’re challenging an area, in the middle of a new practice. Often you’ll get something a little right, a little wrong, at the same time. And with an injury, sometimes it will just heal on its own, no matter what you do. But sometimes, this will keep you injured, aggravated, while you’re trying to learn something better but still have old habits.

So often it comes to this. It might be what you need is a bit of rest. But not rest while doing nothing. Just, rest what’s aggravated, and practice with other forms. Moving around on your feet can also teach you to let go of tension, extra effort in your upper as well as lower body. So forms like tai chi, qigong, or shiatsu will give you some useful information about what you’re doing, and practice for doing better.

Remember you have a whole world around you, a whole life of practice. It’s not about yoga, or tai chi, or shiatsu. These are each good places for practice. And then there’s everything else. Everywhere is a good place for practice, many forms, many places.

So please take what you learn here in this shiatsu form and practice, and give it time to filter into your whole life. How you get around, how you care for yourself, how you communicate with connect with others.

It’s how you do what you do that matters. And when you make some change in how you do what you do, it has a way of also changing what you do. Things grow better, this way.