What is it?

Seitai is based on the observation and understanding of Human Nature, its spontaneous manifestation and how it becomes blocked by accumulating tension, the main cause of both physical and psychological disorders.

It understands the person as an indivisible whole of energetic, organic, motor and psychic functions; all discovering their structure and organization around the five movements of existence (vertical, frontal, lateral, rotational and central).

It proposes Katsugen and Yuki as simple practices that help us feel excess tension (blockages), and to induce their resolution.

When practicing we can perceive the need to expand the margin of our breathing and, at the same time, to recover the coordination of the CVP (cranium, vertebrae and pelvis), the main and governing structure of our organism’s life.

These practices bring attention to spontaneous movement and, through it, allow us to gradually capture our life as it is manifesting in each moment, with all its richness and complexity.

Katsugen and Yuki sensitize us to gradually rediscover ourselves internally from the “spontaneous self”, becoming aware of the intimate relationship between the organism and the spontaneous mind.

As we connect with the natural wisdom of the organism, thanks to which we live, we generate internal strength, autonomy and a genuine way of being with ourselves and with our breathing.

The autonomous and natural activity of the human being constitutes what we call the “spontaneous self”: unity of organism and spontaneous psyche. We think, feel or imagine spontaneously by the fact of being alive, which differs from doing so voluntarily or conditionally. The “spontaneous self” is distinguished from what Katsumi Mamine qualified as the “dressed self” (“dressed or educated psyche”), in which there is no direct relationship with the organism, but is formed externally, by the influence of the sociocultural environment that the person lives throughout their life. Both are necessary, it being fundamental that there is a fluid interaction between them. Seitai emphasizes the study of the “spontaneous self”, given the ignorance about its manifestation.

The spontaneous self

Structure and organization of life activity in the human organism-psyche, expressed spontaneously from the CVP.

The CVP

Katsumi Mamine created these acronyms (cranium-vertebrae-pelvis) to designate the “main and governing part of the organism”.

It is not only about the bone structure, but refers to what is known as head and trunk, with the difference that it is not the head that commands over the rest, but it is the whole of the CVP and the interrelation between its components that governs the life of the organism. The CVP is structured in five cavities and an axis (the spinal column): Cranial and pelvic cavity (at the upper and lower end of the axis), and the pectoral, digestive and urinary cavities (around the axis). The CVP mobilizes and articulates the limbs (arms and legs) adequately, but these are not vital: If we sectioned the CVP at any height, death would occur; however, one could live without the limbs and the vital functions would not be basically affected.

CVP coordination

Life is constant movement. Together with the pectoral-ventral respiratory movement, the CVP performs an autonomous movement that coordinates all its parts (and articulates the limbs). Thus, energetic, motor, organic and psychic functions are activated and carried out at the same time.

When CVP coordination is fluid, breathing is deep and the person lives and expresses themselves with all their capacity. However, excess tension (TPE) hinders, and even blocks, this coordination.

The five movements + / -

The autonomous coordination movement performed by the CVP is the result of the joint and interdependent action of five movements: vertical, frontal, lateral, rotational and central; regulated in +/-.

The tension phase (+) activates and mobilizes the CVP in the five directions and the distension (-) relaxes it. When the alternation + and - occurs with fluidity and amplitude, life functions. The organism performs the five movements in a very concrete way:

Vertical: It manifests with an ascending movement (and descending in distension). It is activated from the head (cranial cavity). It is quiet and silent.
Frontal: It is expressed with a unidirectional movement forward (and backward in distension). It is activated from the shoulders and chest (pectoral cavity). It is dynamic and fast.
Lateral: It tenses by contracting one side of the body, causing an inclination to the right or left (and relaxes in the opposite direction). It is activated from the abdomen (digestive cavity). It is soft and delicate.
Rotational: It performs a twisting, spiral movement (and relaxes by unwinding). It is activated from the waist (urinary cavity). It is strong and resistant.
Central: It manifests with a multidirectional movement towards its interior (and relaxes outward). It is activated from the pelvis (pelvic cavity). It is silent and compact (dense).

Vertical and central movements are barely visible given their static and medullary nature, unlike frontal, lateral and rotational movements which are dynamic and peripheral.

It is evident that these movements can be done voluntarily, but here we refer to how they are activated internally spontaneously. We can feel them and observe them in ourselves and in others.

The Osei

Each of the five movements is intimately related to a specific energetic, biological and psychic function. This joint activity constitutes what we call “OSEI”. Through Osei, living beings have the capacity to react to all kinds of stimuli, achieving vital balance and adapting to their environment. Thus, there are five Oseis regulated in + / - that make up the Structure of Spontaneous Movement, discovered by Noguchi and referenced by Katsumi as the Osei Scheme:

MOVEMENT	BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY	PSYCHIC ACTIVITY
Vertical	Central nervous system	Contemplative
Frontal	Locomotor, respiratory and combustion systems	Pragmatic
Lateral	Assimilo-circulatory system	Emotional
Rotational	Eliminatory system	Competitive
Central	Reproductive and connective system	Affective

The Osei scheme reflects the five ways life manifests itself in living beings. Each of them with its own psychic sensitivity:

Vertical Osei raises energy to the head and connects us with the world of abstract and rational ideas, concepts, norms, statistics… It activates a respectful, static, solitary and distant attitude with little physical sensitivity. Objective and theoretical mind. Distant space and time.
Frontal Osei projects forward and activates the world of action, rhythm, speed, efficiency, work, ingenuity, technology, marketing… It shows a practical, independent and unidirectional attitude. Space and time projected in what we have ahead and in an immediate future.
Lateral Osei moves by the desire to communicate, to share and to express emotions (laughing, crying…). It shows taste for good food and pleasant environments. It connects with the world of fashion, aesthetics, harmony… Indefinite space and time (this way/that way).
Rotational Osei manifests from strength and perseverance to conclude any action. Resolute. Positioning and defense of one’s own space: sense of property, family, nation, team, power… Noisy and forceful. Space within the immediate environment and present time (here and now).
Central Osei is the capacity to connect instinctively with life and death. Need for intimate and deep communication. Love and hate from the core of being to infinity. Egocentric, subjective and absolute attitude (all or nothing). Eternal sense in unlimited space and time.

Thus, the Osei scheme gives us a reference to better understand the spontaneous mind, which acts together with the organism. The richness of life is given by the infinite combinations of the oseis, which differentiate each individual.

Taiheki

The five oseis necessarily act in all of us, since each of them develops a vital function. The differential fact of each person’s nature is given by the predominance of one or several oseis. Noguchi called this hereditary conditioning taiheki.

Excessive partial tension: TPE

Life is alternation between tension and distension (concentration and energetic dispersion). Vital energy activates and tenses us naturally (Autogenous Tension), driving the Desire for Life: to act, communicate, fight, love, understand… To the extent that this desire is satisfied, we relax.

However, it is very common in human beings that this game does not occur with sufficient amplitude and fluidity. The inhibition of Desire creates stagnation of TA (Autogenous Tension), constituting the main internal cause of loss of health.

TA is generated, mainly, in specific areas of the organism, different according to the nature of each individual and their daily activity. When TA is blocked, Excessive Partial Tension (TPE) occurs in these areas, with loss of flexibility of the affected tissues.

The degree of TPE causes more or less serious states to appear, which are reflected in the spine and affect CVP coordination.

This coordination can also be altered by external causes: a blow or accident, psychic impacts (the sudden death of a loved one…), pathogenic agents, wear of certain tissues due to their excessive use (pianist’s fingers, teacher’s aphonia, tennis player’s elbow…). However, the main origin of TPE is in the excessive predominance of the “dressed self”, which distances itself from the “spontaneous self”: We lose sensitivity and do not feel the TPE or the need to relax it, and psychically we do not connect with our deep desire. Both Katsugen and Yuki practices and the understanding of Seitai allow us to recover the inner dialogue (physical-psychic) between our “dressed mind” and the “spontaneous self”. This process will help resolve TPE, a decisive fact for our health and well-being.

Since TPE appears where tension has accumulated, it will affect some of the dynamics of the Osei that is most related to it and will cause different types of reactions:

Vertical TPE: excess rumination, skin eczema, skin itching, herpes zoster, etc
Frontal TPE: precipitation, constant action that has no stop, permanent anxiety, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc
Lateral TPE: migraines, digestive problems, gastritis, stomach ulcer, diarrhea or constipation, arrhythmia or tachycardia, anorexia-bulimia, hepatitis, depression or euphoria, etc
Rotational TPE: insistent stubbornness, otitis, cystitis, tonsillitis, renal insufficiency, etc
Central TPE: anguish, claustrophobia, overwhelming fears or obsessions, excessive dispersion, painful menstruation, impotence, etc

Many of the mentioned states, like colds, fever, flu,… are natural reactions when we accumulate TPE. Depending on how these develop, they can help the affected tissues recover their natural elasticity. Both Katsugen and Yuki, as well as the understanding of Seitai, accompany and facilitate these processes towards health.

The Seitai Study Centers in Barcelona and Reus work, both individually and in groups, on learning and observing the Osei in each of us.