Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful year ahead!
My posting pace has been a little slower lately.
The reason? I got completely hooked on anime and comedy. 😂
I think I’ve had my fill for now, so maybe I’ll be able to pick up the pace a little from here on out… or maybe not? Haha.
I’ll continue writing at my own pace this year, so I hope you’ll keep reading!
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It’s funny how life works.
When you’re doing things you love and spending your days in a good mood, all sorts of good things seem to happen.
Last September, I started going to a chiropractic clinic.
A friend had told me about this place, and I’d been curious about it for a long time. I finally managed to go.
Starting around November, I began noticing one change after another, and I was amazed.
I did feel like my body was easier to move from the very first session.
In September, I went twice a week.
It took about two hours round trip by train, so for someone like me who isn’t very good with traveling, I’d say I made a pretty good effort.
After each treatment, I would somehow feel warmth spreading through my body, especially around my abdomen, and I slept really well.
I also did the exercises I’d been taught—about 20 gentle repetitions in bed in the morning and evening, before getting up and before going to sleep.
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In October, I went about once a week.
There weren’t any major changes, although if I had to point to something, my allergies seemed to become a little more active.
I wondered if it might be some kind of “healing reaction,” but there were other possible factors too, so I can’t say whether the chiropractic treatment had anything to do with it.
I continued doing the exercises morning and evening, about 20 repetitions each time—little by little, quietly and consistently.
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Then, around the middle of November, I suddenly felt like I’d figured out the trick to walking.
Until then, I hadn’t really understood what the practitioner was trying to tell me, so I had just been copying the movements as best I could.
It’s something happening inside your body, so even when someone explains it with words, it’s not always easy to understand.
Then, suddenly, I understood it with my body.
While walking, I began to feel as though my sacrum was gently tilting downward, or slightly curling inward toward the front of my body.
My lower abdomen—the area around the tanden—felt engaged, while my groin area stretched in a really pleasant way.
My husband even said,
“Your walking has changed!”
“Really!? How?” I asked.
He said that before, I used to take little, quick steps, but now I seemed to be walking more slowly and freely, with a much more relaxed stride.
That made sense to me. Since I was engaging the front of my body, I felt less tension in my back and more able to move in a relaxed way.
An image popped into my head of a powerful judo athlete walking confidently and proudly.
By this time, I was going to the clinic about once every two weeks.
I had also increased the exercises to around 40 repetitions each morning and evening.
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In December, I went to karaoke for the first time in a while.
It was my first karaoke session since I started going to the chiropractor.
And the moment I started singing my first song, I was shocked…!!
My voice was coming out!
I hadn’t sung even once since September, and yet somehow, I was singing better!
I immediately took a video and showed it to my husband. 😂
We both burst out laughing at the look on my face—this little “Muhu!” expression—right after I finished singing. 🤣
I was really happy.
I realized that I was able to project my voice from deep in my abdomen.
By this point, I was going about once every two or three weeks.
I had increased the exercises to around 60 repetitions in the morning, afternoon, and evening.
Even 10,000 steps a day didn’t feel like enough anymore.
I felt like I had twice as much energy as before.
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In January, I traveled by train and car to visit my family.
Normally, traveling was quite an ordeal for me because of motion sickness, back pain, and a heightened sensitivity to smells.
But this time…
I didn’t get motion sick at all!!
My back didn’t hurt!!
The smells didn’t bother me!!
I was genuinely amazed.
And I also found that I wasn’t having as much of an allergic reaction to foods as I had expected.
That made me the happiest of all.
There really is something special about being able to eat the same food as everyone else and say, “This is delicious!” together. 😂✨
I savored the joy of eating.
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Oh, and there’s a reason I started going to a chiropractor in the first place.
I had been dealing with back pain for more than ten years, and I finally wanted to do something about it.
By chance, there was a book on the bookshelf at the chiropractic clinic called:
The Happy Back Pain School That Can Change Your Life: When You Excite Your Mind, Your Physical Pain Disappears
The book led me to connect with its author, Kayoko Ito, and I eventually joined her online community.
The main character of the book is a woman who becomes unable to work because of severe back pain. Although it’s written as a novel, it contains detailed and practical information about back pain and ways of dealing with it.
Its fundamental way of looking at back pain was completely different from what I had always assumed. It turned my whole perspective upside down.
“If you try too hard to cure your back pain, it won’t go away.”
For me, that was exactly what had been happening.
The more I focused on my back pain and tried to get rid of it, the longer the pain seemed to stick around.
Instead, I found that it helped to do some gentle exercise at my own pace and then spend the rest of my time feeling good and trying not to think too much about my back pain.
When you’re in a lot of pain, that’s not easy at all.
But I think that, too, can be a kind of practice.
And the online community is a wonderful place to practice it.
In the community, members exchange messages, write gratitude journals, do exercises together online, and hold reading groups.
It’s full of opportunities to learn, while at the same time having a calm, warm, and relaxed atmosphere.
I’ve come to feel that this sense of safety and reassurance can make a big difference.
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I think there can be many different causes of back pain.
I believe it’s important to get checked by a doctor to rule out anything that requires urgent attention.
But once you know it’s not something life-threatening, perhaps what comes next is movement and feeling good.
And not just with back pain.
I feel that many illnesses have multiple contributing factors, and that it’s simply impossible for us to understand all of them with complete accuracy.
So rather than becoming obsessed with finding the exact cause of everything,
I learned through my own experience how important it is to take care of the basics of daily life—what we eat, what we wear, the environment we live in, exercise, sleep, and having fun—and to spend our days feeling as good as we can.
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Finally, here’s one more update.
Starting in January, I’ve been able to launch my own original online course! ✨
The theme is:
“Letting go of things, obligations, and thoughts so you can cherish what truly matters.”
Through Zoom sessions combining explanations, conversation, and practical exercises, along with email-based questions and personal consultations, we’ll explore these ideas together in greater depth.
At the moment, the course is available by request as a one-on-one session.
Rather than simply learning knowledge, it’s designed as a highly practical course with exercises that help you actually bring what you’ve learned into your everyday life.
The coldest part of winter is still ahead, so please take good care of yourselves and stay warm. 😊
Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end!