Profile of the Family Yoga Director

Profile

Saburo Ishii, born in Tokyo in 1944.

Started studies of Zen, nenbutsu chanting, hypnotism, fasting and SOTAI Therapy forty years ago while also studying hatha yoga, etc.

Entered the OKI-DO YOGA Dojo in 1977 with his wife. After training with the Master Masahiro Oki, established the Family Yoga School in Kanda, Tokyo.

Thirty years of experience in yoga classes, yoga camps and fasting seminars.

In addition to activities in Japan, he has travelled to Taiwan, Brazil, Australia, U.S.A. and other destinations to hold yoga seminars, thus creating a global network.

He is now acting as an advisor to the OKI-DO YOGA Association in Taiwan.

Publications

Yoga Textbook

Karada Ni Kiku Yoga (Yoga While Listening to the Body), Gendai Shorin Publishers

Stretch to Hogushi-Dosa (Stretching and Limbering Exercised), Gendai Shorin Publisher

The philosophy behind the name "Family Yoga"

Because we started a yoga school together as husband and wife, and because we treat the people we meet in our classes as members of a big family, we decided on the name "Family Yoga".

The word yoga means "connecting, harmony and balance".

In our actual everyday lives, it is only when there is harmony between parents and children or among family members, achieving a good balance, that family life is possible. While paying attention to our respective needs, we can gain peace of mind and establish ourselves as a family.

We wanted to inculcate the spirit expressed with words like family, home and the like in our management system, acting as a place where students coming here can obtain peace of mind. We strive for instruction that is bright and cheerful, feeling ourselves to be companions on the same way as the students who come to us. When the class is over, students who still have time can join the instructors for a cup of tea and engage in advice on healthy living or everyday problems. Such teatime gatherings naturally become a setting where people engage in warm and lively conversations.

History of Saburo Ishii, President and CEO, and Family Yoga

1977	Became a member of the OKI-DO YOGA School together with his wife Hisae and received instruction for about one year from the Master Masahiro Oki.
May 1979	Founding of the Family Yoga Matsudo Classroom in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture (still exists today as a satellite classroom)
September 1979	Founding of the Family Yoga Shinbashi Classroom (merged with the Kanda Classroom in 1990).
February 1980	Founding of the Family Yoga Kanda Classroom, which still exists today.
1985	Learns SOTAI Therapy from Keizo Hashimoto, M.D. , the founder of the SOTAI Therapy method and a close friend of the Master Masahiro Oki. Introduces this method to yoga instruction. * SOTAI Therapy mainly uses tensing and relaxation of muscles to achieve a balance of irregularities in the skeletal and muscular system, thus eliminating pains and uncomfortable sensations. Similar to yoga, it also provides instruction on well-balanced diet, breathing, daily motion and thinking habits, and has been introduced to healing methods. The founder is Keizo Hashimoto, M.D.. It has now become a required subject for all Family Yoga instructors.
1992	Start of instruction in the loquat heat therapy method with membership system. * The loquat heat therapy method consists of applying extract of loquat leaves to thin clothing (although this may vary according to physical constitution) and then applying far-infrared light at a temperature of 60℅ from above and below to promote sweating, thus eliminating waste material to purify the body and recover a healthy constitution. This method has been introduced as a method for members with a poor constitution who are unable to fully eliminate bodily wastes due to the stress of urban life.
1995	Start of the Izu Kogen Yoga Camp. Proposing improvement of overall physical constitution by means of yoga, half-fasting and the loquat heat therapy method.
1998	Yoga Camp is moved to Mishima.
2000	Yoga Camp is moved to Ito. At the present time, in addition to activities at the Kanda School, putting efforts into the spread of yoga and training yoga instructors.

Exchange with people abroad

Our seminars, which feature Yoga, SOTAI Therapy, half-fasts and seminars spiced with humor, are now popular abroad, which means we now have abundant experience in guiding others. Admiring the spirit and character of the founder, many people now visit the Yoga Camp in Ito from abroad, including people engaged in yoga from the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Brazil, etc.

Taiwan 1986 - We sponsor a weeklong fasting seminar every year and have travelled more than 10 times to Taiwan as seminar instructors as well.
Australia 1997 - We have visited Sydney and Melbourne several times as seminar instructors for yoga groups there.
U.S.A. 1993 - Participating as instructors in the OKI-DO YOGA New York Seminar. Carried out instruction in the loquat heat therapy method for AIDS patients connected with yoga with outstanding results.
Brazil 1999 - Participation several times as instructors in the OKI-DO YOGA Brazil Seminars.
India 1988 - Organizing study trips to India.