Previously unknown to the English-speaking world, the Japanese Zen breathing technique of Missoku paves the path towards a mindful and peaceful life.
Previously unknown to the English-speaking world, the Japanese Zen breathing technique of Missoku paves the path towards a mindful and peaceful life.
Individual composer & musician, Meditations, Zen
The interest in all things Japan, as well as the increasing effort to center both physical and mental health as a core value of any flourishing society, leads to the nexus explored in this book, Missoku, a unique breathing method that has been handed down through Japanese Zen tradition.
Missoku is a form of breathing in which the pelvis is tilted and the abdomen is in an expanded state. It’s proven to be effective in sports, martial arts, dance, theatre, and playing musical instruments. The benefits to overall health and stamina are bountiful. One incentive includes an increase in respiration capacity, which in turn stimulates the brain, balances autonomic nerves, and improves immune defenses.
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This is a book likely to appeal to some particular readerships: musicians, students of Japanese art and culture, practitioners of martial arts, and meditators interested in various disciplines of breath practice. I found it fascinating to consider Missoku in light of what Nakamura summarizes: the historical interplays between social caste, military structure, religious sects, music, and physical culture. ~ Facing North, Review
I implore you to get to know Akikazu Nakamura, a master of the shakuhachi method pioneered long ago by traveling Zen monks. For here within his new book, participants will be introduced to the aforementioned Missoku, the technique once practiced by these monks in music and meditation. For Akikazu, who himself trained with shakuhachi master Katsuya Yokoyama, welcomes you to slowly, but surely work your way through this book, exploring all the chapters (that themselves cover a wide ranging set of genres), and take the steps to breathing easier, and thusly start to feel better within about the world around. ~ Exclusive Magazine, Review
This is a book that should be read by many people not only as a performance theory of the shakuhachi, which is unique among all instruments in the world, but also as a comprehensive theory of civilization that explores the lifestyle, way of life, and religious views of the Japanese people who created it. ~ Minyo Shunju
The theory of culture based on music is beautifully developed in this book. The content covers a wide range of genres, and as a result we cannot categorize the book into one topic. This book is a precious one that guides us to see where the culture of Japan exists. ~ Akira Imai, Kinokuniya Bookstore Book Review Blog
It is astonishing to learn that everything can be changed by mastering Missoku. ~ Seiko Ito, Senken-Nikki
A peach tree of surprise. ~ Morihide Katayama, Record Geijutsu
Breathing like a dream. ~ Yumi Yamagata, NHK-BS2 Weekly Book Review
