Japanese Nesshi Therapy is a very profound therapy. Derived from the traditions of Acupuncture, Moxibustion, and other oriental therapies, it is probably the strongest therapy going today, without being harmful or invasive.

While it is not meant for the weak at heart, it is meant for the patient who is out of balance in many ways.  It is especially meant for chronically dysfunctional conditions that can’t find solutions anywhere else.

This is hardly an advertisement, you might say, but it represents the boundaries you need to be aware of before you undertake this serious venture into turning around your health.

We have treated people from all over North America.  The appreciation for getting their health back in such a short time has been effusive. They tell me that they’ve never felt more in touch with themselves or alive as after the treatment. They also say that they have never rested so deeply once they turned the corner.  No one really ever likes the treatment itself. It is truly a 'go big or go home' type of treatment that sends one to wonder why anyone would undergo such a treatment.

 

What does Nesshi Therapy do?

Nesshi therapy is a systematic application of pin-pointed heat.  It is used over all of the body to stimulate the body’s acupuncture meridian system and the organs which they represent. In reality, Nesshi is just a degree above normal body temperature.  However, depending on the condition of the place where it is presented to the body, it can feel mildly warm or extremely hot.

 

Why does Nesshi feel hot?

The basics of all body function are blood flow and nerve enervation. If blood circulation is weak by a percentage of its possible operation then to that same level, nerve enervation will also be weak and vice verse. Fundamentally,  when the body is sick or dysfunctional, to the degree that either nerve enervation or blood circulation is lacking, that organ or system is also under-functioning.

Over 3,000 years of oriental medicine, the access to the various functions of the human body through the skin has been well-mapped. When an organ, and its related meridian and muscle system is not functioning properly, it shows up in predictable areas of that system to be hot. Why? Because the pinpointed heat stimulus always causes a reaction level of close to 100% the instant it is stimulated.

If the organ and its system is working at 70 – 90% the stimulus may only feel warm because the difference between normal function and peak performance is relatively slight. If, however, the body or one of its systems is poorly functioning, 20 – 50% let’s say, then the reaction when the point is activated to 100%, is significant, and in relation to that can feel quite hot. In other words, a person who is well will feel very little, but a person who is sick will feel a lot. So the heat reaction is relative to the condition of the person.  Consequently, the very sick patient will be very hot on the first treatment and barely hot on the last.

 

Doesn’t Acupuncture do the same?

In some cases, acupuncture can do the same thing, and then I usually choose to use acupuncture. For strains and sprains, emotional work, addictions etc., where the parameters of the condition are limited or the changes we are looking for are qualitative, I usually choose acupuncture.

When, however, the condition of the patient is broad spread dysfunction, a condition that involves deep sickness etc., I will choose the nesshi therapy. Especially in those cases where there is the element of stomach prolapse (see article: When Your Stomach is Down You’re Down).

For instance, when someone comes to us with fibromyalgia, significant changes using acupuncture could take more than a year of continuous treatment (2 or 3 times per week), but with nesshi therapy, we can significantly change the picture if not reverse it entirely, usually in less than two weeks.

 

How does the heat work?

In every square centimeter of the body, there are lots of sensors for pain, touch, cold, etc., but the largest and most reactive sensors are for heat. Therefore, these heat sensors also become the most effective stimulus for reigniting the function of the body. The reaction to the heat is more because of its pinpointed nature than the actual heat of the stimulation.  This is because it is the mind that decides the difference between a stimulus and a burning sensation and can react appropriately depending on the person.

 

Does Nesshi have to be repeated on a regular basis?

It should be repeated regularly, just as exercising to get to a level of health and stopping, has nothing to do with staying healthy. Nobody actually likes the treatment, and so most people like to think of this as a once in a lifetime juncture. Every time I go to the dentist, I swear that this is going to be the last time I have to go back, but old habits die hard and things may get worse.  Even though I don’t want to see the dentist anymore than I did the last time, doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t go back when I have problems or get checkups now and then to find out about the condition of my teeth.

 

Why haven’t I heard of Nesshi before?

Compared to some other therapies, Nesshi therapy is not that old and mostly relegated to small areas in Japan. It was developed there only about ten years before WWII. It is just starting to take off in a big way in Japan thanks to some significant people in the entertainment industry there becoming real advocates. My Sensei has been heard to say of late that he liked it better when he wasn’t so overwhelmed, but still, it is time isn’t it and people are in need. I imagine that if it was soothing and comfortable, it might have caught on earlier, but great discoveries come with great need and when has the need been greater than now for the way people are feeling.

Outside of Japan, we are the only clinic to practice Nesshi therapy. I sometimes consider it fate, that my life was turned around by it while I was living in Japan.  I was in a lot of pain and dysfunction before I had the therapy at the age of thirty. I have continued to use it for my family and myself since that first set of treatments over thirty-five years ago. Except for the fact that it can be somewhat of an ordeal, I can only foresee its eventual rise in the prospect of standard alternative treatment therapies of the future.

If all of life’s factors that made you sick in the first place were to be completely changed from the day you leave here after treatments(dietary and emotional habits etc.), then never having another treatment of Nesshi or any other type of treatment might be a reality. Health maintenance choices aren’t always popular or easy, but having a pain-free vibrant life is worth small sacrifices and regular care.