ndian forms of yoga have spread throughout the world due to their objectives of promoting health and harmony. Japan is but one of many countries that have received these age-old teachings. And while Indian yogic disciplines (Hatha yoga in particular) have become well known, not everyone realizes that certain distinctive Japanese versions of Indian spiritual paths have evolved. Perhaps the first of these unique methodologies is the art of Shin-shin-toitsu-do, which was developed by Nakamura Tempu Sensei (1876-1968). In fact, Nakamura Sensei is often considered to be the father of yoga in Japan.

He grew up as Nakamura Saburo, a member of an aristocratic family in Fukuoka prefecture. He was interested in things of a spiritual nature and studied a variety of native Japanese Do, or "Ways." Nakamura Sensei served in the Russo-Japanese war, and due to his prior training in Japanese swordsmanship, earned quite a reputation for fearlessness in battle.

He contracted tuberculosis, which in those days was frequently a fatal disease. Despite his knowledge of certain traditional Japanese healing methods, his condition worsened. As the result, he went to the United States in the early 1900s to receive Western-style medical treatment, which initially seemed to cure him. Impressed with the effectiveness of the treatments he received, Nakamura Sensei attended Columbia University, eventually graduating, with a degree in medicine. He was one of the first Japanese to become a medical doctor.

A Search Begins
But he began to cough up blood again. Despite his past training in various Japanese spiritual paths, he had over the years become almost totally preoccupied with the body . . . his body in particular. Realizing this, and perhaps feeling that he had gone as far as he could with different "body-oriented cures," he decided to explore the mind as a possible means of curing his illness. Inspired by Thomas Edison's claim that his famed discoveries weren't due to academic training, but were the outcome of carefully observing the true nature of everyday events, Nakamura Sensei felt that his cure might lie within his own mind, and that it might be discovered in daily existence.

He renewed his study of different Japanese spiritual paths. Yet after his medical training in America, he felt that truth was not limited to Japan. Consequently, he begin to read a variety of what are known today as self-help books, including How to Get What You Want by Lauren Swede Martin. There was no real change in him.