I am director of the School for Experiential Education and, with my wife Teresa, offer postgraduate courses in ten countries worldwide. I began studying Shiatsu in 1973 as part of my Aikido training and was one of a small group of explorers who started teaching courses in the late 1970s; but I didn’t think of it as a career.
In 1978 I was studying for a PhD in the foundations of quantum physics and I noticed that I was becoming more and more hermit like, retreating into the ivory tower of abstract ideas. My colleagues mirrored this and, in fear for my mental health, I made a life changing decision. I would give up my PhD and start working with people.
I managed to get a job working with video at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and, in the next decade, I studied Chinese Medicine with Ted Kaptchuck, Body-Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and Wolfson Voicework as a form of dramatherapy.
In 1979, I started seeing clients in earnest, expanded my teaching groups and joined together with a small group of Shiatsu explorers who met to learn from each other. In 1981 we formed the Shiatsu Society of the United Kingdom, which I think was the first inclusive organisation in Europe, bringing together and networking many different styles of work.
I used to video the speech therapists at Central treating babies and young children with disabilities and became inspired to work with these children. I started studying Developmental Movement Therapy and soon was collaborating with several therapists in working with children with developmental disorders.
Although I have been inspired by several wonderful teachers, my major influencers were these children. They taught me to work with a person’s abilities rather than focusing on curing their problems. This transforms a person from a passive victim needing treatment to an empowered explorer being assisted in their self-development by the therapist.
My observation of infant movement development also provided an explanation of meridians that was consistent with tradition but also satisfying to my scientific mind. Out of this work grew a complete style of bodywork which I call Movement Shiatsu and a personal body-mind practice system called Inner Qigong.
They both focus on helping people to be aware of their bodies through movement and guided explorations. The hands-on work of the therapist acts as a guide to their self-exploration rather than a passive treatment. I find this work to be especially relevant to working with disability, chronic conditions, trauma and old age.