Taro Iwamoto Nervous System Movement Coach

08/28/2026

Someone left this comment on of my old scoliosis videos:
"is there any X-ray evidence that these will significantly decrease scoliosis? In my case it's L4-5 and L5-S1 causing pinched nerve. If this evidence is lacking I would not see much point in starting these. It would only be a feel-good exercise."

This is a common question many people ask. Let's use this real persons question as a way to broaden our awareness and perspective.

There may be an assumption that straightening the spine will resolve their symptoms, which may be true. And an assumption that weak muscle on one side and tight muscle on the other side are causing the spine to be curved and twisted, so correction of those muscles must be a solution.

What if I told you asymmetrical spine is natural and common, and not necessarily harmful? What if I told you it is rather rare to have symmetrical spine? What if I told you we all have a form of scoliosis （not as a medical diagnosis, but to have spine that is bent and twisted)?

Do you think we use two sides of our body in the same way in daily activities?

We use two sides very differently functionally. Which arm do you use more to pick up a glass of water and drink? Probably your dominant arm more, right? Go ahead try reaching for a glass of water in front of you with your dominant hand, and notice how you move your arm, and what happens to your shoulders, chest, spine, pelvis, hips, etc. Which way is your body turned?

This is one small example. We have dominant hand, leg, eye, jaw, ear, etc. We habitually move our bodies in daily activities more or less the same way repeatedly. Do you really think we are functionally symmetrical?

If we are functionally asymmetrical, are you surprised that we are structually asymmetrical too?

Our brain automatically organizes our movement based on what it learned in the past as long as it is getting job done. It may be no longer serving us well, but the nervous system only knows what it learned in the past. Habits.

So what do you do? Keep imposing correction with effort and force into your body, which your nervous system keeps rejecting? Or gently invite yourself into a new relationship with your body by gently and slowly moving your body in various ways with awareness but without the intention of rejecting your body as it is and your habitual patterns.

When you detach yourself from your expectations which arise from your preconceived beliefs, that is habits, you can really start to sense your body clearly. Only then, your sensory information reaches your nervous system, and new movement options become available to your nervous system. As your nervous system starts to adapt new options, you start to notice yourself moving differently, feeling differently about your body and yourself, thinking differently, and more likely moving more comfortably, more gracefully and fluidly. Secondarily, it is also very possible your body structure is altered as structure is influenced by functions, that is how you move your body in daily activities. But, by then, it is very likely you are really no longer thinking about correcting your body structure. It is very possible that by then you may not remember why you started this practice in the first place as this happened to myself and many of my students.

So the goal is never to correct your body or movement patterns. The goal is simply to help the nervous system recognize its habitual patterns and new options by slowing down and listening to your body so deeply. This is a very special kinesthetic skill that requires lots of practice with guidance and feedback.There is an art and science in this practice.

One thing I can say with confidence is this: Our brain has such amazing abilities and capacity, and can change and adapt regardless of our age, our conditions, and circumstances. Our brain can discover many many many new possibilities only if we can create conditions for our brain to continue to learn.

Now if you go back to the comment question, how does it read to you, how do you think about it? Hope my insights are refreshing and intriguing to you.

I just realized I spent a long time to write this post. It is almost dinner time!

08/23/2026

I often think of somatic movement practice as a conversation with my body and myself. I move, my body responds, I listen to my body without judging, and I move again, and listen to how my body responds, and on. If I judge and impose my opinion onto my body, I am no longer having a conversation.

This is as if I am telling someone to do what to do without listening to them. This is one way communication. This is not a conversation. Conversations involve giving and receiving, talking and listening.

In a way, somatic movement practice is like dancing too. It is also like aikido. It is also like riding a horse. It is a relationship practice. How you move influences how your partner responds, and how your partner moves influences how you respond. If only person believes he/she is right and starts to lead you into a direction he/she wants without listening to you, you probably would not be able to respond easily and comfortably. That's because there's no giving and receiving, and you're not having a conversation.

Somatic movement practice is a way to have a conversation with ourselves and get to know self more intimately! At least, that's how I see it.

08/18/2026

Nothing is permanent except our beliefs that they are so. Beliefs are our habits shaped by our experiences, which are influenced by many things such as where we were born and grew up, parents, friends, schooling, culture, society, etc.

Our beliefs in turn shape how we move, think, feel, and behave.

So, perhaps our current bodily experience may be created by our habits. If we can influence our habits, we can then change our bodily experience now and future. Movement is our direct means to influence our habits and our experience. If you think about it, movement is how we connect with our body, mind, and nervous system and how we can change ourselves. That is wild and powerful, isn't it?

This is why my practice focuses on movement. Movement is life! Would yout like to move through your life with ease, trust, and freedom?

08/04/2026

A gentle reminder that I’ll be offering a live somatic workshop this Wednesday, August 5 at 1:00 PM Eastern.

We’ll slow down, explore some simple movements together, and notice what becomes possible when we stop trying so hard to fix or force the body.

Here is the zoom registration link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/bLXCHRwWS865m_3QVB5A_w

I’d love to have you join me.

07/04/2026

For a long time, I thought my work was about helping people move better.
Less pain.
More mobility.
Better posture.
More ease.

And those things still matter.
But the deeper I look back at my life and my work, the more I realize that my message has always been about something deeper than movement.

It is about coming back home to your body.
And maybe even more than that — coming back home to who you really are.
For as long as I can remember, I have felt the pain of seeing people shape themselves around what is expected, accepted, or considered “normal.” I know that feeling too. The pressure to fit in. To behave correctly. To suppress your own voice before you even realize you are doing it.

And I think many of us carry that in our bodies.
In the way we brace.
In the way we hold back.
In the way we monitor ourselves.
In the way we try to fix ourselves instead of listening.

So when I say “moving freely in your body,” I am not only talking about physical freedom.
I am talking about the freedom to be yourself.
To feel yourself from the inside.
To trust your own experience.
To express yourself more honestly through your body, your movement, your voice, and your life.

Maybe this is what my work has been pointing toward all along:
Your body is not broken.
You do not need to become someone else.
You can come back home to yourself.

06/24/2026

I grew up in Japan in a culture where discipline, effort, and not complaining were often valued. Then I came to the U.S. alone at 18, became an athlete, studied the body, worked in rehab, and spent many years trying to understand movement, pain, and healing.

For a long time, I believed improvement came from understanding more, doing more, trying harder, correcting more, and pushing through. But over the years, through my own body and through working with many people, I began to see something different.

Sometimes (well, actually more often than sometimes) the body doesn’t need more pressure. Sometimes it needs a different kind of attention. Not the attention of fixing. Not the attention of judging. Not the attention of constantly asking, “What is wrong with me?” But the kind of attention that says: “I’m listening.” “I’m here.” “I don’t have to force this.”

Many people who come to this work are already very disciplined. They have tried hard for years. They have done exercises, therapies, routines, and practices. They have done everything "right." The shift is not always about doing more. Sometimes the shift begins when the body finally feels that it doesn’t have to be treated like a problem. That is where learning can begin. New options, new patterns, new awareness, new possibilities are all learning, and they are not something you create with willpower and effort, but they emerge in such conditions where your body and nervous system feel safe enough, and you become curious enough. So the heart of my work is to help you change your internal environment so your nervous system stops fighting and you can finally feel at home in your body.

Send a message to learn more

06/18/2026

A small question for you today:

When you notice tension, posture, pain, or discomfort in your body…

what happens first?

Do you become curious?

Do you try to correct it?

Do you blame yourself?

Do you get worried?

Do you start searching for what you are doing wrong?

There is no right answer.

Just noticing your first response can be meaningful.

Sometimes the first shift is not changing the body.

It is noticing how we relate to the body.

And that relationship can begin to soften.

06/06/2026

A few people asked if my book "Your Body Is Not Broken" would be available as a paperback, especially for those who prefer a physical book or don’t use Kindle.

I’m happy to share that the paperback version is now available on Amazon!

Kindle + paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX363HMX

Thank you to everyone who has read it or reached out about it. I really appreciate your support.

Your Body Is Not Broken: A Gentle Somatic Path to Moving with More Ease, Trust, and Freedom

06/04/2026

Thank you so much.

I’m grateful to share that my new Kindle book, Your Body Is Not Broken, reached #1 New Release in Alternative Holistic Medicine and #1 in 90-Minute Health, Fitness & Dieting Short Reads on Amazon Kindle.

I wrote this short book for anyone who feels tired of trying to fix their body and wants a gentler way to begin again — through awareness, curiosity, somatic movement, and rebuilding trust from the inside.

Thank you to everyone who has read, downloaded, reviewed, or supported the book. I’m grateful this message is reaching people who may need it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX363HMX

06/01/2026

Just a gentle reminder: my ebook Your Body Is Not Broken is available free/discounted on Kindle through tomorrow.

I wrote this for anyone who feels stuck in pain, tension, fear of movement, or the belief that their body needs to be fixed.

My hope is that it gives you a softer, more hopeful way to begin relating to your body again.

You can read it free on Kindle during the promotion period here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX363HMX

If you’re outside the U.S., you may need to search the title Your Body Is Not Broken by Taro Iwamoto in your local Amazon store.