Taro Iwamoto Nervous System Movement Coach

10/08/2026

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great day!

I've been thinking a lot about sitting, how we (adults) relate to a chair. Many of us spend many hours in a chair daily, and we often find sitting for a long period of time uncomfortable and unpleasant, giving us hip, back, neck, and shoulder tension and discomfort. So, it's not surprising why many of you voted for "Making Sitting Feel More Comfortable and Easier" as their choice for my next live movement workshop.

Think about how children move all the different ways to move their bodies in relation to a chair as compared to us, adults. We have very rigid ideas about how we should be sitting in a chair. When it comes to finding a way to get more comfortable while sitting in a chair, we often think about only 2 things: 1) a good supportive chair 2) good posture.

That's a good starting point. But, I want to dig in more particularly about ideas around so called "good posture." This is where we have very rigid ideas about. I think many of you think about perfectly upright sitting posture where head, spine, pelvis are in a straight line. And we try to correct our body into such alignment and hold it all the time. That's what we think of "good posture" and how we should be sitting, in order to become more comfortable in sitting.

I'd like you to pause for a moment and remember what I said about how children move all the different ways to move their bodies in relation to a chair. Notice what stands out.

Children don't relate to sitting as a single position they stay locked in. They move their body in relationship to a chair, so their relationship to a chair is not fixed.

We adults hold our ideas about how we should be sitting in a chair in our bodies, which creates restrictions and muscular tension. Realizing this and changing your ideas about sitting in a chair can create a big shift in how you experience sitting in a chair!

This is what we will be exploring in my upcoming live movement workshop: "Making Sitting More Comfortable & Easier" on October 22 (Thursday) at 1:30pm ET. We will explore many different ways of moving our bodies in a chair, helping your nervous system and body recognize new ways of moving and integrating them in your daily sitting so sitting will become much more comfortable and easier for you!

Please join me if you'd like to relate to a chair in a more comfortable and pleasant way! I WILL NOT make you hold your body in a perfectly straight posture for 60 minutes! Please share this information with your family and friends and co-workers.

The link to the workshop is in the comment below. If you cannot attend this live, no worries, you will receive the recording afterwards so you can attend at your convenient time. Let me know if you have any questions.

09/25/2026

Yesterday I taught a live workshop called Make Walking Feel Easasier & Lighter, and I came away from it feeling really uplifted.

It was wonderful to actually see people, move together, hear what they were noticing, and respond to their questions in real time.

During the workshop, we explored some very simple movements involving the legs, pelvis, spine, ribs, feet, and toes, and then kept returning to walking to notice what—if anything—felt different.

People shared experiences such as:

- walking feeling smoother, steadier, or easier
- feeling more grounded and supported
- sensing more of the whole body participating in walking
- noticing habitual bracing they hadn’t been aware of
- feet feeling more awake, relaxed, or connected to the ground

But what I especially enjoyed was what happened toward the end.

People began asking questions based on their own discoveries.

Could we explore sitting?

Reaching?

Gardening or cooking?

Back discomfort?

The relationship between the hips, inner thighs, and walking?

Those questions reminded me how much I enjoy this kind of learning.

Not simply following exercises or trying to make the body move the “right” way, but becoming curious, noticing what is actually happening, and exploring new possibilities together.

So I’d love to ask you something:

If you could join me for a future live movement workshop, what would you most like to explore?

It could be:

- a body area
- an everyday activity
- a movement that feels difficult
- something you want to feel easier or more comfortable
- or simply something about your body that you’re curious about

Just hit reply and tell me what comes to mind.

You don’t need to write a long response. Even one sentence is enough.

I’d really love to hear your ideas.

Warmly,

Taro

09/24/2026

These chicken of the woods I foraged yesterday turned into delicious Japanese karaage! These mushrooms taste just like chicken. One of my favorite mushrooms!

09/21/2026

Imagine yourself walking so gracefully, comfortably, fluidly, and lightly. How would that feel in your body?

If you're not walking as well as you'd like (maybe because of pain, discomfort, stiffness, tightness, fear of falling, fatigue, etc), I'd like you to join my live online movement workshop on September 24 Thursday at 1:30pm ET (details in the link below).

I want to share that there's a very different way of working with your body to improve walking quality than walking on a treadmill, stretching tight muscles, lifting weights. Walking is your whole body activity.

Have you ever paid attention to how your feet meet the ground?
Have you ever paid attention to how each foot receive weight?
Have you ever paid attention to how your pelvis, spine, ribs, shoulder blades, arms, head, eyes, etc participate when you walk?

Likely not.

You'll be so amazed how much potential you have in your movement possibilities, and how much you can improve quality of your walking by exploring simple movements with guidance and your focused attention!

I'll be introducing 2-3 short movement lessons (I'm still trying to decide which lessons to teach because there are so many lessons I want to share, but there is not enough time!) for the workshop, which will help you improve whole body coordination, participation, improve distribution of movement and effort, reduce unnecessary effort, all of which will help improve quality of walking!

If you'd like to experience more ease, comfort, fluidity in your walking, please join me on September 24 Thursday at 1:30pm ET!

09/15/2026

Have you noticed that walking sometimes feels harder than it seems like it should?

Maybe your hips feel tight, your back feels stiff, or your legs feel heavy.

Walking is something we do without thinking much about it, but there’s actually a lot happening between the feet, legs, pelvis, spine—and the nervous system.

Next Thursday, I’m going to spend an hour exploring this together in a live Zoom workshop.

Make Walking Feel Easier & Lighter
Thursday, Sept. 24 • 1:30–2:30 PM ET

We’ll use gentle, practical movement explorations, notice what changes, and I’ll explain some of the nervous-system science behind what we’re experiencing. There will also be time for questions and discussion.

If this sounds interesting to you, you can learn more and register here:

https://calendly.com/taroiwamoto/make-walking-feel-easier-lighter

$29 • Recording available for 2 weeks

Thursday, September 24, 2026 • 1:30–2:30 PM ETLive on Zoom • $29 USDRecording available for 2 weeks after the workshop.If walking feels stiff, heavy, restricted, or more effortful than you'd like, join me for a practical, experiential, interactive workshop.We'll explore together through:• Ge...

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.