This is a sequence of four ways of stretches (I drew it). This is called "Makko ho" which was formulated by Wataru Nagai. Let's see the history of this sequence.
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Nagai was a son of a Buddhist Monk family having a temple in Japan. When he was 42 years old, he had a cerebral hemorrhage. He survived, but he was paralyzed on one side.
Then, he started to read a Buddhist scriptures to seek for a peace of mind. While reading, an idea of the first stretch of Makko hit him imaging Buddha statues and how infants sit on the floor.
In addition, he realized that Buddhist disciples had soft bodies and they had special positions during worship. He practiced these positions. Three years later, his body was completely recovered. He developed these positions.
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I practiced Makko ho for a while. I even had a private lesson at the Makko ho association in the center of Tokyo that has promoted this exercise. There are currently more than 600 places in Japan to learn Makko ho.
I knew yesterday that many people outside of Japan practice "Meridian stretches" with the name "Makko ho and Meridian stretches." Both are similar, but they are different in Japan.
The association shows a combination of four stretches and an official video clip (see below). What I practiced was also this sequence.
"Meridian stretches" is a sequence of six ways of stretches based on the 12 standard meridians. Shizuto Masunaga(1925-1981), a well-known Zen Shiatsu master, completed it.
For the past years, some Japanese therapists have formulated their own Meridian stretches.