Shakuju Therapy believes that all disease is a function of one’s internal energy (氣) or Ki in Japanese or Qi in Chinese being in decline which causes their energy to be in some sort of abnormal state which primarily manifests itself as cold. Cold isn’t necessarily the sensation of cold but a decline in one’s internal state. The founder of Shakuju, Shoji Kobayashi says, “When people are born, they are warm and when they die, they become cold.” The body uses its internal energy for all growth, development and metabolic activity. Thus, when our energy is in decline, our body systems don’t work as efficiently or they begin to breakdown. When our body’s energy isn’t working well, we lose our “fire” so to speak or, in more colloquial terms, we lose our “umph.” When we lose our fire, everything in our bodies slow down as well and we become more susceptible to injury and disease. Thus, the process from birth to death is the decline of warmth and the engendering of cold.  

Shakuju therapy’s goal is to stimulate the body’s balance of internal energy by creating “warmth.” This warmth is the stimulation of the patient’s internal energy causing the body to warm up which affects how the body creates, stores, distributes and balances its internal energy which in turn affects one’s overall state of health.

In Shakuju therapy, the therapist does not insert the needle but mainly utilizes contact needling instead. Contact needling is done with a blunt acupuncture needle which is gently tapped but not inserted on different parts of the abdomen and back which in turn stimulates one’s internal energy.