PT STOP

Call Directions Website Contact the business

PT STOP Primary Physical Therapy Care.

[Retuning]I used to be a master of to-do lists.Get things done. Check. Check. Check. Good job.I read a lot about efficie...
10/16/2026

[Retuning]

I used to be a master of to-do lists.

Get things done. Check. Check. Check. Good job.

I read a lot about efficiency and productivity. Looking back, I think it was partly because I struggled with so many things that seemed easy for others when I was growing up.

Getting things done became a way to reassure myself. If I put in the effort, I could get results. And if I got results, I could feel good about myself.

Then, something unexpected happened in Aikido.

During training, I did a technique that made my partner fall to the floor.

But I felt nothing.

No sense of accomplishment. No “I did it!” No satisfaction from having made something happen.

It was as if I hadn’t done anything at all.

And yet, my partner was on the floor.

It was a completely unfamiliar feeling.

Where was my checklist? Where was the effort I could point to? Where was the satisfaction of knowing I had done a good job?

I had achieved the result, but I couldn’t take credit for it in the way I was used to.

It made me wonder how much of my life I had spent focusing on outcomes, measuring my efforts by what I could accomplish.

And then I began to see a similar thread in PRI.

Retuning.

Retuning the relationship between reference and referent. Learning to connect. Finding the timing. Feeling the rhythm.

To pay attention to what’s happening right now, rather than constantly measuring where I am against where I want to be.

To feel, to notice, to re-connect.

To be present in the moment instead of rushing ahead to the result.

Maybe the question isn’t always, How do I make this happen?

Maybe it’s also, What am I experiencing right now? What am I responding to? Am I connected? Am I in tune with the moment?

Perhaps I’ve been so focused on checking things off that I’ve forgotten to listen.

Aikido gave me a glimpse of that.

PRI helps me explore it further.

It’s about becoming more present to myself, to others, and to what’s happening right now. #ズレ

[Development]When I was little, I collected so many tadpoles in a bucket, took them home, and observed them every day. I...
07/22/2026

[Development]

When I was little, I collected so many tadpoles in a bucket, took them home, and observed them every day. I couldn’t wait to see them grow legs and become frogs.

When a tadpole first hatches, it breathes through external gills on both sides of its head. As it grows, a fold of skin gradually covers the gills, turning them into internal gills.

But here’s the fascinating part: this doesn’t happen symmetrically.

The opening on the right side closes, while the left side remains open as a small spiracle that allows water to flow over the gills and out of the body. For a period of development, the tadpole is visibly left-right asymmetric.

Later, during metamorphosis, the gills are resorbed, the lungs take over, and the frog transitions from an aquatic to a terrestrial lifestyle.

Development isn’t perfectly symmetrical. Asymmetry isn’t a mistake—it’s an elegant solution shaped by evolution. whyC3-4is crucial for humans 消防池でただひたすらおたまじゃくしを集めた。バケツいっぱいに集めて毎日観察した。カエルに変わる様を見たかった。バケツに蓋をしてなかったから皆んなカエルになったと同時に逃げちゃった。お母さんの顔が引き攣ってたなぁ。

06/17/2026

Your eyes matter—not because of what they see, but because of how they perceive the space around you. If I had kept the glasses prescribed from a seated refraction test, imagine how they could have affected my hips, ankles, neck, and back. As shown in this clip, I would have been subconsciously compensating to avoid falling to the left in every steps I take.

Your chronic IT band tightness may be related to how your visual and vestibular systems process spatial information. When vision alters your perception of where you are in space, the rest of the body often adapts in ways you may not even realize. Grateful to work with Vizen Optometric Center for our patients!

Reading English has always felt physically difficult for me in a way I could never fully explain.It’s not just “understa...
05/11/2026

Reading English has always felt physically difficult for me in a way I could never fully explain.

It’s not just “understanding” the words.
My whole sense of rhythm, focus, and even body awareness feels strained when reading English text for long periods. Like my brain has to force itself through a narrow channel.

But when I read Japanese or Chinese characters, the experience feels different. More spatial. More visual. More intuitive. My eyes and mind don’t fight the page in the same way.

I recently learned that different writing systems actually recruit the brain differently.

English relies more on sequential sound-decoding and left-hemisphere language processing:
letter → sound → word.
(❌Mai buk ✅My book)

Chinese characters and kanji involve more visual-spatial (recognizing shapes, structure, movement) and bilateral brain processing:
pattern → meaning → sound.

So dyslexia and reading difficulty can feel very different depending on the language and script.

Same brain. Different cognitive pathways.

[Journey continues..]What an incredible three days of deep learning with Nobuhito Yamamoto Sensei from Daitoryu Aiki Juj...
11/10/2025

[Journey continues..]

What an incredible three days of deep learning with Nobuhito Yamamoto Sensei from Daitoryu Aiki Jujutsu Roppokai.

It was an invaluable experience. I truly felt how he throws people by using the intercostals, clavicles, sternum, scapulo-thoracic, thoracic-scapular, arms, and diaphragm!

As a therapist, I confirmed that none of these martial arts techniques work without establishing the ZOA (Zone of Apposition). Especially since I’m much smaller and physically weaker than most of the men at the seminar, being able to throw someone much bigger with little to no effort was mind-blowing.

Without ZOA, it’s not only impossible for the techniques to work— you immediately feel your upper traps, neck, and pecs interfering with your movement (which is how often people get hurt).

Sensei shared that in Japanese, we say someone skillful has “腕がいい (ude ga ii),” which literally means “good arms.” Upper arms.
The humerus connects to the scapula, then to the clavicle, and then to the sternum.
To truly have “good arms,” you must understand the role of the sternum — and its connection to the ribs.

The seminar was held at Seishinjuku Dojo in Culver City. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to learn from true masters. 🙏

#先生はふにゃふにゃしているようで動きが半端なく速かった
#達人は前腕がぶ厚くて棉みたいに柔らかいのに中にナイフが入ってるみたい

[Evolution of vertebrates moving from water to land]Tiktaalik is an ancient fish that lived over 375 million years ago, ...
10/16/2025

[Evolution of vertebrates moving from water to land]

Tiktaalik is an ancient fish that lived over 375 million years ago,

and it represents more than just the evolution from water to land—it marks a pivotal moment in the story of human movement.

Most fish cannot move their heads independently of their bodies because their head is housed to the shoulder girdle. But Tiktaalik broke that rule - the head is not fused to the pectoral girdle. This ancient lobe-finned fish is a powerful symbol of our first fundamental shift that gave rise to cervical mobility.

The first discovered fossil that clearly shows weight bearing limb structure and wrists - beginning of an arm, used its fins to help push its head and upper body out of the water.

This is huge for an animal that is now pushing up and looking around - for scanning for prey/predators, and breathing air.

The development of hand-like fins and the ability to move the head seem to have evolved around the same time.

In many ways, Tiktaalik’s anatomical breakthrough foreshadowed our ability to use arms not only for locomotion but also for exploring, manipulating, and orienting ourselves in the world around us. It is the origin of head-led movement, where visual and spatial awareness became integrated with limb action. It is a symbol of liberation—for the head, for the spine, and eventually, for the hands.

When I think of Tiktaalik, I see more than just a fossil. I see the beginning of how we came to use our arms to explore the world, guide our vision, and move with better balance and awareness. It reminds us that head and neck movement isn’t just about turning or looking—it’s deeply connected to how we use our whole body.

10/09/2025

[Right hip and Right neck pain]

Llisten to his steps.

The first video at the initial session, you can hear only his right step. He strikes his right foot as if he needs that to perceive where he is and where he is going.

The second video when he put MMOO, he no longer heard his right heel strike. His R pterygoids and sternocleidomastoid muscle calmed down. His R hip adductor didn’t have to scream at him. That made his pain go away.

I appreciate Ron Hruska’s writing “Vocal-Auditory Imbalanced Processing Reflections”.

[Stillness]So many people can’t sit still—not because they don’t want to,but because their bodies won’t let them.It’s no...
10/04/2025

[Stillness]

So many people can’t sit still—
not because they don’t want to,
but because their bodies won’t let them.

It’s not just about discipline.
It’s about internal balance.
It’s pressure management.
It’s breathing.

Watching my Aikido teacher, Haruo Matsuoka, sit like this for long time —
effortlessly—
is a lesson in how much is happening
beneath the surface.

Being still requires an alternation of both sides of the body,
which is inherently asymmetrical.
#合気道
Art of Peace short film by Jamie Levene

[Now and Then]Japanese people before late 1800s never stood with straight back and straight knees. Knees were slightly b...
09/20/2025

[Now and Then]
Japanese people before late 1800s never stood with straight back and straight knees. Knees were slightly bent to keep their center of gravity lower.
There are records of people back then walking >18 miles/day.

During the Meiji era, as Western culture flowed into Japan, there are records of kids being told to keep their knees straight and back straight in Japan.

People began to abandon the natural, efficient movements rooted in the bodies’ innate abilities and instead adopted a consciously straight upright posture by relying on willpower.

Humans do not have a straight spine. We are not designed to stand up with back straight.

[How to connect with other disciplines]This is the email I wrote and the reply from the dentist (a TED talker my patient...
08/19/2025

[How to connect with other disciplines]
This is the email I wrote and the reply from the dentist (a TED talker my patient requested). I hope it helps PRI practitioners out there who’s looking for more integrations! (I have been asked many times how I navigate) I never send them research or other info/materials until they get back to me and ask for them (ready to go anytime). First, we gotta connect through clients - who wouldn’t wanna help? doesn’t matter you have a doctorate title or not.

Address

3407 W6th Street Unit# 514
Los Angeles, CA
90020

Telephone

+12139150300

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when PT STOP posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to PT STOP:

Shortcuts

Share

Category