Nobuko Sugimoto, MS, OTR/L, CST-T, CYT
I started on my path of body therapy in 2000 as a massage therapist and as a yoga instructor. I obtained a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at San Jose State University and became licensed by National Board of Occupational Therapy in 2006.
In my OT career I witnessed many people being affected by pain, not able to tolerate exercise or even a simple stretch. Pain not only stops us from doing many things, but it also compromises balance and safety during movement. As an OT, I wanted to offer effective pain management outside of pharmaceutical intervention.
I had my own share of lower back pain that became chronic. In my search for non-invasive treatment, I found Craniosacral Therapy. My body responded well to it, and after several sessions, the pain decreased greatly to where I was able to manage it with self-care routine.
I found Fascial Counterstain after I experienced acute and debilitatingly painful sciatica. One night I went to bed with no issue, and the next morning I woke up with a high level of pain radiating from my lower back to back of my left thigh. The pain was so severe that I could not even roll in the bed. After the first session, my pain subsided gradually over the next few days. A few sessions later my pain was unnoticeable. In my case, the sciatica symptom was caused by inflammation of the small intestine. I had to cut back on food that I enjoyed to avoid recurring inflammation.
I am a technique-cerfitied Craniosacral Therapist by Upledger Institute. I continue to study Fascial Counterstrain and Strain Counterstrain with Jones Institute. I also use Yoga Therapy I learned at Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, as a therapeutic modality for education and exercise training to regain strength, balance and range of motion.