From left: Iku Kiriyama, Patty Tahara Rassouli, Emmy Akiyama, Alan Saruwatari. (J.K. YAMAMOTO/Rafu Shimpo)

GARDENA — The Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute and Iku Kiriyama presented a second Complementary Alternative Medicine forum on April 2.

Panelists were Alan Saruwatari, certified shiatsu-anma therapist; Emmy Akiyama, a licensed marriage and family therapist and registered art therapist; and Patty Tahara Rassouli, reiki master.

Saruwatari explained to the audience that focused shiatsu-anma therapy (FST), which he developed, is a healing art that provides treatments to help individuals with pain relief, stress reduction and energy imbalance.

Muscle pain, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, plantar fasciitis, frozen shoulder and sports injuries are a few examples of what FST has been shown to be effective for, often in very few treatments, in a comfortable environment, at his One, Natural Healing Center. His methods were developed over 30 years of experience.

Akiyama, who has an office at One, Natural Healing Center, explained that like physical health, mental health is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Art therapy is an innovative way to engage in mental health treatment, and its two main components are creating art and exploring the artwork with a trained art therapist.

Art can be a simple yet powerful tool for expression. Also, art therapy is only one of many ways to do therapy. She encouraged people who need help to not hesitate to ask a trained mental health professional.

Tahara Rassouli explained that reiki is a very accessible energy, which is easy to learn. Once people can get more balanced, they can make wiser self-care choices, such as eating better, exercising, thinking good thoughts, and perhaps starting a meditation practice. Reiki can get a person to the gate of healing, and then it’s all up to the person as to how far he or she wants to go.

Tahara Rassouli’s mission is to teach as many people as possible the power of reiki, which she does at Los Angeles Harbor College, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSULB and in private practice.

The well-attended program closed with the experts taking questions from the audience.