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Okyu (moxibustion) uses the gentle heat of burning mugwort to warm precise points on the skin. This warmth can increase local blood flow, relax tight tissues, and help calm the nervous system. Alongside symptom relief, the unhurried, hands‑on nature of treatment often promotes trust and a sense of calm that patients and their families carry into daily life—benefits that can grow steadily over time.
What is okyu?
Okyu is a technique of Japanese direct moxibustion (‘moxa’) consists of smoldering rice-grain sized cones of moxa (which is refined Artemisia Princeps) on specific locations on the skin. This therapy has been used for centuries in conjunction with acupuncture in East Asian Medicine, as well as in a stand-alone treatment. Stand-alone moxibustion techniques have been particularly refined and developed in Japan
Okyu-d0 Founder
Dr. Yuki-S. Itaya
Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Dr. Yuki is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM, L.Ac.). She earned her master's degree in Oriental Medicine from Emperor's College (Santa Monica) and her doctoral degree from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine.
She serves as a trustee of MOXAFRICA, a British charity researching Japanese-style direct moxibustion as an adjunctive treatment for tuberculosis in developing nations. This work includes a 180‑patient phase II randomized controlled trial at Makerere University, Uganda.
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For more information, visit: Moxafrica
She is also the President of HINOKO Inc., a California-based nonprofit organization (NPO) in the United States.
Yuki has been a certified senior teacher of the Mukaino Method outside Japan since 2008—a movement-based diagnostic and treatment protocol developed by Prof. Mukaino Yoshito, MD, of Fukuoka University, Japan.
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Learn more: Mukaino Method
Yuki is the only practitioner certified to teach Koshiishi Style Moxibustion outside of Japan.
Also available in Japanese (below).
（伊田屋幸子／東洋医学博士・鍼灸・漢方医）
伊田屋幸子（Dr. Yuki）は、東洋医学博士（DAOM）、鍼灸師（L.Ac.）
サンタモニカのEmperor's Collegeで東洋医学の修士号を取得し、Oregon College of Oriental Medicineで博士号を取得しました。
開発途上国における結核治療の補助療法として日本式の直接灸を研究する英国チャリティー団体「MOXAFRICA」の理事を務めています。この活動には、ウガンダ・Makerere大学で実施された180例の第II相無作為化比較試験が含まれます。
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詳細: Moxafrica
また、米国カリフォルニア州の非営利団体（NPO）HINOKO Inc. の理事長を務めています。
2008年より、日本国外におけるMukaino Method（福岡大学・向野義人医学博士による、動作を用いた診断と治療のプロトコル）のシニア認定講師として指導しています。
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公式サイト: Mukaino Method
さらに、日本国外で唯一の越石灸の指導認定者です。
