In “Art Mime,” as a theatrical performance, it is important to bodily experience emotions. When we see the relationship between body and emotions from the perspective of Art Mime, we understand that emotions, which are really personal, can exist as something separated from the person. Experiencing not egocentric but universal emotions gives us abundant emotions of mental energy, and helps us release ourselves and realize others.

Today, body and emotion seem to be marginalized in our busy life. A keyword to bring them back is somatic sensation, which has been often discussed in mindfulness and trauma therapy. Furthermore, referring to “dreambody,” which is a somatic deep psychotherapeutic approach, we will discuss how the body itself always shows meaning, from a teleological viewpoint and with some therapeutic cases.

Fundamental to the Daoist, specifically that of the text Zhuangzi, approach to living life is allowing life/qi to flow naturally without any obstructions. Ongoing, absolute, restrictive, threat based, emotionally laden psychosocial judgments, thinking and beliefs give rise to chronic stress and its intertwined emotions. Chronic stress and its intertwined emotions significantly interfere with and impede this natural flow resulting in physical and psychological damage to one’s overall health and well-being. Body based practices such as Daoist meditative techniques, Taijiquan, and Qigong reestablish this natural flow.

Based on the viewpoint of Oriental medicine, the essence of the human body is considered as a “function.” This function is related to both “body” and “emotion,” which is important for balance. In the clinical situation of acupuncture, acupuncturists directly approach their patients’ “body” by giving them physical stimuli of acupuncture. However, as shown in Chapter II describing a clinical case, they seem to indirectly work on their patients’ “emotion.” In addition, the communication between acupuncturists and their patients also has an influence on the therapeutic effects. Thus, it is important to properly approach both the patients’ “body” and “emotion” in clinical settings.

In Japanese society, intensifying competition in several professional arenas is expected to gradually continue, and it is said that a “super competitive society” will develop in the near future. Under such circumstances, the psychological, physical, and interpersonal burdens imposed on people will become more significant, and as a result, it is expected that health problems, performance inhibitions, and dilution of social relations will worsen. As a means of addressing this issue, Japanese society must adjust its solution from that of traditional Western methods such as the top-down approach to a new strategy. This strategy is a body-to-mind approach based on the bottom-up approach transmitted in Oriental culture.