Feeling the Happiness in You

What makes you smile? What makes you feel happiness and love in your heart? Is it the people you are surrounded by? Or is it the things you do?

After searching for joy outside of myself countless times, I have found that true happiness can only come from within. This September, it is my goal for us to learn tools we can use to reach our natural state of contentment, no matter what challenges we may face, or what environment life puts us into.

By connecting with our breath, we will be able to ignite our life force energy. In moving through different yogic postures we have the ability to cleanse stagnant energy and to unite with the purity of our true selves. In meditation, we will clear our mind so that we can know what choices we need to make in order to fulfill our life dreams and experience our highest life purpose.

Yogi Bhajan once said, “If you want to be happy, you have to be happy when there’s no happiness around you. How can you be happy that way? Because you feel the infinity in you.”

I love coffee. Not only do I love the way it smells and tastes, but I love coffee shop culture. Spending an afternoon curled up in a cosy cafe with a good book, and a perfectly made cappuccino is my idea of heaven. And I am not alone.

In 2011 people consumed 7,358,897 metric tons of coffee. To help put this into perspective, 1 metric ton equals 1000 kilograms (a small car weighs about 1000 kilograms). That’s A LOT of coffee! Canadians are one of the top consumers of coffee in the world. Perhaps that explains why I love it so much.

In April of this year, a student (Maki) joined imagine* who was getting ready to move to New York for three years. In one of our first lessons she told me that she was a coffee lover (a woman after my own heart!), and that her dream was to order a soy latte from Starbucks in English. I’ve had the experience of ordering a coffee in another language and not getting what I wanted, so I could understand why it was important for her to get the order right.

A perfect example of how confusing ordering a coffee can be is ‘black coffee’. In some places when you order a black coffee, it means coffee with no sugar or milk. On the other hand, in some places a black coffee has sugar in it! To be safe you should always ask for “a black coffee with no sugar”. As you can see ordering a coffee in a foreign country can be a daunting task, and when you start getting into specialty coffees that’s when things can get really confusing!

After just a month of taking two English lessons almost every day Maki was on her way to New York. She had practiced everything from asking for directions to talking about her hometown, and most importantly ordering a soy latte! One of the things that differ from ordering at Starbucks in Japan is having to give your name when you order. The staff write your name on your cup so that they don’t give your order to another customer by accident. So we made sure to practice that while ordering.

In the first few days of her new life in New York Maki had successfully answered all of the questions at immigration, visited the famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Yankee Stadium, and was even asked for directions by a New Yorker! During all of her adventures she made her first visit to Starbucks and in her words “I ordered the soy latte at STARBUCKS.”

So from one coffee fanatic to another, well done Maki! I knew that you could do it.

Synchronizing the Body, Mind, and Soul with Kundalini Yoga

During the month of July we will use Kundalini Yoga to synchronize our body, mind, and soul. Many people believe that these elements are separate entities, when in fact they are a team. When the body, mind, and soul unite and work as one powerful force of energy you will KNOW your purpose in life. You will TRUST your own intuition, and you will FEEL vitality, energy, and breath in your body.

Yoga is a tool to bring us back to our core. Life is a constant movement of changing energy. Sometimes we feel challened, emotional, unsure, and uncomfortable. In many cases this is because our body, mind, and soul are out of balance. These periods of life can be frustrating, but it is not always a bad thing. It is part of the cycle of life and very natural.

The most challenging times in our life are often a sign of “New Beginnings.” Think about a child who has mastered crawling, and they look around to see that there is another experience called ‘walking’ that they would like to try. The child could remain complacent and comfortable, but as a natural progression in life, they take on the new challenge. In this process a toddler will fall over and over again as their body is out of balance. Soon, however, they will find their center and become comfortable again.

When we think or want a new experience in life, things will begin to change. The old starts to fall away, and the new experience will begin to take form. This can take place in relationships, jobs, or creative endeavors. The challenges we face will build strength, confidence, and prepare us for the future and the next challenge.

Yoga is tool that helps to remind us of who we are, because sometimes we may forget or become lost. Yoga helps us to learn how to take control of our mind, strengthen our intuition, and build energy for our creations. Yoga is a tool where we bring breath, flexibility, and flow to our body in order to stay youthful, vibrant, and healthy.

During this month our goal is to bring clarity and direction towards the things in our life that serve a higher purpose. When the body, mind, and soul are working together in harmony we can begin to feel a new sense of fulfillment and contentment. We can experience peace in our heart and remember that we are our own creators.

Most students who come to imagine* on Sundays know me well – we’ve had many lessons together. But during the month of May, very few of you had lessons with me. When you came, perhaps you noticed me sitting alone at a desk with many papers around me, typing busily on a computer. Or perhaps you didn’t notice, but I would like to tell you what I was doing anyway. For over a month, I was working on a translation project.

imagine* was contracted to translate the web site of a garment stand maker into English. This was my first serious translation project. It was a very interesting challenge but I came to realize that translation is very difficult for several reasons.

First of all, there are many differences between Japanese and English sentence structure. I noticed that when I changed a sentence into English, I often had to add a subject, such as “we,” our “these products,” because in Japanese, subjects are not always present.

Vocabulary was also difficult, because the topic was something that I am not familiar with in my own language. I had to learn many new English words related to the fashion industry. Luckily, Brandon knows more about that and was able to help my English sound more natural.

Finally, I realized that some things cannot be translated directly. English and Japanese are so different that sometimes we need to stop trying to match them and find things that are equal – we just say it another way. I think this idea is especially important when we speak a foreign language.

When I speak Japanese, I am not translating in my head. Therefore, even though I have been using Japanese in my daily life for many years, this experience was very new for me. I have a Japanese place in my brain, and when I talk, I try to use only that place. It helps make speech faster and more natural, and I recommend this to all students of foreign language. And for anyone who has to translate documents at work, I say: Good Luck!

Kennett & Lindsell  GARMNET STAND TECHNOLOGY

只今イマジン語学スタジオの空間を彩って頂いているのは、アーティスト田中紗樹さんの作品です。
彩り豊かな作品たちが白い壁に映え、明るい雰囲気の中でレッスンを行っております。

6月3日(日)には恒例の展示替えにともなうパーティーを開催しました。
今回パーティー初めての試み、関東から三味線奏者である五錦雄互さんを迎え音楽に合わせてライブペインティングを行いました。

三味線の力強く繊細な生演奏の中、白と黒の紙に一つ一つ色や線が重なって作品が生まれていく、凄く神秘的で貴重な体験となりました。

ライブの後もふたりのアーティストとの会話もはずみ、終始和やかなパーティーとなりました。
沢山の方にお越し頂きありがとうございました。

田中紗樹さんの作品は9月初旬まで展示しておりポストカードなどの小物も販売しております。
事前にご連絡いただければ作品見学していただけます。
ぜひお越しください。

Living in Beauty by Becoming our Light: Strengthening our Aura

Have you ever glanced at an individual as you are walking down the street, and suddenly you find yourself staring at them? In some cases, even years later, you can still remember that particular person. Oftentimes, it is the radiance of a person’s Aura that catches our eye; the Power of their presence is their Beauty. People are drawn to the magnitude of one’s Aura.

Our Aura is a field of energy that surrounds our physical body and expands from three to nine feet on either side. A strong Aura brings you energy, health, and an angelic nature. Your Aura is created by the flow of prana through energy meridians in your body.

During the month of June, we will be focusing on strengthening and expanding our Auras. We will learn ways to intensify our Aura on a daily basis. During class, we will become familiar with various postures and breathing techniques that will assist us in our process.

There are so many ways that we can feel beautiful, graceful, and bright. Let us learn the ancient tool of the yogis and step into our light.

Hello my dear Yoginis! I have been so impressed with the incredible effort and meditative focus that you have put into our classes. You are doing a really good job!

In May, we will be focusing on the second chakra: the chakra of connection. It represents our connection to creativity, passion and money, as well as our own self worth. At times in the past we may have felt neglected. This can happen in childhood when we don’t receive the attention needed from parents, teachers or other important people around us. It can manifest into a feeling that we simply do not deserve greatness in this lifetime. Sometimes we think we do not deserve to make money doing the things we love or we don’t deserve to be in a relationship filled with love, trust and joyfulness.

Our goal is to unleash the second chakra’s stored energy and to channel our energy into the things that we have the most passion for. By moving through specific Kundalini kriyas and meditations we can transform ourselves in very powerful ways. In truth, we deserve the very best and should never settle for anything less. This month, let us move to a place where we stand proud of who we are. Let us live from a place of knowing and believing so that we may experience life to its fullest capacity.

What can we say? It was an absolutely brilliant party!

A great venue, fantastic food and drink, a happy and friendly atmosphere, lovely people and an excellent time had by all!

We were so happy to see so many imagine students of the past and present and it was nice to catch up and have a chat with everyone (we were so impressed with how much English was spoken – well done!). We ate fish and chips and shepherd’s pie which was a first for many people – good English grub! We received a gorgeous bouquet of flowers each and some lovely presents and, best of all, an album filled with messages from our friends at imagine. We read them when we got home and were so touched by the kind and generous things people wrote.

I started a blog recently which is about leaving Japan and all the things I will miss. I hope it conveys my strong connection to this country and many of the people I have met while living here. One of the posts is about the Clapham Inn itself so please check it out!

nippontouk : a diary of sorts

We will miss everyone so much but we hope we will see you again the UK – the kettle will be on and the biscuits will be ready!

Take care and all the very best,

xBecca & Ed

「英語でヨガ」の後にビーガンスタイルランチ！

３月の春分の日、ヨガのワークショップをイマジン語学スタジオ内（芦屋市）で開催しました。ヨガの後に Vegan（ビーガン）スタイルのランチが付いて、京都のお茶とともにサンドウィッチをいただきました。大変好評でとても楽しく、健康的で美味しい時間を過ごすことができました。

ヨガ講師の Casey が企画するヨガと食事法を主としたワークショップは、Vegan（ビーガン）と呼ばれる、基本的に乳製品・蜂蜜等の動物性の食品を一切摂らない、食事法を Casey よりご紹介いただきます。ヨガレッスンの後に、ビーガンスタイルのサンドウィッチ等をいただきながらワークショップは進行し、参加者とともにヨガや食について談話を楽しみます。

Casey がビーガンということで、食についての話題は生徒さんも興味津々。ビーガンという言葉を初めて聞いた方もいらっしゃいましたし、生徒さんの中にベジタリアンの方もいらっしゃったので、その話題はつきることがありません。

Vegan（ビーガン）は宗教的なものではなく、食事法のひとつです。Casey は、六年程その食事法をしているとのこと。私は雑食系ですが（笑）、とくにこれといった物足りなさもなく美味しくいただきました。

サンドウィッチの中身は、豆腐ステーキ、アボカド、きゅうり、トマト、レタスが入っていて、味付けではマヨネーズの代わりに、豆乳とオリーブオイル等から作ったソースをパンに塗り、具を挟みます。パンはイツキベーカリーの手作りで、もちろん牛乳等の乳製品は入っていません。
サンドウィッチに添えられたサイドディッシュには、蒸し加減が丁度よいブロッコリーでとてもヘルシー。デザートにはメープルシロップとカシューナッツ入りのクッキーを。
これなら無理なく、月にいち度、一食だけでもビーガンになるのもいいかもしれないと思いました。

次回のヨガ・ワークショップは2012年4月30日（月・祝日、昭和の日の振り替え日！）に開催いたします！　詳細は こちら にて。皆さまのご参加を心よりお待ち申し上げます！
今後のヨガ・ワークショップは、不定期ではありますが開催日が決まり次第、ホームページ等にてお知らせいたしますので、ご興味ある方はぜひご参加ください。

In this day and age, there is so much change happening in the world. There is one path – one state of being – that will allow us to maintain our grace, strength and happiness: The state of compassion.

In this workshop, we will use the energy of the group to go to the depth of our capacity and ignite the core of our heart’s center. The only thing that creates irritability, frustration and friction in our relationships is a lack of compassion within ourselves. Through specific yogic postures that work on the opening of the heart, and a powerful meditation, we will release old tensions, emotions and the stagnant energy that blocks our capacity to feel the higher states of love.

Our external life is a reflection of our internal state of being. Through the science of kundalini yoga and the power of the group we have the ability to create a permanent change in the way we feel, relate to, and love our own true nature. When we can love who we are, we will unite with the path we came here to live.

To finish our afternoon we will share together as we enjoy delicious vegetarian wraps, rice and tea in the company of our friends.