I have decided to dedicate February’s yoga classes to opening up our power of communication. Representing the fifth chakra, communication is the ability to be vocal and express our ideas, feelings, needs and experiences to the people in our lives.

My goal is to move the blocked energy in our throat area, which may be keeping us from speaking up when it is necessary for us to communicate. Sometimes we feel inside that this may a difficult thing to do. However, it is so important that we have the confidence to ask for what we need, to say “No” when we can’t do something, and to share with those close to us what we are thinking and feeling inside. People don’t always know what what we are thinking or what we need. Good communication is the key to experiencing harmony, peace and understanding in our relationships.

Over the past five years, this has been one of the chakras that I myself have put a lot of focus and effort into. I grew up in an environment, and with a father, where I was not able to voice the things I needed to say. This made me fearful of speaking up in life: to teachers, in front of groups and in my relationships. After moving through certain yoga exercises and doing specific meditations focusing on the fifth chakra, I have made amazing progress and created permanent changes in my ability to express my needs and feelings to the important people in my life.

The fifth chakra also represents the tone and way we go about expressing ourselves to others. If we have had a family member that communicated through yelling, or with harshness, we might have picked up this behavior and started expressing ourselves in the same manner. Just being aware of how we communicate is so important and will help us to make any changes that may allow us to create stronger bonds and loving connections with those we are closest to.

Our goal this month is to build our confidence. To be direct, yet harmonious in our communication with other people, and find our own inner strength so that we will know when it is important for us to speak up, and when it may be wiser for us to remain in our own stillness.

久しぶりの海外旅行でベトナムを訪れました。ずっと行きたいと思っていた国の一つで、私の旅行先の決め方は先ず、その国の食事が好きかどうか。

ベトナム料理は日本でも何度か食べに行ったことはありましたが、きっと現地で食べるお料理は、もっと違っているんだろうなと興味がありました。だから今回も特に観光地や世界遺産を訪れるのではなく、ただひたすら、市場へ行っては現地の人の雰囲気やどんな物を食べているのか、どんな人が働いているのかを観察したりして、現地に生活している気分で過ごしました。

ホーチミン市のみの滞在で、ベンタン市場とタイビン市場を何度も通いました。ベンタン市場はかなり広い市場で、観光客も多数。特にレストラン付近では呼び込みが激しく、観光客を一人でも多く捕まえるかのように女性店員は必死で声を掛けてきます。店舗数も多いので、お土産を買うには事足りるでしょう。その一方、タイビン市場はかなりのローカル。主婦が食材を買い、出勤前のサラリーマンは子供を連れて朝ご飯を食べ、店員は常連客を見事にさばいていきます。山ほど売れるサンドイッチを手際よく素早くつくる姿に感動し、その場でオレンジを手で絞ってくれるフレッシュジュースは本当に贅沢です。物価は大体日本の五分の一から十分の一程度でしょうか、サンドイッチの値段は10,000ドン（30円位）、ジュースは20,000ドン（60円位）ですから、安くて美味しい！を満喫できます。

言語はというと、ほとんど英語は通じません。でもたまに英語が堪能な人もいて、親切に接してくれます。人はとても優しくいい印象でした。唯一覚えたベトナム語は「cam on（カモン）」、「ありがとう」の意です。

アメリカ・ドルとベトナム・ドンの入り交じる貨幣、活気ある市場、多すぎるバイクの数々（その所為で発生する排気ガスは困りもの）、安くて美味しいベトナム料理等々に堪能した旅は、あっという間でした。

I would like to tell you about one habit of mine. Since coming to Japan, I have taken the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) every time it has been held. That might sound a little crazy to you, and you might be right. But actually, unlike some tests which are held often, like TOEIC, this one was offered only once a year when I first came, and recently just twice a year. On December 4th of this year, I took the JLPT for the seventh time!

How did I do? Well, thank you for asking but I’m not sure. The results for the JLPT do not come quickly like those of TOEIC or IELTS; I will have to wait until the middle of February before I know my score. I am certain that I failed though. At least I can still look forward to Valentine’s Day chocolate…

The JLPT is like the STEP Eiken in that there are different tests for different levels, and certification is on a pass or fail basis. Unfortunately, unlike the STEP Eiken, there are no “Pre” levels, so the gap between each is very wide and it can take many years to “level-up”. Although I have passed the level 2, I will probably have a lot more grey in my hair before I pass level 1!

Even though the levels and scoring resemble the STEP Eiken, and some of the questions are suited to university students (like the TOEFL), the type of questions and overall style of the JLPT are probably closest to TOEIC. There is no writing and no interview, things that make STEP Eiken, IELTS and TOEFL very difficult. Okay, to be fair, a Writing and Interview TOIEC has been offered since 2007, but I’m talking about the traditional TOEIC. And just like the original TOEIC, all you have to do is fill out multiple choice questions.

Anyway, this is something I do every year, now twice a year! I do not recommend that you torture yourself by taking TOEIC, TOEFL, STEP Eiken or the IELTS every time you can, but I do think it is good to create your own studying customs. These customs help us remember our goals and keep us motivated to move ever forward. So let’s keep studying together ? good luck!

Our latest exhibition, Yuko Maruoka’s ‘woolgathering’, consists of beautiful stoles and socks made from wool, illustrations and, of course, many dangling sheep. The artist has succeeded in transforming Imagine Language Studio into a warm haven – the perfect place to escape the chilly winter. The launch party for the exhibition drew many people, both Imagine members and friends of the artist and ourselves. Delicious bread was on hand thanks to Itsuki Bakery, and everyone enjoyed a pre-Christmas get-together drink and chat.

The expression ‘woolgathering’ can be used to mean ‘indulgence in idle fancies’ – which nicely sums up the mood here, as we come to the end of 2011 and look forward to another successful year in 2012.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Imagine!

Check this website for information about our next exhibition, which will begin in March 2012.

January: Creating This Year’s Intentions

Our life experience is our own magnificent creation. I like to think of life as a story. A story that is written by our own imagination. We have the blank pages, the pencils and paints to create whatever it is we feel in our hearts.

On Jan 1, 2012 we begin a new chapter in the story of our lives. My yoga class for the month of January will focus on creating your intention for the new year to come, focusing on two main areas that will assist us in our creation. We will move through heart opening yoga sets that unleash our passion and love for the things that matter the most to us in this life. We will also move through yoga sets that focus on our commitment and discipline in life. This represets our third chakra, our navel area. When we have a strong third chakra we have faith in ourselves and confidence we can succeed.

Opening the heart will help us to know what we want. Regardless of whether we know in our mind what we need, when we open the heart we become honest with ourselves. Sometimes we settle in life because society, family, and other people tell us we need to live in a certain way. If we listen to our hearts we have the greatest possible chance of creating happiness and of having fulfilling experiences.

The navel area will give us inner strength. This area is responsible for giving us the power to move through challenges and obstacles which can arise in everyone’s life no matter who they may be. When this area is strong we have the ability to stay in balance and maintain our stability.

Our meditations will be aimed at learning how to silence the mind. I will teach you how to use your mind to set an intention and then release it to the universe. During meditation our soul and the soul of the universe become one. In this oneness we can plant the seed for our creation to begin its first stage of life. This is the beginning of all life experience.

Our goal this month is to merge with our heart’s purpose and set our highest intentions and highest goals for the new year.

A new year is about to begin as we say goodbye to 2011. A new chapter in life will open its doors as we enter 2012. Our final yoga class for this year will be focused on shedding away the things in our life that we do not need so we can start the year with a clear, fresh focus on where we want to go and what we want to experience.

Many of us hold on to negative emotions, poor habits, fears, and unhealthy relationships that do not serve our well-being. As we hold onto these energies, they often show up in our body as physical pain, sickness or unbalanced emotions. These are actually signals from your body that a shift is about to begin in your life, and some changes need to occur before it happens. Our body often needs a little downtime to cleanse and release the old toxins so that we can be renewed and prepared on a physical, mental and spiritual level.

The yoga set we will move through will specifically focus on eliminating the dis-ease in our body. We will use asanas, breathing and a meditative mind to assist us in cleaning out the body. The meditation will work on our subconscious mind, helping us to let go of habits and patterns that we have difficulty changing on our own. Meditation is thousands of years old and has extremely powerful healing qualities. This yogic set will help us to relax, breathe, and cleanse our mind and body. Together we will prepare ourselves in the best possible way for all the new experiences to come our way.

Sunday November 20th 2011 saw Kobe hold its first full marathon. Around twenty thousand people took part in the race, which started on Flower Road, reached as far as the Akashi bridge and made its way back into central Kobe, finally coming to a finish on Port Island. Along the way the runners passed many key landmarks, including Chinatown, Tetsu-jin, Suma beach and Meriken Park.

Despite heavy rain the day before, the weather was perfect: the sun was shining, but it wasn’t too hot, and there was enough of a breeze for the flags on the many boats, which seemed to have come into shore to lend their support, to be clearly visible. The route was mostly flat. In parts it was very narrow, causing congestion for the runners, while other stretches were a lot more open. All along the route there was beautiful scenery and, more importantly, the ceaseless support and encouragement of the people of Kobe. So many came out to cheer, many offering high-fives, drinks and snacks to the weary runners, that it was clearly about more than just a race. This marathon presented them with an opportunity to demonstrate their civic pride, and the people who cheered the runners on with endless shouts of ‘Ganbare!’ and ‘Fight!’ succeeded in showing their city in its best light: passionate and welcoming.

The runners themselves were extremely appreciative of the support they received and did the best they could. Elite athletes led the field and behind them were thousands of others. From the serious runner chasing a personal best, to the fun-runner doing for it for pride or to raise money for charity, everyone had the same objective: get to the finish line!

One of those runners was me. It was my first full marathon, and I have spent the past few months training and preparing for it. I am used to running by myself – in fact, its solitude is one of the reasons I like running so much – so to suddenly become one of twenty thousand others, all of us going in the same direction and starting at roughly the same time, was an unusual experience for me. The training had been difficult: there were interruptions caused by colds, ear infections and knee injuries. But by the day of the race, I was ready. During the first half of the marathon, as we headed out towards Akashi bridge, I often felt a little frustrated. We were packed so tightly in the narrow lane that there was little chance for me to break out and run at my own pace. The middle stretch, as we came back towards Suma from the bridge, was better and I was able to run at the speed I had been preparing for. At the 30km mark things became much tougher. There was plenty of space now, but I was finding it harder than I had imagined and my knee was starting to give me trouble. There were times after that when I really thought I would have to give up, and I certainly ran a lot slower than I had been planning ? even having to walk at times. However, I am very relieved to say that I managed to get to the finish line in one piece. I completed the marathon in four hours and twenty-four minutes. A little slower than I had hoped, but not too bad, and considering how tough I found the last ten kilometres, I am relieved to have finished at all.

I’m not sure at the moment if I will ever run a full marathon again; one of the things which kept me going towards the end was telling myself that if I finished this time, I would never have to do it again. I will however continue to run whenever I can (and hope to take part in Ashiya’s fun run once more), and I will always remember having taken part in Kobe’s first marathon ? a wonderful experience.

Also, many congratulations to Imagine member Kazu Okuno, who also ran his first full marathon that day. Well done Kazu!

Namaste dear yoginis,

As most of you may have heard by now, I am leaving Japan at the end of this year. I love my life in Japan, and I am very fond of all the people I know here, especially everyone I’ve met through Imagine. But the time has come for me to move on, and search for new horizons. I will be returning to my motherland, South Africa, to reconnect with friends and family that I haven’t seen in over five years, and when Fall comes to Africa and Spring comes to Japan, I will be making my way to South America to learn Spanish and do volunteer work while traveling.

November will thus be my last month during which I’ll be teaching yoga at Imagine full-time. From December, my lovely friend Casey Easlick will be taking over some classes, and then teach permanently from 2012. I’m positive that you will enjoy her classes and I’m happy to leave you in her experienced, capable hands.

As it’s my last month, I decided to teach my favorite type of yoga: Vinyasa. The next few months of my life are going to be kind of crazy, hopping around between completely different countries, all of which have different languages, are at different altitudes and I’ll even been going through the seasons in a different order than what my body is used to. For me, the only way to go through all these extreme changes successfully and without stress, is to flow through it. By learning to not resist the changes around us, but to flow with it and through it is an important key to cultivating a lifestyle where stress will bounce off you and not crush you.

There is an excerpt from the book “Change your thoughts, change your life ? Living in the wisdom of the Tao” by Wayne Dryer that I’d like to quote:

The Tao and water are synonymous according to the teachings of Lao-tzu. You are water; water is you. Think about the first nine months of your life after conception: You lived in, and were nourished by, amniotic fluid, which is truly unconditional love flowing into you . . . flowing as you. You are now 75 percent water (and your brain is 85 percent), and the rest is simply muscled water.
Think about the mysterious magical nature of this liquid energy that we take for granted. Try to squeeze it, and it eludes us; relax our hands into it, and we experience it readily. If it stays stationary, it will become stagnant; if it is allowed to flow, it will stay pure. It does not seek the high spots to be above it all, but settles for the lowest places. It gathers into rivers, lakes, and streams; courses to the sea; and then evaporates to fall again as rain. It maps out nothing and it plays no favorites: It doesn’t intend to provide sustenance to the animals and plants. It has no plans to irrigate the fields; to slake our thirst; or to provide the opportunity to swim, sail, ski, and scuba dive. These are some of the benefits that come naturally from water simply doing what it does and being what it is.
The Tao asks you to clearly see the parallels between you and this naturally flowing substance that allows life to sustain itself. Live as water lives, since you are water. Become as contented as is the fluid that animates and supports you. Let your thoughts and behaviors move smoothly in accordance with the nature of all things. It is natural for you to be gentle, to allow others to be free to go where they’re inclined to go, and to be as they need to be without interference from you. It is natural to trust in the eternal flow, be true to your inner inclinations, and stick to your word. It is natural to treat everyone as an equal.

This month, on the yoga mats we will go through a series of flow sequences;
*Lower back flow
*Triangle flow
*Arm strengthening flow
*Warrior flow

Let us learn to be like water, and flow according to our true nature.
I’m looking forward to another month with you.

Namaste,
Marilu

Hello! My name is Casey. I am from Los Angeles, California, in the United States. For over five years of my life I was thinking to myself: I really want to live in Japan and get to know the Japanese people. I did not know how I could do it. In November of 2010, after years of patience, one of my long time dreams came true: I was invited to Japan to be a yoga teacher. I had been teaching yoga for over six years in California and lived in the Maldives Republic in 2009 where I taught yoga to people from all over the world. I have studied yoga for over seven years and traveled to Thailand, China and many places throughout America to expand my experience, knowledge and teachings of the yogic science.

In 2005 I retired from my job as a professional stuntwoman after experiencing several yoga classes that impacted me so deeply that they changed my life forever. Although I had a good career and many friends in the stunt community, I did not have a deep feeling of inner harmony and contentment that I really believed was possible to live with. When I began doing yoga I started to feel alive. Through simple postures and basic meditation my mind started to feel clear. I felt healthy and in balance with my physical body, and my heart began to open in the most amazing way. I felt so happy. I am a gymnast and martial artist and have been working with the physical body all my life. I have always been interested in how to use the body and mind together in order to live to our highest potential as human beings. Yoga united my mind, body and soul. It gave me direction and a higher purpose for my life. I decided to make a commitment to teach and show people how to use their mind and body to create a life of purpose, peace and love. It is my honor to be here in Japan to share what I have learned through my own personal life experience.

Opening the Heart’s Center

On the most finite level our human body is comprised of five elements: fire, water, ether, air and earth. We can put these elements together as one group and call it energy. To live at our healthiest and happiest it is important for the energy in our body to flow.

As humans, our energy flow can become blocked as we put our body and mind through emotional stress and challenging experiences. This is natural. The beauty of yoga is that we have a way to shift our stagnant energy and return to our basic foundation of balance and harmony.

In this workshop we will focus on the opening of the heart’s center. We will move through specific yogic postures that will help us to release the old emotions, tension and hurt feelings that we have held deep inside our heart’s center.

Our goal is to create a change… A new opening in our ability to feel, and know a higher experience of our most pure and simplistic state of being called Love.

Two months ago I wrote about the decline in the number of tourists visiting Japan as a result of March’s earthquake and tsunami. I’m happy to report that already things seem to be improving. There is increasing awareness in foreign countries that many parts of Japan, including those places popular with tourists such as Kyoto, Okinawa and Hokkaido, were not affected by the natural disasters at all, and nor did they receive any effects of radiation from Fukushima. As a result, more and more foreign visitors are starting to come back to Japan. In fact, in a survey by the British newspaper The Guardian, Japan was voted as readers’ favourite long-haul destination. For more details about the survey, and why foreigners are again choosing Japan for their holidays, you can read the whole article here:

Returning Japanese | Travel | The Guardian