Hello there yoginis!

We have made it into the second half of this year already. How has 2011 been for you so far?

July brings with it a sweltering, sticky heat… the sign that it’s now my favorite season in Japan: summer. Despite the discomfort that all this sweating might bring, summer is a season of celebration and relaxation. The heat seems to slow things down a bit, and it’s much easier for us to relax. If you take good care of yourself during this season, it can be a very healthy one. We tend to eat fresher foods, drink more water and yes, sweat out more toxins. So embrace the heat and come join us in the yoga class to help your body detox!

This month we’ll be taking a look at a very well-known form of yoga: Hatha Yoga. The term itself is sometimes confusing, as what most people know as “yoga” is in fact Hatha yoga. Other famous branches of yoga, for example Bikram yoga (hot yoga), Iyengar yoga and Ashtanga yoga all find their roots in Hatha yoga.

The word hatha comes from two Sanskrit words: HA (meaning sun) and THA (meaning moon). Hatha yoga is a system that helps the practitioner to confront and balance out opposites/dualities in the body and mind. We live in a world of duality: sun/moon, hot/cold, male/female, positive/negative, etc. According to the yoga system, any problems that come up in our bodies and minds are due to one aspect of these pairs being overactive, and the other underactive. Hatha yoga provides us with the tools to bring our physical, mental and spiritual systems back into balance, and in this balance we find health and happiness.

Traditional Hatha yoga focuses primarily on the asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing), in a slow, meditative set.

This month, we’ll be doing a relaxing, yet challenging set, bringing in a few balancing poses. The balancing poses we’ll be doing include Tree Pose (Talasana), Eagle Pose (Garudasana) and Warrior 3 (Virabradrasana 3). Then, we’ll be exploring quite a few floor-based poses like Butterfly pose (Baddha Konasana), Bow pose (Dhanurasana), Plough pose (Halasana) and Locust pose (Shalabasana).

Our Pranayama for this month will be a return to Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Sodhana), a calming way of breathing that is said to bring balance to the flow of prana (life force) in our bodies.

From my side, keep cool & namaste!

See you on the mat,
Marilu

月毎に行うポーズ名をご紹介します。レッスンの状況により多少変更することがあります。

The launch party for our latest exhibition went extremely well. Despite the rain, many people came, including a lot of imagine* members. The artist, Kazuhito Tanaka, was on hand to discuss his work and to show the gold-leaf filter he uses to achieve the dreamlike effect of his photographs. We were also very pleased to welcome back Itsuki Bakery. As always, his delicious food proved a sell-out success.

Check this website for information about our next exhibition, which will begin in September 2011.

In modern times, all martial arts claim to be methods of self-defense rather than violence. But how many martial arts can actually claim to have no offensive moves? There is at least one, and I began studying it with a Japanese teacher at the age of 13. It is called Aikido and its peaceful nature was one of the many reasons why I chose this art.

Aikido is a relatively recent addition to the world of martial arts. It was developed in the early 20th century in the Kansai region by Ueshiba Morihei. Ueshiba had trained in a variety of fighting arts since childhood and their influences are clear. However, unlike the other arts Ueshiba had mastered, his creation lacked the ability to initiate an attack.

Aikido is purely defensive, relying on the momentum of an attack. The more forceful the attack, the easier it is to redirect and control its energy through circular motions and clever body mechanics. The moves usually end in a throw or pin, but these are done so as not to hurt the attacker. Thus, Aikido is often referred to as the “Pacifist’s Martial Art.”

The techniques do not require physical strength or favor large statures, so Aikido is well suited to women and children. Because of this, I think Aikido could also be called, “Everyone’s Martial Art.” It is an art of equality that has become popular all over the world, and classes are often filled with interesting mixes of people.

The pacifist’s mindset is central to Aikido, which translates to “the way of harmonious energy.” Indeed, the teachings come paired with a highly developed philosophy. One learns to apply the principles used in training to their daily life, redirecting and neutralizing negative energy in personal and professional relationships.

There are no belt colors in Aikido. There are no competitions either. Aikido has no winners or losers. Defeating an opponent is not the way to victory. Avoiding and resolving conflicts before they take negative effect equals true victory in Aikido. If you are looking for personal victory, please consider trying this beautiful Japanese art.

Namaste yoginis!

As we enter June, nearing the middle of the year, we can look back at everything we have done and learned up to now in our yoga class. Looking at the beautiful yoginis in class from my green yoga mat, I can say with pride that all of you have improved SO much since the beginning of this year! With regular practice, patience and breath awareness, we can all become stronger and more flexible in class.

Last month, in May, we spoke a bit about Karma Yoga. As we said, Karma Yoga is the yoga of selfless service, and is a road to enlightenment by way of continuous awareness of thoughts and actions. In this vein, for the next month I’d like to talk about another type of yoga, called Kriya Yoga.

Kriya Yoga was brought to the West from India in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananada. To gain more insight into this advanced form of yoga, I’d really recommend reading: “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Mr. Yogananda.

Kriya Yoga is a systematic and ancient way towards enlightenment. It uses a combination of meditations, asanas, breathing exercises (pranayama) and visualisations to slowly but surely train the mind, body and soul to come closer together, towards one-pointedness.

Following the Kriya Yoga way could take decades, and we only have a month. For our asana practice, we will take one of the prescribed daily practices that is part of the preparation leading up to the advanced practices and finally, true Kriya Yoga. Because the asana practice involves a lot of single postures done one after the other (as opposed to vinyasa flow-style postures), our program will look something like this:

I’m looking forward to June’s practice and to finding out more about Kriya Yoga!

Our reading this month is from Swami Satyananda Saraswati:

Namaste,
Marilu

月毎に行うポーズ名をご紹介します。レッスンの状況により多少変更することがあります。

Namaste all yoginis!

I hope that all of you were able to use the golden week time to wind down, relax and connect with friends and family. We often get so caught up in our routines that we forget how good it is to stop those routines momentarily and place our focus on something more personal and closer to the heart. Thank goodness for holidays!

During last month’s class, the topic of different types of yoga came up. The yoga we practice at Imagine* is of the vinyasa kind, but apart from the workout-kind-of-yoga, many other forms of yoga exist, all with the final purpose of bringing a union between the body, mind and soul.

There is a type of yoga that requires not even one asana (pose) to be done, and that is much more focussed on making the mind flexible, rather than the body. This is Karma yoga, and in May I would like to talk about this yoga, the yoga of action.

Karma yoga is the practice of gaining awareness through action. By practicing karma yoga in everything you do from your 9-5 job to washing the dishes, you bring your awareness closer and closer to the present moment. If you do everything you do with full awareness, and without expecting any kind of reward, you remove the ego from the equation and daily upsets, big or small, tend to affect you less and lead to more efficient and powerful actions. The beauty of karma yoga is that you can practice this every moment of every day. All it is is a change of mindset.

On the yoga mats, we will be focussing on asanas that are called heart openers. By practicing these poses, we learn to open ourselves up to others, which in turn helps us to start living a more selfless, serving life. The karma yoga way.

Some of the heart-openers we will be doing include:

Our reading for the merry month of May is by an unknown author, but it is something that every single person should keep in mind. Especially if they are on a quest to increase their awareness.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Namaste,
Marilu

月毎に行うポーズ名をご紹介します。レッスンの状況により多少変更することがあります。

The meaning of the word ‘gentleman’ has changed over time. In its original sense, it referred to man of high rank or nobility, and for many years to be a gentleman was to be someone who had their own coat of arms (see image below). In the Victorian era the concept was opened up a little, and the word was applied to ‘a well-educated man of good family and distinction’.

In modern times, we are judged less on our background and family, and more on our actions and behaviour. The choices we make and the things we do say more about our character than the family we were born into or the school we attended. And so, in 2011, what makes a gentleman? The English writer, Edward Docx, has created a list of 50 things which he believes comprise a ‘New Gentle Man’. They include such points as [The modern man...] ‘Always pays on the first date,’ and, ‘Never Googles to prove a point.’ Some of his criteria are clearly only applicable to westerners (surely everyone in Japan ‘Will know the correct way to eat sushi and is adroit with chopsticks,’ not just Japanese gentlemen), but taken as a whole, Docx’s list is as good a guide as any to an attitude that puts modesty and manners ahead of pride and vanity.

So gentlemen! Take a look at his list and find out your score:
Picador Blogs, Picador: prize-winning fiction, history, memoir and poetry

I got 40 out of 50, although I was being kind to myself on a few of them. Also, I would love to know of any other points which you think should be included.

Are you planning to go to the beach this summer? If so, are you thinking about going to Shirahama in Wakayama? Wait! I have a suggestion. Instead of Shirahama, why not go to Ogigahama? It’s very close to Shirahama, in the neighboring city of Tanabe. It’s not nearly as big as Shirahama, but only the local people know about it, so it’s not crowded at all! You can have all the space you like and of course it is free to enter!

Is there anything else to do in Tanabe city? Absolutely! You can buy the same sort of souvenirs sold at Shirahama, such as products made with Wakayama’s famous ume and mikan. You can go hiking at Hiki-Iwa, an area of rocky hills near the city center that offer spectacular views of the surrounding ocean and mountains. Or, you can visit one of the many beautiful temples; Japan’s famous warrior monk Benkei spent time at one of them, and the founder of Aikido trained at another. There are also countless hot springs around the city, even on the banks of a river. If you are staying the night, there are many cheap inns and hotels.

There is one more important reason to visit Tanabe city, and that is eating at Kanteki. Kanteki is a small tavern a few minutes walk from the station that serves the freshest fish and the finest sake, as well as interesting versions of familiar meals such as niku jagga with deer meat instead of beef. The staff are always friendly and the local fisherman and farmers who eat there will persuade you to join them in singing local folk songs before the night is over. Of all the places I have eaten in Japan, I can say Kanteki was the best!

After enjoying last year’s Ashiya International Fun Run, I decided to do it again this year. Only this time I joined the half marathon – more than double the distance of last year’s race. It was a daunting proposition and I was feeling pretty nervous before the race began. It was a very hot day, and everyone around me seemed to be fitter, stronger, and frankly younger, than me. However, as soon as we got going things went very smoothly and by sticking to a regular pace and not worrying about what everyone else was doing, I was able to get round in a surprisingly good time: 1 hour 54 minutes!

Having done better than expected, there’s only one more distance left to try: all 42 km of a full marathon. Kobe marathon will be held in November, and all going well, I will be there!

Dan, a friend from home, is in a band called The Papertiger Sound. They are a long distance duo (the two members of the band live very far apart). While Dan is based on the east coast of England, the other member, Kerstin, lives in Canada. As a result, they don’t play many concerts, but the music they make is intimate and warming. Influenced by bands like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive, their sound is perhaps best described as ‘transatlantic dream pop’.

The Papertiger Sound recently appeared on TV in the UK:
BBC Introducing Interview Video – papertiger sound

Their latest ep is available to download from their website now:
Music – papertiger sound

At the launch party of ‘FeliCe anima!’, a new exhibition by Chika Fukushima, the artist herself was on hand to talk us through her artworks and explain what they mean to her. Inspired by a recent trip to Italy, she makes pictures of weird and wonderful animals in vibrant colours. Chika has an individual style, and it was particularly interesting to hear her own thoughts about the animals she portrays. Thank you to everyone who came.

As always, it was great for us to chat to imagine members outside of lessons, and to meet the friends and relations they bought with them. Catering this time was provided by ‘The Sugar Fairy’ – a splendid array of cookies both sweet and savoury to suit all palettes. Check this website for information about our next party.