Japanese Yoga

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WHAT IS JAPANESE YOGA?

Key elements are

Strong Core Work

According to Japanese Yoga, the physical and emotional centre of your body resides in your belly area. It’s called the ‘hara’. To have your power in the belly is your natural state of being and centre of gravity. For most of us Westerners, your energy resides up in your head. So you’ll often experience emotional tension, headaches, neck and shoulder pain. Through strong core work in each class, you’re consistently bringing your energy from the upper body back down to the hara- which means you’ll leave each class feeling more grounded, balanced and relaxed.

Dynamic

It incorporates dynamic ‘spurts’ of movement with periods of rest in between Meridians (energy lines): are accessed and unblocked through specific postures, breathing, movements and rest Seasonal: Each season has different movements that focus on various organs, meridians, emotional states and functions of your body. The poses you’ll do in winter are different to those you’ll do in summer.

Solves Specific Problems:

You can target a range of issues with specific postures (eg: anxiety, insomnia, lower back issues, weight reduction, etc) Acknowledges Physical + Emotional Connection: Physical balance results in emotional calm; physical imbalance can result in emotional turmoil + visa versa Strength + Flexibility: are a natural bi-product of the postures.

Yin + Yang

It follows the flow of yin and yang through balancing tension and relaxation; you build tension in order to release it Low Impact and Safe: most Japanese Yoga is done lying down on the back and stomach.

Nutrition

Follows Macrobiotic philosophy- a seasonal, plant-based wholefood approach where food is not just fuel- it’s medicine Aligned with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) + Zen Shiatsu: Follows approach that 99% of physical illness has an emotional cause; your body/mind is designed to be in balance and self-heal; true health is not just ‘the absence of illness’-it’s a vitality, lightness and clarity of mind.

Suitable for all ages

Japanese Yoga places more emphasis on the integrity of the pose rather than how high or low your leg can go. This is because you want to access specific meridians in specific parts of the body. It meets you where you’re at in terms of your flexibility and strength.

JAPANESE YOGA

WHAT IS JAPANESE YOGA?

Key elements are

Strong Core Work

According to Japanese Yoga, the physical and emotional centre of your body resides in your belly area. It’s called the ‘hara’. To have your power in the belly is your natural state of being and centre of gravity. For most of us Westerners, your energy resides up in your head. So you’ll often experience emotional tension, headaches, neck and shoulder pain. Through strong core work in each class, you’re consistently bringing your energy from the upper body back down to the hara- which means you’ll leave each class feeling more grounded, balanced and relaxed.

Dynamic

It incorporates dynamic ‘spurts’ of movement with periods of rest in between Meridians (energy lines): are accessed and unblocked through specific postures, breathing, movements and rest Seasonal: Each season has different movements that focus on various organs, meridians, emotional states and functions of your body. The poses you’ll do in winter are different to those you’ll do in summer.

Solves Specific Problems:

You can target a range of issues with specific postures (eg: anxiety, insomnia, lower back issues, weight reduction, etc) Acknowledges Physical + Emotional Connection: Physical balance results in emotional calm; physical imbalance can result in emotional turmoil + visa versa Strength + Flexibility: are a natural bi-product of the postures.

Yin + Yang

It follows the flow of yin and yang through balancing tension and relaxation; you build tension in order to release it Low Impact and Safe: most Japanese Yoga is done lying down on the back and stomach.

Nutrition

Follows Macrobiotic philosophy- a seasonal, plant-based wholefood approach where food is not just fuel- it’s medicine Aligned with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) + Zen Shiatsu: Follows approach that 99% of physical illness has an emotional cause; your body/mind is designed to be in balance and self-heal; true health is not just ‘the absence of illness’-it’s a vitality, lightness and clarity of mind.

Suitable for all ages

Japanese Yoga places more emphasis on the integrity of the pose rather than how high or low your leg can go. This is because you want to access specific meridians in specific parts of the body. It meets you where you’re at in terms of your flexibility and strength.

Follows 5 Element Theory:

WHAT ARE MERIDIANS?

12 distinct patterns or energy lines that run through your body and bring life force(‘ki’, ‘chi’, ’prana’) to every cell Relate to specific organs, organ functions and emotional states Connected to the seasons, 5 elements and specific times of the day

Each season has two meridians, except for Summer, which has four:

Autumn= Metal Element = Lung (3am-5am)+Large Intestine(5am-7am)

Winter = Water Element = Bladder (3pm-5pm)+Kidney(5pm-7pm)

Spring = Wood Element = Gall Bladder (11pm-1am)+ Liver(1am-3am)

Summer = Fire Element = Heart (11am-1pm)+Small Intestine(1pm-3pm)+Heart Constrictor(7pm-9pm)+Triple Heater(9pm-11pm)

Late Summer/between Seasons = Earth Element = Stomach (7am-9am) + Spleen (9am-11am)

Are like a river of energy- they begin at a specific point in the body and flow down or up (depending on the meridian) to another point When the ‘river’ (ie meridian) is dammed and blocked, two things can happen: life force is blocked from getting to a specific area of the body and that area goes ‘dry’(called ‘kyo’) OR one part of the river ‘floods’ and gets too much energy (called ‘jitsu’)

Cells, tissues, whole body organs and emotional states can suffocate from lack of, or oversupply of ‘ki’- the result is what’s commonly called a ‘symptom’ Blocked meridians appearing as symptoms can be unblocked via Japanese Yoga for specific healing (plus improved diet, shiatsu, other healing modalities): Eg: Anxiety often relates to fear which may indicate an unbalanced Water element- where Bladder + Kidneys are the dominant meridians. We could do poses for Bladder and Kidney to support and heal anxiety (at anytime of year, not just winter)

ARE THERE DIFFERENT STYLES OF JAPANESE YOGA?

I use Japanese Yoga as an umbrella term for physical poses, philosophy aligned with Japanese arts or ‘ways’, moral codes and lifestyle choices. Just like most religions have different traditions within them, Japanese Yoga also has different schools. Although all unique, schools that share aspects of this philosophy include: Ryoho, Zen Ki, Okidō, Ki Yoga + Shin Shin Toitsu Dō. The physical poses I teach are a style of Japanese Yoga known as Zen Ki Yoga®. I’ve had many Japanese Yoga teachers on my journey so far and can’t wait to meet many more. Special acknowledgement to Jack Marshall and Dale Fox (Zen Renaissance Healing Centre), Chuya Hashimoto (Marobian), Loraine Rushton (Zenergy Yoga), Janie Larmour (The Centre of Yoga), Andzej Gospodarczyk (Ryoho Yoga) and Beth Cowling (The Yoga Space).

HOW DOES JAPANESE YOGA FIT WITH ESSENTIAL OILS?

Japanese Yoga is very powerful healing tool on its own: it taps into our body’s ability to self-heal.
Similarly, essential oils leverage our body’s ability to self-heal.
Japanese Yoga + Essential Oils don’t heal conditions, per se. They support you to return to a state of balance where your body’s able to heal herself from within.
Combining Japanese Yoga + Essential Oils amplify the benefits and effects of each other and greatly support your body’s ability be in balance and self-heal.
Japanese Yoga + Essential Oils are most effective when used consistently. Eg Diffuse nightly, during the day and use before your regular Japanese Yoga class.
Apply rollerbottle blends to specific meridian points to harness essential oils for emotional and physical support.
Notice how physical symptoms tend to fade away when you support your emotions.