AHYMSIN Japan – Yuko, Atsuko and Yumi

A fresh breeze of spring brought the Himalayan Tradition to Japan to convey the love, teachings and the wisdom of the Himalayan sages, which gave us a way to find Love & LIGHT within.

COVID hit upon Japanese communities very hard like every other community in the world, which has led fears and insecurities in people’s mind.  To share the opportunities of studying Yoga Meditation, and to reconnect with each other, AHYMSIN Japan had hold several online workshops between 2020 and 2022, which more than 100 people from Japan as well as from other countries had attended. Yet, there had been a sense of stagnation in the Japanese society wanting a breath of fresh air.  It was at that time when Rabindra Sahu from Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama (SRSG) ashram had agreed on traveling to Japan to share the teachings of the Himalayan tradition and gave us an opportunity to gather together and study the teachings of Yoga Meditation.

During the two weeks of March, we had four workshops in Okayama, Saitama, Kanagawa and Tokyo.  Since the communities needed gradual steps to return to a normal life, along with the still-going on COVID measures across the country, we had kept numbers of participants to minimum in each workshop, which actually helped to have like-minded people who wished to deepen their studies and understand themselves in deeper levels. Many of the participants had practiced Yoga Meditation before while most of them were new to the tradition.

In the workshops, the participants learned the importance of the breath, philosophies and practices of Ha-tha yoga, the systematic steps into meditation, and how to live skillfully applying the teachings of Yoga Meditation in day to day life. Rabindra shared the teachings at their own levels observing each student very carefully bringing humor and laughter into classes.  It was very helpful that he gave us many examples that many of us could relate to ourselves.  Many of them shared that they were reminded of the importance of the practicing the practical aspects of Yoga Meditation, and that they have started implementing what they learned from the workshops in their own lives;

• Before doing any activity, I have begun to bring awareness into my breath and find a stillness inside of me. It has helped me to relax, and to contemplate more in my daily life.
• Learning the proper posture for meditation was very useful. I started to apply it placing a blanket on which I sit for meditation.
• I realized the importance of diaphragmatic breathing and started to observe how my body, breath and mind change through the practice of Makarasana.
• What Rabindra taught us is helping me a lot during my work at hospital; to remember that “Yoga is skillfulness in action”, to protect myself by drawing three circles of light around me, and the importance of finding creative ways to say no as Japanese people tend to do other’s work also.

Many of them expressed that they felt reassured to be said that “it is okay not to be perfect”, “you do not need to prove anything to anyone in this world”.  When Rabindra said so, more people started to share their own problems in their lives, which would not happen so often in the Japanese communities.  It seemed that people had been waiting for these words from someone for a long time, or someone to say that – “whether you believe or you do not believe, whether you want, or you do not want, whether you like it or you do not like it, even with all your imperfections and weaknesses, ‘you are a divine being’”. He also shared that he has his own weaknesses for which he too seeks guidance from his master.

We believe that the loving teachings of the tradition and the environments of the workshops helped them accept themselves and connect to the inherent love and light.

Throughout the workshops, we felt that the participants had higher motivations to study Yoga Meditation asking questions like how they can deepen their study and contemplation or how they can implement the teachings into their daily lives.

We were grateful that we were able to provide them opportunities to find a way out from a sense of limitation which many people had held for a long time.  Like snowmelt from winter mountains helps plants to grow in the spring, the teachings of the tradition have helped them shine their light within, reminding people of the importance of accepting themselves, and re-connecting with their true selves, to become a little lighter, to be free and to enjoy their lives fully.  We hope that the workshops had spreaded some seeds of love so that they will grow at their own rhythms enjoying their own melodies.

An invitation for full moon guided meditation to all (on zoom)

9:00 PM to 9:30 PM (Japan Standard Time) on April 5^th, 2023

If you are interested in joining, kindly send us an email to ay.hibiki@gmail.com or ahymsin.jp@gmail.com. *The guided meditation will be in Japanese.

In loving service,

Yuko Metsugi