01/04/2021
Happy New Year!
I hope you had a safe and joyful New Year’s holiday.
On New Year's Day, my husband and I spent a peaceful time working on our new farm in Waimanalo, which is in the forest at the foot of the Ko'olau Mountains. Our resolution of 2021 is to build up the foundation of the Natural Farm as well as to start yoga lessons and meditations with you in this place. So, please join us when it comes to life.
In our yoga classes throughout the last year, we learned about the basic anatomy of each part of the body and deepened our asana practices. This year, we will move on to the next stage, learning together where aches, pains or discomfort come from and how we can reduce them.
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Do you know the terminology "Healthy Life Expectancy"? Rapid advances in modern science, such as medicine and chemistry, and improvements in the diet have dramatically increased Average Life Expectancy. However, the increased rate of Healthy Life Expectancy, which refers to a period of a human’s life without any restrictions on daily life, has not caught up with the increased rate of Average Life Expectancy.
For example, the Average Life Expectancy of Japanese people remains at the highest level in the world, but the difference between Healthy Life Expectancy and Average Life Expectancy for them is about 9 years for men and about 12 years for women. (Reference: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Public Relations Website https://www.mhlw.go.jp/houdou_kouhou/kouhou_shuppan/magazine/2018/03_01.html)
A similar trend can be seen in the data of each country announced by the World Health Organization. (Ref. WHO Life Expectancy and Healthy Life Expectancy Data by Country: https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688)
In super-aging communities such as Japan and the State of Hawaii, it is an important issue how to bring people’s healthy life expectancies closer to their life expectancies so that more people can spend healthy life longer without restrictions or cares given by others.
I wish you to live a healthy and comfortable life as long as possible by continuing appropriate yoga practices which can restore and maintain your own physical condition and daily life. ――That is my resolution of 2021 and hereafter.
Let’s keep practicing with a positive and hopeful mind together!!
