I didn’t take it very well when the lockdown was coming our way. Like many people who are self-employed, I get zero penny if I don’t go out to teach, so I had no option but to carry on until some clear guideline was given. Once it was announced that no social gathering was allowed, I emailed all the students and people I rent the premises from and cancelled everything. I felt quite low for a while about the way how things came to a halt. I felt my livelihood was taken away an

The other day I took part in an event where many of my yoga students also participated. I was talking to a person who had come to my yoga class just once, and she said she hadn’t come back because she found yoga too boring. Maybe I should have been offended, but instead I thought ‘Oh, you really didn’t get it, did you?’ It was her first yoga lesson and she didn’t find it too easy. So it wasn’t the case of a seasoned or super-fit student being in a wrong class. But maybe I was

In the mid-1990’s when I used to go to many many yoga classes and retreats, I had never attended even a single class with background music. So I never associated yoga with music. At the time two of my yoga friends asked me what music I played when I practiced at home. When I told them I didn’t play any, they accused me saying 'You purist!!' When I started teaching in a gym in London soon after, the manager showed me how to use the music system. When I told her I didn’t need i

As a part of my Yoga Philosophy course at Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, I wrote an essay on authenticity of contemporary yoga. My conclusion is that Hindu culture and Hindu religion are tolerant and flexible, and yoga has developed incorporating and adapting to new influences. Therefore as long as it contributes to promote human wellbeing, whatever style it takes it is still yoga. A friend of mine is a professional contemporary dancer and many years ago he took up yoga pur

A few years ago I bought a dark red woolly jumper from a high street shop. I really liked it and wore a lot, but last year I noticed it was getting thin at the back. Then I saw on the internet a project to make blankets out of old woolly jumpers. You need 4-5 old jumpers, wash them hot and cut them up into squares and stitch them together.It sounded fun. I worked on the project in my head for a few months and collected the jumpers. Then finally washed them and cut them up, an

I surprised some of the students when I said I didn’t practice in the morning. I have always been a night person. On top of that, I teach evening classes and sometimes don’t even get home until nearly 10pm. I couldn’t get up at 5.30 to practice. Well, things started to change this summer. Like many people, I’m sensitive to light and prefer to sleep in the complete darkness. So in the summer I often struggle to stay asleep after dawn. Also this age thing. They say you sleep le

I was at a one day yoga workshop last weekend with my old teacher Andrea. During the discussion, we talked about the age and elderly students. This lead me to remember the conversation my daughter had with my friend when she turned 5. Daughter: I’m 5 years old now. Friend: Oh, are you old now? Daughter: No, I’m still new!! When I told this story to the group, it seemed to have hit a chord. We agreed we all feel new inside, no matter what our chronological ages are. Actual

The idea to start this blog came to me to share a little bit of my personal life. I was a little hesitant to start with because I already run a blog (in Japanese) which I update nearly everyday and was not sure if I had time and also things to write about. Then I thought, here I will share my personal life which I don't necessarily share with my family and friends. Outside yoga classes, I lead my life as a 'normal person' 95 % of the time. This means there are things I don't