Mindfulness Travel Japan


Book Description

Mindfulness Travel Japan is the perfect travel guide to Japan when you need to breathe, pause, focus and relax. Are you looking to step back from the stress of daily life on your next holiday? In this guide, Japan travel connoisseurs Steve Wide and Michelle Mackintosh offer a selection of some of the most relaxing and mindful destinations and experiences across Japan, so you can just exist in the here and now. Covering a total of 100 mindful travel experiences, you can enjoy forests carpeted in moss, plant-based food banquets or long walks in zen gardens, losing yourself in Japan's beauty and nature. Soak in medicinal onsen waters, or have your whole body covered in a hot-sand bath, stay overnight in a traditional ryokan or zen temple. Walk the paths of philosophers and poets and hike the paths of religious pilgrims. Observe the opening of cherry blossoms, the changing of the leaves or the first flurries of snow. Take a class in calligraphy or learn the art of meditation, spend a day bicycling around ancient temples and shrines. Learn about the different varieties of Japanese tea and the art of tea ceremony. Mindfulness Travel Japan will show you how to be your best self not just on holiday, but in life.




Onsen of Japan


Book Description

Discard both your clothes and daily cares and enjoy a time-honoured bathing ritual with Onsen of Japan. For thousands of years, Japanese hot springs (or onsen) have been revered for their relaxing and healing qualities, and this guidebook highlights 140 of the very best places for tourists to visit around the country. Onsen experiences include super sento (large bathing and relaxation centres), local bathhouses, ultra-chic spas, forest retreats and whole towns dedicated to onsen. The how-to guide will help you navigate the complex etiquette and customs of communal bathing, and easy checklists let you know what each onsen offers and whether tattoos are accepted. One thing is for sure, taking a bath will never be the same again.




Forest Bathing


Book Description

The definitive--and by far the most popular--guide to the therapeutic Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or the art and science of how trees can promote health and happiness Notice how a tree sways in the wind. Run your hands over its bark. Take in its citrusy scent. As a society we suffer from nature deficit disorder, but studies have shown that spending mindful, intentional time around trees--what the Japanese call shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing--can promote health and happiness. In this beautiful book--featuring more than 100 color photographs from forests around the world, including the forest therapy trails that criss-cross Japan--Dr. Qing Li, the world's foremost expert in forest medicine, shows how forest bathing can reduce your stress levels and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, boost your energy, mood, creativity, and concentration, and even help you lose weight and live longer. Once you've discovered the healing power of trees, you can lose yourself in the beauty of your surroundings, leave everyday stress behind, and reach a place of greater calm and wellness.




Mindful Design of Japan


Book Description

The Japanese tea-ceremony, or Way of Tea, is one of the most profound manifestations of mindfulness. The ceremony, with its roots in Zen Buddhism, dates as far back as the 15th century and takes place within a traditional tea-ceremony room. Here, in a fully updated edition of 'New Zen', are 40 outstanding examples of contemporary Japanese tea rooms, many located within private homes.




Be More Japan


Book Description

Whether you're dreaming about your first journey, revisiting the trip of a lifetime or simply in love with all things Japan, Be More Japan will transport you to this fascinating country. Dive into the thrilling and serene world of Shinto monks, street food vendors, anime characters, Okinawan centenarians, technological innovators, J-Pop megastars, ancient philosophers, onsen dwellers and so many more. There are so many ways to fall in love with Japan. It's home to one of the world's most unique cultures: a perfectly balanced celebration of past traditions; the vibrancy of now and the need to look fearlessly into the future. From architecture to martial arts; from ramen to robots; kawaii to Kusama; ikigai to ikebana; towering skyscrapers to shrines - Be More Japan uncovers the art and creativity behind modern Japanese living through its kaleidoscope of contrasting places, people and practices. With beautiful design throughout and with each page alive with facts, history and inspiration, Be More Japan invites you to absorb a little Japanese wisdom into your daily life.




Mindful Travelling


Book Description

Travelling can be frustrating as well as wonderful, and the perfect opportunity to practice mindfulness in technicolor! Mindful Travelling explores why broadening our horizons is good for the heart and soul! Sarah Samuel shines light on why travelling offers the glorious opportunity to learn more about who we really are–outside of our daily routine and conditioned self. By embracing the sense of freedom of leaving everyday life and material possessions; facing fears and opening to trust; to setting intentions and connecting with our own wildness, she reveals how travelling and mindfulness are natural companions. Through personal anecdotes and meditative insights, discover how to bring the joys of mindful travelling back home in your suitcase–staying open, curious, and present wherever you are.




Forest Bathing


Book Description

Shinrin Yoku: "taking in the forest atmosphere," the medicine of simply being in the forest, "forest bathing." This book offers guidelines for finding peace and replenishment in any space --from turning off your phone to seeking the irregularities in nature, which in turn can make us less critical of ourselves. It offers tips not only on being fully present and mindful while in the forest, but also on how to tap into that mindfulness at home--even if home is the busiest and most crowded of cities. Forest Bathing explains the traditional Japanese concepts that help readers understand and share in the benefits of the Japanese approach to forest bathing--a cornerstone of healing and health care in Japan. These concepts include: Yugen: Our living experience of the world around us that is so profound as to be beyond expression Komorebi: The interplay of leaves and sunlight Wabi sabi: Rejoicing in imperfection and impermanence From the healing properties of phytoncides (self-protective compounds emitted by plants) to the ways we can benefit from what forest spaces can teach us, this book discusses the history, science and philosophy behind this age-old therapeutic practice. Examples from the ancient Celts to Henry David Thoreau remind us of the ties between humankind and the natural world--ties that have become more and more elusive to Westerners.




The Ikigai Journey


Book Description

In The Ikigai Journey, authors Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles take their international bestseller Ikigai: the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life a step further by showing you how to find your own ikigai through practical exercises, such as employing new habits and stepping outside your comfort zone. Ikigai is the place where our passion (what we love), mission (what we hope to contribute), vocation (the gifts we have to offer the world) and profession (how our passions and talents can become a livelihood) converge, giving us a personal sense of meaning. This book helps you bring together all of these elements so that you can enjoy a balanced life. Our ikigai is very similar to change: it is a constant that transforms depending on which phase of life we are in. Our "reason for being" is not the same at 15 as it is at 70. Through three sections, this book helps you to accept and embrace that--acting as a tool to revolutionize your future by helping you to understand the past, so you can enjoy your present. Section 1: Journey Through the Future: Tokyo (a symbol of modernity and innovation) Section 2: Journey Through the Past: Kyoto (an ancient capital moored in tradition) Section 3: Journey Through the Present: Ise (an ancient shrine that is destroyed and rebuilt every twenty years) Japan has one of the longest life spans in the world, and the greatest number of centenarians--many of whom cite their strong sense of ikigai as the basis for their happiness and longevity. Unlike many "self-care" practices, which require setting aside time in an increasingly busy world, the ikigai method helps you find peace and fulfillment in your busy life.




Eat Sleep Sit


Book Description

At the age of thirty, Kaoru Nonomura left his family, his girlfriend, and his job as a designer in Tokyo to undertake a year of ascetic training at Eiheiji, one of the most rigorous Zen training temples in Japan. This book is Nonomura's recollection of his experiences. He skillfully describes every aspect of training, including how to meditate, how to eat, how to wash, even how to use the toilet, in a way that is easy to understand no matter how familiar a reader is with Zen Buddhism. This first-person account also describes Nonomura's struggles in the face of beatings, hunger, exhaustion, fear, and loneliness, the comfort he draws from his friendships with the other trainees, and his quiet determination to give his life spiritual meaning. After writing Eat Sleep Sit, Kaoru Nonomura returned to his normal life as a designer, but his book has maintained its popularity in Japan, selling more than 100,000 copies since its first printing in 1996. Beautifully written, and offering fascinating insight into a culture of hardships that few people could endure, this is a deeply personal story that will appeal to all those with an interest in Zen Buddhism, as well as to anyone seeking spiritual growth.




The Gift of Presence


Book Description

A practical, user-friendly guide for women seeking focus and calm in the midst of life's storms. Overwhelmed by the demands of family, work, and multiple responsibilities, many women find themselves feeling scattered, and distracted. In this eye-opening book, co-founder and CEO of the Mindsight Institute, Caroline Welch takes readers on a mindfulness journey to help them de-stress and cultivate inner peace. According to Welch, you do not need countless hours sitting in silence to be more present in your life--the key is to practice mindfulness wherever you are and whenever you can. The Gift of Presence guides readers in developing four innate capacities we all possess that will allow us to become more resilient and centered in our lives--even when life is throwing all that it has at us: Presence: the ability to remain firmly in the present moment; to be fully aware of what's happening as it's happening. Purpose: the personal meaning that gets us going and gives direction to our lives. Pivoting: an openness to change that allows you to switch direction if that is what is needed. Pacing: the awareness that it is impossible to do everything we want or need to do all at once; the ability to take life one step at a time. This life-changing book reveals that you already hold in your hands the keys to a more harmonious life--you simply need to look within.