Dear Reader,

I was not born into this world with an intuitive understanding of how to take care of my body and mind. I know some people are, and I found myself wondering for years, how do they just live their life and everything seemingly falls into place?

But luckily, it was possible to learn.

For many years I overate, underate, stressed about food, did every kind of exercise and diet that was supposedly life-changing, stressed about my body, and couldn’t find peace with it. For a time, I believed that stressing about my health would be something I had to deal with forever.

But I’m glad I didn’t stop searching because through love, patience, and luck, I find myself today in a very different world, where my health no longer feels like treading water hoping to stay above water, but a life where I can simply lean back and float.

3 simple Japanese wisdoms that transformed my health

1) Go on walks

In the United States, I’m often bombarded with images and ads of fitness culture. Athleisure is the craze, and it seems that the majority of people are members of gyms like Anytime Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, or LA Fitness.

But in contrast to that, for a country that is a leader in longevity and has very low rates of obesity — the least among high-income developed nations at 4.3% — there is not much of a workout culture in Japan. Not many people have a membership to a gym, and people who use their lunch break for a workout are often seen as exercise zealots.

But what do people do? They walk.

Japanese adults walk an average of 6500 steps a day, with male adults in their 20s to 50s walking nearly 8000 steps a day on average, and women in their 20s to 50s about 7000 steps. Ogimi, Japan– a well-known Blue Zone– has a strong walking culture. Nagano, a rural prefecture in Japan, was able to reverse their high stroke rate by incorporating over 100 walking routes, and now their citizens enjoy the highest rates of longevity in the country.

I’m not against gym culture and love a good workout, but we don't necessarily need to consistently lift weights or go on daily runs to be healthy.

Don’t discount a good walk.

2) Forget progress, focus on the immediate payoff

When we talk about exercise, we often focus on the long-term outcome of it– getting toned, building muscle, losing weight, etc. But there is an immediate payoff: It makes us feel good.

One of my favorite events of the Japanese school year was Sports Day or undoukai (運動会). It’s a day where the entire school is split into two teams, red vs. white, and everyone competes against each other in a variety of games. Some are serious, like track and field, but others are there for simple fun like potato-sack racing.

Sports Day is a long-standing tradition part of the Japanese public school system.

Fitness is simply celebrated for what it is, a playful way to exercise and be part of a community.

Celebrating movement for what it is. A way to feel good.

3) Choose moderation over perfection

I talk about this often, so I’ll keep this one short: Harahachi-bunme as the key to a healthy diet. The psychology of portion sizes. Variety through ichiju-sansai.

There is no perfect way to eat, or maybe the perfect way to eat is one that embraces the imperfection.

We’re human after all, and balance is always better.

No matter where you are in your health journey— whether you’re just starting out or have been at it for years— I’m rooting for you, and I hope you're rooting for yourself too 😊

Warm regards,

Kaki

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this, please forward this email to your friends and family (or share the article) 🌱

If this email was forwarded to you, it's nice to meet you 😊

Follow on Instagram for more health tips, tricks, and inspiration:

​