Konnichiwa from Tokyo

Dear Friends,

A deep honorable bow to you all from Tokyo. I arrived in Japan on the 3rd of November, 18 years to the day when I met Gurumayi in Ganeshpuri, India, by the way. It has been a spectacular first week here in Tokyo and I feel that I have already gained and learned so much from the people here, to a degree that will shift the way that I live, practice, and teach for the rest of my life.

Although it is the largest urban center in the world, over 35 million people (total population of Australia is 20 million in comparison), Tokyo flows with an astounding level of order and harmony. Within 15 of landing in Norita I had my bags and was through customs, standing in line to change money. Minutes later, politely escorted by a bowing attendant onto a bus, I was delivered 2 hours later to the front door of the Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku, one of the busiest areas of Tokyo. I immediately set myself to the rhythms of the sun here and with a good hip-opening practice I experienced no jet lag, so I was fresh and bright when I began teaching the Immersion on Monday morning.

On Sunday afternoon I walked to a nearby park to practice yoga outside with a few of the Merry Band who had flown in from Australia and America to study with me here in Tokyo. It was a perfect Autumn day here - clear, shining blue sky, 80 degrees F., with the tops of the trees changing colors. I led the gang to a lovely, open field of grass with trees all around so we could do our practice in the sun and fresh air. We were the only people on the expansive grass area. Dozens of people watched us with great curiosity as they strolled by or stood on the surrounding concrete paths in the park. After about 30 minutes of enjoying ourselves, 2 uniformed policemen, gently smiling and bowing to us, approached us as we were doing handstands in the grass. Yasushi Tanaka, my official Japanese translator from New York City, relayed that the policemen were informing us that we were in a prohibited area and that we would have move to another area nearby. We thanked the policemen for their kind direction and we rolled up our mats and started walking across the field. After hopping the little railing that surrounded the grassy area, I realized that there was a little sign that said, KEEP OUT....no wonder no one else was enjoying the grassy area!...whoops!

We walked over to a little field that the policemen said was permissable to be in, and we realized that it was the park area for the homeless. There was a little tent village set up nearby with laundry hanging from lines strung to trees, yet the whole area was very tidy. It was one of the nicest homeless communal dwellings that I have ever seen. We set up our mats in the middle of the field, which was mostly dirt and weeds instead of grass, as a few little bugs joined us. Surrounding us were homeless men sitting against trees and lying on unfolded cardboard boxes. They seemed completely uninterested in the fact that a western circus was performing right in front of them in their park!

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, I taught an Immersion for about 50 students. The studentship here in Japan is absolutely one of the highest in the world. When I walked into the room a few minutes before 9 a.m. on Monday, the students stood and bowed and welcomed me with ecstatic smiles and high pitched, "Ohayo Gazaimas!" (Good Morning!) All their mats were perfectly laid out in the room, and with notebooks in hand, they were ready to begin. I asked them to gather close, and we did the Invocation together to begin our special training together. The first OM brought tears to my eyes since it was so harmonious and resonant that you could feel a cumulative sound mounting and could hear beautiful overtones spontaneously arising. The students here completely embody the first principle of our yoga - Open to the Universal. They are completely humble, open, beginner-minded, and spacious like a clear sky. They always are sensitive to the Universal first and foremost before expressing their individuality. Consequently, there was immediate harmonious cohesion in the group.

The students honor the value and preciousness of their training, so they consistently stay present and focused. I sometimes lectured for well over an hour straight and yet everyone stayed completely attentive. There was no fidgeting or waning of their energy. Their retention was superb, so I was able to go twice as fast in my presentation as normal. Their notes were so beautiful and well organized with charts and drawings that some of the western students took photographs of pages in the Japanese notebooks. When I would quiz individual students at the end of each day about philosophical or alignment technique, it was rare that their answers were in error. In 5 days we covered all of the principles of alignment in detail, all of the poses in the first syllabus plus many in the second syllabus, all the main principles of Tantra including all 36 tattvas, the 5 Elements, the Yamas & Niyamas, the 5 kleshas, the 3 malas, the gunas, the doshas, the Brahmaviharas, and the 9 Rasas. I would show them the foundational alignment of a pose once, and I would not have to repeat my instructions again, so we moved very efficiently through the syllabii of poses. On Friday morning, I led a 4-hour class that included a 1-hour Tantric philosophy lecture, 10 Surya Namaskars, all the Standing Poses with 1-minute holds, most of the handbalances including splits in handstand, and many backbends including drop-backs, Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, and Natarajasana. Methodically, they went through the Universal Principles of Alignment in each pose and applied tremendous humility, steadfast commitment, receptivity, passion, and intelligence throughout the practice. In the last 2 years the Anusara Yoga students here in Japan have significantly built up their physical strength and stamina so they can handle a very strong asana practice now. Everyone went to new levels of opening and inner transformation in every class throughout the Immersion. Throughout the week, I never had to ring the bell more than once to get the students' complete attention, or cajole a student to focus or give me their fullest expression, or remind them the importance of the moment. In the teacher-student relationship there is what is called, "chela's kripa" - student's grace. I felt it this past week like never before. I was so inspired and uplifted by the power of their adhikara (qualifications of studentship) that my best teaching poured forth from me. At the end of the Immersion, we sat together and I offered my gratitude to all of them for expanding me so much as a person and teacher, and tears streamed down their cheeks as they meekly tried to deal with runny noses, since blowing one's nose in public is taboo here, and tissues were not readily available!

Outside the yoga classroom, this city is a mind-blowing trip... Here are a few things about Tokyo that Kelly Haas, my Tour Manager, and I came up with today:

Despite the city being so densely populated it flows like a seamless stream. Crowds on the street or in the Shinjuku station, the busiest train station in the world, flow without much noise or frenticism. This is quite different from the wild freneticism that I have experienced in the heart of Mexico City, Mumbai (Bombay), or Taipei.

Taxi doors open and close automatically and the drivers wear white gloves.

Even the simplest gift is wrapped with elegance and conservation. Only the minimum amount of paper necessary is used and often times not even a piece of tape. All purchases are offered to the customer with two hands and a bow.

Going to the bathroom is an event in itself. Toilets automatically create the sound of flowing water as soon as you sit down on the heated seat in order to cover the natural sounds of going to the bathroom! There are entire control panels on the sides of all toilets so you can wash and dry your bottom before you even stand up!

After taking a hot shower the bathroom mirror has a heated defogger built in it so a square area of the mirror is always kept clear. The only problem is that it is designed for people under 5' 5" tall, so I still have to wipe above the clear square on the mirror to see myself before shaving!

Even the humblest jobs are performed with honor and dignity. The other day a convenience store clerk took the initiative to carefully cut off all the tags, remove all the plastic wrapping on Kelly's newly purchased umbrella, and then opened it to test that it would work properly. Everyone takes so much pride in their job that whenever a mistake is made (a rare occurrence), the worker is extremely embarrassed and apologetic. Tipping is unacceptable. I had a waitress come out of the restaurant this past week to return to me the tip I left her!

There is not a lot of signage on the outside of many buildings, so we are often astounded to find entire underground shopping centers and amazing restaurants hidden within spectacular high-tech skyscrapers in Shinjuku.

You can rest assured that every mechanical and electrical thing around you will work properly and precisely!!!

Sending Bright Blessings of Love and Shri from Japan,

John