Yoga and Japanese Hot Springs: Second Post

During a stretching session, yoga practitioners stretch their bodies   and develop flexibility while moving with an awareness of the swirling steam from hot springs in the Kannawa, Beppu. Steam hissing, rising, and drifting hither and thither is one of Beppu's attractions.

Joanne, on the left in the spring below, is enthusiastic about intertwining yoga, meditation, art, and hot springs in the pursuit of mental, emotional, and physical well being. This post supplements the previous post about two yoga teachers who are integrating Japanese hot springs with yoga practice for healthy living in Oita, Prefecture.  

Becoming One With the Water in a Japanese Hot Spring

Steam Rising Hither and Thither in Beppu

I asked Joanne what yoga is, and if we should bathe before doing yoga or afterwards. "Yoga in its broadest meaning is a union of body and spirit calmness," said Joanne, and then she continued with a question for me: "Do we go into bliss before bliss?" Joanne says she likes "to take a bath before teaching because it relaxes the muscles and the mind. It is very meditative." She further explained that the "fluidity of the environment" balances the "fluidity of the body." 

She might be on to something there. A doctor recently informed me that our blood pressure changes during immersion in a hot bath and after leaving the bath. Gravity affects our bodies differently when we are in water and out of water. Some interesting facts about our bodies and water are below:

The average human body is over 60 percent water. Our blood is approximately 92 percent water. The brain and muscles of most people contain around 75 percent water. Source: http://www.waterinfo.org/resources/water-facts


To learn more about Joanne and her unique philosophy to living a balanced life, please follow the links below: http://aikawarazulifeinjapan.blogspot.com
http://tomarejgy.blogspot.com