Life in the digital and IT enabled world has many aspects to it. On one side it is helping humans do their task more efficiently and accurately with minimum physical involvement, leading us to spend more and more time in the virtual world. This fundamental change, though has its clear advantages, also has some long lasting ill effects on the human existence. This change has taken us away from nature and the real physical world. The Japanese society, which has been living in a more technology governed world for a relatively longer period of time, knows these problems much more intimately. Hence they have also come up with solutions to deal with these problems. 

 

Forest Bathing or Shinrin Yoku

What is it

Shinrin Yoku, which means Forest Bathing, is a way which enables you get back that lost link with nature and in the process heal you at several levels.

It is essentially indulging in a slow mindful walk in a forest, where you immerse yourself in the surroundings, observing and absorbing everything. But before you do that you have to leave all your electronic gadgets at home. The benefits of this activity are multifold from physical to mental well-being. It can be done during any time of the day but the early morning is the preferred time. 

Benefits

Forest Bathing helps you have better sleep, controls your high blood pressure, betters your heart rate, boosts positivity, and improves your cognitive function, working memory, attention span and executive function.  

Hara Hachi Bu

What is it

The people of Japan are known to have high life expectancy and much of it is attributed to their following the practice of Hara Hachi Bu. To put it simply the concept involves eating up to only the 80 per cent capacity of your stomach. The concept is believed to have originated in the southernmost Japanese Island of Okinawa and as expected the people of Okinawa are considered to have one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

How to do it

So basically while eating (and you should eat slowly) you stop at some point before you are full. This point should be up to 80 per cent of your stomach's capacity. The idea is to feel satiated and quell the hunger, without being full.

Benefits

This done over a lifetime can have great benefits for your health. Typically this way you keep your daily calorie intake somewhere between 1800-1900. You end up having a very healthy BMI and a long disease-free life.

Oubaitori

What is it

Pursuing a lifestyle that celebrates and dwells in beauty is of prime importance to the people who follow the principle of Oubaitori. A concept that originated in Japan, Oubaitori is a way of enhancing the quality of your life and existence with the pursuit of aesthetics in all aspects of your existence.

The concept expects an individual to be mindful of beauty all around him or her and work to enhance it at all times. This pursuit of beauty can be done through specialized activities such as ikebana, tea ceremony or calligraphy. But the most important is to pursue this in ordinary mundane things you do in life.