Ikigai – The Japanese secret to a long and happy life » Jodie Cooper

Ikigai – The Japanese secret to a long and happy life

Ikigai is the Japanese secret to a long and happy life. It is our reason for getting up in the morning and brings a sense of meaning and purpose into our days. I was given a beautiful book by a client recently. It was written by Hector Garcia and Frances Miralles. There were some wonderful points that I’d like to share.

Blue zones are geographic regions where people live longest and suffer fewer chronic illnesses. It is believed that the key to longevity lies in healthy diets, simple exercise, strong social ties and having a sense of purpose, an ikigai.
There is a fundamental difference to the way our brains function from when we were cave dwellers. They felt stress only in very specific and life threatening situations which kept them aware and alive. Most of the time, cave people were relaxed and content. Conversely, modern man experiences stress in a wide variety of situations which are not life threatening and are now, rarely relaxed and content. Our modern brains are often in a heightened state of awareness which is impacting our nervous system, memory, sleep, focus and engagement.
Our bodies are designed to move and inactivity can lead to hypertension, cardio vascular disease, osteoporosis and weight gain. Our metabolism slows down by 90% after just 30 minutes of sitting. With five minutes of movement, we start it up again.
Sleep is essential to our wellbeing and helps melatonin production. Melatonin improves our longevity by strengthening the immune system, slows Alzheimer’s disease and helps fight off osteoporosis and heart disease.
Attitude has a lot to do with positive aging and two components feature heavily in longevity. 1) A positive mindset and 2) Emotional awareness.
Our neurons begin aging when we are still in our 20’s. Learning, engaging in new activities and having a sense of curiosity about the world slows this process and keeps our brains sharp.
Finding activities that create a flow state enable us to let go of distractions, worries or ideas and be fully present and engaged in the moment.
The locals on Ogimi, a small village in Okinawa have a strong sense of yuimaaru – they recognise the connections between people and value and nurture relationships.
The 80% secret of Japan is “hara hachi bu.” Which means only ever eat to be 80% full. They tend to have smaller plates, eat much less sugar, salt and processed foods and the vast majority of locals have their own vegetable gardens, sharing produce between friends and family.