Samurai rest: how the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun relax

We can learn relaxation from the medieval Japanese samurai warriors, whose image became popular thanks to the cinema. What did they believe? The traditional religion of Japan, Shintoism, perceived nature as the personification of beauty and harmony, as confirmation of the divinity of everything in the universe.

Buddhism, which came later, shared the poetic view of Shintoism on nature, and also sought to free the spirit “from various chains” that fetter it and cause suffering. Silence and meditation in nature, like Buddha becoming enlightened under a tree, are the main practices that promote such liberation.

Finally, poetry, which still occupies an important place in Japan, has always drawn inspiration and wisdom from nature.

Find your Shinju no Mori

Shinto refers to kegare (defilement) as the spiritual pollution that results from contact with death in all its manifestations and trauma, both physical and psychological. The accumulation of kegare weakens the body and soul.

Whereas “shinju no mori” – the sacred grove in which the gods (kami) live – on the contrary, cleanses and gives vitality. You can find something similar in the countryside, in the forest and even in the city park.

“A secluded place away from the walking paths is suitable, it can be a bench or a platform under a tree,” says Ivan Dudich, an ashtanga yoga teacher and founder of the Do Yoga studio. – You can create such a place yourself by placing pots with bamboo in a circle in the country house or planting bushes. The main thing is to trust your feelings.

There are places that are serene in appearance, but cause us wariness and vague anxiety. In the right place, we will feel security and strength and be able to renew our supply of good energy.

Take care of your bonsai

You can join nature even in an apartment, growing bonsai. These miniature trees make it possible to create a small sacred space in which we can communicate with nature and with the kami, the deities that inhabit the world around us, according to Shinto.

Strengthen the Spirit with Shugyo

Shugyo is a concept from the samurai world. It means “austerity, intense training” – it’s about going beyond your limits. In our case, this is not about brutal training or mortification of the flesh, but about the rejection of the usual comforts and, at the same time, sources of irritation – means of communication.

Turn off your mobile phone, turn off your computer and fully open yourself to the energy and beauty of nature. Get out of town with just a mat and some food.

Listen to yourself: are you a little tense, worried, or, on the contrary, feel relieved and serene?

Then spend the day doing some quiet activities: reading, walking, meditating, contemplating, or just relaxing. Try to feel like a cheerful child, left to himself, without supervision, but safe.

Listen to the breath

In Buddhism of any direction, the foundation of the foundations is the observation of breathing. Such observation brings us back to the present moment, teaches us to pay attention to things and processes that previously seemed to be taken for granted, and also calms the mind and body, helps to find serenity.

Focus on the movements of the abdomen as you inhale and exhale, or the movement of the air in the nostrils. “You can practice breathing observation anywhere – at home, on public transport or at work,” emphasizes Ivan Dudich.

You can do this in nature too: this practice expands our consciousness, reminding us that we, too, are part of nature. Go for a walk, preferably alone.

“Distracting from everyday problems, you will begin to notice details that were not previously recorded by consciousness,” the yoga teacher continues. Choose the place you like. Sit in any comfortable position, looking straight ahead, and bring your attention to the points where your body is in contact with the support.

Take a long exhale, letting the air out of your lungs, and inhale deeply through your nose, and then exhale slowly through your mouth. Continue to breathe naturally and focus on the sensations.

Be silent together

In Zen Buddhism, silence is a spiritual practice and a boon. In nature, it allows us to find our true place – we are not omnipotent, but we are not insignificant either.

“The absence of the need to speak allows you to focus on others, take a closer look at their actions and, perhaps, better understand them,” Ivan Dudich notes.

Try practicing this silence together. Through this practice, you will be able to experience a unique feeling of intimacy. Choose your silent period as a family, as a couple or among friends: one hour, morning, afternoon, all day.

Get out into nature together and give the signal to start. From now on, everyone remain silent until the agreed hour or emergency.

After that, share your experiences with each other without commenting or interrupting someone else’s story. Take this ritual seriously without turning it into a pantomime competition.

Delve into the poetry of trees

Poetry occupies one of the most important places in Japanese culture. For poets of antiquity, nature was a sacred place where the gods speak to people. To the initiate, the forest is full of symbols. Trees inspired many sages and poets who saw them as models of virtue.

“I know that the trees, and not us, were given the greatness of a perfect life,” wrote the Silver Age poet Nikolai Gumilyov. The tenacity of pine, the flexibility of bamboo, the ability of plums to bloom not in spite of the cold, but because of it … Try to understand which trees you like to associate yourself with.

Choose the three trees closest to you in spirit and make a list of their properties. Then write a text about them in any form you like, whether it be prose, haiku, or sonnet. The most important thing is to combine beauty and a lesson in wisdom.