akiko jp en
[Distinctiveness] Today let’s not do this, let’s do that instead. It’s not like there is a problem, but unlike when you’re doing various types of exercise where you’re operating beyond a certain threshold and getting excited, there’s that feeling that you’re staying within that threshold, within your own innate power, moving from the inside of that threshold line, and by doing that, what you originally have starts to emerge, starts to move. I think that’s what Baseworks is aiming at.
Of course there’s an improvement in strength, but really the most important thing is confidence. It’s about placing your own sensations first, and the body too. And certainty—there’s this certainty like “this is right,” certainty in your own sensations, certainty in your body.
And also, it gave me a sense of freedom. Freedom—meaning the freedom to acknowledge your own sensory perspective. There are so many “constraints,” in so many ways, so many aspects that “must be like this,” even in the current sports industry, about how to use the body. And I feel like from there, I now have this sense of freedom like “it’s okay to approach it freely.” So, there are two kinds of freedom. Of course there’s physical freedom, but there’s also tremendous perceptual freedom.
The perception of the body becoming free—of course, in very concrete terms, the gains in flexibility and range of motion are happening. But in the process of that change, it’s not just that the range of motion is widening or flexibility is increasing. Rather, you can feel it yourself: what’s connecting to what, how it’s becoming like this, how the range of motion is expanding, how flexibility is increasing. So, there’s also freedom in sensing that process of becoming free.
It feels like a very holistic approach, to everything. Everything about the body, and of course all parts of the body too. But “everything about the body” means approaching “that whole person,” so if someone is mind-forward, if their head is leading, that settles down. Or for example, if someone lacks strength and has weak spots and poor balance, as one part becomes flexible, the balance improves.
And for people who tend to seek stimulation in life, doing various types of exercise and training that excite them, I think when they encounter Baseworks, it even has the power to deliver an opportunity to meet their true desires and aspirations. My deep belief is that the “body” really has infinite possibilities. And I think that Baseworks Practice is something that continues moving towards that infinite possibility, without limit.
The teachers give precise instruction, it’s often there in truly faint, minute movements. And it often gives you little hints to escape from the habitual patterns you don’t notice yourself. But when you get that hint and escape from that pattern, there’s really no limit in how far you can go from there. Or rather, there’s something infinitely expansive there, and from there there’s also freedom to connect to the next thing. I think it’s a mass of inspiration.
What surprised me was the transitions. I was really surprised, like, “Why do you transition like that?” Because the transitions are all practice too, right? I was so surprised by that, like “Wait, this?” There’s no part that isn’t approached, I don’t feel any place that’s not being worked.
Regular yoga, or the yoga that’s been done in Japan until now, usually focuses on certain parts. Like for that week. And I think the pattern is that when you continue that for one, two, three months, eventually your whole body gets approached to some extent. But there’s none of that at all here (in Baseworks). From Foundation to Elements, everything approaches everything. That was such a surprise for me.
Within the flow there’s continuity, and focus on strength, and that beauty, and moreover it’s all delicate. I was so surprised by that.
I heard (the teachers here) talking about the aim of being able to use the body healthily for a long time, and I really resonated with that. It’s—maybe “effective” isn’t the right word, but—the potential is high,
People’s bodies are always within their habits and patterns, so in Baseworks, as they can get away from that, ultimately that’s like rehabilitation to return to your original self. Rather than strengthening a certain part—the usual approach—it’s about returning to the original. So the dynamic of strengthening approach in the case of Baseworks is, instead of adding from a certain point, it’s more like subtracting while adding the original, or making something negative to allow the lacking parts to go positive. The direction is completely different. I think it’s amazing.
There’s of course a friendly atmosphere, but also this sense of camaraderie. Everyone is traveling through themselves, facing their own body and themselves. Sometimes being taught, sometimes being companions. Friends.
The teachers are sincere. The wording they use might be different, but I think everyone has something stoic in a special way, and I think that’s stoicism toward themselves. That’s why, I think they are able to provide detailed feedback and correct those minute details—that you wouldn’t even notice unless you have a stoic approach toward your body. I guess that’s the most accurate expression.
In Baseworks you always do both right and left, right? Even the way you clasp your hands, you do both left and right, and I really understand the meaning of doing that. It’s not just approaching the body, as Patrick often says, that stimulation to the brain is good, I really understand that that’s true.
In the body, the organs are different on the right side and left side, the movements are different, so imbalances inevitably emerge. But when you’re exercising, like swimming, the movements are often the same on the left and right; so when you think “let’s do it that way” at that time, the instructions go through to a body that’s ready (from doing Baseworks).
By continuing this challenge to yourself in Baseworks, I think your trust in yourself really increases and extends. And that ultimately becomes confidence, or prioritizing your own perception, or cherishing your own perception.
Ultimately, what’s born from cherishing your own perception—when coming to practice Baseworks here and exchanging smiles and words, it’s not about pride for myself but enjoyment, and the more time passes, the more there’s trust in yourself, and you stop doing things like judging others so easily.
When trust in yourself increases, trust in others naturally increases too, because when irritation toward yourself builds up, you see irritation in others too. But when that disappears and trust increases, your feelings toward people become calmer. And with this spirituality aspect becoming completely different, the relationship with yourself changes, and relationships with others naturally change too.
[Cyclicity] From when I first encountered Baseworks Practice, I was going back and forth between Foundation and Elements, and at that time it was really like five times a week. Because the changes in my body were interesting and fun, and then starting with Strategy in a challenging way, but there I found a different kind of fun, and then going back to Foundation and Elements, really building the foundation of my body.
When we were doing these (spinal) rolling movements, I remember Satoko said “This is the weakest part of the human body, right?” When I heard that, I thought “Ah, the base of thinking is completely different.” That surprise started from the bottom, and with that surprise continuing, whether I went to Foundation, Elements, or Strategy, there was always that surprise, and I was only doing Integrate occasionally. But every time I went, every one was interesting.
When I started going to Strategy quite a bit, I think it was Shinobu who said, “Once you start [Strategy], keep doing Elements and Foundation, because the body’s sensitivity changes, and you need that in terms of strength too,” so she said to cycle through again, and when I went to Elements, I thought, “Elements is this hard?” And I honestly thought, “Ah, yes, it’s not just getting used to it, by cycling through you get different stimulation. Like the stimulation from holding for a longer time, or the aspects you can focus on there are fewer repetitions” - understanding that it’s all thought out, this is exactly perfect. I had that feeling again about half a year ago.
[Effects] The biggest change was simply strength. As you continue to some extent you start to understand what the approach is, and what it’s supplementing. Foundation and Elements are about building a proper foundation, so that you can challenge it in Strategy. But what you can do there, no matter how far you go, is because Foundation and Elements are there in the first place. I somehow really understand that.
There’s a huge effect, yes! First of all, my swimming is completely different. Because the core of the body is properly trained, naturally of course, even if the legs are heavy, I don’t feel the weight of the legs, the range of motion of the shoulders has expanded so much, it’s like “it’s so easy.” The left-right balance has really improved. Everything has improved.
Of course the quality of sleep improved, the balance of the body improved, the strength increased, and talking about something specific, I have bunions, and even that is improving, not cured but constantly continuing to improve. Especially on days when I practice.
The state is completely relaxed, or probably the brainwaves are different, so in a completely different, in a sense different dimension. Sleep too, I don:t feel tired, and the quality feels really good.
That’s really not just a challenge to the potential of yourself, the potential of the body, but a challenge to the potential of yourself. There are so many discoveries.
[Masterclasses/Special programming] By attending masterclasses, what you can feel - of course there are always discoveries there in the approach to the body that changes by directing consciousness to the theory or detailed body usage, and moreover what’s always there is like “wow, it’s moving with this much theory behind it.” There’s always surprise or certainty there, and I really feel the quality is so high.
Quality, or, well, of course I think the eye is being trained too, but maybe the person’s qualities are being developed. Because of that, confidence naturally builds within that, so maybe that’s why I receive that feeling of high quality. Really truly “sincere,” not the word “serious,” and not “earnest,” but really sincere. Brightly sincere.