IKIGAI: The art of staying young while growing old

IKIGAI is a Japanese concept that explores the secret to a long and happy life. This mysterious  word Ikigai  translated to English means the happiness of always being busy or things that you live for. It indicates the value of one’s life or the things that make one’s life worth living.

What is the meaning of our life? Some people know the purpose of human life and have a passion for life while others are confused. This is an important factor in respect of longevity of our life.

The five Blue Zones

Blue Zones are the areas of the world where people live much longer than average. Dan Buettner identified five regions as Blue Zones,  namely Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Icaria (Greece) and Loma Linda (California). The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle that contribute to their longevity. Okinawa of Japan occupies top position in respect of longevity of human life. In Okinawa, women live longer and have fewer diseases than anywhere else in the world. What is the secret of long life of the people of Blue Zones? In Japan, it is surprising to notice that people remain active even after their retirement. In fact, many people in Japan do not  feel tired; so, they never retire. The Japanese people believe that in addition to other factors like healthy diet, subtropical climate etc. it is the Ikigai that makes their life longer.

The main causes of long and healthy life discussed in the book are:

Active mind, youthful body:

Just as lack of physical exercise affects our health, lack of mental exercise also causes our neurons and its network to deteriorate which results in bad health. Our neurons start becoming inactive while we are still in our twenties. This process can be slowed by intellectual activity, curiosity and desire to learn. An active and adaptable mind is a factor in staying young. A youthful mind also leads to healthy lifestyle that retards the aging process.

Stress Manazement

Many peope seem much older than actually they are. Stress has a lot to do with premature aging, because our body wears down much faster when we are in stress. Most health problems are caused by stress. However, low level of stress is beneficial.

Sedentary behaviour

Spending too much time seated at work reduces our muscular and respiratory fitness. It also decreases appetite and curbs the desire to participate in outside activities. Being sedentary may lead to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and carcinoma.

Food Habit: 80% secret

Hara hachi bu— it is a popular saying of Japan which means fill your belly to 80%. The Okinawans stop eating as soon as they feel their bellies reach 80% of capacity. This measurement, of course, can not  be mathematically calculated. The saying hints us to stop eating when we are starting to feel full.

Moai: Collective life

A Moai is an informal group of people with common interest who help each other. Members of a Moai make monthly contribution to the group’s fund. The funds are used in games, meetings and recreations. If a member of Moai faces financial crisis, he can avail a loan from the fund. This develops a bond of fraternity among the members and also promotes the sense of individual as well as social security.

Logotherapy

It is a therapy that involves finding the meaning of one’s life. In a study carried out by Viktor Frankl found that around 80 percent believed that human beings needed a reason for living. According to logotherapy, discovering the purpose in life helps an individual to fill that existential void.

Resiliense

Resilience is that quality which allows people to be knocked down by life and come back again as strong as before. it is an outlook we can culivate to stay focused on the important things in life rather than what is most urgent, and protect ourselves from being carried away by negative emotions.

What the supercentenarians say

Misao Okasa of Okinawa, aged 117 years says—- eat and sleep, and you will live a long time. You have to learn to relax.

Maria Capovilla of Ecuador, aged 116 attributes the reason of her long life to vegetarianism; she has never eaten meat in her life.

Walter Breuning of Minnesota who lived for  114 years said, “ if you keep your mind and body busy, you will be around a long time.”

Jeane Calment of France, aged 122 has a positive outlook. “everything is fine.” He says.

 

Ikigai

Ikigai may differ from person to person but what is common is that we all are in search of a meaning. There is no perfect strategy to connecting with our Ikigai. But what we learned from the Okinawans is that we should not worry too much about finding it. Our intuition and curiosity are very powerful internal compasses to help us connect with our Ikigai. Follow those things you enjoy, and get away from or change those you dislike. Be led by your curiosity, and keep busy by doing things that fill you with meaning and happiness. It doesnot need to be a big thing: we might find meaning in being good parents or in helping our neighbours.

Lastly, ten rules of Ikigai are summarised from the wisdom of the centenarians of Blue Zones as noted below.

1. Stay active, don’t retire: Those who give up the things they love doing lose their purpose of life. Hence one must continue his activities .
2. Take it slow: Being in a hurry inversely affects quality of life. When we leave urgency behind, life and time take on new meaning.
3. Don’t fill your stomach: According to 80 percent rule , in stead of stuffing food, we should eat a little less than our hunger demands.
4. Sorround yourself with good friends: Friends are the best medicine. Chatting, sharing stories, having fun etc lessen our worries.
5. Get in shape for your next birthday: Our body needs a bit of daily maintenance to keep it running for a long time. Regular exercise releases hormones that make us feel happy.
6. Smile: A cheerful mind helps to make friends. It is good to recognise small things that help us to explore possibilities of the world.
7. Reconnect with nature: Though most people live in cities, human beings are a part of nature. We should return to nature to recharge our batteries.
8. Give thanks: we should be grateful to our ancestors, nature and everything that shape our lives. Spend a little time everyday in giving thanks; it will multiply our happiness.
9. Live in the moment: Forget the past and think little about future. Today is all you have. Try to make it worth remembering.
10. Follow your Ikigai: There is a passion inside you, a unique talent that gives meaning to your days and drives you to share the best of yourself until the very end. If you don’t know what your Ikigai is yet, your mission should be to discover it.

 

IKIGAI

The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

By

HECTOR GARCIA and FRANCESC MIRALLES

Translated to English by

Heather Cleary

ISBN 978-1-786-33089-5

Email: gyanbahadurkshetri@gmail.com