How to Grapple With Asian-Australian Mental Health, Yoga Learnings in Japan & India and The Birth of Shapes & Sounds ft. Asami Koike | Ep. 62

In this episode of the Level Asian podcast, we're joined by Asami Koike, Founder and Director of Shapes and Sounds, a social enterprise that destigmatises and promotes mental health in Asian communities.

Asami opens up about her challenges adapting to Western culture as a Japanese immigrant,  the notable gap she discovered in Asian-Australian mental health research and how dropping out of university to pursue yoga helped catalyse the growth of her identity.

She also shares the origins of "Shapes & Sounds", its role in addressing Asian-Australian generational trauma, the community she was able to build and her advice on mental health to the younger generation.

Show Notes Links:
https://www.justshapesandsounds.com/ https://www.instagram.com/justshapesandsounds https://www.facebook.com/justshapesandsounds https://www.tiktok.com/@justshapesandsounds http://www.linkedin.com/company/justshapesandsounds

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro
• 2:30 Asami’s Japanese Childhood, Educational Journey & Conforming to Westernised Living Standards
• 5:59 Dropping Out of University to Become a Yoga Teacher, Living in India & Tokyo and Exploring Identity & Belonging in Japan
• 8:01 Studying Music Therapy, Working for a Crisis Service & Discovering the Lack of Asian-Australian Research in the Mental Health System
• 10:42 Asami’s Personal Discoveries Teaching Yoga in Japan
• 13:23 Looking into the Lack of Asian-Australian Mental Health Research & Finding the Right Solutions
• 22:10 Asami’s Personal Experience with Mental Health
• 27:47 The Birth of Shapes & Sounds, Asian-Australian Generational Trauma, The Diaspora of Feeling a Sense of Belonging & Community
• 33:49 Navigating Around The Weight of Figuring Out Your Identity, the World, & Generational Pressure to Succeed
• 42:08 Taking Mental Health Seriously with The Younger Generation
• 49:57 The Future of Shapes & Sounds
• 52:04 Asami’s Advice For the Younger Generation Around the Mental Health Space
• 55:25 Outro