The Ikigai Podcast
The Ikigai Podcast
The Transformative Effects of Sound Therapy With Nanako Aramaki
What happens when your body can no longer endure the crushing weight of corporate expectations? For Nanako Aramaki, a Japanese-Canadian marketing executive in Tokyo, the answer came through panic attacks, hives, hair loss, and finally, a complete inability to function at work. Diagnosed with "adjustment disorder"—a condition so common in Japan it has its own term—she found herself at a crossroads that would ultimately lead to transformation.
Nanako's story weaves through continents and careers, from her childhood in Canada to her years as a professional flamenco dancer touring Europe, before returning to her birth country of Japan. Her journey reveals the stark contrast between Japan's beautiful cultural concepts like "ikigai" (life purpose) and the harsh reality of its modern work culture where "karoshi" (death from overwork) has become normalized. "Had I continued for another six months," she reflects, "I think I would have been close to dying."
During her recovery, Nanako discovered the healing power of Tibetan singing bowls—metal instruments that produce vibrations capable of inducing theta brainwave states similar to deep meditation. Unlike traditional therapy that requires verbal processing, sound therapy offered a non-invasive approach that resonated deeply with her. The vibrations penetrate muscles, organs, and bones, helping release emotions stored within the body. For a society where openly discussing mental health remains stigmatized, this approach provides a culturally compatible entry point to healing.
Now armed with twenty singing bowls and a newfound purpose, Nanako has dedicated herself to bringing this healing modality to Japan's stressed workforce. "I've always felt like there must be a way that I can help Japanese people work less or help them find their purpose," she shares. Her unique positioning as both culturally Japanese yet influenced by Western perspectives allows her to bridge worlds and create safe spaces for transformation.
Ready to experience the healing power of sound? Connect with Nanako on social media @zensowellnesstherapy or visit zenso-wellness.com to learn how ancient vibrations might be the key to modern wellness.
Sound therapy is when you use the frequency of sound and specifically in my case, the vibrations coming off of the Tibetan metal singing bowls. It works with your nervous system and your brainwaves so that it puts you in a very relaxed, calm, beta brainwave state.
Speaker 2:My guest today on the Ikigai podcast is Nanako Aramaki, a Japanese-Canadian living in Japan using sound. Nanako has had a pretty unique life journey thus far, being born in Japan. Nanako has had a pretty unique life journey thus far, being born in Japan, raised in Canada and, along the way, been a flamenco dancer in Europe, chief Operating Officer of a content marketing agency that ran digital marketing campaigns for the Japanese and English-speaking markets, she recently found her purpose, which we will talk about in this episode. Thank you for joining me today, nanako.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having me here, Nick.
Speaker 2:My pleasure. We had a great chat last week. As I said, your life journey has been pretty interesting, so do you want to share some history?
Speaker 1:Sure Shall, I start from the beginning.
Speaker 2:Please.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I was born in Tokyo and when I was three my family immigrated to Canada. So I grew up in Canada. I lived in Canada most of my life until my late 20s and then between I did study in Spain for flamenco for a year and that's something that I was kind of doing on the side. I had a marketing career in Vancouver and then I burnt out. I wanted to leave the corporate world, so I moved to Berlin and there I was doing marketing part-time and flamenco dancing part-time and it was such a great time in my life because that's where I found my people and other fellow artists. Everyone was international and I was able to tour Germany. I created a company, I was teaching and it was a great time.
Speaker 1:But then in 2000, and when was it 14? I moved to London and I ended up staying in London for six years because, well, first my sister was there and I really wanted to spend time with her because I had left Canada quite early on and she was younger than me. So we never really got to build that bond. So we had that special moment in London and then I just kind of ended up staying. I got an exceptional talent visa as a flamenco dancer.
Speaker 1:So I was also living an artist slash marketer's life in London and touring the world, and then I injured myself and realized that I couldn't do flamenco full-time just due to the tendonitis in my foot, and so I had to make a hard decision to leave that and go back to marketing full-time. That's when I first used Japanese for work, and since then I met a Japanese man, married him, came to Japan and burnt out again.
Speaker 2:Two major burnouts. That's quite an interesting life. It's like, wow, you've lived and worked in all these countries, explored this amazing type of dance. As I mentioned, I dabbled a little bit in guitar and I just always thought oh well, flamenco is so full of energy and life and exotic and it's so authentic. It's all natural sounds. I love electric guitar, but yeah, there's something about flamenco.
Speaker 1:Sense of community almost in the music. Yeah, there's just so much history and it's very difficult because it's folk art. So you have to understand the history and the complicated nuances to really fully understand it and express it, which is why it takes a lifetime to learn flamenco, they say.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it does. So what was the journey to dancing flamenco? Why did you take it up?
Speaker 1:So I don't know if you're aware of this, nick, but Japan has the largest market for flamenco. Like, why did you take it up? So I don't know if you're aware of this, nick, but Japan has the largest market for flamenco in the world. It has more flamenco clubs and flamenco academies than in Spain and probably the rest of the world combined, just in Tokyo. It's really incredible.
Speaker 1:So it's not as popular as it used to be in like the 80s and 90s, but my mom always wanted to take up flamenco. She was a dancer her entire life but then, because we moved to Canada, she never really had the opportunity and she had three kids. When she was a bit older, she found my mentor, who is the Rosario answer, and she's a Mexican lady living in Vancouver answer, and she's a Mexican lady living in Vancouver. She basically taught me everything until I had to go to Spain and learn more and my mom was learning from her and she was like Nanako, I know you're dancing ballet and jazz and you think hip hop is cool, because I was a teenager and she was like I just think that you would be a great flamenco dancer, I want you to take it. And I was not into it. I didn't start flamenco because I was interested in it. I was kind of forced into it, but then, once I started, it was so difficult that I stayed. Of course now I love it, but that was the beginning.
Speaker 2:So how about Spanish? Did you learn that?
Speaker 1:I took it in high school and in university, but I only really became fluent, not even when I lived in Sevilla. It was when I lived in Berlin, because I had to communicate with my Spanish musicians in Andalusian Spanish. My German is not so great and a lot of Spanish people don't speak fluent English, so the only common language was Spanish, and then I became fluent in Germany.
Speaker 2:Wow, and do you still dance or are you still part of the flamenco community in Japan?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I only really like dabbled my feet in flamenco in Tokyo because I was working so much and towards the end I was COO of Tamlo and so my priority was there. So I haven't performed in over a year, but there was a good couple years where I was dancing, maybe once or twice a month.
Speaker 2:Nice. I remember my mother took me to Madrid when I was 16. It was really weird. I could go and see a bullfight and see these bulls getting killed, but I couldn't go into a bar or a restaurant to see flamenco dancing and guitar and I was really disappointed.
Speaker 1:So I'll have to go back.
Speaker 2:You'll have to take me somewhere in Tokyo.
Speaker 1:Yeah, unfortunately a few of the tablaos closed down, but there's still lots of flamenco here. So, yeah, definitely hit me up when you're here, awesome.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about Japan. So you were born in Japan and left at the age of three, so how much did Japanese culture play a part of your life when you were growing up in Canada?
Speaker 1:Great question. I think it was a huge part of my life, but at the time, because I lived in Canada, especially in Vancouver, where it's very multicultural, I didn't realize how big that was, because it was so normal to be speaking a second language or your mother tongue at home and have a completely different culture at home. But then you'd all go to school and meet with friends and be Canadians and we were all Canadian. I didn't realize how Japanese I was until I moved to Europe where people are like where are you really from or why are you Japanese, but Canadian dancing flamenco in Germany.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pretty pretty rare combination yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So that's when I started to think about my identity and I didn't really have an issue. And I still don't really have an issue with my identity, but it's just more like when I lived in London Again, very multicultural, very international. And then living in Japan has been a game changer. For the first time I am the majority I have never been the majority population and so I blend in. People think I'm Japanese. I improve my Japanese enough for people to think that I grew up here. That's been a really interesting experience living in Japan as a Japanese woman, because I don't think you can do that, looking like a foreigner, but I have these foreign perspectives. So it's been very interesting, to say the least. But I think I've realized that I was raised with Japanese values. My grandparents lived with me half the year and so I had to speak in Japanese at home and my mom would always tell me like, don't throw the books, they have a spirit, they're sad when you throw the books. So a lot of Shinto values and things like that and Japanese food wonderful.
Speaker 2:I guess you're really fortunate because you often hear stories of people from China or wherever move to a country like Australia and they don't learn their parents Malatang. Maybe they're born here and then later they go back to their roots and kind of regret not being able to speak the language. So it must be wonderful for you to be able to freely communicate in several languages. And it's kind of weird. You feel like part of the majority in Japan, but I guess you felt that too in Canada. You grew up in Canada, so you probably have vague memories of Japan. But I guess you felt that too in Canada. You grew up in Canada, so you probably have vague memories of Japan up until the age of three. But you'd probably say well, most of my childhood memories, my teenage memories, are all in Canada. But did you ever feel like a foreigner in Canada, or just felt like Canadian, like a foreigner in Canada, or?
Speaker 1:just felt like Canadian. That's interesting. I never felt like a foreigner in Canada. I was really fortunate to have been raised in a city where there's very little racism, or I didn't face any. You know, it was really rare I'd have to go into like a small town and then I was refused service at a pub once and they couldn't give a reason, but that was about it.
Speaker 1:Maybe one other time, when I was still maybe like 10 and my sister and I with my mom, we were speaking in Japanese in a pet store and there was an old lady, I think she's got a British background, and she was like, why don't you speak English? I don't remember my mom responding, but apparently she said can you speak Japanese? What other languages do you speak? And apparently that shut her up. But that's like the level of racism that I face, which is very minimal, and I'm very lucky because I hear about similar people growing up in the States, for example in the US, and you know they feel like they're not American enough there and then they come to Japan and they don't feel Japanese enough. I didn't have that experience. I don't have that trauma.
Speaker 2:Nice, well, that's good. Well, what brought you back to Japan?
Speaker 1:Nick, I moved here during the pandemic. It was really wild. So I met my husband while I was touring Japan, and it was long distance and the plan was for him to live with me in London. But when we were supposed to get married, the pandemic hit and we got stuck in London. But when we were supposed to get married, the pandemic hit and we got stuck in London and we were supposed to have a wedding in Japan. So we had to make the hard decision to.
Speaker 1:Well, it wasn't that hard, because the world stopped and I had one grandmother who was maybe 89 or 90 at the time and she was alone just outside of Tokyo and my parents having only Canadian passports, it would have been a bit complicated for them to be flown into Japan if there was an emergency, and so I thought it would be great if I could find a way to just be here in case anything happened, just to be close to her, because she must have been very lonely being alone.
Speaker 1:And although Japan wasn't locked down like it was, in London people are very abiding of rules, so a lot of people really avoided meeting people in public or even going over to other people's homes. That was a really beautiful time, a couple of years that I got to spend with my grandmother, nice. So that was the main reason and I always wanted to live in Japan. I've only lived here during summer breaks in middle school, high school or as a child, and never as an adult just visiting. But I wanted to live and work here, so living my dream, which sort of turned into a bit of a nightmare.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about this LinkedIn post that caught my eye and you put this on various social media and why I reached out to you. Here we go Imagine experiencing panic attacks, hives, eczema, hair loss, insomnia and digestive issues. I developed all of those symptoms over five months as a result of severe burnout I went through last year. Then one Monday morning in November I opened up my laptop and froze. The sheer number of tasks felt like a brick wall collapsing on me. I couldn't move, I couldn't respond to a single email and I couldn't stop crying. The next day, the doctor told me this is adjustment disorder. It's common in Japan and it usually gets better with six months away from work. So I think it's really brave of you to put that out there and share that. You also wrote about what adjustment disorder is and I hadn't heard about it, even though it's quite common in Japan. So if you want to explain what adjustment disorder is or if you want to touch on that experience before you do, please feel free to do so.
Speaker 1:Sure, so it's not something that I shared publicly until that post because I wasn't feeling well enough to go there. But basically I had been overworked and burnout for several months at work and it's not the company's fault. Like, I was part of management and we were just having a really difficult time hiring the right people with the right skills, were just having a really difficult time hiring the right people with the right skills and I think most of it was to do with my personality of not being able to say no and not asking for help. And, as I told you, I've burnt out in Canada and actually in London a little bit as well, and it's just a pattern. Basically, my body was telling me to stop and I finally stopped when it was impossible to work.
Speaker 1:And I was really surprised at what the doctor said, because apparently it's what Empress, mas're exposed to extreme amounts of stress, that it kind of becomes trauma, and when you're put in a situation that caused the trauma in my case, I was having anxiety and panic attacks. So my doctor told me to stop working and do nothing, which I am terrible at doing. So I tried my best, but then every time I found myself in like a stressful situation where it wasn't going the way that I wanted to or I had to plan several different things within a certain time frame during the day. It was very similar to what I had to deal with at work and I would have a panic attack and that wouldn't go away until I officially resonated from my position. But I'm totally fine now. It's just very much associated with work, which is different from having chronic anxiety or depression, which is not only related to work. It's like every other aspect of your life, but for me it was just triggered by work.
Speaker 2:Thank you for sharing that. What did the doctor recommend?
Speaker 1:I actually chose this doctor because I saw on the website that they offer alternative modalities like kampo, traditional Chinese medicine, which I would have preferred.
Speaker 1:But when I went to actually speak to the doctor he was like kampo doesn't really work, really work, and if you're this sick, I recommend that you take these anti-anxiety pills, sleeping pills and digestion pills for your stomach issues. I think that was it at the time, but it was already enough that it kind of put me off. I was like there surely must be some other ways to treat adjustment disorder. Because I looked it up, I did a Google search in English and it said almost always it must be accompanied by talk therapy, some kind of counseling on top of medication in the beginning. But it's not a permanent solution. But it seems in Japan the only option that they provide is the medication, or at least the doctor that I went to see and I don't think it's his fault he's a really lovely doctor. He's been very helpful. He's just not a trained psychologist, so he can only prescribe TILS trained psychologist so he can only prescribe TILS.
Speaker 2:Sure, there is something called Mordicter therapy. When someone is going through extreme anxiety and they can't function. They basically say, do nothing for a number of weeks and kind of live with your anxiety. But they take you to somewhere in nature, like you'll be living in some accommodation in nature, and then slowly they get you back into doing small tasks and then daily chores, talk therapy, I guess, and then over time you kind of just heal or get better. But I guess then after that you have to make sort of a better lifestyle choice. So what you experienced, I think, is called teki or shougai. Yes, so it's common enough in Japan to have a word. I've never heard adjustment disorder ever. So I think it speaks to how workplace stress is so common in Japan that it's oh, it's just adjustment disorder. Take six months off and then come back to work.
Speaker 1:Is that how it felt? Well, that's what the doctor said. He's like oh, it's just tiki o shogai. I've had many, many clients, patients that they recover after three to six months away from work and then you just gradually go back like you will be fine with time, and I was like, oh wow, that's terrible, that it's common. I was also really not surprised and, for those who are unaware, karoshi is a thing in Japan where people die from overworking and honestly I don't want to freak anybody out, especially people at my company, but had I continued for another six months, I think I would have been close to dying because it's just so unhealthy to be under that much stress and to think that the entire society here in Japan works like that.
Speaker 1:Not everybody, but a lot of people feel like that's their only option and that's how they're living day to day.
Speaker 1:I can't imagine having continued the way I was working and that's why I wanted to help people, and a part of that has to do with me becoming a little bit too Japanese. Like when I moved here, I really wanted to become a good Japanese citizen and, you know, really take on the customs. I take pride in the fact that people think that I'm Japanese when I'm here and I don't have an accent and you know I have the mannerisms, but I also picked up the behavioralisms and it's too much to work that way and to always be people pleasing. I still express myself freely, but it's more than that. I think we need to change the mentality, but also the way the community thinks here. That, I think, is a bigger challenge, because it's actually what makes Japan beautiful and I don't think changing that is the solution. I think that we just need to normalize talking about these kinds of mental health issues and trying to minimize the stigma around getting help when you have something like that. I think even that is a good start.
Speaker 2:I do too. It's interesting. You have this cultural value of like gaman, you know gaman sudu. To some degree it can be helpful, but then, once it's getting to this point where you're physically suffering from it like you did, it's just not healthy for you and then eventually you have to take time off work, so it's not good for the company and all that sort of thing.
Speaker 2:So there's always been this idea of japan has all these social customs or norms of like may work, a cuckoo idea, like consider others, don't cause trouble, which can be beautiful. And you see that on public transportation, no one's on their phone, everyone's socially aware. But then when it's to the extreme and they can't freely express themselves, so they can't on public transportation, no one's on their phone, everyone's socially aware. But then when it's to the extreme and they can't freely express themselves or they can't talk about their problems, then it must be such a burden. But then it's kind of also normal. It's really kind of weird. So I struggle with it. I see it in my Japanese family. In Japan they have issues. I see it with some of my friends.
Speaker 2:One of my friends' son suffered from mutism and the father didn't know that. He was just not talking at school. The parents didn't know because the school didn't tell them. And then one day at a festival they bumped into one of his friends and they'd gone like, oh hey, you should speak more at school. And then my friends thinking, well, my son's not speaking at school. And then he contacted the school and then they were like, oh no, he's just really really shy, isn't he? And outside of school he wasn't. But yeah, he had this mutism and then he would go to school and study in the sick bay and he wouldn't participate in classes. But I don't think they got him any professional help. And now I think he's socially very, very awkward and has no friends, and now he's like a university student.
Speaker 2:And so I think if that happened here in Australia or maybe in Canada, it would be handled very differently. So it's almost this passive way of handling problems, in sort of the hope it'll eventually get better over time, and that it usually doesn't. So I found it really hard when I saw it in Japan. I was like, oh, like, shouldn't you get some counselling, or shouldn't you go as a whole family and get some counselling or do something? So how did you end up recovering? Because your burnout was extreme. And then here you are. Now you're looking happy and radiant.
Speaker 1:So better than my old self yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:How did I recover? So I stopped working and I was traveling because a part of me felt like maybe I just need to leave Japan to feel more free and myself which I do feel more like myself when I'm abroad. And I went to a yoga retreat in Bali and that was nice, but it was actually quite the schedule. I wouldn't say I burnt out from the yoga, but I'm just very terrible at not doing anything. But the Bali trip was great because that's where I found sound baths and sound therapy and where I got the idea to do Japanese sound baths in Japan. My husband's a taiko drummer so I thought if we team up we could do a Japanese version. So that was great for that ideation.
Speaker 1:And then I went to Spain for over a month. That was for flamenco, but also to visit my friends, because a part of me always felt like I went to Spain for over a month, that was for flamenco, but also to visit my friends, because a part of me always felt like I wanted to move back to Spain, this time living in maybe Madrid or like in the countryside, and I had several different friends living across the country, having very different lives, and so I kind of wanted to see them and see how it was to live in Spain today. It was a great trip but again I was really tired. Afterwards I came back with perspective that it's tough to live in Europe right now. And it was a great trip because it made me realize that I should be in Japan, that I'm probably meant to be in Japan right now Because I've always wanted to help people. I actually wanted to study psychology in university and I switched because I'm very impatient and I didn't want to study for eight years to become a therapist.
Speaker 1:But I was always interested in counseling and therapy and helping people and I realized that during my break it was really difficult for me to go back to work and that was what was stopping me and was continuing to give me anxiety. So every month I had to make a decision to go back to work and every month I would have an anxiety attack because I felt like I wasn't ready to go back to work. And every month I would have an anxiety attack because I felt like I wasn't ready to go back to work. And so finally, the company is like we can't wait for you anymore, like this is the maximum amount of time that we can wait for you and we'd be happy to discuss different ways of working with you after that, but you can no longer be a full time employee. The decision was very difficult because I love the company and I love all my colleagues. We were like family and I was really working there as if it was my own company. It was really difficult to come to that decision, but when I did make that decision it just went away. The adjustment disorder just 100% disappeared. Oh nice, just gone. So that's how I recovered.
Speaker 1:It was through quitting, but not just that. If I remained to be the same person that I was when I got adjustment disorder, I think I would have gone back to work. I would have been the same responsible Nanako, going back to work and pleasing everybody and saying yes to everybody. But because I recognized those patterns and the programming in me that I wanted to change, I made that really difficult decision and I overcame some traumas as well. I overcame some traumas as well. I did have a coach, so she helped me a bit, but a lot of it. I did some shadow work myself, and then these trips to like Bali, and then I went to Chiang Mai to study sound therapy. All of those trips were so healing for me in terms of facing my programming and sort of traumas. I think that's necessary to improve and recover. Otherwise you're going to probably fall back into the same pattern.
Speaker 2:It sounds like you kind of knew that you couldn't go back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did, but I was really hard set on going back. Even until April I was like I'm definitely going back, I just need one more month.
Speaker 2:So if we talk about your life now, you're in this niche of the wellness space with sound therapy. So what is sound therapy?
Speaker 1:Sound therapy is when you use the frequency of sound and specifically, in my case, the vibrations coming off of the Tibetan metal singing bowls and your brainwaves, so that it puts you in a very relaxed, calm, theta brainwave state, which helps with overthinking If you have anxiety or you just need to relax. You're too stressed, you have too much in your head and you need to clear that. This really helps. And it also works with your nervous system, especially the metal balls that you do on body. It penetrates deep into your muscles and into your organs and even into your bones, and so it's really tangible.
Speaker 1:The effects and the clients that I've been helping so far, the clients that I've been helping so far, they say that it's better than a massage.
Speaker 1:Or I've had people who have released emotions that they've kept inside their bodies for years. Some people cry because that's what happens when things get released from your body, you know. So I just thought it was a great method when compared to something like therapy, where you have to speak, and when you speak you have to have an acknowledgement of what's going on, what your traumas are, and you have to verbalize these things, which can be a big hurdle for some people who are maybe not ready to face those things, but with sound it's so non-invasive, like all you have to do is lie down, let the bowls do the work and if things come up, then that's where I would bring in my coaching and I can provide a safe space for people to talk about it or not, like you can just treat it like a relaxation massage and then go home and sleep really, really well. So there are so many different levels that I thought was really great and accessible by different walks of life.
Speaker 2:Nice, I did see one of your Insta videos. You had like a small ball on someone's calf and you were I was like wow, I was like, oh, I didn't know, you could actually massage the body with the vibrations of the ball, so that was really interesting. So how did you stumble upon it and what attracted you about it?
Speaker 1:So I told you about the sound bath in Bali, but that was not the thing where I was like I really want to study this. I met my mentor, ali Young, from Chiang Mai Holistic in Tokyo. He was here with his team to give a sound bath and he was actually giving training here, but it was in Japanese and so I really liked his sound bath. I just didn't feel any ego from him. I think you need to stay away from wellness people who sort of coined themselves as guru. They don't exist. You know it's not real. It's not real.
Speaker 1:But this guy was just so selfless and just had great energy. You can sense these people and he was just doing it out of love of these bowls and helping people. I really appreciated that and I got a one-on-one session with him and I really liked that one-on-one session. He put bowls on top of my body and was like releasing energy from my body and I just really liked it. And so I just decided to go and study in Chiang Mai and I did that a couple of months ago and it was such a great experience. I didn't realize that it would be so healing for me experience. I didn't realize that it would be so healing for me. I thought I would be learning techniques and walking away just learning how to do it on other people, but I walked away like a new person and so many revelations about myself. So I really highly recommend it if that's what you're looking for, like if you're in a transformative phase in your life, you're looking for answers and you're stressed out. Even if you're just stressed out, it's helpful.
Speaker 2:That could be me. I mean, even when you pursue work that really inspires you or work you really want to do, you tend to overwork because you enjoy the work and then you do get stressed. I think I was pretty close to coming to burnout a few months ago because I was finishing a book. I'd written a book and I was meant to do a launch, and then I was in Japan preparing and recording content for my retreat and I felt like I'm not doing any of these things properly. I'm sort of taking too much on again. So I didn't really enjoy the trip in Japan. I was having a good time, like I was going out and meeting everyone and then end up sort of drinking almost every day. So that took a toll. Sort of in the back of my mind it's like oh, I've got this book, I still need to write. I've got this other book I've launched and I've finished, but I'm not really launching it.
Speaker 2:And I kind of had this reflection like you always do this, you always take on too much work. It's probably similar to you. I just can't help myself and then I don't really have any self-care practice. It sounds like something like this, where you're fully allowed to surrender yourself to something and it's healing. It sounds so interesting because he's got the beautiful sound of the balls and then the vibration. It's obviously got a pretty long history. It's like one of those types of healing that the West will then research and then validate hundreds of years later and go oh yeah, this actually works. So we were exchanging DMs and I asked if you had discovered your ikigai through learning sound therapy, but you replied that it was shime, your purpose, sort of finding a purpose finding your purpose. So do you want to speak on that?
Speaker 1:Sure, I think the reason why I couldn't go back to work and do marketing was because I never felt like marketing was my purpose. I didn't feel any ikigai from doing marketing. But the part that I loved about my job that I felt was my ikigai was the people helping part. I loved to help my clients. I helped the global teams become closer to their Japanese teams. Maybe in the past they were misunderstood, but I would come in and, with my fluent English, convince them no, this is really how it is in Japan, and so I'd be like vouching for the Team Japan. So they were happy and Global's happy and everyone was happy and I really liked to do that.
Speaker 1:I was looking for ways to find my purpose in the marketing, but it wasn't the marketing and I still felt like it wasn't directly helping people enough, like it was too indirect for me, and so when I discovered sound therapy, what I loved about it was that I get to work with people, even if it's one-on-one or five to 50 people in a room. I am directly helping these people become more relaxed or happier, and that's what I've always wanted to do. In these little moments I really do feel like it's my shimei, like I was born to do this to help people. I'm not saying that I'm really good at it yet, but I think I'm on the right path well, that's wonderful and that should be celebrated.
Speaker 2:When you do think you've found oh, this just fits me, this is what I want to do, this is my purpose. There's always a social element to it, but it sounds very intimate. What you you're doing, you're with the person, you're sort of healing them with sound, so it must be very fulfilling and rewarding. So that's wonderful. And now I'm going to quote you again. You wrote Now, with my 20 singing balls, I'm ready to soundbath the shit out of this country. So is your bigger purpose? Is it to help Japanese people with burnout and to prevent burnout with sound therapy and wellness coaching?
Speaker 1:Yeah, thank you for putting it all together, wrapping it up nicely. I've always felt like there must be a way that I can help Japanese people work less or help them find their purpose, because I feel like a lot of people here feel there's no other option, like everyone's suffering together so there's no other way out, or it's normal to do a job that you hate. You just go home and do the stuff you love at home when you have no time. In terms of Japan, I always felt like if we can help to let these people see there is another way, or if they could just find the confidence to believe in themselves, to have better role models, then maybe they can step out of the box. And for years I was like, oh, I wanted to become a coach, but is that really going to help Japanese people? And so I never really took that step because I didn't think that it would be effective in terms of impacting the masses.
Speaker 1:Of course, there are really open-minded Japanese people who are already taking coaching and therapy and stuff like that, for sure. But if we're talking about like, the average salary, man or woman, I just thought sound therapy is a nice way in, because it doesn't force them to talk about anything, and there are people who are looking for ways to relax, and so it's a little bit more accessible. But yeah, I feel like with my cultural background and my communication skills, people may be having less of a hurdle to approach me because I am Japanese. Then that's what it is. That's what my purpose is is to help the Japanese people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is really good because it's touching on not just purpose. You have this role and it's like a role you've kind of created or you've brought to life through your experiences of burnout and then discovering sound therapy and this desire to help people. So I think we find our purpose when we create this role, where we can fully express ourselves. There is some uniqueness to it and it helps others. Do you see it also as like oh, this is my role to offer society or to offer others, or have you never thought it in that way?
Speaker 1:I've just started, so I don't know how it's going to turn out, and I don't know if role is the right term, but I definitely would like to become a leader in the space or a role model that helps people to realize that you don't have to be a corporate slave at a job that you hate in order to survive in Japan. There are other ways, and I've met lots of amazing Japanese people that have found a way to survive in this society. Yeah, and a lot of them are freelancers. They're incredible people. I think if we start to normalize living a different way, like these incredible people that I've met, then maybe there will be others who are suffering who will realize that, okay, there is an option, there is a different way to still make a living and be accepted by society and be happy.
Speaker 2:It's interesting you say that because of all my Japanese friends, the ones who are happiest and free and fulfilled are all freelance or they will have their own business.
Speaker 2:But it is interesting. I've often thought, wow, you know, japan has all these beautiful cultural concepts or values harmony, ikigai, this idea of utori like space and yet their modern culture is so stressed. And how can they have a word like utori or ikigai and then have a word like karoshi or hikikomori, where they're either dying at work or they don't want to participate in society, so they basically lock themselves away for years? So it's like they have the answers in their own culture. But I don't want to say like Western influence, but just capitalism. There's a price to pay, like if we want to prosper materialistically, and we probably have to accept some people will prosper and others will suffer.
Speaker 2:So I almost think the answer to Japan's problems is within their culture. It's just so normal for them. It's something they wouldn't even think about turning to. So I almost think, oh, I should go back to Japan and do I need to work with someone to say, hey, you guys are forgetting this one concept that really matters? Yeah, I mean, a lot of Japanese do have their ikigai and it's often a coping mechanism for them. It can be healthy or unhealthy, so it could be the beer at the end of the day for a salary man, or it could be someone's pet or anime or gaming, but I think it really matters when it's tied to your social world and you're part of community and you feel like you have a role or maybe a sense of belonging, and that doesn't really exist in Japan, in in a city like Tokyo yeah, in Tokyo, the sense of community is definitely lost in a lot of the areas.
Speaker 1:So it's not just foreigners that feel lonely in Tokyo, it's everyone who lives in Tokyo that feels lonely. And what you said was so significant because I think a lot of Japanese people have lost touch with their roots. All of these beautiful concepts that the West have taken, it's from here. You know why aren't we practicing it here? And it's almost like Gyakuryu-nyu, brought back, imported back into Japan from the West and is made cool and trendy, and that's why some people are realizing those things again. But I think that we need to bring it back and take ownership of all of these tools that originated from Japan.
Speaker 2:For sure. Well, let's talk about this sound therapy, which is a tool you're using, so I know you briefly mentioned you would also hope it could open the door for you to have discussions with your clients on their mental health and well-being. So have you had that happen yet? Has someone been comfortable talking about their well-being and issues?
Speaker 1:It depends on the person. But if they're open to it and there are underlying issues that have been brought up or highlighted during the sessions, then I have had people who have opened up and have talked about it Through discussions. I would understand sort of where we need to focus on. Would understand sort of where we need to focus on and it's not always just me analyzing the data, but the bulls also speak. So when you put the bull on your body and it absorbs the sound really fast, it means you have a blockage there.
Speaker 1:It's really crazy because it's the same bull, same person, different area of the body and of course there are softer areas, harder areas that can affect it. But sometimes it's like and the sound disappears immediately, and other times it's like and it just stays. So then that gives me a reason to focus on that energy point. But not everyone's ready to talk about that kind of stuff. That's something where I use my sensor and just use my discretion. If they are seem open and have given me information, then I'm there to listen and provide advice if they ask for it. If not, I just hit the bulls.
Speaker 2:Well, let's summarize the benefits of sound therapy again, because maybe someone's in Tokyo listening to this and maybe they might want to have sound bath with you. So how do they help you?
Speaker 1:So the sound waves from the bowls put your brain in a theta brainwave state, which is a relaxed state. It's what your brain is going through during meditation, so it almost forces you into this meditative state, which is great for those who are not so great at meditation. I used to be like this. I needed help from music to go into this state. This is essentially doing that for you, and when you're in that state, your body is relaxed, your nervous system gets a reset and your body is in a state where it can improve its natural ability to heal, and that's physical and emotional healing. So that's a big benefit. And then the other one is that it balances your energy and your mind. Your mind and body both get balanced out through the sound waves.
Speaker 2:It also sounds like it helps with insomnia.
Speaker 1:Thank you for bringing that up.
Speaker 1:Yes, so I've had a friend I only did it for like 20 minutes on her had a friend I only did it for like 20 minutes on her and she told me that the next day, like, wow, Nanako, I slept for 14 hours last night.
Speaker 1:And I've had other people who have been suffering from insomnia, like severe insomnia, for months, and the night that I performed the Sambath he slept really well. So, yeah, if you're having trouble sleeping or if you have issues with overthinking especially for those who are working too much with books to write and people to coach and multiple projects and family and friends and everything and you have so much to think about it puts you in a state where the sound actually makes you stop thinking. I feel like it's helpful because you just go there and then it happens like you just stop thinking, Whereas, like, if you try to follow a meditation routine and you're like, okay, I'm going to not think now for 10 minutes, Do you really not think for 10 minutes? Because I used to try to meditate while I was working in marketing and I would end up making like a to-do list All the things that I haven't finished, but it gave me the time to organize my thoughts. It was still effective in that sense, but it was not meditation.
Speaker 2:It was still effective in that sense, but it was not meditation. Well, that's an interesting thing because I had a recent guest, a Zen priest His name is Tose Ishinabe, and I had the same assumption as you. It's like you're trying to clear your mind and blah, blah, blah right, and he's going.
Speaker 2:No, you pick something to focus on and think about the problem and you exhaust all the answers. I was like you got to be kidding me. He's going. No, like you cannot not think right. So you choose something to contemplate, something that's on your mind, and you just kind of, in some sort of open-minded, relaxed way, you just contemplate on that concern or issue or could even probably be a positive thing, and then you bring yourself back to it if you stray away. And I couldn't believe it. I was like, well, that's like the opposite of what we're told in the west. The west is like, oh, you've got to clear your mind and as a thought comes, you kind of let it pass and let it pass. There's definitely different schools on meditation. But I I was like, wow, is that what Zen is Like? Oh, okay, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting. All right, before you give me a Zoom sound bath, how can people reach out to you?
Speaker 1:I guess if you are on LinkedIn, you can connect with me. I post wellness tips every week and I have my Instagram, which is great if that's more of your way of consuming content, because I post real videos and shorter content that's consumable. And I just started TikTok too, so I'm on there as well, and now I have Facebook as well. You can find me at at zensowellnesstherapy on all of those platforms, or you can go to my website, zenso-wellnesscom.
Speaker 2:Awesome. We will put your website and the links to the socials in the show notes. So, yeah, it's been fun connecting and can you help me with my insomnia? And?
Speaker 1:my anxiety.
Speaker 2:Give me a soundbar, please.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for having me here, nick. I'd be happy to give you a mini sound bath, okay All right, let's do it.
Speaker 2:Real joy to connect. So what we're going to do now is you're going to move to a little what would you call it, your little e-bash on. My sound tatami room and we'll end with this wonderful soundbar. Thank you.