Am I coming
to Xanadu?
Look at the pretty peach blossoms! A heavenly yoga event was held in an orchard
called Oobara Tourist Orchard in Niimi, Okayama on Apr. 16th 2017. Under
peach blossoms full in bloom, the participants took as many sessions as they
want from 10 sessions for all levels from beginners to advanced. On top of
that, they enjoyed an outside tea ceremony and macrobiotic lunch. What a
luxurious yoga event.
It
was the perfect sunny day on the day of the event. Cherry blossoms started
blooming late this year. It was actually fortunate as both cherry blossoms and
peach blossoms were flowering at the same time. A blue sky, white clouds, green
grasses, yellow dandelions, pink blossoms… It was just like heaven.
A large orchard
was divided into three zones, and six instructors had classes in turns so that
the participants were able to choose appropriate classes for their levels.
About 100 yoga lovers came to the event from the local area or other
prefectures.
Totally relaxed…
If you want to ask something, Momo-bito (Peach people) would help you.
Finding a Momo-bito is easy: Just
look for someone with face paintings on.
Your guide: Momo-bito
If you need a break, just take a nap on the
grasses, or just see and feel the beautiful scenery. If you get hungry, have a
macrobiotic lunchbox produced by TOSCA, a vegetarian restaurant located
in Kyoto.
The pink soup is soymilk-made vichyssoise.
The concept of the lunchbox is of course peach blossoms.
A perfect place for a picnic.
Under the large cherry tree on the top of the
hill, you can enjoy an outdoor tea ceremony held by Masako Nakamura troupe,
Omotesenke school of tea.
This gorgeous yoga event is organized by
Keiko Tawara, who serves for Niimi city to revitalize depopulated regions as a
“Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad”.
Keiko is a yoga instructor herself, (and also a Junior Vegetable Sommelier) but
this time, she devoted to welcome the participants as a staff member. She
adored peach blossoms here and wanted to invite many people to see the scenery,
then she came up with the idea of holding a yoga event.
“Other than
peach blossoms viewing, I was thinking how I could make the visitors happier. One
day, I just said myself that it would feel nice if I could do yoga in this
orchard, then people around me said ― why don’t you do it?.”
- So you didn’t intend to have a yoga event in the first place. You would have rather wanted to gather many people here to see peach blossoms.
- So you didn’t intend to have a yoga event in the first place. You would have rather wanted to gather many people here to see peach blossoms.
Keiko: Yes.
The plan of the event happened to come up in the middle of casual
conversations. Then people around me brought more ideas such as an outdoor tea
ceremony.
- When did you start planning?
Keiko: In the end of last January.
- So you all prepared for this event in less than three months? Well done!
Keiko: Everybody helped me a lot to make it in time for blooming.
- Some of the yoga instructors came from a distance.
Keiko: I knew few instructors in Niimi, so I asked some of my acquaintances if they could join, then they said “I would love to!”
- It looks a dream place to practice yoga indeed.
Keiko: Even it is the first time to hold such a yoga event, thankfully many people have come all the way to this orchard. I am very pleased.
- The participants are in a wide age range, and I see many men also.
Keiko: I wanted to invite male participants, so I asked two male instructors to have sessions.
- When did you start planning?
Keiko: In the end of last January.
- So you all prepared for this event in less than three months? Well done!
Keiko: Everybody helped me a lot to make it in time for blooming.
- Some of the yoga instructors came from a distance.
Keiko: I knew few instructors in Niimi, so I asked some of my acquaintances if they could join, then they said “I would love to!”
- It looks a dream place to practice yoga indeed.
Keiko: Even it is the first time to hold such a yoga event, thankfully many people have come all the way to this orchard. I am very pleased.
- The participants are in a wide age range, and I see many men also.
Keiko: I wanted to invite male participants, so I asked two male instructors to have sessions.
- Are you planning the next yoga event?
Keiko: I would like to hold it again.
Not only
participants but also all instructors and staff members looked happy during the
event. Just a random thought, like “I wish I could do…”, grew and bloomed nourished
with other’s help and ideas. No wonder peach blossoms, cherry blossoms and the
weather were all perfect on that day for these efforts.
In Oobara Tourist Orchard, flower thinning will be conducted soon to produce quality fruits. White peaches and yellow peaches called “Ohgon-to (golden peach)” will be ripen in summer. Despite the yellow color of the fruit, the blossoms of golden peaches are also pink. I definitely would like to come back here in summer to pick peaches.
YOGA PLUS facebook page
Oobara Tourist Orchard facebook page
Comments
Post a Comment