Tokyo Day 3

Saturday was almost like a day off, I only had to teach one class in the afternoon so I spent the day walking around. I went to Shibuya and walked to Omote Sando and Harajuku. It was a beautiful day out and I spent my time walking into the different small shops. Many of the small shops carry clothes made by local designers and you cannot find the designs anywhere else. I bought a few things for my brother because his birthday is coming up. That evening I taught at Under the Light Studio. The workshop was “What is Jivamukti Yoga” The studio was very nice and the students were very excited to be there. After class I had an interview with Sotokoto. It is an environmental magazine that seems to be very popular. The woman interviewing me was very nice as was the photographer. They were both very interested in what the yoga community is doing for the environment and how the Jivamukti method is doing its part in the work needed to create a better world. I talked a little bit about my work with HHA and then of course we went into the vegetarian and vegan discussion. Many people are unaware of just how much an impact being vegan a few days a week can be let alone a lifetime. The U.N. says that animals raised for food cause more greenhouse gas then all of the cars, trucks and suvs in the world combined...that is a lot. Being vegan is not just for me or you or a couple of animals, but the whole planet. After explaining this to them they nodded politely smiled and then asked if there was anything else besides being vegan or vegetarian... It is funny how much people can be for the environment and expect everyone around them to change but choose to stay the same or refuse to see how their actions affect the world. Not everyone drives a hummer or dumps oil or shoots people but everyone eats and usually three times a day, some times more or less. But every time we do we are making a choice to support harm to the world or not. A farm of 5,000 pigs creates the same amount of fecal matter as a town of 50,000 people that is ten times the amount, a lot of shit. Where does that go...”away” where is away and how can I get there? The meat and dairy industry is the number 2 polluter and user of water and oil the number 1 is the military. So can we be for the environment and eat meat or support the need for clean drinking water and have some pork? Fish is no different. The small fisherman is very scarce. These days the ocean is being emptied by huge boats or filled by genetically modified fish. The dredging by the boats kills countless creatures and the GM fish create massive amounts of excrement in the ocean causing the proliferation of sea lice and the suffocation of other sea creatures. I was trying to point out how intricately connected everything is and that our food choices have a huge impact on the earth. We did eventually talk of other ways to be more conscious of the way we treat the earth talking about bringing your own bag when shopping or your own chopsticks. Many people in Japan are surprised when I pull out my own chopsticks. I am always surprised when they do not. So many places have the disposable kind which is a bit crazy considering everyone uses chopsticks. It would be like all the restaurants carrying throwaway forks and spoons. After the interview I went out for dinner with Miki the guy that I am staying with in Tokyo. He started an amazing website called Yoga-Gene. Please check it out. Norisan the owner of Under the Light also came. He is a very cool guy that used to be in IT and now owns the studio. The next day was the last in Tokyo so I stayed out a bit later then I should have I guess...