Tokyo Meditation Meetup

Hey all! Join us on Sunday May 18th, for a refreshing day of hiking, waterfall plunges, and guided meditation in the stunning Akigawa Valley—just 1.5 hours from Tokyo. We’ll visit Komine Park and the beautiful Kongo Waterfall, with an option to soak in a relaxing onsen afterward.

🗓 Details:

• Date: Sunday May 18th
• Meeting Point: 9:30 AM at Musashi Itsukaichi Station, North Exit (meet directly there)
• Location: Komine Park & Kongo Waterfall, Akigawa Valley
• Activities: Hiking, guided meditation, waterfall trek, optional onsen soak
• Cost: ¥3,500

🥾 What We’ll Do

• Hike through lush mountain trails (easy to moderate, 2–3 hours total)
• Pause for a 30-minute nature meditation + group sharing
• Enjoy your bento lunch outdoors
• Trek to Kongo Waterfall (optional barefoot walking + waterfall dip)
• Optional onsen soak before heading back to Tokyo (~5 PM return)

🌿 What to Expect

• A grounded, heart-opening day in nature
• Small group vibes for connection and ease
• Periods of silence and stillness combined with movement and activity
• A digital detox (phone off = presence on)
• Guided mindfulness and time to reflect, share, and breathe

💰 Price: 3,500 yen. To book your spot and confirm RSVP, make your payment here.

🧳 What to Bring

• Comfortable hiking shoes
• Swimsuit & towel (for the waterfall)
• Light jacket
• Water bottle
• Bento lunch + snacks
• Blanket or mat for sitting
• Sunscreen, hat
• Change of clothes if going to the onsen

✨ RSVP by May 16th

Questions? Call/text me: 090-8013-7249. See you soon! 🌲🧘‍♀️

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We’re constantly striving—doing more, improving, achieving. Even our work and conversations are often tied to a goal, leaving little space for genuine enjoyment. But when we're always in go-mode, we rarely feel truly connected, creative, or present.

If you’re ready to experience the kind of presence that only comes from true rest, join us for our 5-day Meditation & Yoga Retreat (May 22-26) on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa—our first retreat off the mainland, just 2 minutes from the beach. 🏝️🙂

📅 Details:

• Date: Thursday May 22nd 7pm to Monday May 26th noon
• Location: Lotus Bleu Retreat Center (Shiraho beach)
• Price: 86,000 yen (or pay in 3 installments)
• To RSVP please fill out this form

✨ What to Expect:
✅ Daily guided meditations
✅ Daily morning yoga
✅ Trekking on Taketomi Island + beach time
✅ Sound healing, ice baths & digital detox
✅ Sleep well in a spacious, peaceful setting
✅ Healthy, nutritious food
✅ Connect with like-minded people through pair work and deep conversations

We’ll have about 3 hours of guided meditation daily and 1 hour of yoga, plus occasional activities like sound healing and island explorations. Afternoons will be free for you to relax, swim, read, or explore.

🛏️ What’s included

• Your stay for 4 nights, 5 days
• Guided meditation, yoga, sound healing, ice baths
• Breakfast and dinners
• Transportation to Taketomi island and back (half day trip)

🚫 What’s not included

• Your flight to/from Ishigaki island
• Lunches (there are plenty of affordable spots in walking distance)
• Dinner the first night — please eat before arriving Thursday night
• Extra activities like diving, snorkeling, SUP etc. (you can select any add-ons during the RSVP process)

💳 Payment & RSVP
Spacious shared room with 1 other person (same sex) : 86,000 yen

• 📌 To RSVP, please fill out this form and complete the payment.
• Make your payment via Stripe here or bank transfer here
• Or you can pay in 3 installments of 30,000 yen! Message me for the special payment link.
• Cut off for RSVPs is May 10th

For private room options, please contact me directly.

Flexibility & Cancellation
• Up to 14 days before the event: Full refund or full credit toward a future event.
• 3 to 13 days before the event: 50% refund or full credit toward a future event.
• Less than 3 days before the event: No refund, but you’ll receive a 50% credit toward a future event.

If an unexpected emergency arises, please reach out—I’ll do my best to find a fair solution.

✈️ Getting there and back

🛫 Flights: About 3 hours direct from Tokyo to Ishigaki Island (nonstop flights are around 20,000 yen right now)
🚖 From airport to retreat: 10-minute taxi ride. Here is the address on google maps.
⏰ Arrival: Please be at the center by 7 PM on May 22nd.
🙏 Closing: Check-out at noon on May 26th (consider lunch with the group before flying out after 3 PM).

🌟 About Your Guides

Misha Yurchenko: Mindfulness Guide
Misha is a Tokyo-based certified meditation teacher (MMTCP) with over a decade+ of meditation experience. After experiencing severe burnout from his venture-funded startup, he founded Tokyo Mindfulness and is dedicated to helping others break free from themselves. He takes an integrated and practical approach combining meditation, breathwork, and nervous system healing to help people get unstuck and find inner freedom. He is the author of several books and lives in Shibuya with his family.

Ryoko Hirasawa: Yoga Teacher
Ryoko has been living in Ishigaki Island since 2004, deeply connected to nature and cats. She discovered Ashtanga Yoga in 2010, where the practice of moving meditation deeply resonated with her. Through yoga, she learned the importance of being present, letting go of the past, and embracing the future with awareness. In her classes, she emphasizes harmony between body, breath, mind, and nature, offering a practice that meets each individual’s needs. View her profile.

Machiko Takagi: Sound Healer
Machiko is a singer and sound therapist deeply connected to Yaeyama island folk music (shima-uta). After moving to Iriomote in 2004 and later Ishigaki in 2009, she immersed herself in the region’s traditions, studying its music, nature, and culture. Her search for a deeper connection with sound led her to Singing RingⓇ in 2021, sparking a journey into sound therapy and overtone healing. Today, she blends shima-uta with sound healing, collaborating with instruments like erhu, guitar, and handpan in unique sound bath experiences, while also performing regularly at Hoshinoya Taketomi and solo live events. View her profile here

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What is TRE?

TRE® (Trauma and Tension Releasing Exercise) is the body-based method which can release your tension and stress by creating safe natural tremoring induced by a set of simple exercise in your body. It can be practiced at home on your own after a few practice sessions.

Humans have a built-in biological mechanism to release stress through shaking. This is called neurogenic tremoring, and is the basis behind TRE. You might have seen animals in the wild shake of stress - humans do the same thing! Here is a great blog post about TRE and how it works.

From “Quakers & Shakers,” the Sufi Whirling Dervishes, to Native American Shamans practicing ecstatic movement, historically this shaking medicine has appeared in different forms across the world. For this event, we’re using it in a secular context - to let go of stress.

In this workshop led by a certified TRE provider Akiko Matsuda, you will learn how to literally “shake it off.” We start with an explanation of how it works, a few basic warm-up movements, and then the tremors will happen naturally and involuntarily.

You will be in a comfortable lying-down position on the ground for most of the time. (There is no dancing involved, just lying on the floor and doing these sequence of exercises)

Experiences vary, and many people report feeling relaxed, calm, and peaceful afterwards — like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders.

Recommended for those who:

• cannot sleep well
• have chronic pain such as stiff shoulders, back pain, migraine headaches, etc.
• just want to relax
• want to stabilize their mental ups and downs.
• want to relieve weight gain and swelling caused by stress.
• want to experience the body's ability to shake.

What to expect:

• Explanation about TRE in Japanese and English
• A safe, controlled environment with expert guidance
• Small group, maximum 8 people
• Yoga mats provided

What to bring:

• Comfortable clothes (sweat pants)
• Water bottle

Price: 5,000 yen. Please bring cash on the day of or PayPay.

Location: Meguro City Community Center, a 10 minute walk from Meguro station. Room 4 on the 8th floor. Google maps link here.

Doors open at 945am and we start at 10 am sharp. Please be on time! Please message Akiko directly on meetup if you have any questions.

目黒区民センター社会教育館
第4研修室（和室）
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SHAKE IT OFF!
TREワークショップ
身体の自然な「震え」の機能にアクセスして
緊張とストレスを手放そう！

TRE®とは？

TRE®は正式には"Tension/Trauma Releasing Exercises"のことで、簡単なエクササイズによって自然で安全な「震え」を起こし、その震えによって、緊張、ストレス、トラウマを解放していく身体ベースのメソッドです。何回か練習すると、自分で自宅でもできるようになります。

人間には、震えることでストレスや緊張を発散する生物学的なメカニズムが元々組み込まれています。これは脳幹、神経由来の震えです。命拾いをした野生動物が震えてショック状態から回復している映像を見たことがありませんか？あれこそがストレスを発散するメカニズムで、人間にも同じ機能があるのです。
TREと同じ原理である「震え」について記載されている素晴らしい記事を紹介します。

歴史上、この震えの効能（shaking medicine）は、キリスト教のクエーカー＆シェーカーからイスラム教のスーフィー、ネイティブアメリカンのシャーマン達に至るまで、神聖な動きの実践として、世界中様々な形で登場しています。今回のイベントでは、この震えを「ストレスを解放する」という、より現実的な目的で使います。

TRE国際認定プロバイダーである松田明子がリードするこのワークショップでは、文字通り、どうやってストレスを「震えで払う（shake it off）」のかを学ぶことができます。まず最初に、震えの仕組みと作用について理解し、いくつかの簡単なエクササイズを行ったあと、身体に不随意に起こる自然な震えを体験します。

ダンス等の激しい動きはありません。震えを出すために軽いエクササイズを行った後は、快適に横になった状態で過ごします。

人によって得られる体験は様々ですが、ストレスで固まっていた身体がほぐれ、感情のリリースが起きたり、心身の深いリラックス感を覚える方が多いです。
効果として多く報告されるのは、睡眠改善、慢性痛（特に片頭痛）の改善、メンタルの安定、不安感の減少、自然に痩せやすくなる等。
継続している人は特に良い結果が出ています。

こんな人におすすめします

• よく眠れない人
• 肩こり、腰痛、片頭痛などの慢性痛がある人
• 緊張しやすい人、リラックスしたい人
• メンタルの浮き沈みを安定させたい人
• ストレス太りやむくみを解消したい人
• 身体が持っている震える機能を体験してみたい人

内容

• 日本語と英語によるTREについての説明
• 専門家の指導による安全で効果的な環境
• 最大8名までの少人数制
• ヨガマット提供

持ち物
・締め付けの無い服装（スウェットパンツ推奨）
・飲料水

**料金：**5000円。当日持参。

**場所：**目黒区民センター社会教育館（目黒駅から徒歩10分）

8階　第4研修室（和室）