''Asahi'' (or ''Asahi Health'') is a Finnish health exercise based on the eastern traditions of

tai chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

qigong Qigong ()) is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation said to be useful for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial arts training. With roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chinese medicine, Chin ...

yiquan ''Yiquan'', also known as ''dachengquan'', is a Chinese martial art founded by the ''xingyiquan'' master Wang Xiangzhai. ''Yì'' (意) means Intent (but not intention), ''quán'' (拳) means boxing. History Having studied ''xingyiquan'' w ...

and

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, with a western scientific viewpoint. Asahi exercise is often taught and performed in groups but can also be performed alone.

Etymology

Asahi is from the Japanese for morning sun (

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: 朝日;

Hiragana is a Japanese language, Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic lettering system. The word ''hiragana'' means "common" or "plain" kana (originally also "easy", ...

: あさひ;

Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

: アサヒ).

The History of Asahi

Asahi was created in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in 2004 by professional sports instructors and martial artists Timo Klemola, Ilpo Jalamo, Keijo Mikkonen and Yrjö Mähönen. They all had high regards towards classical body development techniques such as

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

and

, but these styles attract only a small marginal of the Finnish population. The classical styles are quite complex and their starting level is often considered high. They use concepts such as '' qi'' and

prana In yoga, Ayurveda, and Indian martial arts, prana (, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is sometimes described as origin ...

, which may seem mystical to western people. The purpose of Asahi was to get the best out of these techniques, put it in the most simplified form, make it overall scientific and turn it into an easily approachable form – a health exercise for everybody with no starting level at all. Asahi is designed to treat and prevent shoulder – and back problems, fractures due to falling down and stress-related psychosomatic problems.

The Principles of Asahi

Asahi is a series of slow movements, completed in silence. It looks a bit like

. The basic six principles of Asahi are: 1. The linking of movement and breath
2. Practicing vertically erect body alignment
3. Whole body movement
4. Listening to the slow motion
5. Cultivating the mind with mental images
6. The exercise as a continual, flowing experience The Asahi movements are soft and performed in the rhythm of breathing. The series is simple and easy to learn. The movements have also a practical function, for example picking up a ball from the floor or improving one’s balance by standing on one foot. Advanced levels are designed for long-term trainees, yet they are equally simple to learn.

Distribution

Asahi can be practiced in major areas of Finland. Asahi Health Ltd has also been accepted as an Education Partner to Federation of International Sports, Aerobics and Fitness as the first Body Mind product to be recognized and recommended by this organization. These exercises are done through the help a instructor guiding a class in physical presence, or through video instruction.

References

External links

Asahi Health Homepage
Meditation Mind–body interventions Physical exercise