KIZUKI the Podcast

Mae had a little bit of a surprise this week. She received an unexpected compliment about, well, none other than this very podcast. It was about "being kind" which led Mae to reflect on the meaning of kindness, especially as it relates to non-judgment. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be authori...

Delightfully like a child on Christmas morning, Mae opens the small gray box that her friend handed to her in celebration for her birthday. In it, Mae discovers not only a gift that means something to her--she also receives her next unexpected kizuki . Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be authori...

Ever find yourself appalled with your own ignorance? While shocking at first, Mae reflects that this is a state that is essential for the yoga and meditation practitioner, or anyone who's on the journey of expanding awareness. While it can feel like a wipeout, it might just work more like a humbling ego-check on the road to greater consciousness. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditati...

Meditation teaches us to observe our thoughts, and therefore, to begin to dis-identify with them. But what about the thoughts that we believe make who we are? "I am a mother." "I am a woman." "I am so-and-so years old." In this episode, Mae shares an interesting journal prompt that flips these thoughts around. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother....

Mae dives into the highly charged topic of male chauvinism, reflecting on how triggered she was with the gender bias she witnessed at her nephew's graduation ceremony at a Japanese high school. Where does chauvinism spring from? Mae inquiries into the history and culture that have colored our collective experience. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mo...

Neither here nor there, the in-between space can be a very challenging place to spend any amount of time. Mae knows this from personal experience. This episode is an encouraging hug and a confirmation, as well as a lesson on how to be in the limbo space. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be autho...

Certain lessons in life, Mae claims, repeat itself over and over again as if rising upward on a spiraling staircase. Such is the case for the lesson of relaxation for Mae—uncovering layers upon layers of tension that she didn't even know she had. Listen out for a key “hack” that's helped Mae along her path of coming home to herself. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitione...

Mae catches herself doing the creepy mom thing--staring her child down in awe of him. It's an outpouring of endearment and love. As Mae reflects on her experience raising two children, she comes to the kizuki that when we experience something for the first time or experience something as though it might be our last, we imbue it with special meaning. It helps us to cherish each moment as it is. Mae...

In this week's episode, Mae takes a poke at a common practice in Japanese culture, where the sense of "in" or "out" is pronounced by selectively using different forms of language. In addition, there's an underlying understanding of " honne and tatemae " or "truth and front." While people generally wouldn't like to think of themselves as wearing fake fronts, there just might be other ways where one...

Meditation creates space in consciousness. In the same way that yoga creates space in the body and in turn allows for increased energy flow, meditation creates space in the mindーthen, invites us to "rise above" the mental self. In the process, old, long-hardened emotions rise up to be seen, known, and healed. Such is the stage that Mae is going through, as she shares a deeply personal journal ent...

Have you ever pondered the source of human suffering? The topic can sound heavy; but in this episode, Mae's brings it home by discussing the it in very real, down-to-earth, how-mothers-raise-their-children sort of way. No offense to our mothers who have laid the foundation in generations before us, but my, times have changed. Incorporating this kizuki in your life may just serve to shed new light...

No doubt self-acceptance is one of the most essential and indispensable practices you will meet on your path of personal growth. In this intimate episode, Mae shares her personal experience with grief as something that largely helped to expand her capacity for acceptance. In addition, Mae shares another, more recent kizuki about her self-acceptance practice. It was a sneaky, insidious aspect of he...

Do affirmations make you cringe? Or, are you someone who pronounces them proudly in the mirror? Mae reflects on how easy it is to think negatively about oneself and how difficult it used to be for her to focus on the positive aspects. Have you ever wondered why affirmations feel comfortable and right sometimes, and why they could feel like a far-off stretch at other times? This episode might help...

“Teenage parenting is a whole other thing!” Mae exclaims. This episode is a raw admission to a kind of grief that snuck up on Mae. “I didn't know how much I missed my son,” Mae says about her fourteen-year-old whose increasing independence had unknowingly created a whole in her heart. If you've raised a teenager, can you relate? Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner, t...

Are you in touch with your fears? Or are you someone who’s made a habit of staying away from them? On this week’s episode, Mae shares a text-conversation she had with a friend who said, “I'm so scared.” We all know how that feels... and, from her personal kizuki , Mae offers a reframe that could help shift your perspective through the experience of your fears. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga...

Mae tells a fresh kizuki story from this past weekend. She enjoyed leading a Kizuki Journaling (kaku-meisou MAE Y method) class at this event. In the meantime, Mae had asked her sister to spend some time hanging out with her six year old son Ayden in a nearby park. The combination of her sister and her six year old son resulted in a beautiful chemistry that led to evidence of how a day can unfold...

Mae spent much of her twenties studying yoga and meditation in South India, and found solace, healing, and reconnection with her soul. Recounting a conversation with a local friend in India, she reclaims a kizuki from one particular sojourn—a clear understanding of why she visits the edge time and time again; yet she is not “Borderline.” Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practi...

In this opening episode, Mae recalls one of the most tumultuous times of her life. Her young mother fell ill to a rare neurological disease. The incessant mental cry of “Why?” infested her mind to a point where it made Mae sick. It was a slow and incremental kizuki ; but as Mae began to transform her relationship to her mind through yoga and meditation, it opened her to one of the most important r...