A Morning Flush of Warm Water For decades, the Japanese have used a simple but effective daily therapy: four glasses of water right after waking up — before food, coffee, or even teeth brushing. It is known to help cure headaches, body aches and obesity by detoxifying cells and cleansing the colon.
1. Get moving—but listen to your body. Up until recently, the Japanese population often kickstarted their days with a series of calisthenic movements known as "Radio Taiso." Even though you'll mostly only see the elderly participating nowadays, this morning sweat ritual still reps all five pillars of ikigai.
Harmony, order, and self-development are three of the most important values that underlie Japanese social interaction. Basic ideas about self and the nature of human society are drawn from several religious and philosophical traditions.
100% natural diet with a steady sleep cycle
Samurai had 2 meals a day, 8 hours of sleep every day.
Especially the lower samurai, who did not have much economic freedom, ate rather austerely. Breakfast consisted of rice, miso soup, and some pickles. For lunch and dinner they ate what was left over from breakfast and added one or two dishes. It was by no means luxurious.
The Samurai also practiced stilling the mind, which is another essential principle of emotional mastery. They would meditate, visualize their goals, and premeditate their actions. By doing so, they could stay focused, calm, and centered, even in the midst of chaos.
The Miracle Morning is a method of personal development that aims to improve the quality of life from the start of the day. This method contains six specific steps: silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading and writing.
In Japanese culture, it's widely believed that everyone has an 'ikigai' – a reason to jump out of bed each morning. Instead of suggesting we slow down to find life's meaning, ikigai involves sticking your finger out, actively flagging down a raison d'être.
Many of us enjoy eating bananas in the morning, and at any other time of the day. However, scientists from Japan conducted a series of studies and found out that eating bananas for breakfast is not only nice, but also helps to get rid of excess weight.
According to a 2021 survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Japanese sleep an average of seven hours and 22 minutes. This is the shortest duration among the member countries and almost an hour less than the OECD average of 8 hours and 24 minutes.
The traditional Japanese breakfast typically includes steamed rice, miso soup, egg dishes such as tamagoyaki (a rolled omelette), protein-rich side dishes like grilled fish with grated daikon radish and soy sauce or boiled eggs, pickles such as umeboshi plums or takuan (daikon radish), seaweed salad and green tea.
Plain, steamed rice is the core of the traditional breakfast meal. It can be white or brown rice, and usually accompanies the protein servings. It comes together with some other side dishes and salads to make a complete breakfast.
Traditional Japanese breakfast usually follows the style of a Japanese set meal, with the staple being rice and miso soup and ohitashi (boiled vegetables) served as side dishes. Natto (fermented soybeans), pickles, and grilled fish are often also served on the side to help complement the rice.
Physical training broadly reflected what many to come to think of in the samurai. Samurai trained young and throughout their lives. Though some increasingly shirked their physical training following the long peace of the 18th and 19th centuries, many trained daily, often testing themselves against the elements.
Musashi lived at a time of great change and upheaval in Japanese history, the average lifespan of a samurai of this era was a mere twenty five years, however, despite fighting on the losing side several times Musashi survived. “A thousand days of training to develop, ten thousand days of training to polish.”
THE PRE-BATTLE DRINK OF THE SAMURAI
Then during the 13th century, the monks introduced Matcha to samurai warriors as a pre-battle drink for increased energy and endurance for drawn out battles.
Smaller portions and slower eating are also secrets of the long lifespan of the Japanese. At mealtimes, they serve the food onto lots of smaller plates and sit on the floor and eat together. Along with using chopsticks, this makes the whole eating process a lot slower, which also aids digestion.
Japanese people stay lean despite eating lots of white rice because they're unafraid of it. They have a relationship with it where it neither scares nor intimidates them — instead of avoiding it, they enjoy it in moderate portions, with different vegetables, filling fats, and nourishing proteins.
There is some evidence that Japanese people have good genes which aid their longevity. Studies have suggested two genes in particular – DNA 5178 and the ND2-237Met NDgenotype – help the Japanese live longer by protecting them against some adult-onset diseases.