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 may unknowingly employ sneaky little fronts, even in the closest relationships. Mae...

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 entry from her morning pages. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner,...

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 on some of the sticky, suffering issues you might be contending with. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an...

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 her practice that, metaphorically speaking, brought her to her knees in repentance. Mae...

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 you understand why. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner,...

“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, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be authorized by the...

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 & meditation practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman...

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 if you just decide to be present. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation...

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 practitioner, teacher, and mother. In 2006, Mae became the first Japanese woman to be authorized by...

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 realizations of her life. Mae Yoshikawa Mae is an author, yoga & meditation practitioner,...