A mindfulness journey. What is Rio Matsumoto and Koichi Tanabe's "calm the mind journey"?

In this article, we asked yoga instructor Matsumoto Rio and wine director Tanabe Koichi, who are both travel lovers and work in a field closely related to mindfulness, to tell us their thoughts on mindful travel and how to spend time while traveling.

[Rio Matsumoto] Connecting more deeply with your heart through yoga

Matsumoto, who made her debut in the entertainment industry at the age of 11 and has appeared in a number of popular productions as an actress, obtained an international yoga license in 2014 and began working as a yoga instructor.

Yoga is also known as moving meditation, and since it involves clearing away distracting thoughts and concentrating on the present, it is closely related to mindfulness. For Matsumoto, yoga is "a way to connect with myself."

Matsumoto: "When you get tired from busy days, you can lose track of what you really want to do and lose control of your mind. Yoga allows you to really face your own mind, so I feel it is a very effective way to get back on track."

Matsumoto-san has always loved traveling. After discovering yoga, he was invited to an event in Bali, the birthplace of yoga, as the representative Japanese instructor, and started planning his own yoga tours, which led to him traveling energetically both domestically and abroad for work. However, he says that yoga also plays an important role in his personal travels.

Matsumoto: "My purpose in traveling is to pursue yoga more deeply and develop my own style. I try to travel alone for at least a week in order to experience a new world and really get to know myself. Before, I couldn't imagine traveling alone, but once I decided not to live a life that relied on others, I was able to go anywhere by myself."

Apparently, yoga you do on a daily basis is a little different from yoga you do while traveling.

Matsumoto: "When you do yoga in a travel destination with a different culture, nature, and environment, at first your body may not have adapted to the new place, and you may feel a strange sense of discomfort in your mind and body. But after spending about three days eating, sleeping, and getting back to your own pace, your body gradually becomes more in tune with the new environment, and you are able to breathe deeply. When your breathing becomes regular, your thinking becomes clearer, and you naturally begin to understand what you need at that time."

Acting at your own pace and following your heart's desires will help clear your mind.

When you're not doing yoga, how do you spend your time while traveling?

Matsumoto: "I go for a massage to rest my tired feet, enjoy organic food, go to the supermarket to look at seasonings and ingredients, and sometimes have a drink in the downtown area. I try to spend my time in ways that make me feel comfortable. I enjoy spending time in the same way as the locals. Oftentimes I realize that I haven't even been to the tourist spots or bought any souvenirs (laughs)."

At first glance, this action may not seem related to mindfulness, but for Matsumoto, it is an important method of practicing mindfulness.

Matsumoto: "When I travel, I try to act honestly on the voice in my heart that makes me feel like, 'I want to try this right now.' I go at my own pace without being swayed by anyone, and concentrate on the things in front of me until I feel fulfilled. Just by doing this, my mind becomes clearer and clearer. Thanks to that, I often suddenly realize important things, so traveling is a precious time to clear my mind."

When traveling alone, you tend to pick up your smartphone whenever you have free time, but Matsumoto tries not to pick up his smartphone as much as possible and shuts out information from social media, etc. He says that the most luxurious thing he can do is watch the sun slowly sink in front of him without having to pick up his smartphone.

Returning home with new inspiration

She also says that she sometimes purchases interior goods and yoga items for her yoga studio while traveling, and perhaps because her concentration is improved, she makes fewer mistakes when shopping.

Matsumoto: "It's not just about objects. If I happen to walk into a shop and I find the music playing pleasant, I'll ask them for the name of the song and download it right away. I can bring the atmosphere of the country back with me and enjoy it by myself or sharing it with my yoga students when I get back."

Matsumoto doesn't just travel to refresh herself, she also absorbs things that make her feel good and styles of yoga and brings them back with her. It's impressive to see how she continues to update her own style, starting with mindfulness travel.

[Tanabe Koichi] Enjoy local food and wine with all five senses

As a wine director, Tanabe is involved in a wide range of wine-related activities, including selecting and supervising the alcohol served at restaurants, and lecturing at seminars. According to Tanabe, the job of a wine director is all about mindfulness.

Tanabe: "It's said that the same effect as mindfulness can be achieved by using all five senses to concentrate on tasting the food in front of you. When tasting wine, you sharpen all five senses - the aroma, the appearance, the texture - and focus all your attention on the wine in front of you to take in the taste and aroma. In other words, this act is mindfulness itself."

By feeling the atmosphere of your destination with your whole body, you will create deeper memories.

Tanabe-san has traveled to wine-producing regions such as Greece and Australia, combining work and personal interests. What do you keep in mind when traveling mindfully?

Tanabe: "Wherever I travel, I always visit wine-producing regions and enjoy the local cuisine with wine. I touch the soil in the vineyards, smell the aroma of the local air, and experience each step of the wine-making process not just with my eyes but with my whole body. This way, I feel that the experiences I experience leave a deeper memory than when I simply travel around unconsciously. Also, when I eat while traveling, I try to take my time and enjoy the food and wine with all five senses."

Indeed, many people have probably experienced eating local food while traveling and savoring the ingredients more slowly than usual, which makes the aroma and flavor of the ingredients more pronounced than usual.

When we eat our meals every day, we tend to think about other things or finish our meals in a hurry in a short amount of time, but if we take our time to enjoy each bite of our food, even when we're traveling, we can relax and enjoy the natural flavor of the food.

The rule is not to bring books that are not related to the destination

Tanabe says that there is another rule he practices to achieve a state of mindfulness while traveling. By repeating to himself, "Being here now, and experiencing this now, is the first and last time in my life," he says that this clears away distracting thoughts and allows him to concentrate more on the present. He has also always loved reading, and it is his routine to take two books of any genre with him every day when he travels, but he says that he takes a break from this when he travels.

Tanabe: "I only take books that are related to the trip at the time. Even if it's a wine book, if it introduces wines from different regions, it's a no-no because it will just distract me. I also switch to using social media as a sender, and try not to receive information."

Did you notice any changes in yourself by spending your time traveling in a mindful state?

Tanabe: "After the trip is over, you're able to see things in a bigger picture, you're able to look at yourself objectively, and it always has a positive effect on you."

Tanabe-san says that he would like to visit more wineries, sake breweries, and distilleries in Japan in the future. "I would like to travel and experience the culture of each region and the undiscovered beauty of Japan with all my senses," he said.

Both of the people we spoke to said that practicing mindfulness while traveling "freed them from rigid thoughts and enabled them to think in a new way." Traveling, where you can get away from your busy daily life, is surely a good opportunity to practice mindfulness and face your current self. Please take a look at mindfulness travel as a new form of travel.