Yama-no-hi
Today is Mountain Day in Japan!
This decade long national holiday is time set aside to familiarize people with the mountains as natural sanctuaries of peace and to appreciate their blessings.
Approximately fifteen thousand mountains comprise the Japanese archipelago.
Have you ever been to Japan?
Mountains have long been places of meditation and worship by Shintoists in Japan since the seventh century. Followers of Shintoism believe that supernatural powers, God, or gods resides or descends from the mountains. Mountain gods are also often linked to Sea gods who are trusted by sailors for navigation.
Part of the mountain meditation is to ponder the blessings of water sources, mines, forests, hunting grounds, and reverence for the majestic appearance.
Japan has three holy mountains: Mt. Tate, Mt. Haku and the famed volcano, Mt. Fuji. A perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone, Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest and most famous mountain, at 12,389 feet high, is an active stratovolcano in the Ring of Fire. It sits about 60 mi south-west of Tokyo, and 75-miles west of Kamakura can be seen from the beach on a clear day.
Mount Fuji has inspired famous artists and poets. This volcano is a national symbol immortalized in countless works of art, including Hokusai's 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, a series of landscape prints (1760–1849) depicting Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions.
Today is Mountain Day in Japan!
This decade long national holiday is time set aside to familiarize people with the mountains as natural sanctuaries of peace and to appreciate their blessings.
Approximately fifteen thousand mountains comprise the Japanese archipelago.
Have you ever been to Japan?
Mountains have long been places of meditation and worship by Shintoists in Japan since the seventh century. Followers of Shintoism believe that supernatural powers, God, or gods resides or descends from the mountains. Mountain gods are also often linked to Sea gods who are trusted by sailors for navigation.
Part of the mountain meditation is to ponder the blessings of water sources, mines, forests, hunting grounds, and reverence for the majestic appearance.
Japan has three holy mountains: Mt. Tate, Mt. Haku and the famed volcano, Mt. Fuji. A perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone, Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest and most famous mountain, at 12,389 feet high, is an active stratovolcano in the Ring of Fire. It sits about 60 mi south-west of Tokyo, and 75-miles west of Kamakura can be seen from the beach on a clear day.
Mount Fuji has inspired famous artists and poets. This volcano is a national symbol immortalized in countless works of art, including Hokusai's 36 Views of Mt. Fuji, a series of landscape prints (1760–1849) depicting Mount Fuji from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions.
When I think about Mt. Fuji, I’m reminded of my trip to Kamakura in 2008, south of Tokyo and sometimes called the Kyoto of Eastern Japan, Kamakura offers numerous temples, shrines and other historical monuments.
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Many believe that through mountain climbing towards the top, one can attain supernatural powers or enlightenment at the edge of the everlasting world, the divine realm.
I have felt similar sensations of elated bliss, gratitude, and power on the top of Mount Whitney, Salkantay, and Macchu Picchu. Learn more in these blogs...
I have felt similar sensations of elated bliss, gratitude, and power on the top of Mount Whitney, Salkantay, and Macchu Picchu. Learn more in these blogs...
What’s your favorite mountain?
Let us know in the comments below!
Mountain Pose is a dynamic and powerful asana to find connection with the elements and unity within the body.
It is an active posture, much more than simply standing to take a break from your other yoga postures.
It is an active posture, much more than simply standing to take a break from your other yoga postures.
How to do Tadasana (Sanskrit for Mountain Pose)
To get into the pose, stand with your feet as wide as your hips, or your big toes can touch with a couple inches of space between the heels. The outer edges of your feet should be parallel like train tracks.
Take a deep breath in as you lift and spread your toes.
Exhale to root into the ground. Activate the energy in your legs by pressing into the earth from all four corners of your feet. This should lift your kneecaps and direct your tailbone down.
Inhale to lift the crown of your head, allowing your spine to elongate.
Exhale to relax your shoulders down and back.
Inhale to slightly rotate the inner thighs back and lift your core in and up.
Exhale, with arms reaching down by your hips, palms facing forward, lengthen through your fingertips.
Continue to breathe calmly in and out through the nose for several breaths, connecting with the powerful elements.
To get into the pose, stand with your feet as wide as your hips, or your big toes can touch with a couple inches of space between the heels. The outer edges of your feet should be parallel like train tracks.
Take a deep breath in as you lift and spread your toes.
Exhale to root into the ground. Activate the energy in your legs by pressing into the earth from all four corners of your feet. This should lift your kneecaps and direct your tailbone down.
Inhale to lift the crown of your head, allowing your spine to elongate.
Exhale to relax your shoulders down and back.
Inhale to slightly rotate the inner thighs back and lift your core in and up.
Exhale, with arms reaching down by your hips, palms facing forward, lengthen through your fingertips.
Continue to breathe calmly in and out through the nose for several breaths, connecting with the powerful elements.
When you take Mountain Pose as a reclined resting posture, it looks very similar to Savasana, Corpse Pose.
To many Japanese people past and present, mountains are also considered to be a realm where the spirits of the dead gather and offerings to ancestral spirits can be made.