Dear friends and fellow yogis,

I hope this message finds you well.

I already titled a post “New Chapter” when I moved back to Japan. That felt like a major turning point - leaving the U.S. after more than 20 years, returning to my home country, and letting go of so much: our house, our car, our life there.

Now it’s been 8 months since I landed in Tokyo. I’ve started fresh with a new job, new rhythm, and a new community. It’s definitely been a new chapter.

And next week, I’m moving again - this time to another part of Tokyo. It’s not as dramatic as the move from the U.S., but after 8 months of settling in, it still feels big. A new neighborhood. A new community to grow into. A new environment to navigate. So yes - another new chapter.

And that got me thinking.

It reminded me of something I’ve often said in class:
“Every moment is a new moment.”

I’ve said it many times on the mat–
You’re never in the same moment twice. Life flows, just like a river. You can touch the water, play in it, feel it - but that same water won’t pass you again. Everything changes, just like the current. And yet, there’s one thing that stays: your heart. If you stay connected to it, you stay grounded. You stay calm.

Somewhere along the way, I’d drifted from that mindset. I’d been measuring change by the size of the event - moving countries, starting new jobs. But the truth is, every moment is a new chapter, not just the big ones.

So here I am, turning the page again - and remembering that I’m doing it every single moment, whether I notice it or not.

As the Bhagavad Gita says:

“Be steadfast in yoga, O Arjuna.
Perform your duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure.
Such evenness of mind is called yoga.”
– Bhagavad Gita 2.48

I hope we can all move through our own chapters - big and small - with that evenness of mind.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

With love,

Aiki