The 21st Ichigo Ichie took place on Sunday, February 3rd. 34 participants including 20 adults and 14 kids, from the U.K. Australia, U.S.A., Albania, China, Malaysia and Japan had a lovely time together.
<Yoga Time>
The theme of the playgroup was "Stretch & Massage Workshop - Let's enjoy exercise!" The guest yoga teacher, Ms. Naoko Ogihara, is running “kripa yoga” class. She introduced us to
some stretch and massage techniques that you can do at home to help with stiff shoulders and lower back pain.
Everyone enjoyed trying the stretches individually and in pairs. It was a fun way to refresh our mind and body. Thank you Ms Ogihara for a wonderful class!
<Discussion>
Next, we made groups to talk about ways to keep ourselves healthy and prevent catching colds. We enjoyed drinking hot ginger and honey tea together whilst sharing our ideas.
<Setubun>
The day of the playgroup was "Setsubun", the traditional end of winter, and the day to throw beans by saying "Out with the demon, in with fortune". Both kids and adults enjoyed a bean-throwing ceremony to wish good health for a year together! The demons, wearing masks, were scared away by the beans. The kids also enjoyed making demon masks by hand.
<Story Time>
Lastly, we had story time in 3 languages, English, Chinese and Japanese. The kids listened closely as Carly from the US, Kin san from China and Kazuko san from Japan read us the story “Brown Bear, brown bear, what do you see?” By Bill Martin Jr and illustrated by Eric Carle.
<Upcoming Meeting>
The next Ichigo Ichie will be held on Sunday, April 7th at Cafe Kokoraku. The theme of the upcoming playgroup will be preparing for elementary school (Shougakusei) in Japan. We’re looking forward to seeing you at the next Ichigo ichie!
（Reported by Meg. Photos by Shin-ichiro.）
