The Ikigai Podcast

On episode 57 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Sachiaki Takamiya about applying ikigai bio-hacking to our daily lives to improve our quality of life.Sachiaki Takamiya is an author and sustainable life coach. He is the author of the Ikigai Diet and Ikigai Bio-Hacking: Bio-Hacking Based on Japanese Natural Health. He was a guest on episode 3 of the Ikigai Podcast - “What Ikigai Means to Japanese.”

On episode 56 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Jamila Rodrigues about the deep connection between our bodies and our ikigai.Jamila Rodrigues is an anthropologist focused on well-being and crisis management. She completed her Ph.D. in Dance Anthropology and Sufism embodied ritual practice at Roehampton University in London in 2017. She worked as a professional dancer and traveled to different countries, such as the UK, South Africa, and many other countries for 12 years.She is a visiting researcher at the Marine Climate Change Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology. Her current research is on Embodied ikigai: Japanese women’s narratives on well-being in times of crisis.

On episode 55 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick talks with Dr. Ariadne Maria Ferro Bahuelo about the beneficial effects of ikigai on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Dr. Ariadne Maria Ferro Bahuelo is an adjunct professor at IE University in Spain. She has experience teaching at numerous universities in the United States and Spain. Her previous research examines languages in contact, particularly Spanglish as it is spoken by Cuban U.S. Americans in South Florida, USA.She is also the executive director of APUNE (Association of North American University Programs in Spain), an intercultural and inclusion facilitator, and an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Qualified Administrator.Moreover, Ariadne is a certified ADHD coach, a board-certified ADHD educator who coaches clients through her consultancy, The Zunzun, and a member of the Ikigai Tribe coaches.

On episode 54 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Natasha Randall about how technology can support people in feeling more ikigai in their lives.Natasha Randall is a Ph.D. candidate in the Informatics Department at Indiana University. Her work focuses on human-robot interaction, specifically consumer-oriented social home robot design where she fuses elements of design, user experience, and market research. Her interest lies in applying a strategic design approach to use cases meant for individual growth or social good, such as applications for improving mental health, social isolation, nutrition, habit information, and education. Additionally, she’s interested in how personal robots can be used to teach foreign languages, especially within the home.

On episode 53  of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Kiku Day about the beneficial aspects of playing the shakuhachi and how it is more than just a musical instrument. Kiku Day is a shakuhachi player, a Ph.D. ethnomusicologist, and a world traveller from Copenhagen, Denmark. Her work lies at the intersections of performance of traditional shakuhachi music, contemporary music and improvisation, ethnomusicology, history, politics, meditation, and writing. She studied shakuhachi with Okuda Atsuya, one of the foremost performers of jinashi shakuhachi, in Tokyo, Japan for 11 years before returning to Europe to study ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Kuki is also a founding member of the European Shakuhachi Society (ESS) for which she served as a chairperson from 2009-2019. She is dedicated to performing on jinashi shakuhachi, both honkyoku and contemporary music, and also teaches the shakuhachi online.

Benjamin Boas is an American author, translator, and contemporary Japanese culture consultant. He is both the Cool Japan Ambassador for the Japanese government and a Tourism Ambassador for the Nakano ward in Tokyo. He is the author of From Cool Japan to Your Japan and two other Japanese-language books about intercultural education and has written for Studio Ghibli, The Japan Times, and many other publications.On episode 52 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Benjamin Boas about the global visibility of Japan’s unique culture.

On episode 51 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Jennifer Shinkai about being one and included in Japanese society.Jennifer Shinkai is a facilitator and executive coach living in Japan. Originally from the UK, Jennifer holds an MA (Oxon) in English Language and Literature from St. Hugh's College, Oxford University. She is an ICF Associate certified coach, Points of You® Expert, and Organization and Relationship Systems Coaching ORSC® Practitioner, and coaches individuals and corporate groups around their ikigai. She also has her own podcast and YouTube channel, “Ikigai with Jennifer Shinkai.”

On episode 50 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Rie Takeda on her recently published book about shodo and how people can practise the art of shodo with the use of 10 fascinating Japanese words.Rie Takeda is a freelance artist and a professional calligrapher; she has been practising shodo since the age of five, under the creative supervision of her grandmother, a distinguished Gayu calligraphy artist. Rie teaches shodo in various countries, including the UK, Switzerland, and Germany. She produces Neo-Japonism paintings, calligraphy works, washi paper and vintage Kimono collages, illustrations, and works in body art. Rie was also a guest on episode 32 of the Ikigai Podcast, where she talked about Mindfulness Calligraphy.

On episode 49 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Carly Taylor about the positive results of applying Japanese psychology in our lives.Carly Taylor is trained and experienced in Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Japanese psychology (Morita Therapy and Naikan); she is a University qualified nutritionist, personal trainer, and a health coach with over 10 years experience in the area of behaviour change. Her coaching covers all domains of life: mindset, nutrition, movement, and sleep; it is centred around living a life based on values and purpose as opposed to a life dictated by thoughts and emotions.

On episode 48 of the Ikigai Podcast, Nick speaks with Dr. Clark Chilson about naikan and how it can help people develop their ikigai.Do you contemplate the good things that happen in your life? Sometimes, we tend to focus on the negative aspects of our lives, and we forget to acknowledge the good things that occur around us.In Japan, they have a self-reflective form of meditation called naikan; this method helps people realise what they have caused others (both good and bad). Can this practice of naikan help us feel more ikigai in our lives?