# INTERVIEW Yurika Umezawa - Yoga teacher, model -

Through learning yoga, I came to realize that it is okay to be myself.

"I was a very weak child and would collapse during morning assembly."

It's hard to imagine from her current appearance of happiness and vitality, but model and yoga teacher Yurika Umezawa had serious health concerns when she was a teenager. We explore the secret of the health and beauty of this hugely popular yogi, who attends yoga events for thousands of people and even appears on TV.

"When I was a teenager learning ballet and jazz dance, I was frail and had little muscle mass, so my hip joints would often go out of place. I was plagued by unexplained health problems and wanted to seriously maintain my body and improve my flexibility in order to dance, so I took my first yoga class in my teens. At first, I just had a vague feeling that it felt good, and continued doing it alongside my dance. Just as I was starting to get better at dance, I got injured and became depressed, and when I reached a point where I couldn't focus on anything, I decided it was time to get serious about yoga again, so I went to a yoga class at a studio that also offers training courses.

 I still remember how my teacher's words, "It's okay to be just the way you are," touched my heart so deeply that I nearly cried. In the world of dance, it's important to promote yourself, and I've always had to appear bigger than I really am, and act tougher, but I realized that it's okay to be myself."

She says that her encounter with yoga helped her regain her physical and mental health. Was there a change in her lifestyle that led to this?

"Since I started yoga, my life has become more regular. I learned that health is the cumulative result of food, lifestyle, sleep, and exercise, so I started by changing simple things like 'getting up on time in the morning and getting enough sleep at night' (laughs). I believe it's important not to push yourself and to live a life that makes you feel good, so I don't force myself or others to do anything. I'm a vegetarian, but that's because it suits my constitution, which has a weak digestive system, and I only do so from the perspective of yoga, animal welfare, and the environment.

Healthy people tend to be very pushy. They force others to eat this or do that out of kindness. I know this because I was not healthy, but sometimes it can become violent. I don't want to deny or impose anything on anyone or anything. I want to take the stance of "That's how you are, and that's how I am." Yoga is fun for me, but it's natural that some people find it boring. I think the important thing is to find something that you can concentrate on and enjoy, a healthy habit that suits you.

I believe that it is important to be healthy in order to do what you like. Maybe it's because I've had experiences where I wasn't in good health and couldn't do what I wanted to do. But I don't think you need to push yourself too hard for the sake of your health.

I enjoy spending relaxing time playing with my cat.

She is very natural and relaxed. When asked about what she does to stay healthy and true to herself...

"Every morning, no matter how busy I am, I do sun salutations at least three times. I check the state of my body while doing some light stretching, and then my routine consists of cleaning, doing the laundry, and having breakfast. I eat all kinds of vegetables, but organic vegetables are definitely tastier. A friend of mine who is a chef tried some naturally grown vegetables and said, 'It's disgusting how delicious they are even though no effort has been put into them' (laughs).

The trick to staying healthy is to quickly run away from things you don't like. Have you ever noticed someone yawning or laughed naturally when you're around someone who looks happy? We are often influenced by others, so I try to stay away from negativity as much as possible and to be the person who can ignore it every day.