It's 2019 and we seem to live in a ストレス社会 (sutoresu shakai, society of stress) thanks to the 混沌とした ペース (konton to shita pēsu, chaotic pace) of our digital lives. Is this picture インスタ映え (insuta-bae, Instagram worthy)? Will my Facebook post get some いいね (ii ne, likes)? Say the wrong thing on Twitter and the ネット荒らし (netto arashi, internet trolls) will be after you — マジでメンブレだわ (maji de menbure da wa, I totally feel like having a mental breakdown).
To counter this 目まぐるしい生活 (memagurushii seikatsu, dizzying lifestyle), health gurus are increasingly recommending 瞑想 (meisō, meditation) and ヨガ (yoga, yoga) as a way to take a break from the chaos and refocus your thoughts.
Meditation has a long history in Japan with many different types of it being practiced by Zen Buddhist monks as well as the common folk. 座禅 (zazen, seated meditation) is the most well-known and consists of sitting cross-legged and focusing your inner thoughts.