Wa — The Art of Balance

Wa — The Art of Balance is a beautifully illustrated guide to improving your health and wellbeing in four areas—eating, moving, resting, and socializing—with small, manageable tweaks based on the author’s experience of growing up in both Japan and the US.

My fiancée and I both have full-time jobs. Whenever one of us cooks, we make enough for two meals. Sometimes, that means we have to pace ourselves: “Alright, let’s not devour yet another plate of Carbonara and keep some for tomorrow.” Meanwhile, when we order takeout, we often splurge. “Let’s get the big one! It’s just a few bucks extra!”

Perhaps we should do things the other way around. In commuting between the US and Japan, Kaki noticed that food and drink sizes varied a lot. A medium drink in the US at 21 oz is larger than a large one at 20 oz in Japan! The average portion of fries is almost twice as large. If we choose thoughtlessly in the West, we’ll often end up with needless extra calories.

Meanwhile, cooking at home could be easier, Kaki suggests. “Broccoli made in the microwave is still broccoli.” Instead of moaning at the thought of having to cut, wash, boil, watch, and drain our veggies, we can buy ready-made florets, heat them in the microwave for 2 minutes with water, and voilà! Japanese cookbooks actually recommend this. Cooking is about the result, not the show.

Mind the sizes of foods and drinks when eating out, and try to make your life easier when cooking at home. Two counterintuitive tips, but they’ll add up to more health!

“Embed what fits,” Kaki suggests when it comes to working out. “Impactful exercise doesn’t require intense exertion, sweating, or hours logged outside of our usual routine.” I’ve believed in this idea since I heard Naval Ravikant say that “the best workout for you is the one that you’re excited enough to do every day.” Five years later, I’ve done 50 push-ups and 100 sit-ups every day. Has it made me look like Adonis? No. But it means I have moved every day—and done close to 100,000 push-ups and 200,000 sit-ups. Walking more is only one of Kaki’s suggestions. The outdoors are amazing anywhere, and you can combine them with activities you already enjoy, she writes. Why not shop at a mall instead of online? Or buy your groceries from the store instead of having them delivered? For me, Kaki’s stickiest idea has been introducing a short Makko Ho stretching routine into my day. There are only 4 simple poses, each of which you can hold for just 40 seconds. Boom! You’re stretching daily in only 3 minutes! Whatever you choose to do, start…