Aiko Watanabe is a Primordial Sound Meditation instructor who holds the honor of having taught more people to meditate than any other certified teacher in Chopra Center history thus far. Overflowing with enthusiasm for the many benefits she has received from her own meditation practice, Aiko has instructed more than 450 students in Tokyo, Japan. A former IT specialist, Aiko is now the CEO of Body Mind Spirit Inc., offering mind-body healing treatments and instruction in Tokyo.

Aiko has also translated two of Deepak Chopra’s books – The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and Power, Freedom, Grace – into Japanese. In this month’s Teacher Feature, Aiko describes the path that led her to become a meditation instructor.

"I had been working in the IT industry for over 12 years, moving from product and web marketing to system design and implementation, and finally into management. I had achieved my career goal of becoming a department director, but somehow I started to feel empty. I looked around at the computer systems we were implementing and at the people working so hard in our stressful work environment, and I asked myself, Is my job really making anyone happy?

The answer was no, and so I began my journey. When I looked deep inside myself, two desires came up for me: I want to be engaged in making people healthy and I want to help others make achieve their dreams.

Although I did not know Deepak Chopra and had not yet read any of his books, many synchronicities began unfolding, and I found myself walking into The Chopra Center in San Diego – initially just to get an Perfect Health and Seduction of Spirit, then SynchroDestiny and Journey into Healing.

The funny thing is that I had originally not planned to become a meditation teacher. My predominant dosha is Vata, and as I had been out of balance for quite a while, I tended not to like any routine activities, including meditation. I bet the universe was looking at my situation and arranged for me to take the Primordial Sound Meditation instructor certification course!

I started offering Primordial Sound Meditation classes in Tokyo in April 2006. Soon, those who had learned meditation with me started sending me feedback, sharing many stories about how their health issues had resolved, how their relationships had improved, and how they were beginning to experience more and more moments of SynchroDestiny – the meaningful coincidences that Deepak teaches about – allowing their wishes to easily come true. One day I finally realized (I’m a bit slow!) that through teaching Primordial Sound Meditation, I was fulfilling my desires to help people become more healthy and to achieve their dreams in a joyful, more effortless way.

“By teaching meditation, I’ve also become more disciplined in my own practice. I’m seeing my intentions and desires became spontaneously fulfilled more than ever before, and enjoying the fruits of meditation reminds me to keep seeding and watering.

Now more than 450 Japanese people have graduated from my meditation class, and we keep communicating through the local mailing list. I am also able to meet these beautiful people from time to time at our monthly group meditations . . . it is so enjoyable that I cannot stop teaching meditation!”

Aiko Watanabe
Certified Primordial Sound Meditation instructor

Email Aiko here

Visit Aiko's Body, Mind and Spirit website here

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