Interview: Midori Kameoka, founder of Argutha Healing Center, talks about sustainable living in Tokyo

The following is an interview with Midori Kameoka, founder of Argutha Holistic Healing Center, which offers a vegetarian cafe, aromatherapy salon and school, and a yoga studio in Tokyo’s fashionable Minami-aoyama district. Midori is passionate about sustainable living and so I thought to ask Midori about the philosophy behind her creating Argutha*.

Argutha means “Earth” in Nigerian language.

What is your mission with Argutha?

Our Mission is to understand Oneness, which means understanding how the earth provides us with everything so that we may live our lives in peace. We tend to forget this important message from the earth; in this cosmopolitan life style we are accustomed to, it is easy to think only about ourselves. We focus on capitalism and materialism but in return we are losing our most important prana—life force—that is the earth.

In fact, among all the creatures of the earth, only humans have the ability and knowledge to destroy and sustain the earth. In the 21st century we have been destroying the earth, now it is time to heal and work with the earth. We must make an effort to raise consciousness to save the earth for future generations.

What are you offering at Argutha and how does it tie in with your mission and vision?

There are three approaches that we are promoting to elevate our consciousness to save the earth: promoting a vegetarian diet, aromatherapy and yoga. Mother Earth already provides us with everything necessary for us to prosper. Saving the earth is within our hands, we need to be conscious of our every day life, of how we act and live. At Argutha, we are doing our best to help sustain the earth through our research and practice. Elevating one person’s consciousness and awareness is a blessing to the earth. Our mission is to pass on this spirit to as many people as possible.

Why are you so passionate about vegetarianism?

A vegetarian diet that offers us not only a healthy body but also a clam and peaceful mind. Being vegetarian saves the resources of the planet and promotes non-violence towards all beings. It is very difficult to be vegetarian as Japanese food always includes seafood. Today, much of the sea water is polluted, affecting fish and other aquatic species.

Furthermore, seafood that we get from many firms are often killed/caught using chemicals—this is a result of prioritizing productivity and not the health/wealth of the earth. After World War II, Japanese people ate mostly vegetables which strengthened their immune system. Now that we can have everything we want to eat from around the world, we consume everything including things that do not agree with our body type and as a result poison ourselves so that we end up with multiple allergies and a weaker immune system and metabolism. Farms for animals need 50 times more resources than those for vegetables and fruits. If you look at the broad picture regarding the future, becoming vegetarian is key to saving us and the earth.

Meat and fish are polluted and contaminated by both the environment and hormones that are injected/added to their diet. The number of sperm in a human male has decreased by 50% compared to 50 years ago. Females now start their menstruation between 7-8 years old. Once again the key to save the world and to live in peace is being vegetarian.

In the past, there have not been many good vegetarian meals easily available. At Argutha we will be serving tasty and environmentally friendly meals that are healthy balanced and nutritious. This is our primary mission with our café. What you eat is who you are.

Your background is in aromatherapy. Please tell us about your aromatherapy offerings and how they differ from other salons.

We need to balance our emotional, physical and spiritual health. Nature gives us everything we need to stay healthy. We have forgotten this as modern medicine has been used for about 50 years. Over 100 years ago we used natural medicines. At Argutha a professional adviser will help you stay healthy with aromatherapy. Our aromatherapy is very unique, we use only the highest quality of essential oils, hydrosols and carrier oils. Our treatments offer you detoxification and rejuvenation, can heal chronic immune diseases (allergies, cancers, metabolic syndrome and hormonal imbalance) and infertility, and can help fight and may even reverse the signs of aging.

We also offer you beautiful natural skin care which includes anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties. All the ingredients come from the earth—over 400 different kinds of essential oils, 32 different carrier oils, clay and seaweeds. The earth provides us with a treasure of natural products which helps us to be healthy, beautiful, and youthful.

You have a beautiful yoga studio in Argutha. Could you please tell us about the philosophy behind it?

We maintain our health by proper breathing and movement of the body. As we consciously breathe and move we activate our prana (life force) which is an ancient yogic technique from India. Traditional yoga and modern types of yoga are offered at Argutha so that you may understand and maintain a healthy body, mind and spirit.

As the air in Tokyo is polluted, we diffuse aromatic blends into the air to help you breathe and maintain prana. When you experience yoga with the teachers at Argutha you will learn not only yoga asanas (poses) but you will also experience your true self. It does not matter how flexible or strong you are nor does it have to be a conscious effort to learn your true self. It is the blessing of practicing yoga that awakens your true self in body, mind and spirit. This will show you the infinite potential of yourself and how meaningful it is to be on this earth.

What are your future plans for Argutha?

My business was previously located in Nihonbashi and now, we’re in Minami-Aoyama. So, we’re in the process of introducing ourselves to the people of the surrounding neighborhood community.

In terms of our cafe, we’d like more people to try our offerings and regard Argutha as their own place to socialize with friends. With the aromatherapy, we’d like to continue to develop our strong base of salon treatments and aromatherapy school. For the yoga studio, we are starting to draw attention and host big name yoga instructors from Japan and abroad.

We hope to grow with the local community and contribute to their health and well-being.
For more information about Midori Kameoka and Argutha, please see:
www.argutha.com