Tokyo: Tibet House Japan organised an online Yoga class on 21 June 2025 to celebrate International Yoga Day in Tokyo. Rev. Geshe Chaphur Rinpoche of the Gyalshen Institute, based in San Francisco, California, led the class, and Yuuri provided the Japanese translation.

Representative Dr Tsewang Gyalpo Arya welcomed the participants and briefly explained the importance of Yoga exercise in general and how the Tibetan yoga Kegsel, in particular, helps people maintain the elemental harmony of body and mind for overall health.

Rev. Geshe Chaphur Rinpoche first taught the Nine Breathing Exercise (Tib: rlung ro dgu phrug) and continued from the last class he had in the previous year. He taught the five exercises of Kegsel associated with the practice of channel (Tib: rtsa), wind (Tib: rlung), and sphere (Tib: thig-le) to benefit the health of the five main organs of the body (liver, kidney, spleen, lung, and heart) and purification of the five negative emotions (attachment, aversion, ignorance, pride, and jealousy) to realise the five wisdom Buddha’s mind.

Rinpoche said there are some forty movements in the Kegsel exercises. He introduced five more exercises namely: go-jyang, kang-jyang, lag-jyang, toe-jyang, and me-jyang. These are said to be Kegsel movements to activate the chakras of the head, leg, hand, upper body, and lower body. Proper breathing and practice of the movements help open and activate the respective chakra in our body and achieve supreme awareness of the mind.

Rev. Chaphur Rinpoche is an accomplished geshe from the Menri Monastery in Solan, India. He has written several books on Tibetan language, history, and Bon religion. He is currently based in San Francisco as the resident teacher of the Gyalshen Institute.

-Report filed by Office of Tibet, Japan