Book Review: Ikigai
23 August 2025
The KOPI Book CLUB!
As an Osteopath, I specialise in the bio-mechanics of the beautiful human body. I am the eternal student of the body, an absolute privilege.
My book reviews are written to help you better understand and nurture your physical body. I hope you enjoy reading them, and if you have any books to suggest, I would be very interested to hear about them.
Book Review: Ikigai - The Japanese Secret To A Long And Healthy Life by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.
" Ikigai is not a destination, it's a way of life."
- Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles.
Ikigai is not simply a concept in Japan – it is your why, a reason for being. The authors closely link a person’s Ikigai with longevity and happiness, primarily focusing on the centenarians on the island of Okinawa.
In finding, knowing, and living in and with your Ikigai, the authors suggest that drawing upon research and many interviews with centenarians can lead to a healthier and more meaningful life.
I think now more than ever, people are asking themselves “what is it all for?” and “what is my purpose?” – in all areas of life. I also think that there is an expectation that this has to be a vast, earth changing, limitless income-generating mission, or it can’t possibly be right.
In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth, as the authors of Ikigai also demonstrate.
To discover their Ikigai, the reader is encouraged to consider their passions and talents, what they can be paid for, and what the world needs.
Knowing these factors has been linked to a sense of purpose, which has been shown to improve longevity significantly.
Interviews with many of the centenarians on Okinawa revealed how they get up early in the morning, stretch, drink green tea, and attend to their vegetable gardens.
One of their purposes is their homegrown food – I highlight this as it seems too simple, but this is actually so beautiful, and multi-beneficial.
They are tending to the Earth, whilst growing food that will nourish their physical body.
Gardening also provides movement and an element of resistance-based exercise (lifting, pulling, for example), thus strengthening the body and reducing the risk of osteopenia/osteoporosis.
We know the benefits of an active lifestyle, and here we have a perfect example of how simple this really can be as well as the many values this provides.
All of the residents of Okinawa are part of a club, or community based activity with a role – they actively contribute well past “retirement” (there is no word in Japanese that directly means retirement).
Their ‘purpose’ may have changed since their occupation; however, they are no less needed, valued or busy.
This is not about glorifying being busy all the time, but when you are operating within your Ikigai, you enter what is termed a “flow state” – enjoying being busy but not rushed or stressed in any way.
The research and suggestions on finding, understanding, and operating within your Ikigai are well discussed in this little book, and the advice is straightforward to act upon (I am considering requesting an allotment!).
If you want a simple yet inspirational read about boosting your quality of life, pick up Ikigai.
Wishing you a life full of your own Ikigai,
Emily
Kibworth Osteopaths