Dr. Mähönen, A Developer of the Finnish Wellness Practice Asahi tells of his own rehabilitation

How Asahi started & how it can heal sport injuries, by Dr. Mähönen, Internal Medicine and Geriatric Specialist behind the Asahi Wellness Practice

Written by Dr. Mähönen, Internal Medicine and Geriatric Specialist behind the Asahi Wellness Practice, and co-author of the award-winning book, Asahi -The Nordic Health Practice:

HOW ASAHI WAS DEVELOPED

In 2004 four Finnish black belt karate experts sat down together to develop a simple, effective and inexpensive form of health exercise especially designed for Finnish people.

Two self-defense professionals, Ilpo Jalamo from Turku, Finland, and Keijo Mikkonen from Helsinki first came up with the idea. They called in two other experts, Internal Medicine & Geriatric Specialist Dr. Yrjö Mähönen, and Timo Klemola, Ph.D., whose specialty is the Eastern philosophy.

And so it came to be that Asahi’s first exercise series was developed that same year and it proved to be suitable for Finns in all states of health.

ASAHI'S FORM IS EASY TO REMEMBER

Shortly after that, Series II and Series III were developed. The Series all have the same modular form to keep things clear and simple. Each series contains breathing exercises which come before, between and after the four modules of Relaxation, Neck & Shoulder, Lower Back, and Balance.

The name adopted for this simple wellness practice became “ASAHI®,” which is a Japanese word meaning “Rising Sun.” An acronym for the Japanese word could be “A Simple And Healthy Idea.” Asahi is based on sport and health principles promoted by the World Health Organization. When developing Asahi, our team drew on methods from many different cultures, but the ancient philosophies and their terminology have no place in Finnish Asahi. Asahi is based completely on modern, scientifically proven health research.

THE W.H.O. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXERCISE

The WHO has published guidelines for weekly recommended physical activity: a minimum of 2 ½ hours of aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, and a minimum of two half-hour sessions a week of a form of exercise that promotes motor skills and strength training.

Asahi provides an accessible way to fulfill the recommendations for the anaerobic type of exercise. Asahi’s purpose from the very beginning was to provide a means to relieve the most prevalent Finnish health problems, such as pain in the joints, back, neck, and shoulder areas, to improve balance and to lower stress levels.

ASAHI GOES GLOBAL

There are now more than 1000 trained Asahi instructors in Finland. As Asahi spreads to other countries and continents, practice groups are sprouting up around the globe.

Dr. Mähönen wearing the New Generation Indie finalist award in the category of Health & Wellbeing for the book "Asahi - the Nordic Health Practice."

Dr. Mähönen, or “Asahi-George,” as he is affectionately called by his students, is 76 years old and retired from medical practice. Since retiring, he has dedicated his time to researching sports medicine and physiatrics. Through the winter months he leads as many as 12 Asahi groups per week with total participants around 200. Every Wednesday at 5 pm year-round, rain or shine, no matter what, one of his groups meets outdoors at the Kasino Beach in Lauttasaari, Finland and there are always people there. Last summer there was an all-time high attendance of 74 people. That day the weather was beautiful!

The majority of the people in his Asahi groups are women. About 10 years ago Mähönen started a popular “Asahi for Guys” at a community education center.

Dr. Mähönen's year-round outdoor class on a winter day.

ASAHI'S BENEFITS FOR RETIRED-AGED PEOPLE

And most of the participants are retired people. People of that age especially benefit from a regular exercise practice. In Asahi, we practice exactly the skills that retired people need so they can live independently at home for as long as possible:

muscle strength, especially in the legs
balance
joint flexibility
motor skills
memory skills

Asahi provides necessary brain exercise to keep up the skills needed for memory, problem-solving and the ability to learn new things

When small groups of Asahi practitioners were interviewed, they reported that their joint pain was reduced, their backs were in better shape and the neck and shoulder problems they were having had decreased. They also noticed, now that they had learned to relax more, their quality of sleep improved, and they felt more mentally alert when awake. Almost everyone who answered the questionnaire noticed that their balance had improved just within a period of a few months.

A RESEARCH STUDY ON ASAHI

A group of physical therapy students at the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences did a small graduate project researching how Asahi helped with balance. The subjects of the study were 65-year-old retirees. At the beginning of the study the subjects’ balance was tested using three different methods. Then the groups practiced Asahi together once a week. In addition, each of them practiced a routine made up of Asahi balance exercises at home for a few minutes per day. After three months the initial balance testing was repeated. Each of the participants had made clear improvement in all the testing categories.

Physical therapists seem to be especially drawn to Asahi. About 10% of Finland’s Asahi instructors are physical therapists. Asahi provides a very useful tool in their professional “toolkit.”

Dr. Mähönen at a training for new instructors in Saarijärvi, Finland in 2022.

COMBINING ASAHI WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES

Asahi can be combined with different forms of exercise. For example, a yoga class can start out with an Asahi series. Asahi also works as a warm-up or cooling-down method before and after more strenuous sports. Exercising and breathing at a relaxed pace removes the lactic acid from the muscles efficiently. There is a karate teacher who starts his lessons with Asahi. And many choirs do Asahi for 10-15 minutes before singing. Asahi contains many breathing exercises, which are good for patients with respiratory ailments, but also for singers and musicians who need good breath control.

Ilpo Jalamo, Dr. Mähönen, both developers of Asahi, and Asahi head trainer Risto Lehto

ASAHI - THE STRESS-RELIEVING EXERCISE

The atmosphere in an Asahi class is very laid-back, carefree and relaxed. This is important for reducing stress. Even the balance exercises are done nonchalantly. When someone staggers a little, we just interpret it as a good way to practice the quick life-saving reflexes needed to prevent falling. Reflexes work automatically when a person is relaxed, but when they are tense, this automatic response freezes.

In an Asahi group practice, all three categories that a person needs for good health are fulfilled: mental, physical and social. Group exercise is a very good way to prevent depression.

PRACTICING ASAHI OUTDOORS

When the group practices outdoors, nature’s own health benefits are in play: stress-reduction and mental well-being. Also, the immune system develops due to the wide array of microbes present outdoors. These improve our disease resistance and lower the risk of contracting autoimmune diseases.

Author: Dr. Yrjö Mähönen

The article above was first published in Finnish in the Tammipuu Newsletter in December 2024. Below is a more personal account of how Dr. Mähönen has used Asahi to rehabilitate old sports injuries:

DR. MÄHÖNEN'S PERSONAL STORY

Finally, at the age of 76, I have learned to understand how to get the kind of exercise that keeps me healthy: I need lots of walking for aerobic exercise - preferably Modern Nordic Walking, and anaerobic exercise at least twice a week for strength, flexibility and balance. I use Asahi - the Finnish Wellness Practice to get my strength training. I am one of the four developers of the Asahi Nordic Wellness exercise method. We are proud to be celebrating 20 years of Asahi this year!

Dr. Mähönen demonstrating a full back rotation move from Asahi Series II.

When I was young, my exercising was much too extreme. The possibility of strain injuries never dawned on me. Now, through the years, I have had to deal with the consequences of my overzealous youth.

I practiced karate for over 50 years. Doing so, I damaged my right hip joint mostly by doing jump kicks. I made the situation worse by running six marathons. An appropriate amount of walking would have been good for me, but I really overdid it. Marathon running isn’t a healthy thing for anyone’s body. Muscle tissue gets inflamed from the excessive training.

Dr. Mähönen with Finnish "TV-doctor" Tapani Kiminkinen. Both believe strongly that "Motion is Lotion."

Three years ago, I had to have an artificial joint placed in my right hip. Fortunately, since I have trained Asahi so much, I recovered quickly from the operation and within three months I was able to go back to teaching all my Asahi groups. Due to practicing Asahi regularly, the muscle strength in my legs was very good, so that helped to shorten my recovery time.

My hip is not the only problem I have had. I injured both of my rotator cuffs in my shoulders, one after the other. I also ripped the lateral meniscus in my right knee doing karate. I have stiffness in my back, especially if I forget to exercise. And about four years ago, my left leg became paralyzed, because of a mild stroke, leaving me with no strength in that leg, no feeling, and severe problems with balance.

Dr. Mähönen meeting with his medical colleague, Dr. Fotini Polemikou in Rhodes, Greece.

All my health issues have healed up using regular Asahi practice. Despite my 76 years, I feel like I am mentally and physically as healthy as a 60-year-old. I teach as many as 12 Asahi groups per week during the winter months. By practicing gentle Asahi regularly, I have been able to fully rehabilitate my back, knee, and shoulders. The symptoms of the paralysis in my left leg have also disappeared completely. I have complete control over my balance on that leg again, so even standing on one leg on that side is no problem.

As an Asahi teacher I get a tremendous amount of rehabilitative exercise for myself, which has restored my health. It’s wonderful to be back in shape after all those injuries.

Asahi teachers can always turn to Dr. Mähönen for answers to any medical questions that come up during their classes.

The severe stress that I experienced when I was younger is also a thing of the past. In Asahi, we practice awareness as we move. During each Asahi move we consciously focus on the flow of sensations in our body. As a result, the mind also learns to flow and doesn’t get stuck on the same subject as much as it used to. Staying in the flow is a basic way to ensure mental health. There are many Eastern practices from India, China, and Japan that focus on keeping the mind in flow. Many traditions do awareness practices while sitting perfectly still for long periods of time. A healthier and much easier way to train your mind is to do it while training your body, as we do in Asahi.

Yrjö Mähönen Internal Medicine and Geriatric Specialist (retired) Presently an avid student of Physical Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine.

One of Dr. Mähönen's very popular outdoor classes in Lauttasaari, Finland.

Categories: : Asahi as Physical Rehab, Asahi keeps you young, Asahi vs. Stress, The history & development of Asahi