The other day, I was talking with some friends, and one of them shared that she and her partner were traveling to Japan in April. Other friends who had already visited the country gave them plenty of recommendations for sites to see and restaurants to enjoy, but the first and only piece of advice I had to share was to take the opportunity to enjoy hanami: the Japanese tradition of observing the beauty of spring blossoms, and in particular, cherry blossoms. (Thankfully, they were traveling at exactly the right time of year to do just that.)
In Japan, it is common to meet up with friends to contemplate cherry trees when they bloom or to have picnics in parks when they’re at their peak, and to enjoy food, good conversation, and the simple pleasure of stopping and taking a break. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a custom with centuries of history that has nothing to do with getting the perfect photo in a matching pink outfit for Instagram—instead it’s simply about enjoying a moment to stop and observe the beauty around you. This philosophy has inspired wellness practitioners precisely because there is no better way to quiet our minds and appreciate the small pleasures of life than to pause and observe nature each day.
But what if there was a way to transfer the quiet pleasure of hanami to our daily lives, without the need to travel to Japan? (As much as we’d like to do just that.) “It’s about the possibility of starting over every day and living in the present moment,” explains Jennifer Douville of Rituals Cosmetics, whose The Ritual of Sakura trend is inspired by the tradition—and has quickly become a bestseller. “We have realized that relaxation, typically linked to vacations, is a moment when we completely break with our routine. For many, however, they only happen for a few days each year. But we can do much more for our inner peace and emotional balance every day with various small acts and using products that help us balance our emotions by taking advantage of the power of smell and touch.”
3 ways to practice hanami every day
Pay attention to the soap you use
Douville explains that there’s a new trend in how we choose our personal care products, with more people now looking to make even washing one’s hands into an experience. “We’ve come to see that there are great possibilities for our wellbeing even in small everyday behaviors,” she says. Hand washing is precisely one of those mundane aspects of daily life that we can transform into a small moment for ourselves. “Research tells us that we may wash our hands more than five times a day. If we take advantage of such a common unconscious gesture, and apply our philosophy to it, we will be taking care of our skin, but also our wellbeing almost without realizing it,” Douville says.
Light a candle
Observing the flame of a candle is a form of meditation (trataka) that is part of certain yoga practices, as it can help us build our ability to concentrate as well as relieve eye fatigue. This is another recommendation of Douville’s. “Candles are excellent to create relaxing environments at home, since the simple light of the flame and the act of contemplating it will allow us to eliminate a lot of noise from our head while its scent, which will begin to unfold slowly and progressively, will be perceived by our brain in the same way, leading us to a deeper and more beneficial state of relaxation,” she says.
Choose bath products with cherry scents
In addition to the link between cherry blossoms and hanami, the scent of cherry blossoms has been shown to be comforting and calming. Choosing products with these relaxing notes can provide us with an extra sense of peace during everyday activities like taking a shower. It’s another way to incorporate the lessons of hanami into our daily lives. “Scent memory is very powerful, and if we link it to this moment of relaxation, we will be training our mind to associate the feeling with the scent,” explains Douville. The sweet, floral, and milky notes of cherry blossoms reconnect us to childhood and a sense of calm—and can turn a small, everyday moments into a special one.
