Week 1
Ikigai & the Godai
What ikigai really is, small joys, and discovering your element.
Personal growth program
Find your reason for being
A six-week journey into the Japanese practice of ikigai. We meet live on Zoom twice a week, and in between you take small, unhurried steps toward a life that feels like yours.
Live on Zoom · Feb 2 – Mar 11, 2027
Six weeks. Twelve life-affirming sessions.
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 90 minutes each: a little teaching, a quiet exercise, and a conversation in a small group of 12.
The Godai 五大
Earth, water, fire, wind and sky
Discover which of the five elements you reach for first, in a quiet ten-minute reflection. It is a mirror, not a label.
Between sessions
Small steps, every day
A few lines in your journal, one small experiment, and what you notice. Your private course companion keeps it all in one calm place.
生き甲斐 · A reason for being
What is ikigai?
Ikigai is the quiet, everyday sense that life is worth living. It isn't a career formula. It lives in small joys, in what you are good at, and in what you give.
There is nothing to fix and no one to become. This course simply makes space to notice what already matters, and to live a little closer to it each day.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching
How the course works
6
weeks together
A small group of about 12, so everyone is seen and heard.
2×
90 minutes a week
Live on Zoom: short teaching, a quiet exercise, a gentle conversation.
12
small creations
From a list of small joys to a plan for the months ahead.
~1h
between sessions
Unhurried practice in your private course companion.
The journey
Six weeks, one small step at a time
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Week 2
Kaizen
Small steps that last, and building your Kaizen Ladder.
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Week 3
Senzai Ishiki
Noticing patterns and feelings, gently and with grounding.
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Week 4
Akujunkan & forgiveness
Softening old cycles and letting go of what weighs on you.
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Week 5
Your Ikigai Map
Passions, Strengths and Contributions, tried out in real life.
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Week 6
Wa, habits & vision
Harmony with others, daily habits, and the months ahead.
Pause
You don't need to change everything. Only the next small step.
The Godai 五大
Five elements, one whole you
The Godai, the "five great elements", is an old Buddhist picture of the world that has long been part of Japanese culture: earth, water, fire, wind and sky. In this course they become a gentle lens for understanding how you think, feel and act.
Earth Chi 地
The Stabilizer
Water Sui 水
The Adapter
Fire Ka 火
The Transformer
Wind Fū 風
The Communicator
Sky Kū 空
The Seeker
Everyone draws on all five. The assessment shows which you reach for first. It is a mirror, not a label.
Free · A quiet ten minutes
Discover your element
A short reflection on how you think, feel and act. You'll see which of the five elements you reach for first, with practical ideas for growth. It is a starting point for reflection, not a diagnosis.
A moment to reflect
What is one small joy you noticed today, and why did it matter to you?
Prompts like this arrive between sessions in your course companion. You write privately, at your own pace. There are no right answers.
Your guides
Mimi Iwata Genki
Founder
Mimi founded Ikigai Today to share the ikigai she grew up with in Japan, in a form that fits busy lives everywhere.
Edward McNair
Curriculum Development & Facilitator
Edward designed the course and leads every session, drawing on a background in education, design and entrepreneurship.
Estella Banks
Co-host
Estella co-hosts the live sessions and looks after the group, so everyone feels welcome and supported.
Questions
Still wondering? Write to us.
No. It's a guided personal-growth course. You share as much or as little as you like, and some exercises are done privately on paper. If you are going through something difficult, please also reach out to a licensed professional.
Two live 90-minute sessions on Zoom, plus about 1 to 1½ hours of small assignments between sessions. That's roughly four hours a week.
Only the short teaching segment is recorded, for anyone who misses a session. Group sharing and breakout conversations are never recorded. Recordings are visible only to your cohort and expire 30 days after the course.
Each session has a short catch-up lesson in your course companion, plus the teaching recording, so you can rejoin the group ready for the next one.
Full refund up to 48 hours before the second session. After that, you can transfer your seat to a future cohort.
Winter 2027 · Feb 2 – Mar 11, 2027
Tuesdays & Thursdays on Zoom · a small group of 12 · $395
Begin with one small step
Start with the free Godai assessment, a quiet ten minutes with yourself. When you're ready, join a cohort and walk the path with others.