Wii Fit Yoga in Japan

Has anyone tried Nintendo Wii Fit? I was always curious about the computer game since it was the biggest sale item last Christmas. But I never expected to try it out during the Japan trip for my grandmother’s funeral.

After the funeral and seven-day ceremony for my grandmother, my brother and sister-in-law invited me to stay over at their place. Since I always talked about yoga, he told me that he had a Wii Fit and I should try Yoga on it. How exciting it was!

They invited one of their friends over too. We all had a nice dinner and a long conversation while playing with my two-month-old niece. It was already past midnight when my brother brought the console of Wii Fit to the living room and started plugging it into the TV.

Since my brother didn’t like “slow” exercises, I was the only one who tried Yoga. (The others were busy talking, taking a bath, washing dishes, changing diapers, etc.)

It’s so weird.

A cartoon lady from the TV spoke very nicely and told me what to do. And there was a box on a side of the TV screen so that I could see where my balances were. Basically, you have to keep a red dot (your balance) within this square box.

OK…. This was what A Wii Bit of Fun – a blog written by Angie Harris – was talking about.

I wasn’t concentrating on myself but only the red dot. My body didn’t feel anything after those exercises. And while the game has a series of yoga practices, it’s not the same as practicing in a class, where you are continually doing asanas. For Wii Fit Yoga, you have to choose one pose at a time. If, for example, you choose a Tree Pose, then you have five or seven minutes to do the pose. Then the pose (or game) is done and it goes back to the main menu, and you have to choose another pose, such as Sun Salutation, Tree Pose, Warrior, and Half Moon. So every time you’ve completed one pose, you have to go back to the main menu and choose another pose.

Mmmm…as a (beginner) yoga practitioner, I wasn’t really enjoying myself. I mean, if I think it’s just a game, yeah maybe….

But I found other games on Wii Fit much more fun to do than the Yoga one.

Japan Trip for My Grandma’s Funeral:

• One Century of Life: In memory of grandma 
• A Memorable Three Hours
• Yoga Practice at A Funeral Hall
• Wii Fit Yoga in Japan

[tags]nintendo, wii fit yoga, yoga practice, game, Sun Salutation, Tree Pose, Warrior, Half Moon[/tags]