A former high school teacher in Japan, Hidefumi Yoshida, calls himself a “namida sensei” – a Tears Teacher. Yoshida travels to schools and businesses and throws lectures across Japan on the fine art of shedding tears. He encourages crying for a finer mental health and relaxation. He calls it a stress buster.
Here is a video of Yoshida inspiring people:
How it all started?:
Japan Times explains that Yoshida came to the realization after one of his former students stopped showing him up for consultations after the pupil had opened up and cried a river in front of him.
For 5½ years, Yoshida has organized activities and gave lectures at schools and companies all around the country to assist people unearth the advantages of crying. Japan initiated a compulsory stress-check program in 2015, for large companies. Since then, alongwith Hideho Arita, professor emeritus at the Faculty of Medicine at Toho University, Yoshida has been visiting hundreds of venues for lectures and other activities in the past few years creating awareness about the crying benefits.
Crying relieves stress and strengthens immune system:
According to The Times, tears caused by both sadness and happiness are an impression of stress reduction, as parasympathetic nerve activity stimulation by autonomic nerves is calmed by crying.
“Tear expert” Dr William Frey, a biochemist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, simplified in his research published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology, “When we weep, stress hormones and other chemicals are released”.
Yoshida said in a report published by the American New York Times : “Since I took teaching as a profession, I have not been able to cry, but after the treatment I have not had a cold ; crying has strengthened my immune system.” Yoshida inspires people by assuring them a crying treatment, explaining crying is essential to eliminate toxins from your heart.
Yoshida’s theory:
He endorses cajoling the crying by watching tear-jerking movies, listening to emotional music or reading inspiring books. “If you cry once a week, you can live a stress-free life.”
Have you cried recently? When was the last time you cried? Are you telling me you don’t remember? You haven’t cried in a while?, These are the questions Yoshida asks people during his travels to places in his country, and he calls it “crying therapy” or “school of tears.”
“Men should not cry”:
Abstaining from tears is a sign of excellence in Japanese culture, as Japanese society shuns the acceptance of tears. You should not cry in public, and men should not cry at all.
“Men actually struggle at work and hold tons of pressures by older and younger co-workers too. People who never cried ask me ways to try it. I use plenty of different videos, on families, animals and sports to persuade them. My grandfather died 3 years ago, Whenever I was facing difficult times, he would always look for me and support me”, says Yoshida.
Crying box Idea:
Yoshida has an innovative idea of creating a Crying Cafe. There people could just write their hearts out, whether they feel tired, or experiencing life stress, and put in crying square cafe. He wants it to be open all day and night. He also thinks of making a special tears cocktail for the cafe, to make even 40-year-olds cry because there are thousands of people who desperately want to cry and are in lack of help.
Remembering his dad Yoshida says, ” I needed a helping hand and thus asked my Dad to attend a workshop. He said he was proud of my work, I looked at him after the workshop, but he turned around; he was crying. I think he was ashamed to cry in front of me. I do not have children, but when I have children I will teach them how important crying is.”
