About

Menya Hinga | CEO

Menya is a health and fitness coach who specializes in helping busy professionals learn the skills and habits necessary to control their diet, improve their fitness, and win back their health.

He began his career as a fitness professional in early 2011 and his personal interests include nutrition, peak performance, strength training, epigenetics, lifestyle optimization, philosophy, and holistic health.

Over the past 9 years he’s helped thousands of people and some of the most respected companies in the world make healthy lifestyle choices as the founder of MH Health Coaching and Co-founder of SOGO Fitness — a non-profit fitness community based in Tokyo, Japan.

Qualifications

• Certified Personal Trainer, National Strength and Conditioning Association
• Certified Functional Strength Coach, Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning
• Certified Instructor, Animal Flow
• Co-founder & Director of Operations, SOGO Fitness
• CPR / AED, Japanese Red Cross Society

Makiko Takahashi | Pilates Specialist

My Pilates journey began when I first encountered it while working in reception at a major fitness club. By attending classes, my back pain disappeared and my physical condition improved. So, I decided to become a Pilates master trainer and personal trainer.

I hope to inspire others to improve their physical and mental health, as I have, by creating fitness experiences that are fun and meaningful.

In 2017, I helped establish the organization “PILATES TRAINERS” to connect, support and develop reliable and skilled Pilates instructors across Japan.

Past Activities

• DK PILATES Instructor Training Course
• POP PILATES Qualification Support Workshop
• Asakusa ASICS / Yokohama THE BAYS Pilates group lessons
• Contract Personal Trainer, Central Sports
• Pop Pilates Lesson, TIP X TOKYO
• Pop  Pilates Lessons, ASICS Move Studio

Qualifications

• Master Trainer, DK PILATES JAPAN
• Instructor, POP PILATES
• Personal Trainer, JHCA
• Basic Trainer, Japan Core Conditioning Association (JCCA)

Mine Kawamura | Yoga Specialist

Mine is a certified Yoga Teacher based in Tokyo, who is passionate about sharing the benefits of yoga and meditation. She has been a yogi since 2005 and in 2014 completed her first 200 hour teacher training. She is active in the Tokyo community through her job at lululemon spreading yoga and mindfulness, and also teaching corporate and private yoga classes. Her goal is helping her students become strong, flexible, and relaxed in both body and mind.

Having lived in Tokyo and California, she speaks English, Japanese, Turkish and some Spanish.

Qualifications

• 2014 Certified Yoga Instructor (RYT-200) - Yandara Yoga
• 2019 Certified Yoga Instructor (RYT-200) - Mindfulon lululemon
• Ignite Yoga Teacher Training - Ignite
• Yoga Anatomy Training - Yoga International
• Reiki Level 1

Federico Cazzaniga | Mindfulness Specialist

Federico since small age has been swimming and playing basketball. In recent years he started to surf and once he moved to Tokyo he became a member of a surf club based in Chiba, where he tries to escape from Tokyo every week.

Yoga is also a big part of his life. This ancient practice was first introduced to him to palliate the back pain he was suffering from, but it later became more an instrument for spiritual growth. After travelling to India, he became a certified 500 hours yoga teacher by the Yoga Alliance.

Federico was born in Italy. After graduating as an architect, he spent 8 years in Spain and then he moved to Tokyo to pursue the doctorate in sustainable architecture. He is a passionate of the ocean, surf and whatever is water related. In recent years his life has been turned toward spirituality. Also for this reason that he become a reiki healer and a feng shui consultant, a part of helping people grow spiritually towards yoga practices.

Qualifications

• RYT 500H Yoga Alliance
• Head of SOGO Awareness

Daniel Norris & Minami Suzuki | AcroYoga Specialists

Daniel Norris and Minami Suzuki are acroyoga partners who regularly teach and practice their craft. Together, they love sharing the fun of acroyoga with all people. Daniel is the founder of AcroShift and the co-creator of SOGO Acroyoga. He’s been practicing and teaching since 2015. Minami is the founder of Life is Feel. She’s been practicing acroyoga since 2017.

Qualifications

Daniel

• NASM-certified personal trainer
• Completed Basic Thai Massage (course), Ong’ss Thai Massage School
• CPR/AED-certified (Japan Red Cross)
• 3+ years acroyoga teaching experience
• Founder of AcroShift

Minami

• RYT-200 Registered Yoga Teacher, Yoga Alliance
• Completed Basic Thai Massage (course), Ong’ss Thai Massage School
• CPR/AED-certified (Japan Red Cross)
• 1+ years acroyoga teaching experience

Ruri Ito | Kids Fitness Specialists

Ruri has experience in teaching gymnastics for both kids to adults in Japan and Canada. She also coached competitive level of gymnasts, and she raised them to be a champion of province competition. Now, Ruri wants everybody to be physically and mentally healthy through fitness, so she teaches gymnastics by using Japanese and Canadian methods of coaching. Additionally, she is a director of Spartan Kids Race in Japan.

Achievements

• 2011 The Cheerleading World Championships (A club team of Canada)
• 2012 The Cheerleading National Championships 1st place (A club team of Canada)
• 2013 Team All Japan Gymnastics Championship 1st place

Qualifications

• Sports Leader
• INESTA Kids High Performance Specialist
• SGX Spartan Level 1 Certified Coach

Minami Harashima | Nutrition Specialist

Having worked at in the program production department of a mail order program of a major Japanese TV station, I have experience in program production, location shooting, and editing. In addition, I oversaw the development of hit apparel and jewelry products, such as shoes, jewelry, bags, etc. as an apparel manager in the product development department.

After having worked in the TV production and product development industry for six years, I switched industries to become a personal trainer. In order to train others on how to create beauty from the inside as well, I became certified on a wide range of specializations in preventive medicine in 2016, and have been providing nutritional guidance in addition to physical conditioning. My clients range from pro athletes to men and women of all ages and abilities.

I also have experience as a model, and have made TV and radio appearances.

Professional History

After graduating from the Department of Life Sciences at Nihon University College of Bioresource Sciences, I worked in the program production department at Grande Marche K.K. for six years. Currently, I work as a freelancer personal trainer at the Dr. Training Ebisu Studio and Jungle Gym Minami Azabu Studio.

Qualifications

• Vegetable Sommelier
• Athlete Food Meister
• Macrobiotic Enzyme Advisor
• Beauty Core Instructor, Certified Lifestyle Improvement Program, Core Body Design Association
• Fasting Advisor
• Optimal Cooking Senior Master
• DNA Advisor, Food Additive Expert, etc.