How STRONG is your WHY?

Living fit is only part of the journey, having a holistic life brings every facet of your BEing into balance. And balance isn’t perfection it’s grounding. Which leads me to the title, “How STRONG is your WHY?”

This journey called life is meant to challenge your WHY, but if you lack foundation & balance then your WHY will crumble under the weight of L-I-F-E. So let’s talk about your why as in why live healthy, holistic & happy.

Do you deserve healthy, holistic & a happy existence? None of us deserve or are entitled to it but we can earn it. I once heard a wise elder say,

You were given the gift of life, now you have to earn your living.

In other words we don’t wake up winding a dial that’s attached to our heart. The heart has its own intelligence, that’s the gift of life. Yet how we take care of our hearts is an example of us earning a living.

Your why is the emotional connection between appreciating the gift and earning it. It’s your anchor ⚓️ into everything you do. This is the secret sauce to having a powerful why, the type that moves mountains. [That’s why I’ve created the MERMAID e-news to stay connected.]

I started this blog to encourage my sister through stage-4 cancer and one of the harshest chemo treatments, confessed by the nurses, they’ve ever heard of. You can read my why here but to summarize we did a complete 180• and changed everything.

Somewhere in the mix they wanted to remove her uterus because that’s where the cancer was. It started as a molar pregnancy that spread into bladder and lungs. However after a combination of modern, ancient & holistic therapies she was deemed cancer free by her doctor. While looking at her X-ray he & the nurse said it was one of the most beautiful uterus they’ve ever seen.

Q: What was her why?

A: That’s simple her children.

Q: But I’ve heard that before. So what made her why so different?

A: The energy she put behind it!

Q: Did she do it alone?

A: No, she incorporated a team & consciously surrounded herself with love.

Q: Is it safe to assume that her why needed help?

A: Yes, all of us will face moments when our why requires a little boost. That’s when we enlist the energy of others to carry us through. This can be emotional support, teachings or reading something to encourage us.

I’m excited to announce that I will be going full-time into my WholelisticFit coaching helping other women regain the power of their why and thrive.

Which brings me to another announcement: My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Both a miracle and a confirmation of our Spiritual foundation.

I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken…

My husband adoring a bundle of grace, mercy & unconditional love. [ALOHA] I’m sharing this, very private, moment with you to encourage YOU, yes YOU. Miracles do happen! You have all the resources, tools and knowledge at your fingertips. All you have to do is put energy behind your why.

I took a snapshot of the scenery outside of the birth center & tons of baby pictures. But the purpose of this blog isn’t to show off my nephew, it’s to testify to the power of WHY.

There are steps to connect to your why.

I’ve grown to understand and appreciate the process of reconnection. And I was also grateful that my sister allowed me to coach her even in the delivery room.

There in the delivery room both her life and babies life faced hurdles. My sister’s body had grown tired and weak. The midwife’s assistant was concerned because her water broke, baby was in the birth canal but her push wasn’t strong enough. Meanwhile a host of family members stood in prayer.

We all go through moments of doubt, which is why a coach is so important.

And then I spoke, “You can and will do this because your Savior has brought you this far and HE can do anything but fail. Stop fidgeting and use the contraction to push baby out! Short sips of air into your nose then exhale him out.”

See him in your arms and send your energy there.

Sometimes we have to refocus our why.

Partner with a coach that can see your potential, remind and hold you accountable. It’s their job to ignore the excuses and condition your mind for excellence.

This is the type of WholisticFit coach I’ve become. Through trials and personal tribulations becoming a student to the teachings of L-I-F-E. My goal is to connect women to their power of why which is MANA WAHINE. Women of power. This power doesn’t stand alone, it’s a culmination of experiences. The life lessons taught overtime from one generation to another.

Seasons of change… for the better.

I’ve enjoyed blogging here and I feel that it has become a testimony to the circle-of-life. [Enter the Lion King theme.]

Through this blog I’ve shared, stirred the mind & supported a place of growth. And now it’s time to open my arms to the future of sister-hood. Create a virtual space of excellence. I hope you will transition with me and become a MERMAID to receive my e-news. Also I’ll be posting on my blog WholelisticFit regularly and creating content for women who pave the way. I look forward to seeing you there.

PS: As a sweet parting gift here’s a 60min course I created called BALANCED BEAUTY. Use is in good health and share the link with others. PEACE Be the Journey.

3 Changes 2 Better

I’m always learning and processing. Especially when confronting uncomfortable change. When I first started teaching STRONG By Zumba® I was way out of my league, but I wanted change.

Being a mother of seven [7] I didn’t want to look like I gave birth to seven. I wanted to be healthy enough to play soccer ⚽️ with them. Hike and create an active lifestyle.

My goal was to embrace where I was and suffer through the workout, to be STRONG. Happily, I no longer suffer through the workout because my body is conditioned to flow with it.

Here’s what I did in info-pic form…

[PS: Comment if you want to dive into a life changing experience of your own.]

Get my post: How to get over a fear-of-success. You can expect a questionnaire and resources. Start living your fit life today.

Excercise and Chemo Treatments

I realize the era we all live in with our advanced technology and stem cell discovery. There’s a pill for everything. Well almost everything. There is one muscle that requires regular exercise. In fact pharmaceutical companies spend a fortune trying to duplicate what this muscle can do. It is the source of life.

Do you know what it is?

It’s your amazing heart ❤️

I learned a key factor, when hanging out at my sister’s chemo treatments, back in December 2015. Walking activates the calves which helps to contract the heart. [Because blood is circulating.]

Now why is this important? Well… the chemo is directed to the heart and walking will help the heart muscles move it through and OUT of the body. Inactivity is like a stagnant pond of pain. The tricky thing is that it hurts to move. But movement is what the body needs.

Why am I writing about this? If you have a loved one going through chemo treatments volunteer to walk with them. Help them activate their calves and contract the heart. The simple act of walking is truly beneficial.

Why walk with them? It hurts. Every fiber of their being is in excruciating and unbearable pain. I use to make it up to her room just in time to walk with her. The workout was literally circles on the oncology ward. She would often bring her phone to play music 🎶 and dance along the sanitized hallways. Your presence is a gift of HOPE!

You can read about her experience and recovery here. PEACE Be the Journey, Ho’omalamalama

Oh one more thing! I’m planning a How-To VISION BOARD webinar. If you’re interested join my email list and become a MERMAID here. I’ll also send you my free course BALANCED BEAUTY.

Creating a holistic lifestyle full of intentional beauty. ~Ho’omalamalama

CHANGE from pain to prosperous.

The day I took these pictures was a catalyst in my life. That was the day I almost lost my sister because three hours after this was taken I was in an ambulance with her. Read about that here. Change is a funny thing because it happens quicker then a second and can drastically adjust your perspective.

During my sister’s treatments I wrote in this blog to encourage and motivate her. We are both Zumba instructors who enjoy what we do and while she was healing I took it upon my self to create challenges to occupy her mind. Ones inability to do what they use to-do can be depressing and that rabbit hole is a dark and endless pit. If you are a care-giver or are dealing with a serious illness I hope you will read some of the past post or maybe embark on one of the challenges. [Find out about the three challenges here. If you choose to do one of them and want accountability just comment after each task.]

Speaking of change my sister is now cancer-free kicking stage 4 and living life to the fullest. She started a blog called Make Mahalo which is her journey and today she encourages others. As her blog takes off I’m at a crossroads with MANA Wahine Fitness because I believe this blog has served its purpose and it was seasonal. I can look back at this blog and see the transition from her first diagnosis to us celebrating her recovery by attending Zumba Convention 2016 in Orlando, FL.

The three challenges I created are Beautiful Mind, Beautiful Body and Beautiful Soul. It was as if we were walking through the shadow of death fearing no evil while maintaining an atmosphere of love and beauty. As a result I began to work on a project called WHOLELISTIC FIT – “Fitness for the whole BEing” and wrote a book which I will be publishing in the near future.

Change is a guarantee and my mantra is all about flow.

In all honest I don’t know what to do with this blog beyond this point and I feel that it has served its purpose. A place for me to flow out my thoughts and promote positivity. Don’t worry I’m still going to write but my primary focus will be in wholelisticfit.com because I’m excited about what I can create there.

MANA: Strength that is ancestral.

WAHINE: Women

Knowing when to CREATE the CHANGE is a huge responsibility because you are pulling it from the universe. My change is publishing my book, creating WholelisticFit, adding YouTube tutorials, podcast, building an organic skin-care line and doing more workshops in 2017. Basically I’m pulling a lot from the heavens and living in faith. I’m sure none of the task I mention will be easy but I am driven to make-it-happen. You are more then welcomed to change with me. Comment below about what changes you will be manifesting in 2017…

What are you going to change?

If you want to know when I publish my book send me your email address and you will be among the first. Take care and I look froward to reading your comments about CHANGE.

How cancer started this blog.

A little background information, around 2011 both my sister and I became Zumba fitness instructors and we had big plans to help a lot of ladies get fit. I would bring in my nutritional background and she would blend in her knowledge of fitness. Then in 2015 she was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer as a result of a molar pregnancy. My instincts took me deep into prayer and back to the lessons of MANA. The thought of chemotherapy freaked us out but the tumor markers were growing quickly. Collectively we knew that the healing needed to involve all areas of her being. Because diseases like these attack the body, plays tricks on the mind and can damage the soul.

I wanted to find a way to keep her MIND, BODY & SOUL strong during her treatment. The cancer was in her uterus, bladder & lungs. Her physician took a chance and put her on a rigorous program including 7 TYPES OF CHEMO, one drip was about 12 hours long. I wanted to propose something to my Ohana (family) with a product line that I enjoy. So we got together and I said, “What do we have to loose, why not take a chance and put these products to the test. The other side is death.”

We’ve only heard stories about people trying this but we’ve never seen it in action. So she started with an infused organic drink called Genesis™, daily. That gave her the nutritional foundation during a time when food wasn’t interesting. It’s part of the double whammy of, “You have to eat” while we fry your tastebuds and you’ll develop mouth soars from the cancer treatments. With amazing dedication she eventually added smoothies with beets, cucumber, cilantro, apple, banana, chia seeds, hemp hearts & beets!!!

The dangerous part was if her white blood cells dropped to low they would have to pull back on the chemo. So we all became her caregivers. My parents took care of her needs and took her to numerous appointments, she practically lived there. To our amazement we watched the tumor markers decrease from over 200,000 to 170,000 to 140,000…

All the while I kept writing hoping that she was reading my blog and trying some of the challenges. It clawed at my faith and bruised my hope to see her going through this but I never showed it during my visits or daily chats. While she was in treatment my husband and I moved her Ohana into our home due to her husband’s work schedule and the chemo sessions. It was school, work, martial arts, dance classes as usual… almost.

Then it happened her body responded well to the to kill the orcs (cancer cells) treatment which included her supplements at home, whole foods and walks. In fact her doctor told her, “What ever you’re doing, don’t stop.” I pray for more doctors like him who listen to their patients and after four (4) months ZERO tumor markers.

Although it doesn’t work out for all because she experienced four deaths and know of others who had to prolong treatments. It’s a struggle and a painful cycle. She took a risk and tried something involving an old/new approach to healing. Are you wondering if this could work for you or someone you love? Maybe a challenge to get things moving in the right direction or a product line that will support your body. One that nourishes and rejuvenates from the inside out.

You are the designer of your life so take control with kindness and love. Always love.

The challenges I created are listed below or you can search for them in the menu above.

Beautiful Mind
Beautiful Body
Beautiful Soul

It was gut wrenching, difficult and full of sleepless nights but I believe that the experience has taught me so much. I feel blessed with patience and encouraged to teach others. That they should never, never, never give up. PEACE Be the Journey.