Bulk buy organic beauty products.

Life is a woven web of food, fitness, emotion and so much more. It’s a balance. And when I mention beauty, I’m not talking about what you read in a magazine or see on Instagram. I’m talking about your physical beauty and how it relates to self-care.

These are a few of my fave bulk buy, organic beauty products. Most of my base ingredients come from Mountain Rose Herbs 🌿 locates here in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ve talked about clays before, here, and that’s because of its many benefits. My fave is Rhassoul 💜 luv it!

I recently started to add incense into my routine for the sheer pleasure of the aroma. Shoyeido is my favorite brand because it’s not crazy-smoky like others and I don’t get irritated by the fragrance.

Salts!!! After any grueling workout you’ll want a regenerating salt bath. I like to make my own. But sometimes I get lazy, that’s when I turn to my friend who created these…

Oils!!! After the soak I keep it simple. And yes there is a difference between regular and organic oils.

This is something I just got. Going to do more research on it. It’s a Himalayan salt rock. Have a healthy & fit week!

PEACE BE THE JOURNEY

Lazy made me do this.

[🌷Special Edition – for busy Women]

I’ll admit that the title might not sound brilliant but I had an “aha” moment. Which started with my morning oatmeal. The truth is that everyday I wake up into a busy schedule & the one thing that suffers are my meal-times. I do take supplements but I know that it’s food, I still need protein.

[Scheduling & planning my meals & workout.]

[ABOVE: Fit-Foodie ideas on Instagram, it looks time consuming but everything I create is under ten minutes, some are five minute meals.]

Parenting & wellness should go hand in hand, but if you’re a certain type of parent, like I am, you put yourself last. Thus the I’m-too-tired-to-do-anything syndrome sets in. Maybe it’s laziness but the truth is that I’m worn out! So if that sounds lazy then so be it.

Here’s my epiphany, I already know my schedule and like clockwork I don’t have time for a healthy breakfast. I wake up at 5:45am to do a 6:00am Burst then do my daily devotions, check my messages & post on social media. By 7:00am my seven children are up, having breakfast, morning chores, school for the older ones & walk the dog. Then 11:45am rolls around and a puzzled look comes over me, “Did I eat breakfast? What’s for lunch?”

How to empower your lazy self.

As the onset of a afternoon nap closes in on me and I finally stop to eat something. And in my tired state it’s usually a poor choice. Yikes! Time to REWIND!!! This is how I empower my schedule…

Friday I do my grocery shopping for the Ohana (family) & me. My list is slightly different from the rest of the household.
Friday I grab any fresh or frozen organic fruit & veggies for my smoothies.
Sunday I prep my oatmeal, click here to read a previous post.
Sunday I also cook up my quinoa in the rice steamer & store it for later.
Sunday is when I prep for the week to come.

How it works.

After my 6am burst & devotion I grab my prepared oatmeal. Zero work involved except pouring the hot water and letting it sit while I get my tea ready. I chuck back my supplements & eat breakfast. ✅ Done.

Basically every meal is prepped because I know how lazy/tired I’ll be. If you’ve read my previous post, “Sabotage your way to success” you know where I’m coming from.

I find myself preparing all the mundane task and creating time fun things like a nap, art or read. I love my NEW & improved life.

Your turn.

What can you do in advance to free up some time or make your daily flow feel less stressful?

You need to schedule in some laziness, time in the day to do NOTHING but recharge your body. Start this habit while you’re young it will benefits you as the years pass by.

Speaking of recharging, why not rejuvenate, refresh & revive your entire being. Checkout my other blogpost…

Click here to read, “The three R’s of Spring.”

SISTAHZ SESSION Recap

We set aside one Sunday each month, in Spring, to gather and workout. The crowd changes but their energy is always amazing. Some drive 45min just to workout. Next session will be April 15, 2018.

Are you a Mermaid? 🧜🏽‍♀️ Info & link on the sidebar.

5 Holistic lessons for children.

In this digital age we’re always looking down. Down at devices, the pavement or slouching over because of a hectic day. And we forget that our little ones are watching us and mimicking our habits. Here are 5 holistic lessons for children/busy-adults. [Learn to track your habits and its benefits here.]

#1 Look Up

#2 Stop and enjoy the view.

#3 Explore gently with kindness.

#4 Take time to spot the little things.

#5 Leave your spot cleaner and better than when you first arrived. Lesson: Malama Honua – take care of the land.

We explored, zipp lined, picked huckleberries and crafted. It was a fun adventure at Cispus Learning Center. I was teaching a few Hawaiian crafts during Leschi Heritage’s annual huckleberry camp. And even did an impromptu Zumba session.

This little kit was a Mom’s best friend as we hiked, swam & played soccer on an open field. I got it because it came with a splinter remover and essential oils.

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

Fave apps for fliers.

Design is everything. It can attract, inform and entertain. One of my favorite things to do is create fliers and post it on my social media accounts. You can be the best teacher around but without effective advertising no one will know.

I really feel for my fellow fitness instructor who isn’t tied to a gym or community center. That individual is a solo-prenuer (solo entrepreneur) and has to…

Find a venue
Book the venue
Advertise classes
Enroll students
Teach the class
Get more students
Advertise again

I want to help you with 3 & 7 because I believe that we need more people serving the community in wellness. We need fitness instructors who live in the community, holistic practitioners that laugh with their patients, but most of all we need a

MESSAGE OF HOPE.

If I can help one person create a great digital flier with an effective message of hope… then awesome! So let’s get started. Throughout this post you saw several simple examples and now I want to share my 5 go-to secrets when creating an ad.

My 5 Tips

Less is more. Always. Don’t crowd their visual space.
Choose based on a theme or season. (We are well trained to notice certain colors at a particular time of the year.)
Don’t offend them. Design with care.
Use images that can deliver the message for you. Be memorable.
Try to get all the basic info on the flier. Save the wordiness for the website or blog post.

Below is an example of a simple rebrand I did because my message has evolved over time. I’m now offering more then just fitness classes and I want my social media to reflect that.

My favorite app is A+ Signature because it’s so versatile. I use it to water-mark everything.

My second favorite app is LiveCollage and that does everything else for me. It allows me to add a logo or cool background.

I hope you all have fun with these and comment below to tell me which apps you use. Or if you tried these two. Also, you can send me an example of your flier @hoomalamalama on Twitter & Instagram. PEACE Be the Journey.

Did you check out my other site? WholelisticFit It’s still in the works 😉😊 but full of potential.

What is WholisticFit?

Have you ever experienced something that completely changed your perspective? I’m sure you have and will probably go through many more shifts in your lifetime. That’s what 2015 was for me… a total shift. Then came 2016, a year of learning. I took classes, eCourses, read a ton of books, watched a load of YouTube videos and magazine articles about holistic living. Finally 2017 came around and PAUSE!!!!

Information can turn into junk if not used or shared with others and I was in over-load. Too much stuff in my head and now comes the fun part… organizing that knowledge into useful segments and categories. Sounds ubiquitous (sigh) but it can be a tiny bit overwhelming. So I’m starting simple.

WholisticFit: The idea that one should practice many forms of fitness to benefit the whole being. Fitness for the MIND, BODY & SOUL.

I strongly believe that we spend a lot time connecting fitness to our bodies and neglect the rest of our being. Too often we view ourselves in one dimension but we are so much more. I once read a description of a diamond and how every facet is unique. It’s one gem with many significant angles. In our case we are one body with many different layers. [Shrek was right about layers.]

We all need to live holistic in a way that will bring harmony to ourselves and surroundings. This will take practice, lots and lots of practice. In my personal experience I’ve noticed that it will blossom from [fairy dust sound effect] having a PLAN.

Which is why I created a one hour online workshop with printable to make sure you have the right plan working with you. It’s a free session that is followed by easy to understand prompts. You’ll uncover your Food, Fit & Fun emoji. Seriously. And you should be able to create an outline for future Food, Fit & Fun schedules in your planner. I also take time to share with you ideas to boost your Self-Care regime. Yes, spending quality self-care time is so important but often overlooked.

If you don’t like where you are, make a PLAN to change it, one task at a time. Then stick to it! Believe in the process and invest in YOU.

PLAN for YOU.

Want to take the workshop? Luckily I have the link: http://www.wholelisticfit.com and you’ll also see my new website. It’s still in creation mode but I like how it’s turning out. In fact I’m creating a blog post called: 5 Benefits of living holistic – Mom, Dad and Child Edition on WholisticFit.com and I’m opening a NEW fitness class just for Moms at a dance studio. I’ll be running a full program which is food & fitness coaching, so excited!

If you want to see what my Zumba life looks like, here’s a snippet from #zincon 2016.

I mentioned earlier that I’m breaking it down to three segmented list; mom, dad and child. However that will be on WholelisticFit.com but I want to share my top 5 general benefits.

MIND – A strong mind is 80% of the work. Exercise with reading or projects that are positive. Daily affirmations or scripture reading is super beneficial.
BODY – A healthy body will out perform everyone else. While promoting oxygen and circulation to the brain. Not to mention that this prevents a ton of poor life-style diseases.
SOUL – A nurtured soul is able to handle all the twist and turns that life may throw at you. Exercise through meditation, music, art journaling or basically any creative activity.
NATURE – A well kept environment rewards you with fresh air, and that’s pretty much a major incentive. Make time to give some TLC, tender loving care, to nature in the form of picking up random trash or recycling. There isn’t a physical reward for this one, its more intrinsic.
ETERNAL – A happy connection to your idea of eternity will dictate how you value life. Exercising your eternal muscles looks a little like this: Giving to others without expecting anything in return. Your gift is a seed, perhaps one you might not harvest but can become beneficial for generations to come. Think about inventions someone gave to humanity which we benefit from today. A positive outlook made that gift possible and their Eternal Muscle stronger.

Don’t forget to start your WholelisticFit plan. I’ll include the link on the image below.

5 Reasons to throw a “Fit” during the holidays.

Throwing a FIT just means that you’ll be working out 🏋🏽 during the holiday season. Here are five reasons to throw a fit and the benefits will be seen in the summer. So I want to inspire you to stick to your happy regiment.

1. Stick to your plan. The 15 minute drive and the 1 hour workout is even more important during the holiday season.
2. Your body looks forward to that extra boost so don’t deprive yourself of the sweat. Have a FIT!

3. Try to plan around your fitness schedule and refrain from caving in on your original intentions.

4. When ever possible include others in your workout. I know that relatives might fly in to visit but a brisk walk or b-ball game might be fun. Competitive family sports are fun, as long as the referee is fair.

5. Remember your WHY as in why you started working out in the first place 🥇 and honor yourself.

If you would like to get email from me then by all means become a Mermaid and I’ll see you in the pod.

I would also like to send out a BIG MAHALO to all the women & men who are serving our country.

I had to do one more pic. PEACE Be the Journey.

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.

Whose shoes would you walk in?

Whose shoes would you walk in, so that you can understand what they’re going through? Sometimes the world of fitness can be so judgmental and mean. Labeling people because their body type doesn’t match up to a magazine’s standard. What if we took time to understand a persons health struggles before judging them? Maybe we should walk a mile with them?

Why not start a wave of wellness in your community. All you have to do is gather a few fitness fanatics, find a place, create an event, print out some registration forms and invite people to join you. Below is the agenda for the Nisqually Tribe’s Wave Of Wellness and you can keep it simple or extravagant, it’s up to you. We’re ending our event with a Heart Happy Walk…

Before you step a foot on the one-mile trail dedicate your walk to someone. Write their name on the poster and step to honor them. It could be someone you want to heal & get better, a memorial or a person that you’re grateful for. It’s their mile that you’re walking.

Nisqually Tribe’s Wave Of Wellness

August 1, 2016 @ 7am-12pm

Nisqually Youth & Community Center (NYCC)

1937 Lashi St. SE

Olympia, WA. 98513

Agenda

Nisqually Youth & Community Center

7am – 10am Registration

7am – Sunrise Yoga: Maja Brickner

8am – Breakfast: Welcome & Guest Speaker: David Bean

9am – HITT Workout: Kareem Gannie

10am – Intertribal Fitness: Melvin Blacketer

11am – Zumba® Fitness: Ho’omalamalama

12pm – Heart Happy Walk

(Each session about 45min with 15min transition)

Game Rm – Nisqually Garden Learning sessions with the garden team.

9am
10am
11am

Leschi Rm – Nutrition with Bernita Learning sessions with the nutritionalist.

9am
10am
11am

Mezzanine Walking track above gym.

Resource vendors who specialize in health and wellness will be setting up tables for non-participants to stroll and collect info. If you would like to be a vendor email fit@hoomalamalama.com

WAVE OF WELLNESS will kickoff STRONG WARRIOR CHALLENGE…

Nisqually Tribe’s Wave Of Wellness

In 2015 Puyallup council member (David Bean) & Youth Director (Lisa Earl) got a bunch of fitness fanatics together to plan, organize & host a Native American WAVE OF WELLNESS. The goal was to start a health wave within native community by hosting an event where people can gather and experience different fitness styles.

I got involved after hearing the reason behind it, to get native community healthy. Let’s be honest, we’ve all felt the brush of diabetes, cancer & heart disease but what if we could be proactive about our health. In fact I want to dedicate my workout to my sister who made it through stage4 cancer. That’s her in the center…

This AUGUST 1st, 2016 we’re at it again… both Amanda Rae (above left) & Mrs. McGee, a.k.a. Liz, (above right) attended the past Native American WOW events and wanted to bring it to Nisqually. With the help of Stacey Gouley, Facility Director of NYC, the planning team includes Nisqually’s Fitness Director, Nisqually Garden Team, Nisqually’s Nutritionalist and me, Zumba with Hoomalamalama. I have to mention Otellie, who’s also in the picture, she played soccer with my sister back-in-the-day and rocked her Zumba moves with the rest of us.