This journey I have been on with Koru members, followers and supporters, was not something that just came to me 37 days ago when we were placed in quarantine for COVID-19. I believe it was inspired by a beautiful lady that I know from church who gave me a prophetic message back in July 2017.

Today’s Challenge: Ralph Waldo Emerson -  Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude. 

We feel out of balance when life is chaotic and unbalanced around us. People, events, and situations distract us from reality and battle for our attention. When we allow ourselves to get distracted and pulled away from what we want to do it creates an imbalance state within us.

We discussed on day 3 how the essence of simplicity is found when we are in a peaceful state. It doesn’t mean you don’t have a busy life. However, peace is difficult to find when your life is overly busy, filled with excessive planning, and/or you are attempting to control the future.

You have the opportunity to inspire and speak to the generations that will be responsible for protecting our Earth and its inhabitants!

We are blessed in Hawaii to have nature all around us. That is why we are one of the healthiest places to live in the United States. We have blue oceans, blue skies, green mountains, birds, and colorful fish to enjoy. So much beauty to heal our souls and bodies.

With two more weeks of quarantine left in Hawaii, it can sometimes be hard to stay upbeat and positive. Sometimes I feel strong, peaceful, content, and optimistic about the future and other times I feel sad about two more weeks of isolation. So i’ve made a list of some of the positive things that have happened in the world since Covid-19.

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” - Buddha

Our brains can operate for us or against us! We have been given the ability to change the wiring of our brains by thinking and choosing to renew our minds.

Ponder this: “Your mind is powerful!” If we have the ability to make choices that impact our lives, the lives of those around us, and ultimately the world! Do you have a responsibility to control your thoughts and reactions?

Is it that the important things in life have to do with our character; our relationships with others; how we love one another; our relationship with God; and what we contributed to better life on this earth while we were here?  

It is important to nurture and feed our gut the right foods. Besides, 80% of our immune system is contained in the gastrointestinal system. It is not a good idea to be messing with our immune system during a pandemic!

Wondering how to stay chill during a crisis? Adding these foods into a well balanced diet, staying well hydrated with water, and practicing mindful eating will help improve your mood and help decrease the anxiety you may be experiencing during this crisis.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that is focused on the present moment. When you focus on the present, you acknowledge your feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. By paying attention to what you eat and how it makes you feel, you can curb your cravings for unhealthy foods and unhealthy eating habits.

Today I was going to continue talking about our physical bodies in regards to inner and outer beauty. Instead, I am going to get real with you.

Did you know that up to 60% of the human body is water? It is an essential building block of our body, and a vital nutrient to our cells. Water is the main ingredient of…

Sleep is also much more important than just your outward appearance, but instrumental to keeping our mental health and body in balance. By getting the recommended hours of sleep, we can prevent major health issues and also keep our minds positive, clear, and active…

Today I challenge you to choose an autoregulation exercise such as yoga or progressive muscular relaxation to practice while in quarantine. If you perfect your technique now, it will be a tool in your arsenal when you need it in times of anxiety or stress you will know what to do and how to find peace through exercise.

Resistance training has been shown to reduce systemic inflammation, yoga is excellent at reducing stress and anxiety and may reduce inflammation, and moderate cardio workouts such as walking, jogging, hiking and swimming as we all know are great ways to fight inflammation. You can’t see inflammation, but it may slowly damaging your body over the long-term and it is definitely not making you more beautiful inside and out!

Dance when nobody's watching; sing loudly; listen to music; look for things to see, hear, taste, touch and smell that moves your soul; and most of all, play! Rest and play are vital tools in overall wellness. Quieting and freeing our minds from the heavy news and Social Media is essential for inner and outer health and beauty.