Healing With Chona

I’m sure I’m not the only one that grieves side by side with joy. It’s hard to fathom that as we get older, the more and more we lose our loved ones. And we eventually all leave this life.

We must remind ourselves to be adaptable through the changes. To be so present in the moment and tell everyone we love them.

I wouldn’t trade the pain away to not be loved. So at the end, it’s worth it. Grief is just Love not having a place to be expressed, except through the tears and the yearning for their presence.

Been missing my late aunt and my dog Mac lately. But I know they’re in a different form and are everywhere all at once. They’re my spirit guides.

Also, my aunt love to have long pretty nails. And this is the first time in my adult life they’re this long 😭💅🏾 So my aunt lives through me with them. Plus she was a laker fan…hence the 💜💛 flowers!

What do you do when your tender heart is grieving? Sending your heart ease through it all 🤲🏾💕

I asked my sweet friend to interview me on camera so I can start getting comfortable seeing myself talk. And it ended up being about my experience w cannabis and my excitement for this Sunday’s Elevate and Stretch.

Greens sponsored by
Space provided by
Sounds created by
Yoga and nonsense by yours truly 😉

I know a lot of you haven’t seen me in person in a while, but after seeing this, I hope you’ll realize not much has changed 🤪 Same ol’ Chonie from da Block 😎

Anyway, we have a few spots left for this Sunday and we are so looking forward to kicking this off again after our big move.

Now, please tell me (for frame of reference), are you this silly or chatty when you are on Cannabis??

Lately I feel it’s pretty easy to recognize when something is written by an imperfect human rather than a peppy AI. I have nothing against AI because I believe it’s here as a tool to enhance and advance our society. It speeds up our tasks and ideas 1000xs faster. I’ve seen it do great things even for friends who are growing their ideas for their businesses.

In the same vein, I also think it’s important that the more we use technology, the more we should embody and express our humanness. Our imperfect, raw, silly, complex, emotional, confused selves should be embodied and expressed because we ARE human and that can’t be taken from us.

So no need to ask for pardons or forgiveness for the typos, mistakes or delays because of our humanness. Let yourself be. You ain’t hurting anyone for trying to be the best human you can be.
I invite you to be authentically you as you can be. So own it! Then can we just play? :)

…getting ready to post some silly stuff lol…stay tuned.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that notices that everywhere we go, everyone’s heads are facing a screen (including my own as I write this).

Twice this summer I tried gathering my relatives to go to the free concerts at the park in Long Beach. And both times barely anyone showed up, but I’m happy with those who do show up.

I think the more I am on my screen, let alone, the more I learn about the atrocities of the world, the more I crave human connection.

Even as I type this, I judge that my words sound lame and wondering if I should let Chat write this out for me, but naw. I think the more raw, more human, for silly and imperfect I am, the more you can feel and sense the essence of who I am.

So anyway, if you’re still reading this, a genuine Hello is sent from my heart to yours. Feel free to send me a message and I genuinely respond back with my full heart. Remember it’s ok to embarrass yourself a little in the pursuit of human connection, which I believe is well worth the pursuit.

Sharing my family connection…
Slide:
2 - w my cousin’s granddaughter, Emily Fe
3 - and w my mama and Chloe (brother’s dog)
4 - Emily feeding Chloe
5 - collabing w Emily

3 things I wish I knew before I started my healing journey:

1) You will shed parts of your identity - old stories, old beliefs, old ideas, or maybe roles you play that you think you have to be.

We’ve spent our whole lives ingesting all they’ve fed us to believe - from our family, peers, school, religion, at work or media. When we’ve had a major crisis or our lives fall apart, we tend to simplify what is actually true and most important to us.

2) Transformation is scary, but you’ll be OK! We’re letting go of the old, and our new version of us has not quite developed yet. BUT welcome all parts of you - grief, sadness, anger, loneliness. Let them have a seat at the table like a guest. Welcome them. Get to know them. Feed them. Be curious. Give them your full attention. And understand that they’re just parts of you. The more you get to know them & welcome them to be a part of you, the more you integrate them as part of your whole being.

3) Intentional Practices will ground you & mold you each time.

In the healing phase, we must do something different in order to see different results, which creates change. Map out different exercises you can do on a daily basis. Start small. And do something for your MiND, BODY and SPiRiT:

🧠 MiND - Journal, read self-help books, take a social media cleanse, listen to audiobooks

🤸🏽‍♀️BODY - Physical exercises to transform your body from the inside out, eat healthier foods, seek holistic healing (ayurveda, acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, massage, Yoga, Reiki, etc.)

🧘🏽‍♀️SPiRiT - Meditate, create an altar, set intentions for ur day, state affirmations, be in nature, be in solitude and connect to the unseen realm of energy

As James Clear would say from Atomic Habits, when you practice consistent habits just 1% everyday, at the end of the year you’ll improve by 37%! A third of who you are would be different 🤯 You’re shedding old layers of yourself like an onion, letting the more raw, potent parts of you come out. And ur essence will be so potent & so pure, it’ll make u cry! 🧅

If you’re ever interested in Reiki or Yoga, Link in Bio.

P.S. - No part of this post used chatgpt, so enjoy my humanness!

This is my late post of my Aquarian self (cuz i’ve been cocooning and shedding a whole lot this year so far).

2025 has been about healing, grieving and closing of chapters.

I celebrated Jan. 1 by being sick in bed for a week from that “walking pneumonia” or horrible flu everyone seemed to have caught.

Jan. 7 is when the fires in Altadena began 😪

Jan. 24 was my solar return…and the greatest gift was getting the news that I was able to teach yoga at the evacuation center in Pasadena for weeks til the shelters closed down Feb. 7.

It’s only been a week in getting back to my “normal” life when figuring out what normalcy is. I still know folx who don’t have homes and staying at temporary hotels and airbnbs. Some don’t think they want to go back to their old homes because of the damage…

My heart is still broken for Altadena and my own personal stuff that my heart has just been heavy lately 😞

However, I do treat myself to coffee often to lift my spirits up, so I can show up for others. So here I am, polished, the day after my bday…so just wanted to share my updates:

- I still teach at Kinship Yoga.
- I still offer Reiki sessions - and if you’ve been affected by the fires, please reach out. I’ve been giving free Reiki to those who lost everything.
- I have a Reiki Level 1 Training this Saturday Feb. 22. Giving a scholarship to anyone who lost their home. Just please DM me.

How has your heart been feeling lately?

It’s our responsibility to face our shadows so that we don’t hurt anyone along the way and re-traumatize others. This full moon is shedding light on my ego self. They say the ego is not your Amigo lol but it IS! It’s all parts of me, and my job is to befriend it and see how I can heal those unhealed parts to be a better person and friend to others as I integrate. This is where the real work happens and

Grateful for those calling me in rather than calling me out. You’re the real homies. I hear your words and feel you as you keep your distance. Thanks for showing me where I can grow and have more humility.

We’re in this together. 🫱🏾‍🫲🏼
If it ain’t this full moon full mooning and pms pms-ing, then it must be this “Mercury in Gatorade” lol…as said by my friend

Let’s be gentle with each other and y/ourselves. 🪶☁️ 🌸

HOT YOGA schedule this week at :

Wednesday 6-7am
Thursday 12-1pm
Thursday 7:45-9pm
Friday 6-7am
Friday 7:15-8am

This was Sedona last month 👽🌄