When I was in 3rd grade, my teacher reached out to my parents because I was having difficulty reading the board. As any parent would do, they immediately scheduled a regular eye exam. During my appointment, and my doctor saw something that he said he had never seen before and referred me to a different doctor. Luckily, the doctor that he referred me to had just gotten back from a Retinal Disease conference. After he ran a few tests, he saw something in my eyes that seemed similar to macular degeneration. He then referred me to the UW Medical center, where I endured hours upon hours of testing before, finally reaching a diagnosis.  


It was official, I was diagnosed with Best Disease. As a 7 year old, I was extremely confused as to what was going on; all I knew was that I had something wrong with my eyes and that very few people had it. It wasn’t until in my later years did  I decide to do research on this rare disease. Best Disease is one that attacks the central vision leaving the affected person legally blind. Unfortunately, Best Disease is extremely rare and does not have a cure… yet! When I first was able to fully comprehend what was happening to my body, I felt angry because this is something that I have no control over. Within the past couple of years, I have learned to be at peace with it. Everything happens for a reason and I have accepted that this obstacle was placed in my life for good reason.


Working at Maya and being in an environment with others that are seeking to live in health and wellness, despite various challenges helps maintain my determination to not let this disease get the best of me. Maya has inspired me by what I see happening in our community every day, and I would love to share more about my experience with others who might be experiencing "invisible" challenges to their health as well.

Every year the Foundation Fighting Blindness puts on something called the VisionWalk and this year I finally have the opportunity to participate! Starting in 2006 and raising over $45 million to fund sight-saving research, VisionWalk is a signature fundraising event of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a non-profit organization. Over 10 Million Americans are affected by blinding retinal diseases including best disease, macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Usher syndrome. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is working to find treatments and cures for these devastating diseases. By funded leading edge research in area such as genetics, gene therapy, transplantation, artificial retinal implants and pharmaceutical and nutritional therapies. The Foundation Fighting Blindness is making a difference today to make the world a brighter place for those suffering with retinal degenerative diseases.

If you would like to support me during my walk, please click the link below. Any donation is greatly appreciated! :)

Let's kick blindness' butt!

Click the button below to view my donation page:

As we usher in the Chinese New Year of the Fire Rooster, and all the possibilities that come with it, we are also celebrating a major benchmark in the life story of Maya Whole Health Studio- 7 years of life on the southeast shore of Lake Washington for this little health studio that could.  

In these past seven years, I have learned so much more than I ever could have imagined- about this field of endeavor, about life, about my community and myself.  The original Maya Whole Health Studio in Fremont provided a great foundation for a learning community to grow here in Renton and forward the mission of infusing health, fitness, and joy into every aspect of our lives.  I am proud of the way we have picked up and carried that torch, overcoming numerous challenges that threatened to take down our noble endeavor, while holding true to our founding values.  We have focused on being a benefit to our community, even when times have been tough, and the reciprocal gratitude of our community has buoyed us through our moments of doubt, allowing us to break those tackles and carry forward in our efforts to provide a shelter and safe haven for healing, growing, learning.  

Throughout its iterations, Maya Whole Health Studio has maintained integrity, offering services and products that truly support health and well-being, based on both modern science and the best practices and traditions taken from the wisdom of ages.  We have not given in to trends or fast fixes, nor the fear and deficit based marketing that is so common in the fitness realm, nor the thrall of celebrity gurus.  Throughout this journey of trial and error, we have made hard choices to let go of lucrative opportunities when they have proven to conflict with our values, and our community has responded and supported us in these decisions with love and loyalty.

Like the Chinese astrological Fire Rooster, the endeavor of Maya Whole Health Studio has been one of determination and dynamism.  By centering this business on the values of health, kindness, accountability, inclusiveness, and community, we have been fortunate to build a staff and clientele of humans who impress us daily with their commitment and service to these values we share.  

These seven years of serving as a "happy place" for so many, a sanctuary from the noise and demands of life, serving to support so many good humans in reconnecting with their own best power, strength, and abilities to do good and feel good in this crazy world- has been an honor.  I stand strong today in our golden sanctuary of peace and joy, amidst a stellar and diverse staff of committed professionals and clients whose gratitude and kindness is the fuel that keeps our engine revved up and moving forward in evolution.   Thank you so much for being part of it!  

As we enter into our next spin 'round the giant glowing orb, we invite you to join us in celebrating all of this goodness and sharing it far and wide.  We will be celebrating not only our anniversary, but our grand re-opening, as we are finally back to full schedule and (nearly) full staffing in all areas of the studio!  

Throughout the next few weeks, we will be hosting several special events and workshops, which kicked off Sunday afternoon with the fabulous New Moon Meditation with Alec; benefit classes; special offers & promotions that will be announced weekly; a new interactive online community; a 21-Day Community Kindness Challenge; and a festive gathering on Saturday, February 25th to come together and hurrah! 

As we move ahead, please cock-a-doodle-doo now and again- let us know how your are feeling about what we are doing right and what you'd like to see us doing differently.  

With Health, Fitness, and Joy!   (Cue the fireworks...)

​Join us for a weekend of in-depth chakra exploration January 21-22 with Lynn Brown and Kristen O'Conner. Details about these workshops can be found here. In preparation we will delve into each chakra through our blog series: lluminasana: Explore your Energy in Motion.

​The words listed below reflect key concepts for the 4th chakra. Reflect for a few moments on one and write down, draw, or meditate on whatever thoughts or phrases come to mind about how these concepts operate on your life.

​This chakra involves the heart, upper chest, and upper back. How do you feel about these areas of your body? Reflect on challenges or triumphs that you have experienced during your life related to these areas.

The following pose is intended to bring awareness to your fourth chakra. It can be performed on your belly or standing in a doorway.

If you are in the doorway place your hands on either side of the door frame. Stand tall and keep your chin doubled, like your are holding a fresh egg between your chin and throat. Let your heart shine forward through the door frame and lean gently into a heart opening stretch, if you feel it in your shoulders, back off; the stretch should be felt in the meat of chest muscles.
​
If you are on your belly, rest your forehead on the floor with your arms down alongside your body. Lengthen your spine, just like you would if you were standing in Tadasana (mountain pose), and lift your forehead and palms away from the floor (inhale), let the hands and forehead rest (exhale). As you continue to lift forehead and hands (inhale) you can let the arms go wide out to the sides and even sweep them forward, return the forehead to the floor and hands to your sides (exhale). Lengthening the spine is favorable to lifting higher.
Can you feel your heart opening?

*Note: Whenever you practice a yoga posture (asana), rest when you need to and do not force. It should feel invited and natural to be in any pose.