Blog #1 July 15, 2025

Health Awakenings’s mystical mascot (soenix) welcomes you to a journey of renewal & optimal health

Soenix

Blog #2 Date: August 1, 2025

Health Coaching Client with Diabetes Milletus

Summary: In April, my client was diagnosed with full-blown diabetes after several years of a sedentary lifestyle and poor food choices. He was in his early 20s and was immediately put on metformin and insulin injections.

With the guidance of his endocrinologist, I coached him in implementing lifestyle changes. To lower insulin resistance, he started intermittent fasting.  The client met with me four times a week for walks and workouts, which included some yogic breathing exercises (abdominal breathing and kapalbhati*). I monitored the client’s meal intake, ensuring that they were low-carb combined with protein and fat, with no snacking allowed.

Within just a few weeks and with the use of an electronic glucose meter, I saw his blood sugar numbers drop rapidly due to the significant increase in exercise, controlled eating, and fasting. I advocated for the removal of insulin, and the doctor agreed. Later, as the metformin also brought blood sugar levels into hypoglycemic territory, that medication was eventually discontinued as well.

While the client still needs to achieve greater weight loss (he lost only four pounds during coaching), he has made great strides towards reversing his diabetes. It was rewarding to see his medications taken away, and it was fascinating to watch his body respond immediately to exercise and diet.

Reflection:

Diabetes management requires careful monitoring of blood sugar, but a combination of intermittent fasting, a limited-carb diet, and daily movement can significantly improve the condition. Additionally, maintaining a calm environment is crucial, as stress can impact insulin resistance. I believe diabetes can be reversed with commitment and compliance to enact change, and I applaud my client’s progress in moving out of the dangerous blood sugar zone.

TIPS: 

  • Move throughout the day whenever possible. For example, no resting on escalators. In Hong Kong, people walk up escalators on the left side—be a mover!

  • Consume a clean diet (i.e. avoid processed foods & sugary beverages) and aim for at least 45 minutes of exercise each day, especially after meals, to improve blood sugar numbers. Watch out for hidden sugars (like those in ketchup, flavored yogurt, snack bars).  

  • Get in the habit of reading ingredient labels. Gravitate to eating a whole foods diet, so there will be less reading of ingredient labels.

  • For longevity, dedicate time with loved ones at meal times (at least min 30 minutes) to connect, unify, vent, share, pray… acknowledge the blessings on the table and of the day.  

*Kapalbhati - Sanskrit for frontal brain cleansing breath, which balances and strengthens the nervous system, tones digestive organs, and energizes the mind.

The electronic glucose meter used with the Freestyle app was extremely helpful for tracking blood sugar levels after meals and observing how different food combinations affected the client’s readings.

Walks in Hong Kong’s beautiful Tai Tam Reservoir

BOTTOMLINE - Boost back insulin sensitivity through cutting carbohydrates, employing intermittent fasting, and dedicating at least 45 minutes of daily exercise.

Blog #3 first vlog! omg!

Learn about one of my current favorite

health books.

Click to hear the conch shell and some beautiful kirtan.
Guru Stotra // Bihar School Of Yoga

Blog #4 October 24, 2025

CELEBRATING DIWALI & RELATIONSHIPS: “Loving Our Nearest and Dearest”

While my thoughts are in India this Diwali season, I find myself transported back to the summer of 2014 when I pursued one of my yoga teaching certificates at the Bihar School of Yoga. Those memories remain some of my most cherished.

First of all, the atmosphere was enchanting, and the music was phenomenal. The sound of kirtan filled the ashram: harmoniums, tablas, bells, and chanting voices rising in devotion, often preceded by the deep, resonant call of a conch shell. It was heavenly to me, dreamy and otherworldly. Yet, in the midst of that dream, there was also plenty of seva (selfless service)- cleaning, sweeping, washing floors and toilets, organizing the ashram, and creating charitable bundles. Every day I took two refreshing bucket showers, each one feeling like the most wonderful thing. I lost about ten pounds that summer from all the heat and work. I was thrilled.

The ashram’s food was quite delicious and purely vegetarian, made with vegetables grown nearby. It was there that I first got hooked on yellow dal. And the Indian people from all parts of India were so friendly. I remember thinking, Indians smile a lot!

Led by highly disciplined and skilled swamis, the training program itself was comprehensive. We learned advanced yoga not just as a sequence of postures, but as a complete system for cleansing and revitalizing the body, mind, and spirit. There was ample pranayama (breathwork), meditation, and purificatory practices, including something called kunjal kriya at five in the morning—a cleansing technique I’ll never forget. About the third week, during meditation, with my eyes closed, I began to see subtle colors and shapes in the patterns of the chakras.  It was an intensely spiritual time, as I clearly remember one festival when all the swamis and sanyassins chanted the entire Bhagavad Gita with instruments. The recitation took more than four hours, all of us seated in meditation posture. Mesmerizing.

After dinner each evening, we would then gather for satsang - a spiritual gathering - with the strikingly charismatic Sri Swami Niranjanananda. His presence was magnetic. From several meters away, I could feel his energy, and his eyes sparkled so intensely that I had to look away.

Those satsangs were precious, each filled with gentle humor, ancient stories, and timeless wisdom. But one teaching, in particular, has stayed with me - a jewel of insight I call “Loving Our Nearest and Dearest.”

Swamiji Niranjananda reminded us that real charity, kindness, and generosity begin at home. He explained that while it’s easy to give money to charities or show kindness to strangers, the true test of generosity lies in how we treat those closest to us - our family, our friends, and our everyday circle. If we cannot express love, patience, and service toward our “nearest and dearest,” then our broader acts of charity may lack the authenticity we imagine they have.

Reflection

That teaching struck a deep chord in me. It reminded me that kindness is not only a virtue meant for the world at large but also a practice that begins right within our homes. It may also involve something more challenging, such as prioritizing the relationships with our families and friends, giving them our focused attention and time - our true life’s currency. And perhaps the web of karma that binds a family together is precisely the garden where our compassion and humility are meant to grow. 🌻 Namaste.

Blog #5 – February 21, 2026

CELEBRATING LOVE & RENEWING RELATIONSHIPS

“How Deep Is Your Love” – When a Gift Speaks Every Love Language

After celebrating Valentine’s Day and basking in all the red gleam of Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, I received a dear gift from heaven - in this case, Sicily, Italy. My dear yogi friend Carla and her partner Santo mailed me a tin of their lovingly grown and pressed olive oil from their Sicilian groves. I was ecstatic.

As I opened the gift, time stood still, and my musical mind filled with three songs: “Stop! In the Name of Love” by The Supremes, “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees, followed by Neil Sedaka’s “Love Will Keep Us Together.” Their loving gesture excited me not only because I enjoy the healthy EVOO, full of all three kinds of omegas, but because their gift managed to express all five love languages at once.

Carla and Santo’s gift beautifully demonstrates Dr. Gary Chapman’s concept of the five love languages from his #1 NY Times bestseller The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts (Chapman, 1992). Chapman, a renowned American relationships counselor and pastor, has helped thousands of couples understand effective communication on that powerful emotion called love. The five love languages he identifies are:

#1 Words of Affirmation #2 Acts of Service #3 Receiving Gifts #4 Quality Time & #5 Physical Touch.

And posted inside my package was a cute, origami folded letter filled with their #1 words of affirmation.

“This is our love story: In Sicily’s sun-drenched hills, where sea-scented winds sweep the fertile earth, we grow and harvest olives organically—honoring the natural rhythms trusted by generations before us. No rush. No chemicals. Just sun, soil, and devotion. We, Santo and Carla, now tend these trees, picking each olive at its peak to craft golden oil that tastes of sunshine, earth, and legacy. Every drop carries our love for this land—a true taste of Sicily. May it bring warmth, magic, and flavor to your table. With love, Santo and Carla.”

How rich is the love that pours from Sicily - Harvesting olives from their groves was an act of service (#2); the tin of oil was a tangible gift of meaningful kindness as they knew I appreciated EVOO very much (#3); tending the groves laboriously with care, being watchful of the harvest and pruning times, was quality time poured into the land and in spirit, into me (#4). Lastly, knowing it was pressed by their hands felt like a dear embrace, all the way from Italy to Hong Kong (#5). Bellisima and five thumbs up!

gentle Reflection

Chapman’s framework offers a simple yet profound insight into why relationships sometimes leave us feeling unfulfilled. If you’re new to this concept, I warmly recommend reading his book, or you can take the online quiz - https://5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/love-language. It’s a revealing and valuable exercise to explore with a partner, friend, or family member. Find a quiet moment and ask yourself:

  • What makes me feel most loved? Is it a kind word, a helping hand, a thoughtful gift, focused attention, or a warm embrace?

  • What does my partner (or child, or close friend) need? Can I name their love language with confidence?

  • Where have I been offering love in my own language - and what might shift if I began expressing theirs instead?

Because love isn’t just about how deeply we feel it. It’s about how effectively we communicate it in the language that speaks love to our beloved.

For now, thank you, dearest Carla and Santo. Your gift of love deeply moved me as you can see. Actually, I’ve been so excited about the olive oil that I am saving it to open on an extra special day. My practice of delayed gratification is an experiment to renew pleasure-and-pain pathways… something important to share in my next blog post.

🌻 Namaste.

Friends Carla, Santo, and 87 year old Papa Peppino cut the old olive branches and will harvest again in the fall. Back to nature with lots of amore. Che Bello, Che Bello! Grazie! Grazie!

CNY of the Horse & Valentine’s Day 2026:

Love victoriously felt - now waiting to be tasted. ❤️