The 16th Annual Honolulu Festival is a huge success.

What a wonderful event! All the workers, performers and volunteers worked for a year to make this past weekend a huge success. And it was. Of course my opinion is quite subjective. How should we measure it objectively? By numbers of participants? Numbers of attendees at the Hawaii Convention Center? Numbers of attendees at the other venues? At the Parade? Economical impact on our state? All of that I suppose. But the most important thing is how the Festival impacted each and every one of us personally. Kinda priceless, don't you think? Lots of hard work was put into this year's Festival. Organizers must evaluate all of it in the next few weeks. And then it is time to roll up our sleeves and start working on the 17th! Gee, I wonder what the theme will be for next year? Yes, so much to think about. But for this week...let's relax and enjoy our success! Aloha.

Ashtanga Yoga at Mu Ryang Sa Temple in Palolo Valley

Don’t you just love the new year? It is an opportunity for all of us to wipe the slate clean and start fresh once again. I love the idea that we can leave the old year behind and challenge ourselves to new resolutions. Some of them may be the same resolutions as the year prior, but that’s okay too. I noticed that there are many articles, advertisements and commercials at the beginning of the year about diets, fitness and breaking old habits like smoking. I probably listed the Top Three New Year Resolutions that we all think about.



Let’s talk about fitness today. The bottom line is that you have to exercise and eat healthy. And that may be a chore for many of us. I think that with regards to exercise each of us needs to find something that suits our lifestyle and personality. Easier said than done but if you really want to stay fit, you’ve got to find something that suits you, some form of exercise that you can commit to. My son likes going to 24 Hour Fitness and he’s been pretty good about it. My daughter has tried many things including the treadmill ,aerobic DVDs, yoga and stand up paddling. She has stuck to the paddling. Her latest initiative is Wii Fit Plus. For some reason I truly believe that she has found that perfect something that suits her lifestyle. With two jobs and studies, Wii Fit Plus might be the solution. My husband believes in the treadmill. He is very diligent about it and walks 1.5 hours every day working up a sweat. My dog Mulan also gets on the treadmill with a little coaxing and walks about 12 minutes every time my husband walks.

So what is my thing? I have found Ashtanga Yoga. Although I only go once a week I have been doing it for two years now and I can truly feel and see the difference. There are many yoga schools. I am not an expert on any of them so I suggest you do your own research. I found Ashtanga Yoga through my sister-in-law. She invited me to join her two years ago. We were invited to a class held in the beautiful Mu Ryang Sa Temple in Palolo Valley (pictures of the temple are posted below). The instructor is Dae Kim and her program is called Temple Yoga. To tell you the truth, it was quite exhausting at first since I did not have any previous yoga experience and had not done anything physical in years. After an hour and thirty minutes of following the instructor and her other students, Dae ended the program with Savasana. That is where she turns the lights off and we lie on our backs and rest. That was probably the best part of my first session! I think that the reason why I kept on going the first time was will power and determination to keep up with the others. I was amazed at the intensity of the work out and how much I had sweat. According to Dae, good sweat. I knew that Ashtanga Yoga was something that I must challenge myself to and that it would be good for me because I was so weak and so stiff. I couldn’t even touch my toes or even do a decent push up!

Ashtanga Yoga is definitely a serious workout. It is a fast-paced series of sequential poses. We move from one posture to another in a continual flow, linking movements to breath. Introduced to the modern world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009) this process produces intense internal heat in our bodies allowing purifying sweat to detoxify our muscles and organs. This type of yoga improves circulation, builds strength, flexibility, stamina and produces a calm mind. For more information please look up http://www.kpjayi.org/ and study “Method.”

Dae explains that “our body is a manifestation of our mind, which is a manifestation of our spirit. Yoga heals our body and mind.” I have so much to learn but I must admit, I am doing yoga poses now that I thought I would never be able to two years ago. I feel stronger and healthier. I feel good about myself. Granted, Ashtanga Yoga is not for everyone. Perhaps that is why I like it. Come and join us at Temple Yoga! Classes are held daily except Friday. They range from those for beginners to those who are advanced.

Instructor Dae Kim






















Lotus poses









Our studio is spacious and very calming.


Bodhi looking out into the mountains.








Mu Ryang Sa Temple in Palolo Valley...who would have every thought that such a serene and majestic temple like this exists in Honolulu!



10th Avenue enroute to Temple, beautiful mountains of Palolo Valley

















Wonderful gardens








































Honolulu Festival

Temple Yoga

KPJAYI.org

Honolulu Festival to livestream "What's New" periodically from now until the 16th Annual Honolulu Festival March 12-14, 2010

Aloha! Honolulu Festival will be updating you on Youtube and Ustream periodically from now until the 16th Annual Honolulu Festival, March 12-14, 2010. Please stay tuned for the latest happenings and updates. What's New! Honolulu Festival.

Our first release was done on January 15th. Please check it out.











What's New! Honolulu Festival Introduction (English)


What's New! Honolulu Festival Introduction (Japanese)









Honolulu Festival

Lulumahu Valley "Hidden from View" a Koˈolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club cultural education program

My son Nick and I were invited to hike up Lulumahu Valley the day after Christmas with Debbie and her family. Mahealani Cypher, Cultural Interpreter and a member of the Koˈolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club, would be our guide for this three hour hike. This hike was a special treat since this area near the Nuˈuanu Reservoir is usually closed to the public. The view of the Koˈolau was majestic. The hike was not that easy, lots of streams to cross, narrow paths and climbing. But it was well worth it because at the halfway point we experienced the beautiful Lulumahu Fall. Some drenched themselves in the cleasing water. Others waded and ate their snacks. A truly memorable experience and a wonderful way to end 2009.

Thank you Mahealani and Debbie.



Nu'uanu Reservoir







We each received a brochure explaining Lulumahu Valley written by the Civic Club. I would like to share these eloquent words with you.

Lulumahu Valley, A Wahi Kapu "Hidden from the View"

Lulumahu-the name evokes mystery, curiosity, a desire to see beyond the obvious. It is a place tucked away in Nuˈuanu, among the pali Koˈolau ridge extending behind the majestic Puˈu Konahuanui. To be sure, Lulumahu is a valley "hidden from view," difficult for the eye to discern among the many tendrils of volcanic slopes of the area. Even more so, Lulumahu's headwaters at the summit flow down through the wailele of this hidden valley, the beautiful Lulumahu falls on down through the stream of the same name.

These falls form a curtain, again evoking the name, Lulumahu-a curtain of water flowing over the body kinolau.

There is little mention of Lulumahu in the writings of the 19th century native Hawaiian historians, except to note that-during the battle of Nuˈuanu, the women, children and elders were urged to flee into the side valleys of Nu'uanu away from the pursuing warriors of Kamehameha's army.

Situated so close to the area where Kalanikupule was struck down in battle, Lulumahu would have been a logical place for some of them to run toward, with its seemingly hidden quality.

Alas, many were trapped in the narrow valley and killed. Stone mounds covered with tall, ancient ti trees line the bubbling Lulumahu Stream, mute evidence of the sad ending for these Oˈahu people.

A melancholy drifts over the valley, a sad tale by our kupuna about the keiki, very small children, whose fearful cries caused them to be abandoned on the valley trail, lest the others be discovered and killed. These were among the first to be lost to the clubs of pursuing invaders.

Today, Lulumahu is a burial ground, a place where the spirits of these kupuna kahiko are honored by the quiet and the beauty of the stones, laˈau ki, and the fragrant imported bright yellow ginger blossoms that grace the pathway leading to the trail.

Ua ma keˈea o kaˈaina i ka pono. The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. pau


Group picture in front of a pohaku o Kane, god of O'ahu, sunlight and health









Introduction by Mahealani


Yellow Ginger










































Lulumahu Fall































Honolulu Festival

Ko'olaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club

Happy New Year!