Kokko Wellness

07/10/2025

Women led slave revolts and then the history was buried. Dr Hall uncovered these stories and brought them back to life in an acclaimed illustrated book translated into 7 languages.

Join us for a discussion, Q/A and book signing at our Berkeley wellness center this Sat 7/12 at 2 pm!

05/10/2025

02/11/2025

We are in Li Chun, the Beginning of Spring in the Chinese calendar! This year, the Qi node coincides with Lunar New Year festivities.

It’s good to circulate, walk in nature, rub your belly in circles til it’s warm. In other words, time to get off of the couch, emerge from the cave and watch the sunrise. It’s still favorable to sleep early, but now waking earlier is also auspicious.

Start moving forward on new projects with old friends. Be generous and break bread, but don’t forget to feed yourself too. Hope is renewed and the seed which was planted in late summer is now breaking through the ice and lifting its arms towards the sky.

Naturally you’ll look like a bear waking up from hibernation, yawning in the early morning in front of its cave facing the soft upward glow rising from the eastern horizon. Practice Tai ji, Qi gong and Yoga. Stretch out your sinews and let the wind release out of your joints.

The dregs of yin from winter are bubbling up and out, so don’t be surprised if you feel phlegmy and have to spit or snot out last season’s ice that is now starting to thaw.

If you can, make tea from the new buds and boil water from the snow dripping off of cherry tree boughs. Slow cooked stews cooked over-night and bone broth is still the way to fuel yourself for the day. Now though, you can chop a little more green onions on top of your morning jook.

Celebrate! Spend time with family and friends. Don’t be so serious. Let your hair down a little bit. Laugh and eat heartily. It’s ok to drink some spirits in the company of others and chow down on adzuki bean dumplings. Most importantly... relax and remember that the days are getting longer, so there’s more yang in your universe!

Happy Beginning of Spring Qi ;)

02/01/2025

Yin Wood Snake Year 🐍
Thank you for breaking down the Qi of the next 12 months in the tradition of Liu Ming . Here is an interpretation filtered through our ears…

We are at the meeting point of the dragon’s tail (which is a snake) and the snake’s mouth. This moment in time is an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. Anything can happen. Be present. 🐉 …

02/01/2025

Happy Lunar NY ! 🐍 🎉 🧧
We are sooo grateful for community.
It takes a village. 🙏🏼

01/05/2025

We were honored to have April McMurtry share the science around lunar time with us for the transition between the winter solstice and this coming year. The knowledge of yin time that she transmits is essential in honoring ancient cycles of the waxing and waning of Qi and blood, embodied by biological women especially in their bodies as the timekeepers and carriers of life.

Annually, April paints the flow of the moons into the seasons and prints them in calendars that represent circular time, non-linearly. Her journals are also unique in that they don’t tell you what you should feel or what is going to happen to you with the phase shifts. Each person has a unique constitution and you track the changes in your mind, body and heart each day, so that you become self-aware of these patterns with each spiral movement.

The calendars and journals are available at our wellness center and April’s original art is on our wall for now for all to see. Thank you !

04/28/2024

Grateful for beauty, community, sharing of resources. As AI takes over our lives, anxiety is building over what will be left of us as humans.

The more we speak, sing, dance, cook, share tea and stories with each other, the more hope arises that the part of us that can never be replaced, our heart, our soul, needs to be remembered and kindled daily, lighting fires around the world, especially when the darkness grows.

We are not products and producers. We are lovers and creators. Remembering who we are heals us, recollects us, ensouls us. …We are already whole.

02/11/2024

Happy Yang Wood Dragon Year !
From all of us
Thank you for the Korean Buddhist temple bell. .jeanne ! Time to ring in the new year 🌟🧨🧧