 I'm Wendy Lo and I'm your best friend as we journey to take your health back. We are coming to you live from downtown Honolulu from the studios of Think Tech Hawaii. Today our topic of discussion will be on the Healing Garden. Loom from within and I will keep you abreast. That's the keyword abreast. That and with that I would like you to take away from today's message is going to be a long one okay usually it's a one-liner but being that this is Ivalani's take away it's going to be a song and a dance. So today's take away is on the discussion of the importance to address your health needs through meditation, quiet time being still, listening to your body and understanding what your body's needs are because only you can hear yourself and feel it. Proper diet and exercise and caring for the environment because we all know that when you malama the aina, the aina will malama you. So today we are very excited and honored to welcome a very dear, dear pink sweet friend. She is a two-time cancer survivor and a kumu hula. This is Ivalani Waltz. Say you. Mahalo. Thank you very much. Oh yeah. I'm tired already. Oh they're with the 30 seconds, the 30 minutes on that. So Ivalani in a nutshell quickly just share with us who are you? I'm raised in Honolulu actually I live in Mililani now, 40 years teaching hula, Hawaiian studies, retired now and two-time cancer survivor as you said and I'm building this beautiful garden of health and wellness. Wow. For the women of Hawaii and people struggling with cancer. We need a place. Yeah I mean that's amazing that you had this place to retreat you know like for me I would go to the beach or I would go to the mountains and retreat but you have your personal healing garden. Tell us about how did that healing garden come about? Well I was gifted by my father when I went there it was a dump actually and over 500 loads to the dump and still I'm persevering to say you know I'm going to make a garden everybody thought oh my gosh the cancer go to her brain what is she talking about and I said no it's about knowing who you are and what you want to do to be persistent and you know Wendy when we want something whatever the mind can conceive and believe you will achieve so now from a dump it is a garden. And the photo that we are going to show you shows the dump and truly it was a dump and I went there because you said come and see it before you worked hard and you know so did you and you I mean with nails and all I mean who would think that this woman was in the garden and that's when she found her passion and her healing and she went there daily I remember like Evelyn you were in the garden it's already dark what are you doing out there she was cleaning weeding out the bad putting in the good putting all the mana into the healing garden which you have yes and so hundreds of truckloads of garbage five hundred over oh my gosh I can't even come that high Evelyn but tell us a little bit more about it before the demolition well I went there and I started to to pray and I said that you know there has to be a purpose you know a Wendy in our life and for all of you out there we have a purpose you know I'm already you know halfway my journey I'm 69 years old so I'm thinking okay one foot in the grave I would sit twice with cancer stage three what am I going to do what's the legacy I want to leave for my children what's the voice and the message I want to leave with the women in the community that believe in me you know you go to church we we help in the community whatever it may be so I wanted a place that they felt free to come and pray and the purpose was for me to help that's beautiful and that that that pathway right now it wasn't green like that before that back in my picture earlier exactly what I saw just dirt and grime yes and tons of garbage but you get what a little bit of love I should see a lot of love yes and not only from you but you encouraged all your friends to come on down your family I bring them all out and including you every yes when they come visit me and and then all before you know hours going by and everybody's you know exhausted mm-hmm and and I understand that but I had a purpose I was presidents and in everything that I needed to do I was there 10 15 hours a day mm-hmm because I wanted to make a difference not only for myself but for the family and the community right but you know the work that we put in there and I'm sure for you it wasn't it's not exhaustion no it's just work of love yes and it's the love and the passion that drove us because we knew that not only were you healing but for us too how often do we take time especially like I was I had a yard when I was younger but now I don't I live in a condo but I really love pulling weeds yeah and cleaning out the rubbish and weeding it out so we don't have that opportunity so what you gave to us was that opportunity to share our love and to receive from the land for healing yeah why it's body, mind and soul right because when you're pulling the weed you're exercising and then when you're seeing that always getting clean it's you know gratifying mm-hmm and when people come because oh wow this section looks beautiful and I'm in veins like oh thank you you know I spent hours here yes being a priest and I'm going more and more into the garden and and I know when you're in the garden and not only are you pulling the weeds but you're meditating oh you're taking time to be still yes and that's kind of amazing because I don't see her still and I don't see her being quiet I bet you're talking to the birds absolutely roaches and all the animals and insects over there right yeah do you meditate we have to meditate that's all part of our well-being Wendy you find a place not everybody will have a garden but wherever you find to be a place of meditation you know do your research learn about yourself learn about cancer this is or what's the disease that will have the disease is going to start controlling you and yes I believe in meditation 100% yes and in your healing garden or wherever you are is there a special place that you need to go to to meditate well because it's my garden and we have so many niches in the garden I go and I pull it in different places and not only that Malama the Aina that you give you aloha to the land but this one plays a meditation room was from my father that was his workshop and left some old antiques in there and you see this handsome holy man there that I blew up his picture and it's a reminder of who we are where I came from and the gift that he gave me of love and aloha and to persevere and be everything local well that's a really beautiful room you created a haven yeah it's a prayer right yeah and you know and and the good thing even on you don't just keep it for yourself you invite everyone to come there you invite the cakey to do performances there your daughters come and they use it to dance and to bring others in so they can feel yeah just the the mana in there that's our local style ways yeah we cannot let that value get diluted Wendy you from white and I we do what I mean is that yes Wendy you don't look like you from white actually actually let me try I'm from Miley and now they changed it to my Ely but being so stubborn I say well I was born and raised in Miley yes I am from Miley so maybe the new Kiki now are from my Ely yes I'm from Miley yes okay so yes and where is right you missed the whole place but because I had to pass home early to get to the big way supermarket in my power yeah I knew exactly where that was right yes yeah and so you know you've been through a lot with your body and you know you were saying that your body really if you really take time to understand in this into your body your body has mechanisms to tell you hey I'm tired or hey I don't feel well tell me about it can you just share a little bit about that with us how did you know what are the mechanisms in your body well you know looking in the mirror and which I do often hello look at me I thought of the epitome of good health and then I neglected only two years not to get a mammogram you know I'm 69 so in my 40s I was hit 48 years old with the breast cancer and I was hit at 36 earlier with a cervical cancer but then you know I'm thinking okay I'm an epitome of health I'm dancing I'm everything's going great in my life didn't realize the stress that I was going through right right and so when I did go in for the mammogram they told me that I the cancer was already at stage three and in three days I had to have my surgery that's how fast it was an aggressive cancer growing right and that's why that statement about this ease yes when you had this ease the disease will come in rapidly right and so do you know there's women that's you know you have to bloom from within is it's an attitude of gratitude and I have to say okay I got a Malama my body so what what am I going to do immediately I have to have forgiveness I have to start talking to myself because I didn't believe in a lot of the former pseudocles that I needed to take and everything and and I just needed to to me he just have a lot of love and forgiveness and say what am I going to do as an individual what am I going to do as a wahine to take care Malama Kekino right and you know you mentioned pharmaceuticals but what are other methods or you know things that you did to heal yourself well I immediately you know I don't eat meat yes so for many many years and everybody could be different but I do you know fresh fruits and vegetables so important all organic and I started getting my tower gardens and just eating eating eating the proper things and exercising and meditating and dancing and laughing a lot exactly and that's I think I mean that's the segue into my next question what do you do to stay healthier and yeah you know mentally and what do you do I mean right there you laugh oh you know everybody you know we I went through Wendy to be honest why me why now how come I needed to believe in myself I needed to have positive affirmations I needed to have forgiveness I needed to say okay this is what happened now if I let me act right what are you going to do to heal yourself what are you going to do to Malama what are you going to do to make things right and you have to start talking to yourself right right positive right it's self-healing absolutely I mean that's the whole idea like sometimes when we take like vitamin C tablets yes we're sick we feel really bad so we're going to pop a vitamin C tablet why I'm going to take this because I want to feel better so you put that in your body your brain is already thinking I'm feeling better I'm feeling because you told it yes and then you put the vitamin C in there and then what does it do it creates expensive pee yes right and it goes right through you but mentally you're telling yourself I'm getting healthier I'm getting healthier I'm not as sick the sugar that what you just put in your body spikes you up and you're feeling better so mentally because that vitamin C tablet did nothing for you nothing so it's all mental yes right it's true and you know try to get away as much from sugar like you said also so we have to be mindful like I said there's so much knowledge out there as far as health and wellness and what to do not to do think about your diet habits to know that okay what was I doing wrong or should I cut out all my sugars and or should I exercise more you know so all of that is is really important how to control of yourself right and you know like from my point of view I mean this whole thing is about prevention and awareness yes and so for myself what my parents passed away with cancer and so I always say if I get the C diagnosis what would I do and so exactly what you're saying is what I'm already doing yes so and I want all all of us out there to not wait for the diagnosis like absolutely you had the diagnosis and you're a survivor twice yes and now you know what to do so your heart is to share with the with Hawaii in the world of what not to do and how to just overcome this why you know I like to I brought a beanie baby I play with yours because we're from Asian backgrounds yeah and and to be honest women are not my mama they're not you got a malama kicking you got a malama your your body your breast and and we were not ready to touch ourself because you know something's wrong but now they stay you know you got to touch yourself so if you have to be feel these little right beans in here right a lot right so when you take in a shower touch yourself or whatever or if you romantic you know tell your significant other or you feeling it bumps on me connect with us so you know I mean you know right so we know when we had the fundraiser I had all of these on tables and I said okay just you know I was talking about all of this and then I turned around and all my beanie babies were gone all hundred of them and they all wanted to take them home so they could be right and you know exactly what it feels like the little pebbles a little grains of beads in here is exactly what you're going to feel sometimes you're not going to feel them all but if you do malama and you do feel this little that's a little side right away go check it out check it out it could be a pimple it could be something else yeah go check it out right went in doubt and check it out you know you went through the twice cancer experience so what what what really was developed in your mind to create the healing garden you know because I'm so selfish and I needed time you know I was bargaining with the man upstairs and he said I'm hit twice I don't want another third time and I'm battling with all of this and I said I need to have a place to to come to and dig plow plant and pray and you know when I was doing all that I totally forgot I was having cancer that I had cancer because I wanted to make everything beautiful I wanted my children to see it I wanted you I mean I want all my big friends to come out and see and say whoa look at this great work that you're doing and I needed that you know positive affirmation and I needed that stroking right we all need that tender loving care we need to say hey you can do it and I was talking to myself and keep doing it and when you would come out you say wow this is this is great this is and the women would start coming and say right good job and when we can support each other right you know cheer each other up that's what happened and so so that's a great mental direction that you want to guide us towards is that not I mean don't just sit back and dwell in yours because when you came out to to create this garden to heal what you did was all the women that came out the families that came out they were healing they were healing by being together and just being with one in nature absolutely a lot of us don't have that opportunity but we used you as an excuse to go out there to help you but in actuality we were being healed that's true right and so your slide says winners never quit and yes and so that's so key but with that in mind I'm going to just take a little break here 60 seconds go get some water and we're going to come right back with Eva Lani say hello hi everyone aloha I want to invite all of you to talk story with John Wahee every other Monday here at think tech Hawaii and we have special guests like professor Colin Moore from the University of Hawaii who joins us from time to time to talk about the political happenings in this state please join us every other Monday aloha he's that energy man here on think tech Hawaii and they won't let me do political commentary so I'm stuck doing energy stuff but I really like energy stuff so I'm going to keep on doing it so join me every Friday on stand energy man at lunchtime at noon on my lunch hour we're going to talk about everything energy especially if it begins with the word hydrogen we're going to definitely be talking about it we'll talk about how we can make Hawaii cleaner how we can make the world a better place just basically save the planet even Miss America can't even talk about stuff like that anymore we got it nailed down here so we'll see you on Friday at noon with stand energy man aloha here we are back with Eva Lani say you and just having a great time just hearing about her experience with being a two-time cancer breast cancer survivor and cervical cancer survivor and just hearing the attitude that she had throughout the course of her ordeal and how she involved everybody around her to help her heal but in actuality we ourselves were healing as well yeah so what we left before the break was winners never quit and quitters never win so having a positive attitude in life I mean just look at this right here if it'll be a positiveness and that's what we need to have to carry on with whatever comes our way yes yes would you like to share on that oh yes absolutely so everybody everybody will go through a pity party why me why now how come and you'll never get the answers you know because can be in three different ways could be from stress can be in DNA can be in environment so you never know but what's important is how you're going to tackle it yourself like I said I did the garden I rallied around you know I had people that was positive red rally around me you need that support team yes you do and you need to do a lot of research on your own because you know your own body what you can take what you cannot do what you should do and I would encourage all of you out there is to just be mindful of yourself and say okay this is my body I only have one body it's not like you can go out and buy another pair of shoes another body you cannot and you just have to say I need to work diligently with my body and with advice of doctors or what it may be and go further than that right and I'm sure you spent a lot of time in your healing garden praying to all I do a lot of people with him and just asking for guidance to this healing process yes and I tell you he's heard every prayer that you pray for absolutely yes I was no shame I went down on my knees that's what we need to that's what we need to be so you know now that we've gone through your healing part let's talk about some cancer tips yes okay so just I know the next slide will share we'll be sharing with you some simple guidelines on tips that you want to share well you know don't take anything for granted do your breast examination like I said after two years they're already into stage three take care of your body if you feel a lump like I say with you know these mini babies you know and you feel fatigued anything like that you know that you're going through some kind of stress your body talks to you always you got to know your body you have to exercise choose what you like to do dancing like you surfing or hiking gardening golfing singing exercise whatever it may be there's something for everybody out there yeah so you don't think oh I cannot dance I cannot sing I don't want to hike I mean come on I'm gonna stop you just walk you can walk you can and then the next slide gives us a few more tips as well that you can go over with everyone well yeah you have to eat well you know know what is good for your body you know your personal research to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables eliminate red meat well I did in pork and and oily processed food I mean you know that's not my knowledge it's knowledge out there yeah we need to eat organic and stay away you know from the sugar yeah like I said I invested years 10 10 years ago my tower girl and I love it drink lots of water coffee's okay but stay away from processed drinks so does all of that you know all this kind of sugary juices etc. create a team I call you guys and I say you because you're so kind to come and support me my bosom buddies and and you know keep yourself abreast I want your friends educate communicate is key maintain open communication keep your mind open communication keep your mind open communication keep a journal talk to your friendly family and friends right to know what is going wrong with me how can I take care of myself what do I need to do you know no shape talk story but sometimes as locals we close down right I'm encouraging all of you open up open up open up story and right and you also mentioned something you know all those tips right there those key tips it's knowledge absolutely knowledge is power yes knowledge and you know that's what we need to do just learn and don't wait until the diagnosis comes learn and understand watch documentaries like forks over knives and see that's right how we can get healthier before we even you know get the diagnosis we just want to live in health that's why this segment is called take your health back and only we can do it for each each of us ourselves we need to take our health back in everything we do mentally spiritually emotionally and nutritionally everything we do but it's up to us to make that stance to do that for ourselves yes your body is your your temple one only temple and that's you've got to take care of it because you cannot go get one you know I'm very fortunate even if I had the cancer twice I was able to take hold of it and be in the epitome of the good health I am now but if I kick back right cancel stress right they love stress and they'll eat you up that's right that's what triggers it yes you need to know I have to be so knowledge is definitely power so tell us a little bit you know we live in a land of sunshine and so tell us about your knowledge about Sun and what it does to our bodies you know I I love Sun even when I was younger I was a Sun goddess you know hanging out on the beach and everything but after two months on too much Sun can actually trigger we all have cancer cells everybody has cancer cells please know that and sometimes it'll trigger up so you have to protect yourself from Sun use a lot of sunscreen because you need everybody needs to protect themselves and because we're in Hawaii again be more mindful to how much Sun your body can actually take and then and you know use all your moisturizers and everything else that because we need Sun it's good for us but again like for myself now because I am obviously a cancer survivor and victim I kind of stay in the Sun right the Sun will eat up all my good cells right right right right well and so what you're a cancer survivor and a beautiful cancer survivor and you know they're going to use you to be the voice as well because you're not only beautiful but you have a voice that people will listen to as you encourage along the journey of even prevention absolutely you know and so I am the next slide I see that you were featured in a cancer guide yeah I was yeah I was so excited because this is a national magazine yes and you know in 15 years they haven't featured anybody from Hawaii and I'm actually I'm the first one and I was just tickled pink you know they wanted to they heard my story of course because I was featured in magazines and on midweek and and the things that we were doing the women like yourselves and came in and posed you know for the book that we're working on and just so many great things that and I was just so thrilled and yes yes I'm in that that magazine and you know I guess that must have opened up another can of worms for Ivalani because since then and then she's called us many times hey I want to make this book I want to make this book and predominantly Hawaii yes women of Hawaii and different races of Hawaii and she wanted to feature tell them about magnificent women of Hawaii you know when I was you know when I was very sick and I this dream kept coming to me about doing this coffee table book and and so I started calling all you folks and you said okay you know but you came without a doubt a beard of yourself and it's called magnificent women of Hawaii it's called show it all but see nothing yeah right so I've been sitting on this for 10 years it's like the dog the dog girls right it's like the dog girls and the mainland they have the older women yes and they're classically photographed with with very little to nothing on nothing yeah and just featuring their body and the love of their body and how they need to nurture and take care of it and so Ivalani you've called many times and we've done a few photos and I know that you want to produce it into a book yes I'm gonna take a lot of money I've been sitting on it because if it's not classy I don't want to do it at all right I want to do a coffee table book to give to the Irish State Library to the oncologist all the schools so the young girls can educate themselves and and it's gonna cost money over $50,000 and so I have to have this grand gala you're gonna help me out when I just want to make it a beautiful beautiful event and the proceeds will go to to start this book so that we can give these books out as knowledge right help other women right you know our own stories that can inspire them we need a lot of help we need a lot of yeah so I know as a year comes around 2019 we'll start meeting and organizing this gala so that we can bring women young and old yes to the gala and to educate them and show them you know what what what what can our lives be or even if with the diagnosis what can it be and you're a true classic example of a survivor thank you and we want more women to go through it like you if they are diagnosed with it but our main goal is to not let them could get to that point to that point we're gonna have great entertainment right people already they're gonna help out and we're gonna feature all of your folks photos it's gonna be public now you know are you gonna charge them to see absolutely because we gotta raise money for the book yes yes yes yes of course and it's for a cause and so we're gonna do what it takes just so that this book can materialize and I can envision it as you know maybe when a woman goes in and she gets the diagnosis maybe the oncologist in their office will have a stack of these and say hey here's hope and inspiration read this and be inspired that this is not the beginning to the end but this is just the beginning for your journey absolutely it's gonna be bright and pink and you need to see it that way and this is all the guidelines that you need to help you through that journey yeah and so I can see that this book will be very inspirational oh yeah we're gonna take you know yes Oprah and Ellen the generation I'm not gonna stop once we get that grand gala going and people gonna come and see and become a beautiful coffee table right we're gonna go all the way right all the way and I know we can I know there's gonna be a big surprise yes there's gonna be a many big surprises at this event so just look for the pink invites from Eva Lani say you and the breast cancer awareness group and we're just gonna work hard on that make that happen and the I want to just close with the last slide it says when you look at the word disease I really want you all to look at that word disease and what it truly is is this ease yes you know and so we really want to stay positive on this word disease even though it's so negative but when you have this ease this is what happens with the body it acts out in many negative ways and so we really want to be aware of that so can you just expound on that a little bit absolutely so when you know that you have cancer or any kind of illness going on again everything that we just talked about right you have to be positive you have to meditate yes exercise you have to eat well because when you're at this ease that disease will eat you up exactly so you need to be more mindful and Malama Kekino and just say you know we're in this journey once we're gonna make it the best we can yes yes yes and thank you so much you know just coming on to the show and being the voice the positive pink voice for the women for all throughout Hawaii throughout the world that they can be inspired that they can get through this diagnosis as you have a few times and so that's it though no more never give up positive attitude take time to be still meditate and just just find time I don't care if you don't have a healing garden make friends with Eve Elani she's very nice yes make your own garden find a space in your room go to the beach you know or just just be still and listen to your body and just be and still and think positive thoughts and rebuke anything negative that's coming your way right no matter what situation we get ourselves into all right so yes all right so we want to say right now everyone just be aware of educate and love your body aloha from now aloha everyone