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IN THIS ISSUE:
Mo`olelo: Aunty Gloria Nahalea
Stroke Warning Signs
How Nature can Improve Health
Water Safety
Recipe: Healthier Hawaiian-Style Potato-Mac Salad
Summer NHPI Concerts & Festivals
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Save-The-Date:
HHAPI & Moku `Aina A Wakinekona Civic Club will be co-hosting a zoom webinar on Tuesday, June 28 @ 7pm.
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WE’RE STILL RECRUITING! FOLLOW US!
Website
Facebook
Twitter
TikTok
@hhapi_study
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A strong & healthy mind and body is a gift to both yourself and your `ohana. Take good care of yourself both mentally & physically.
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NEW HHAPI Referral Program: Receive up to (2) $25 gift cards for referring friends or family. Ask the study team for more information.
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What is the HHAPI Team’s Favorite way to move outside in the summer?
Ka`imi: Swim
Lexie: Anything outside in the sun! Which mostly means never ending yard work.
Nicole: My favorite things to do outside is go for walks at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge & work in the yard and garden. We have strawberries, blueberries, figs, cherries, apples and planning to do a pumpkin patch this year.
Marla: I have so many favorites! Nature relaxes me and calms me. I love hiking, camping & walking on the beach, SUP-boarding or kayaking in calm lakes. We enjoy lots of family walks with our dog and bike rides.
Sukhneet: I enjoy going on walks with friends.
Celina: I love to hike & take pictures.
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FREE HHAPI YOGA CLASSES!
Marla, HHAPI’s Peer Educator recently received her 200-hour yoga certification through Native Strength Revolution (NSR), her goal is to bring yoga to NHPI communities. Follow HHAPI on TIK TOK & Facebook to learn a beginner pose each week. So far, she’s taught mauna, keiki, hoku & mahina poses. Join us with your `ohana. All ages are welcome: keiki to kupuna.
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Mo`olelo: Gloria Sevilla Fujii Nahalea
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As a transplant from Wailua, I missed the islands and immersed myself into the Hawaiian culture here in Washington. As they say, you do not realize what you have until you lose it.
I never wanted to leave Hawai`i and realized to keep it alive in my heart, and to help me deal with my homesickness, I became active in Hawaiian cultural programs and organizations here. I decided to join halau (or back then ‘hula dance studios), Hawaiian clubs and associations.
Aunty Lehua Persing, took me and my siblings under her wing to teach us hula and we began to share in the local community. I never lost my love and eagerness to perpetuate the hula and Hawaiian culture, it became my sole purpose to pursue learning and sharing.
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My hula journey was a tapestry of performing at local venues and traveling groups. I was a dancer with Hawaiian Travel Destinations through Aloha Airlines which led to my passion for traveling.
With encouragement from kumu hula from the islands, I studied under many of the masters. They saw there was an interest in learning hula on the mainland, and kept encouraging me to open up a halau.
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One of these was Uncle George Naope, one of the original founders of the world-renowned Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. He was my greatest mentor and influence. Through Uncle George and other hula clubs and associations I was directly involved with, I was exposed to some of the most respected and highly skilled masters of the hula, including, Uncle Joe Kauhaulio, Aunty Emma Sharpe, John Kaimikaua, Lehua Mendez, Kalana Pahala, Robert Cazimero, Aunty Maiki Aiu, Kaili Francisco & many others. I am blessed to be a bridge of hula from one generation to the next, and still honor each of those that passed their knowledge to me. |
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My halau is Halau Hula O Napualani, and it started out of my college student apartment. Teaching lessons and dancing in shows paid my way through college.
My halau is one of oldest halau here in the Pacific Northwest. Our locations have included Seattle, Shoreline, Everett, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Port Orchard & Kalama. Since the pandemic, our locations are limited to Edmonds and zoom classes.
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How did you start the Kalama Festival?
After years of training at dance competition levels, I developed a coaching program for our competitors. This produced other opportunities for health studies for hula. I was contacted by Cross Cultural Health to produce an exercise program for senior adults with hula, singing, and chants as part of this group to engage in a more culturally-based exercise program.
With this new grant funded opportunity, I began to write grants about the history of migration of the Hawaiians to the mainland, primarily in the Pacific Northwest. This was the first grant I wrote, and was able to pursue research in several tribal communities and talk story with these elders. Fascinated by the elders stories and their recommendations for more stories, we developed a historic narrative and video of their stories.
This led to a Washington State resolution proclaiming the rich historic impact the Hawaiians made here in the Pacific Northwest. We discovered the DNA of many of the region’s existing tribes were of mixed bloodlines of Hawaiian and Indians.
Also explained the Hawaiian places names such as Aloha, Oregon, city of Kalama, Owhyee Mountains, Kanaka Creek, Peter Kalama Road, Church Kalama, and pointed to the Kalama family.
The City of Kalama was planning an event celebrating their Hawaiian name and John Kalama. One of the Councilman reached out to me and asked for my help to invite the descendants of the Kalama family, and for assistance in the appropriate way to celebrate John Kalama’s 175th year anniversary of his arrival to the Northwest.
This small celebration called Kalama Days of Discovery evolved to what is now known as The Kalama Heritage Festival, which features Hawaiian music and entertainment, food and vendors. This year, it will be August 19-21 (see flyer at the end of article for more information).
Gloria and her husband, Bill, opened The Pacific Ohana Cafe & Hawaiian Kitchen in December 2019, and then Covid struck and all things stopped; however, they qualified as essential and were able to stay open for take-outs.
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In October 2020, her husband suffered a massive stroke, and needed fulltime care as hemiplegic. In January 2021, they had to close the cafe. Today, they continue to pick and choose catering opportunities and are hoping to open a café again or a food truck.
Gloria has recently returned to teaching hula. This time around, with her husband’s health recovery, they can make better choices in lifestyle living.
Bill was able to be a participant in the HHAPI health study and appreciated the focus and lessons about creating a healthy lifestyle through healthy food choices and exercise.
Given the timing of Covid, Bill’s stroke, and the HHAPI program, I have found myself in a place full of blessings, curious about what the next chapter holds for me.
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Share your name, your `ohana/family names and your favorite `aina or wai...what land/water source are you most connected to and why?
Gloria Nahalea, my favorite beach is Pokai Beach & Kailua beach - love all the islands
What are you grateful for and why?
Grateful for ‘ohana, our health, Ke Akua, surviving the Covid-19 pandemic isolation, sunrises & sunsets and Bill’s survival from a stroke
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What brings you joy?
Being together with my spouse, good talk stories, watching children play & hearing their laughter.
During difficult journeys, how do you heal and restore your health and mental well-being?
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Praying, knowing God is near, hearing Christian music & uplifting stories, looking at family & vacation photos, watching our halau hula dancers brings me peace, playing the ukulele
How do you share your mana`o and mana with your keiki?
Watching Hawaiian videos, reading books, making leis & teaching/singing Hawaiian songs
What is your favorite way to move your kino (body)?
Dancing hula, walking, strolling at the beach or nearby parks
What is a quote that empowers you?
Spread a little aloha. If God takes you to it, God takes you through it! Make lemonade when you are served lemons.
Would you share an easy, heart-healthy recipe that your `ohana enjoys?
Steamed, fresh vegetables topped with cheese.
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Stroke Awareness is Key
Strokes impact around 800,000 Americans every year and can occur when a blood vessel supplying the brain is either blocked or bursts open.
Time is so important when it comes to treating a stroke (since altering the blood supply to the brain can cause considerable damage), so it is important to understand the signs of stroke and call 911 right away
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What are the signs?
The easiest way to remember the warning signs of stroke is BE FAST.
· Balance and coordination can suddenly be affected.
· Eyes can experience blurry or double vision or even vision loss.
· The Face might droop or suddenly appear uneven.
· There may be Arm or leg weakness of one side of the body.
· Speech can become difficult or hard to understand.
· A Terrible headache may seem to come out of nowhere.
If you or someone else is exhibiting these signs, call 911 immediately for help.
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5 Ways Nature Improves Your Health
How often do you stop to take in the natural world?
We get used to our routine surroundings — the office, our cars, our homes. Deliberately leaving those spaces and moving to natural surroundings for a while, unplugged, could seriously improve your health.
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When done correctly, forest bathing, or spending time in nature, can provide an important boost to your mind and body. What is forest bathing?
First, find a nearby nature preserve, beach trail or local hike. Then, let go of the thoughts in your head and focus on the present; the way the tree bark feels, the way the dirt smells, the sounds of birds singing and wind rustling through the leaves.
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Take a relaxed walk that gives you time to breathe and break from the busy pace of everyday life.
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Among the many benefits, spending time in nature can:
Lower stress hormones. Nature has a calming effect, which allows your body to focus on improving its systems. Many plants release immunity-boosting organic compounds into the air. Forests provide shade, help filter the air and can reduce levels of stress hormones in your body.
Help you focus. It’s amazing what a mental break from phones, email, social media and television will do for your attention span.
Reduce feelings of depression or anxiety. A long walk through a natural environment does wonders for the thoughts spinning through your brain. A 2015 study found a 90-minute nature walk slowed participants’ rumination (repetitive thought focused on negative aspects of the self).
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You don’t have to make these walks a workout. Serious physical exertion isn’t necessary, and actually could take your focus off your surroundings.
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A Healthier Hawaiian-Style Potato-Mac Salad (Serves 10)
The traditional potato-mac salad found on plate-lunch platters at many Hawaii restaurants can be loaded with unhealthy saturated fats, sodium and processed carbs.
A few simple substitutions make this beloved local side dish better for your health – and waistline.
Using chickpea pasta* in place of regular macaroni increases the amount of protein in this recipe. It also provides additional fiber, which helps even more with making you feel full, not stuffed, at the end of the meal.
Swapping full-fat mayo for low-fat Greek yogurt also is a smart substitution that helps cut the amount of fat and calories per serving by nearly one-half!
As with any healthier take on a well-known recipe, the taste, texture and appearance of the dish will be a little different than the original.
That being said, don’t be afraid to try it out, and feel free to put your own spin on it, too!
Ingredients:
1 8-ounce box chickpea pasta (elbow or ziti)
5 red potatoes
5 hard-cooked eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 large carrot, shredded
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained
1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons paprika
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place them in a large pot. Fill the pot with cold water until it covers the potatoes by an inch. Place on the stove and turn to high heat; bring the water to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, until potatoes are just soft enough to be pierced with a fork but still hold their shape. Remove from heat, drain and allow to cool.
2. Cook chickpea pasta according to package directions, making sure not to overcook the pasta. You want the noodles to be al dente. Drain pasta, rinse and set aside to cool.
3. Place two egg yolks into a small bowl and using a fork, mash to form a paste. Discard remaining yolks, or save for another recipe. Chop the 5 egg whites and put in a medium bowl with the chopped scallions and shredded carrots; set aside.
4. Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and mix together with the Greek yogurt, mustard, apple cider vinegar, allspice and paprika until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Combine cooled potatoes and pasta in a large salad bowl. Add in chopped vegetables and sauce; mix until well combined. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving (it tastes even better after a day or two!). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutritional information per serving: Calories: 274; Carbohydrates: 46.3g; Protein: 18.4g; Total Fat: 4.4g; Saturated Fat: 0.6g; Cholesterol: 35mg; Dietary Fiber: 9.2g; Sodium: 107mg
www.hawaiipacifichealth.org
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Washington Summer 2022 Concerts/Festivals |
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