Dahna McConnachie

Preface: I understand enough to know that there is infinite depth to all things connected to ancient Hawaiian culture – layers and layers of meaning that is difficult to understand with a Western mind. What I share is what I have been trusted with and what has been shared with me by kumu (teacher), Nani Ke Aloha, their kūmu and the kūpuna (elders and ancestors) including Kumu La’au Lapa’au Sylvester Keiliwaliu Kamaka Iki Ali’I Pa’akaula Kamoa Kepilino (better known as Papa K!) It is also...

As a yoga teacher, the mantra of ‘treat your body like a temple’ has long been familiar. Though it wasn’t until my forties, when perimenopause and late diagnosed ADHD made my brain and body feel more like a demolition site than a sacred one, that I truly turned to this wisdom. When my forties hit me, my body and mind started to feel like strangers. My body was larger and rounder and achier. My emotions didn’t just feel like waves, they felt like catastrophic deadly storms. The restlessness...

My relationship to, and understanding of, aloha is continually growing and changing and deepening. However, here are some reflection from where I currently am on the mountain! Aloha – as felt by me: when I speak it out loud, I feel my nervous system respond as though it were fabric standing upright being combed down smooth. I feel it internally as naturally as my heartbeat. When I hear others say it, I feel I am at home with tribe. I belong. When I whisper it, I feel I am whispering some...