Origin Stories…

This page is formerly KA (pronounced “KAH” not “Kay” “Aye”) Wellness.

The “Ka” is a letter in ancient Baybayin meaning “to relate to.”

Every relational word in Tagalog contains a “Ka.”

• Kapwa - fellow

• Kapatid - sibling

• Kalakbay - fellow traveler

• Kaibigan - friend

• Kababayan - fellow country-person

• Kalayaan - liberty

• Kain - to eat (because we relate to our food and we eat in community)

Even the “bad” relational words have a “Ka” in it

• Kalaban - adversary, enemy

• Kaalitin - distress

• Kagalitan - indignation, anger

The Ka is in my name “KAthleen.”

The Ka is a symbol of connection. The symbol could mean the connection between God/Heaven and Earth, Human and Nature, and Human-to-Human.

When I created “Ka Wellness” in 2020, we were all deprived of connection. I took that time to connect to myself. To connect to my culture. I had time to nourish the seeds within me. It kind of feels like I’m starting over now in 2023 and that’s extremely difficult. Humbling.

But Ka isn’t just my “brand.” And while the mission of Ka will always be foundational to who I am and how I conduct business, I found myself getting lost in it. I thought I was connecting to something Divine, but I was grasping at survival within a capitalistic society by exploiting my own creativity. Whew.

I forgot how to radically love myself in the creation of my wares. I was overworking myself and overproducing products that I didn’t particularly feel connected to anymore. I was signing up for events and markets that didn’t quite align with my purpose. I was letting a lot of other people’s opinions in and drowning my own out.

Sometimes I forget that I’m “That B_tch”

Simply put, I forgot that I’m THAT B_TCH. I was that b-tch that STARTED KA, why was I letting other people dictate what direction it needed to go in? I realized that I needed to retract and reflect. What even were my values anymore? Who even was my audience? In that deep reflection, I’ve found that in the purposeful intent to take care of myself and show up for my wellness, I can feel alive in my purpose to care and show up for my community. I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be. Lord knows it’s way too easy to forget our purpose in the digital age with the compounding trauma of societal and climate conflict. It’s hard to remember when YOU are THAT B_TCH. No matter the style of healing, you should feel free to heal in your own way and reclaim your own body so you can show up for YOUR purpose. While acupuncture is my main vehicle, I aim to offer yoga, bodywork rooted in my Pilipinx culture, and hope to expand to other healing modalities to help my community members stave off burnout, compassion fatigue, and the physical manifestations of toxic stress. We gotta stay well in this hell. Our wellness ensures that we can continue to show up and do the important liberation work for ourselves and our respective communities.

See what I have to offer below:

Follow this B-tch on Instagram! @b_tchwellness

Find my yoga class playlists on my Spotify! 

I'll try to keep this updated on my website as much as possible! Visit the Spotify icon at the bottom of the page for my entire profile!