Member Spotlight: Kyla Mitsunaga
I moved to Korea (from California) about 10 years ago for a job as a professor. I loved that job: getting to work WITH bright young minds, getting to be in the classroom to teach and learn from them, and the incredible paid time off I had to travel the globe during winter and summer vacations.
4 years into my job as a professor, I got an unexpected invitation to speak in Austria. From there, I was invited to speak in Mexico. The then Dean at the university in Mexico, asked me to inspire their students to give back to their communities by volunteering. I did some research, and in no time, found that all roads led back to happiness: if you give back to others, you become happier.
With that simple premise, The Happiness Workshop was born.
I traveled to Mexico and delivered several workshops to both students and faculty, and was later interviewed on the local evening news. Then I thought: Maybe I'm on to something here? Maybe I should bring this workshop around the world? So I did. So far we (The Happiness Workshop and I) have been to 16 countries across 3 continents. Then I thought: Why don't I bring this content back to my university in Korea? So I ended up creating a course for Freshman called The Happiness Workshop. Our first semester we had 40 students, and our second and final semester, we had a whopping 150 students (!).
That semester ended up being my final semester at my university in Korea. I quit the job I loved so much because my mom was diagnosed with early onset dementia, and I ended up falling into a deep depression. The irony hit me like a ton of bricks. At that point, I was calling myself a Global Happiness Coach, I knew all the research on Science of Happiness, Positive Psychology, Neuroscience, yet when it came to my own personal happiness, I didn't know where to start.
So I ended up taking 2017 off and in. In hindsight I did some neat stuff:
*Started writing my first book (WITH vs AT: Two Prepositions That Changed My Life)
*Hired a life coach
*Became a certified life coach and certified happiness coach
*Started a pop-up cafe in my apartment serving no sugar/no salt dishes/desserts
*And more!
The best thing I did for myself though, was I ended the year at a women's surf/yoga retreat in Bali. I had never been on one, I had never really surfed or yoga-ed. I just was so desperate to heal myself naturally, I just googled: "Best women's retreats in Bali." Bought a plane ticket, and took off.
While there, I met a mysterious woman named Szilvia from Hungary. She was calling herself a tarot card reader, and was a retreat "add on." Turns out, she was a certified Theta Healing® practitioner, and I ended up getting my first session with her. It totally changed my life. Theta Healing® is an energy healing modality--kind of like the cousin of Reiki.
I ended up working remotely with Szilvia for 2.5 years, and I still check in with her for "monthly maintenance." I've since tried more than 15 different alternative healing modalities, and Theta is still the only one that helped me grow through my depression, and continues to help me grow through whatever life may throw at me. I've also since become a certified theta healing® practitioner and trainer, and infuse the deep transformative learnings into my workshops/trainings around the globe.
It's been incredibly humbling to see the profound transformation with my one-on-one clients, as well, from the practitioner side.
I help awesome humans grow through life's challenges: fear, depression, anxiety, stress and more using an incredibly transformative energy healing technique called Theta Healing®.
I heard about The Co-Co while I was in New Jersey for 7 months. I wanted to join, but before I could, my husband's job took us back to Korea. As a virtual member, The Co-Co has inspired friendships, networking, support. Every time I participate in a Co-Co event whether it's a Coffee Chat or a Wellness Wednesday, I always walk away feeling inspired, seen, supported, and elevated.
