As a child, Amy Wong spent a great deal of time in nature. Many of her earliest childhood memories involved playing in the backyard with her grandmother and watching her plant a variety of Asian plants and fruits like jujubes.
Elizabeth Quiroz, 33, never thought her life would turn around after spending much of her teenage and adult years being manipulated and coerced into doing things she didn’t want to do.
At her most recent forest therapy guided session in Monrovia Canyon Park, Jackie Kuang led her group on a peaceful, contemplative walk, inviting them to “bathe their senses” in nature and be fully present in the now.
"It took me a long time to process that my mother’s death was a suicide. There is such a stigma about mental health in my culture. At first, I just did not know how to explain it, or even approach it. I felt like I had to hide behind the truth, as I 'should not' talk about it. It made me so angry," said Dimple.
“I think we need to feel more free to ask for help or look for resources because a lot of the times Latinas don’t like to ask for help just because it’s our culture that we need to solve everything by ourselves (including myself)."
“I think we are all bigger and better than who we think we are, and it’s a beautiful process to be able to help women uncover these possibilities and discover their true self,” said Thapa.
Mornings with Moni 