Celebrating Global Wellness Day

In honor of GWD today I asked myself, "What does wellness mean to me?"

I describe wellness as "The art of living a balanced, healthy, meaningful lifestyle while being mindful and grateful every day." I also realize it is my responsibility as a global citizen to help others achieve this in their lives by spreading the message of wellness to as many people as possible. 

I purposely designed my business, Mala and Mantra, with the intention to spread the messages behind the mala beads (a meditation tool) of mindfulness and wellness. 

All of our malas come with a mantra written based on the holistic properties and energies of each gemstone we use. The mantras are a suggestion for meditation, if one should choose to use the beads in practice.

I also created the business with the deep rooted mission to "empower women through wellness" by providing the underprivileged women who hand craft our beads with sustainable income which provides livelihood for themselves, their families, and their communities.

We hope to aid in the fight against poverty through our "Women and Wellness" campaigns. When women are part of a social livelihood program and given the opportunity to earn a sustainable wage, they can greatly help themselves and their families. These women make sure their families are fed and their children go to school; they understand education is the biggest opportunity for their children to have a better future. 

Our goal at M+M is to work with as many women artisans across the globe to help us craft our products and spread the messages of mindfulness and wellness behind them. I believe the collective energy these products are crafted with touches the person who eventually receives them with wellness.

To celebrate GWD2016, I designed a very special mala bead bracelet, 'I am WELLNESS,' for I Connection's annual Cruise Event. 

This bracelet is made with sustainable whitewood and rosewood beads from the Philippines and one very special gemstone, Rhodonite, with properties that include: compassion, forgiveness, restoration, purpose, cooperation, community, altruism, and generosity of spirit. It also happens to be pink in color which goes with GWD's signature color. Coincidentally, pink is also the color of the heart chakra.

The mantra I wrote based on these properties is:

I am balanced.
I am humanity.
I am restored.

I hope everyone who receives this bracelet will wear it today to show how they plan to live and be well!

Happy GWD2016!

Be well + Live well,

JPC