Starting in August, we launch LA’s Newest Mommy and Me and Toddler Tumbling Classes. To Celebrate we have a Special Offer click here to learn more

You and Your Little One Will Enjoy

• 2,000 square feet of custom padded flooring covered with a vinyl flooring that is perfect for exploring the word and which is cleaned daily. No icky carpet surprises.

• Natural Lighting for a bright cheerful space to play

• Classes are conducted without shoes which is essential to promote the body’s natural alignment

• Fun Tumbling Equipment including our gymnastic air floor

• Great Professional Coach, Debbie Joles

• Conveniently located near West Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Hollywood Hills

• Free Opening Parking Lot.

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Call today to learn more at 323.360.8400 or click here.

The post Mommy and Me and Toddler Tumbling in a healthy vibrant setting appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

Recent magazines tout the benefits of the latest therapy – Earthing. According to the articles, bare feet to the ground will dramatically increase your health and well-being. Well they aren’t telling us anything we don’t know.

Kick off Your Shoes and Kick Up Your Workout

At Master Kim Wellness Group, all our fitness training and all of our martial art classes take place barefoot on our specially padded floor. We know being barefoot grounds you to the floor.  Compare standing in your shoes versus standing without your shoes. You can feel the connection. You feel more in your body, more connected to it. Instinctively you will know what bodily adjustments you need to make to improve your posture.  You will notice this freedom in your workout. You will feel more energized, stronger and more balanced.

Another benefit of working out barefoot is the reduced risk of injury. Recent research of runners shows that the padding of athletic shoes encourages ‘heel striking’ meaning the wearer strikes the pavement or floor heel first. Scientists now believe this repetitive movement can lead to stress injury. Without shoes, the balls of the feet or the middle of the foot strikes first. And based on the human design, it is how we should run and move.

To experience what it is like to workout our way, call or text us at (323) 360-8400 or click here.  

The post Earthing the Latest Health Thing? – Hardly appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

We are very excited to offer our newest product line, Cheeky-Shen “Asian Inspired Baths”

Choose from our

• Deep Sea Blend This blend combines oatmeal, sea plants and essential oils. Use as a facial mask and in your bath for an experience that would make any mermaid jealous.
• Royal Queen Blend This blend combines the ancient herbal beauty formula of an AsianQueen renowned for her loveliness with oatmeal and essential oils. Use as a facial mask as well as in your bath
• The Ginger Experience Blend This blend combines the healing heat of ginger, oatmeal and essential oils. This is a wonderful herbal bath for symptoms of PMS, muscle fatigue or in the recuperation from cold or flu. Unfortunately, this is not recommended for use as a facial

Our herbal formulas are hand-crafted. They have been formulated combining the beauty secrets from Asia and Europe for bathing experiences that soften, sooth and heal. Unlike other bath therapies (even very expensive ones) we do not use inexpensive fillers in our bath formulas. Every ingredient in our baths has a therapeutic purpose.

Who is Cheeky-Shen? She is a celestial goddess who presides over the beauty, joys and passions of all women, young and old, and everything in between. Because of her, all women possess some type of alluring beauty whether in her mind, her body or her spirit. And if you honor her, your beauty will shine through like a polished diamond

Contact Us Today to Place Your Order  Our baths are $4.99 each. For mail orders, there is a minimum order of three at $14.50 plus shipping.

Famous Bathers in History:

“Sir Winston Churchill” reportedly a twice a day bather.  Could his brilliant leadership have existed without the soothing bath?

“Cleopatra” a ruler who knew how to get what she wanted

“Catherine the Great” another woman to rule in a boys’ world

“Madame de Pompadour” mistress to Louis XV who spared no expensive gathering herbs reputed to enhance beauty

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A Warm Herbal Tea Can Help Aid Digestion

If you suffer from digestive problems, part of the problem may stem from what you drink, not just what you eat. Drinking an ice-cold soft drink or other beverage with your food interferes with the digestive process putting out the ‘digestive fire.’  According to the principles of oriental medicine, it also leads to a stagnation of blood and chi in the body. (For this reason, cold drinks can increase symptoms of PMS and women should eliminate them one week before their cycle.)

Take a tip from many Asian Culture

Sip water at room temperature or herbal tea with your meal.  You’ll digestive system will thank you.

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What We Offer at MKW Group

We Use Time-Honored and Effective Formulas With Our Herbal Therapy

At Master Kim Wellness, we offer herbal therapy using Traditional Chinese Medicine formulas (TCM.) TCM is one of the oldest and most sophisticated systems for understanding and using medicinal herbs in the World. TCM originated in Asia and, in particular, the regions that compose modern-day China and Korea. 

Why We Use Traditional Chinese Medicine Formulas

For thousands of years, humans have gathered herbs for medicinal purposes. Before the advent of modern culture, with computers, cars, t.v. and other distractions, humans relied on their innate animal instinct and experience to find and use medicinal herbs.  As defined cultures arose, such knowledge became traditions within the community and were designated as ‘folk cures.’

While there are many useful medicinal herbs from various cultures,  none match the TCM’s paradigm for understanding and using medicinal herbs.  Over many millenniums, TCM practitioners, with a keen sense of observation and innate intuition, discovered herbal combinations that were very effective in eliminating or minimizing health concerns and brought little or no side effects.  The combination of herbs to improve efficacy sets TCM apart from other herbal methods which often utilize the use of only a single herb.

Today, modern research bears out the accuracy and effectiveness of formulas developed thousands of years ago.  (See for example, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (2009, August 20). Scientists Help Explain Effects Of Ancient Chinese Herbal Formulas On Heart Health. ScienceDaily.)

Because we custom blend our TCM formulas, we know that we are providing
our clients effective pathways to health 

How Do The Formulas Differ From the Modern Pharmaceutical Approach?

TCM, and other herbal remedies, derive their ingredients from plants using the roots, leaves, flowers or the whole  plant.  The Pharmaceutical approach isolates, re-creates and replicates for mass production compounds identified as being effective to eradicate a particular disease from the body.

Originally the modern Pharmaceutical industry, which has flourished since the mid 1800s, looked to known medicinal herbs in the development of drugs. Aspirin is a prime example. Willow bark, which has been used since antiquity as a useful pain relieving herb, contains the compound salicin.   Scientists in the mid-1800s isolated this compound, replicated it and used it as the basis for the creation of acetylsalicylic acid. This is the compound we know as aspirin.  

In the late 20th century, biotechnology became a driving force in the development of drugs.  Under this approach, researchers focus on understanding the chemical reactions, or metabolic pathways, that occur or are related to a particular disease.  The goal is to create chemical compounds that will change, control or interrupt the chemical reaction that accompanies the disease in effort to eradicate it.  Advocates of the Pharmaceutical approach argue that these compounds are more effective and targeted.

Ginger: good for more than just an upset stomach

The problems with the pharmaceutical approach is that it seeks to put the body at war with itself and segments the body into various parts instead of looking at it as a whole.  With the rise of biotech pharmaceuticals, words often used are ‘killing of unwanted cells,’ or the term ‘eradication.’  But this approach often fails to take into account why a disease may have developed in the first place.  The TCM approach looks to whole body looking for clues as to why certain diseases may arise. It looks to blockages of energy and their possible impact on the body’s health. Once this diagnosis is completed, herbal Therapy is used to bolster and support the body’s own healing energy to harmonize and make peace within the body.

Even using medicinal herbs as a source for developing drugs is problematic.  When researchers and developer seek to isolate what they perceive as the effective compounds in the herb, they ignore other therapeutic properties that an herb may possess. Or that taken as a whole, the herb may also have fewer side effects when taken as a whole rather than an isolated, concentrated compound.  For example, Willow Bark, which contains the precursor compound to aspirin,  is less likely to irritate the stomach than the concentrated compound found in Aspirin. Moreover, current research shows that  other components of the willow bark may have immune-boosting properties and antioxidant properties which a patient will not get from taking aspirin, and the therapeutic properties of willow bark may stay in the system longer than aspirin.

Recent studies coming Georgia State University have researchers excited with the prospect that the whole ginger root, as opposed to a compound isolated from it, has real and promising anti-prostate cancer potential.  Ironically, researchers are re-discovering there are many more useful constituents in medicinal herbs than the isolated compounds.   For this reason, vitamins, while useful, can also fall short of providing real health because they are similarly, isolated chemical compounds.

Once size fits all rarely does

Why Choose Our Formulas

Call or text us today at 323.360.8400 or see our page on herbal tonics for more information

The post Our TCM Formulas and Pharmaceutical Drugs: Differing Approaches appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

Sushi rolls have become so ubiquitous that you can often find them in the supermarket.  The type of fish or seafood used in the roll is the featured star but often the real power house for the roll is the seaweed which holds it all together.

Nori is the type of seaweed used in rolls as it comes pressed into sheets, but there are many other sea plants such as Kelp, Wakame and Arame. Sea plants, or seaweed, contain many minerals (including iron) and vitamins and are a tasty way to add these nutrients to your diet. In Korea, new mothers traditionally consume seaweed soup in abundance to revitalize their health after giving birth. (see recipe below.) But all women, and many men, who suffer from anemia would benefit.

Beyond providing nutrition, there are other conditions for which it is useful as was demonstrated by our family dog Poppy.  Poppy had eaten a new brand of dog food and was not feeling well. We were near a lagoon awash with dried up seaweed when she became crazed and only regained her sweet self after eating some dried seaweed. Less than 10 minutes, the cause of her duress along with the seaweed, was scooped up and properly disposed of. This, of course, made sense as seaweed is known to moisten and lubricate the intestines. Seaweed is also said to help the body detox, clear heat  and to neutralize the effects of radiation.

Seaweed is also a wonderful additive for the bath.  In September we are launching ‘Cheeky-Shen,’ a seaweed/oatmeal bath and skin tonic containing carefully selected essential oils.  This bath tonic is intended for use a facial mask and in the bath to soften the skin while providing wonderful nutrition to the largest organ in your body – your skin.

And here is the promised recipe for Miyokguk Seaweed Soup (from “Flavours of Korea,” by Marc and Kim Millon published by Andre Deutsch Limited, 1991)

2 oz. of brown seaweed (wakame)
1/2 lb. chopped beef (high quality grass fed beef is best)
4 garlic cloves
2 tbl sesame oil
4 tbl soy sauce
2 spring onion cut into 2 inch pieces
ground black pepper
1 spring onion, shredded on the diagonal

Wash the seaweed in a colander under cold running water for several minutes to rid it of excess salt then drain. Mix the finely chopped beef with garlic, sesame oil and soy sauce. Heat a little oil in a large pot, and fry the meat until brown. Add the drained seaweed and fry quickly for a minute or two. Pour over about 3 pints of cold water and add the spring onions. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or until the seaweed is tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with shredded spring onion.

As a final note, if you do have laver (pressed seaweed) around, don’t just save it for homemade sushi rolls.  Use it as a wrap for leftover rice along with scrambled eggs or tofu for a tasty healthy breakfast wrap.

The post Seaweed More Than Just a Sushi Roll Wrap appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

At our Beverly Hills Martial Arts & Fitness Center we often leave out magazines and such for waiting parents to read while their children take class.  Only one time has someone taken the reading material home – and it disappeared within an hour of being put out. The reading material? A quirky little book detailing the daily beauty routine of fictional French woman, Francoise.

Your kitchen is a great source for beauty inside and out

That someone, most likely a tired mom, wanted to take it home is not surprising. Everyone wants to look good and women in particular do. What was great about this book is that it detailed little things “Francoise” did at home to look and feel more beautiful on a daily basis.

A great gem of advice was utilizing your kitchen as a beauty source.  Kitchen staples such as eggs, oatmeal, fruit and olive oil are wonderful beauty tools.  In the book, Francoise slathered on her face that morning’s leftover oatmeal for a few minutes. Oatmeal is a great skin softener and helps soothe irritation.  Scrambled eggs for breakfast? Before you season it with any salt and pepper, put a little bit on your face. Eggs are rich in vitamins and a great quick at home face mask. Do you add milk to the scrambled eggs? That is fine too since milk is a skin softener.

Do you have extra time in your morning? Combine uncooked oats, an egg (or unused unseasoned scrambled eggs), mashed strawberries and yogurt and use as a scrub. Less time? Mashed strawberries (strawberries are astringent in nature and good for oily skin) and raw sugar or brown sugar make for a nice scrub as well.

Olive oil is great on both the face and the hair.  It’s said that women in Japan use a facial oil on their face before they wash with mild soap. In fact, one well respected Japanese cosmetic company offers a facial oil, made from olive oil, for that purpose.  To use, put a little olive oil on your hands and massage into your face, wipe off using cotton or an old washcloth and then wash your face with a mild soap. Depending on your heritage, your grandmother might have used olive oil on her hair. Take a tip from grandma and try it as well.  Since olive oil is heavy, just put it on your ends and leave on for at least 20 minutes before washing it out.

As a final food for thought, we all know to think about what we put in our stomachs. Well, this thought should be extended to think about what we put on our bodies. If you wouldn’t put it in your stomach, should you put it on your skin which is, after all, the largest organ in your body?

What were Francoise’s other beauty secrets? Exercise was essential for keeping toned and slim.  Follow the above advice and do our weight and fitness training and you’ll be as radiant as Francoise.

The post The Kitchen Should Be Part of Your Beauty Bag appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

If you suffer from digestive problems, part of the problem may stem from what you drink, not just what you eat. Drinking an ice-cold soft drink or other beverage with your food interferes with the digestive process putting out the ‘digestive fire.’  According to the principles of oriental medicine, it also leads to a stagnation of blood and chi in the body. (For this reason, cold drinks can increase symptoms of PMS and women should eliminate them one week before their cycle.)

Take a tip from many Asian Cultures

Sip water at room temperature or herbal tea with your meal. Barley tea is very popular in Korean Culture.  Avoid coffee as that does not aid the digestive process. For those times where you absolutely must have a soda, or other such beverage, with your meal, just skip the ice.  Your stomach will thank you.  As an added benefit, you’ll enjoy your food as the water or herbal tea won’t overwhelm the food’s flavor.

The post Better Health Can Be Just A Sip Away appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

Simple yet powerful stretching pose

Are #@*% your first words in the morning as you rub your aching back? This stretching technique can help. It’s a technique that is as useful to the professional athlete as it is to the desk jockey.

This stretching exercise should be part of your daily regimen to relieve tension in your back and hamstrings and to prevent problems from developing.  The exercise looks easy, but looks can be deceiving. Our fitness instructors do this important stretch throughout the day, and acupuncturist, Master Kim, prescribes it to patients with back problems. 

Our Ballet Barre runs the length of our training space.

At the Fitness Center, we use our ballet barre for this stretching exercise, in addition to our kicking drills and our muscle strengthening techniques.  (Look for our next post where we will demonstrate muscle strengthening exercises.) At home or the office, you can use the back of a heavy sturdy chair or table.

Directions:

Stand straight, shoulders relaxed and take a deep breathe. Fill up the lungs to the point that you feel a gentle expansion in your lower stomach area, the mid-back area and throughout your ribscage.  Exhale as you bend over securely grabbing the chair or table. Keep your back straight with your stomach held in with tightened, but not clenched, muscles. Your head should be in a comfortable relaxed position. Press into your feet so that your weight is in your legs and not in your back.  Stay in this position for 3 breaths. You should feel a stretch (not pain) in your calves, hamstrings, arms and back.

After you feel comfortable, it is time to explore the many benefits of this posture. Shift the weight into your heels while pulling gently away from the chair or table and take 3 deep breaths.  Next shift the weight onto the outside of your feet and take 3 more breaths, then shift the weight into your instep and repeat the breathing exercises. Try pulling away from the table and then pull towards the table or chair with your arms. Take note of where your muscles are tight. Are you tight in your hamstrings? Are your shoulders tight? Take a deep breath, hold for a count of 5 and visualize relaxing the tight areas while you exhale.

To add a grand finale to the stretch, hold firmly on the bar, chair or table, squat down with your ‘bum’ a few inches from the floor and your back straight.  In addition to a nice back stretch, this acupressure pose can help with constipation.

The post One of the Simplest Yet Most Powerful Back & Hamstring Stretches appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.

Weight Bearing Exercise are an essential part of a Fountain of Youth Regimen. Be Creative. Have Fun.

Are you continually looking for the Fountain of Youth presented in pretty jar from the department store?  There are many nice products out there that can help smooth out fine lines while adding a little plumpness.  But don’t forget that what you put inside your body might be more important than what you put on your body.

You probably know that as we age, we lose bone mass. As a lovely plastic surgeon we know tells clients, bone shrinkage effects the facial area too.  The jaw area and temple area recede due to the loss of  bone mass in addition to the loss of collagen.  If concern over osteoporosis isn’t enough to encourage you to maintain your bone mass, perhaps a receding chin will.

Before you reach for a calcium supplement, beware.   Calcium alone won’t do the trick. As Dr. James Duke writes in the “The Green Pharmacy”, you need to consume phosphorus, magnesium, boron, zinc, vitamin D and A for the calcium to actually strengthen the bones. (The Green Pharmacy is a wonderful reference book.) Mother nature in her wisdom often delivers all these nutrients together in food.  Women in Asia eat anchovies, bones and all, and baby crabs – including shell – to increase bone strength.  Pearls ground into powder is considered a wonderful tea to enhance beauty.  Dark green leafy vegetable, broccoli, dandelion leaves, cabbage, whey, asparagus, blackstrap molasses, oats are wonderful sources of calcium. Oats also make an excellent convalescent drink, but this a subject for a future post.

The decrease of estrogen in menopausal women is linked to bone loss  as estrogen promotes the deposition of calcium in the bones. (See Dr. James Balch, “Prescription for Nutritional Healing”  another wonderful addition to your home library.)  Understanding this decrease, the formulas at Master Kim Wellness Group contain herbs that are naturally enriched in calcium, along with the appropriate supporting nutrition.  This is in addition to herbs that treat symptoms of Menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats.  Our formulas contain the highest quality herbs we can find.  Consumed like a tea, the body more easily recognizes these herbs as food and uses them in the body accordingly.

In addition to eating right, you must exercise to replenish your own fountain of youth.  Your program should include cardiovascular drills that increase your heart rate along with weight-bearing exercises.  Not only will you help your bones, you will release endorphins which will make you feel stronger, younger, more energized and more sexy than any pill or cream in a jar.  Look for our exercise, stretching and weight-bearing tips in future posts.

The post Real Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep appeared first on Master Kim Wellness Group.