It’s All About Balance

“There’s such intention in a name, in thoughts, in all things we do,” Wainani Arnold notes soothingly. In Hawaiian, Wainani’s name means beautiful, fresh flowing water, and like the name she was born with, Wainani notes, “Gentle flowing, nutritious movement is indeed what I teach to others. I am healing them from the outside in, with physical ways that ground them and bring balance back into their life.” Wainani specializes in the Gyrokinesis Method, a movement method that blends the forms and philosophies of yoga, Tai Chi, gymnastics, and dance. Her classes, taught from her center in Kaimuki, help to awaken the senses, stimulate the nervous system, increase range of motion, and enhance agility. The Gyrotonic equipment is adjustable to each user, and it focuses on building balance throughout the body by strengthening it with circular, rhythmic repetitions aiming at harmonizing all parts of the body and mind. Wainani felt called to teach this method, as it stems from Ayurvedic principles of yoga that align with her Hawaiian values of honoring natural balance and relationships between all things.

Raised in O‘ahu’s world of hula and drawn to the sciences, Wainani understood from an early age that what shows up in the physical body is connected to the emotional, mental, and relational components influencing you. A Kamehameha Schools graduate interested in kinesiology, her dance background landed her a scholarship at Chapman University in California where she earned a BFA in Dance Teaching and Performing with a minor in Sociology. While teaching dance fulfilled her passion, Wainani soon realized she needed to make more income than what her dance classes were able to provide. Yoga and pilates were a natural alternative as they used similar movements to dance while also teaching a holistic life view that brought grounding and deeper feelings of satisfaction. However, what really pulled Wainani into yoga was the philosophy behind the movements and, particularly, the daily habits and rituals. “I knew this language. Even though it was Sanskrit, it was the same as my upbringing,” Wainani elaborates on the similarities of the Hawaiian culture’s beliefs and Ayurvedic teaching—that all things need balance between earth, fire, ether, air, and water. In Hawaiian practices, she notes that “We have protocol or rituals at morning, noon, night and throughout the day—honoring the sun, moon, water, wind, fire, plants, and ancestors to ground us to the energies of the elements, which, when working together in harmony, keeps us balanced. In Ayurvedic practices, we do the same.”

In 2010, she began to heal from her own environmental allergies. She had put her Ayurvedic studies and yoga movements to practice, and this led to a cleansing of stress, balancing of gut health, strengthening of her immunity, and deeper self-awareness. Wainani recognized the healing of her yoga-pilates lifestyle as similar to “what my papa used to say of Lā‘au Lapa‘au.” She realized her purpose was to pass on this understanding of self-healing by empowering people to listen to their na‘au, or gut. “Just like things go in, things must go out. There is a natural ebb and flow to everything,” Wainani explains. “When we ignore the universal facts of finding the balance in the opposites—to cool when something is overheated, to slow down when things get too fast, to stimulate when something is stuck, to find sweetness if you are being sour, to bring vibrancy when things get dull—that’s when we see imbalance. Imbalance is what causes pain, disease, or emotions like depression.” While Wainani understands that not everyone wants to hear about elements, nutrition, or intentional prayer, she knows that what people do want is a safe place to move and create their own healing, discovering for themselves a way of life.

In 2007, Wainani got a call from her former dance teacher, offering her to take over her position at Mid Pacific Institute School of the Arts during her maternity leave. Following this, Wainani stayed on O‘ahu, teaching at various studios, including one that specialized in the Gyrotonic Method. With the changes in the industry and an increase in yoga-based movement interest, Wainani felt the call to open her own studio.

In 2017 Wainani Wellness Center was born in the heart of Kaimuki. Now, managing eight instructors, ongoing classes, high city rent and taxes, and the challenging mindset it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur, Waianai admits, “It takes everything out of you. So, it must be so meaningful to be worth it.” Growing up, Wainani watched her father wrestle his own struggles as a business owner. It was through that observation that she saw how ethics and treating others well in Hawai‘i really goes a long way. This is why she sees focusing on relationships with her clients, her staff, and her community as the way to face this hurdle of the pandemic. While the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed changed the capacity count allowed at her center, sterilization procedures required, and her schedule, Wainani is grateful for the time it gives her to bond with and train instructors, as well as improve her virtual class offerings. Some suggestions she has to keep sane and healthy during the pandemic is to support the body’s natural cycle of hormones, digestion, and release. Waking up at sunrise and going to bed around 10 pm helps the body to function better without that sluggish energy or back up on digestion. Subtle exercise daily will also help to release stress and detox the system, allowing better immunity and brain focus. Even drinking lukewarm water instead of cold can help to keep the body’s natural strength or fire alive. Wainani has a uploaded free instructional videos of movement techniques that one can do at home or anywhere. Helping others discover their own healing is truly satisfying for her, whether taught on a large or small scale, in person or online, with a pandemic or without.