Doña María Apaza Gives Thanks in NYC and LA
The Inkarri Cultural Association community in the US hosted Doña María Apaza to offer a series of teaching and healing ceremonies in New York and Los Angeles. She gathered people for a despacho (Earth healing ritual) in NYC’s Times Square as well as events in LA, including the Inkarri Day of Inner Peace. Doña María Apaza is an 88-year-old Alto Misayoc (known as “she who welcomes the Major Spirits), which is the highest degree of Andean Priestess of the Q’ero Nation of Cusco, Peru. She is on a mission to support the Earth through making offerings and uniting people through intention and practice. She offered the following advice to urban dwellers who care about making a commitment to the Earth (who she calls Pachamamma):
Connect with other like-minded people who support the ability to uplift each other.
Small actions make a difference.
Speak and take action from the heart.
Maintain the intention to reconcile with Mother Earth.
See the trees as role models—they grow upward and give to the Earth rather than destroy.
Respect the water we drink that is a gift from Mother Earth.
Endeavor to live a life of love and harmony.
Always give thanks.
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.