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Heart Open ConversAsians, Houston, TX (2026)

04/11/2025

I know you’ll get me when I say that the hardest part about committing to your workout is the part where you actually have to get off your butt, change, and go. I’m proud to say I overcame that hard part today, and felt all the stronger and lighter and better for it, but what I’m about to share, was something that I wasn’t prepared to experience.

It isn’t my first time at this indoor cycling studio, and each session has been nothing short of invigorating and amazing since. By a change of schedule, I ended up attending the class of a repeat instructor whom I adored the first time around. I walked in and got clipped in, knowing I’m guaranteed a hair-flipping, intoxicating 45 minutes ahead.

Halfway through class, she told the story of someone who had been a long time member of this community who had unexpectedly passed very recently, and recalled when she first met him here 9 years ago that when she asked him, what is it about this community that you makes you return, and he said, this place was his respite when he was going through a very difficult time, and it was the only place, that when the lights go out, he was given the space to let go, and to cry.

I felt the ache in my chest in that instance, and like him, I allowed the tears to come as I rode and let the music and room take over. It was surreal and needed, and not what I had expected to walk away with at the end of a workout class.

It made me realized how much I was holding in and keeping it altogether, and as I looked around class, it was apparent I wasn’t alone in that.

I guess I just wanted to take this experience tonight to say that the naked eye doesn’t tell us how much the people we share a room with are actually going through and it helps to remember to be kind and also, that when you allow yourself to say yes and actually get up and go do that thing, it could well give you an unexpectedly memorable experience in exchange in more ways than you know.

Be gentle, everyone.
Sending love 💗

04/06/2024

Hey there, dear ones. If you’ve been feeling emotions of helplessness, stress, frustrations and shame of late, I invite you to stay with me through this post.

I’ve been experiencing a combination of those feelings these past some months, brought about by increased work intensity, life things in general, but more particularly, navigating through some health challenges and injuries that the people I love are having to deal with, myself included.

Earlier today, a renewed and heightened sense of those same feelings surfaced after a stressful walk with Sadie that ended with some excessive lunging by her that ended with me experiencing a debilitating pain in my right wrist, a pain that felt indicative of a re-injury of my tendon.

I was consumed by the sheer thought of this healing process feeling like it’s a constant one step forward then two steps back, that’s it’s taking so dang long, that I can’t manage simple daily tasks without pain and discomfort, that I’m inhibited from fulling access my physicalities, that I’m not able to make the most of my time. These thoughts and feelings were familiar; it’s that of the ingrained upbringing of the need to hustle, and to always have it all together; it’s that of the shame spiral of non-productivity.

When I get in my head during such times, here’re some little things I do to help regulate and soothe me through it:
- Cry; let it out.
- Take deep long breathes in and out.
- Talk to someone you can trust showing your most real, beautiful self to.
- Do something that makes my soul happy.
- Take a break from devices.
- Sleep/Nap/Rest.

Above it all, Acknowledge these very real feelings. Give it space. Sit or sleep or cry or talk through them. You’re not broken but more beautiful because of them.

Have a restful, kind, easy weekend on yourselves, treasured ones.

12/26/2023

Hello treasured ones. Just me checking in the day after Christmas.

We had a full house yesterday hosting family and friends at ours. It was a wondrous time. You can head over to my personal account to check out some photos capturing those wonderful memories and a caption citing how these folks are gifts that keeps on giving. They truly are, and also, some other truths about this day that I’m going to be honest about here, are:

- It is unabashedly the MOST time of the year; both just most wonderful, but the most of EVERYTHING.
- I have a love/hate relationship with hosting; it can be soooo darn stressful to make sure everything falls into place and everyone has what they need in the moment they need something.
- Wayyyyyy too much thought and planning and preparation is required for just ONE day of affair.
- In the end, we (the hosts) cares the most about alllll the things. People only needed the basics and were satisfyingly happy for the time spent together.
- What came with the loads of fun and laughter and dining and wining is heaps full to clean and organize around the house that I started on last night and still finding more to do.
- Gifting for the adults could be improvised and done in a more meaningful way to avoid disappointments because of unmet expectations.

For now, I’m most thankful for a clean and serene home, space for yoga and breathwork, being in my coziest jumpsuit and cuddling up with my most darling Sadie.

I hope your Christmas was everything you wished for and more, and also, I hope you’re finding pockets of moments this post Christmas Day to care and relish upon your beautifully imperfect and wonderful self.

Sending so much love, space, breaths.

09/23/2023

The act of crying.

My upbringing was one that infused the act of crying with connotations of weakness, embarrassment, shame, less than. We’re told not to cry in public or in front of others; we’re told that instead of choosing to cry, do something about it instead. I’m a doer, well-versed at making to-do lists, and a believer in the doing and taking action, but what I’ve also discovered over these past some years, is that the time and space we allow ourselves to first process those difficult feelings instead of skipping fast past it is so essential to our overall wellbeing. It allows for those difficult feelings to take up space, to have an outlet, to not be judged, to find comfort, which with that, made the ability to be logical and at peace to take the steps of finding solutions and taking action much easier to access.

How we choose to process those feelings can look different for everyone; sometimes it looks like talking to someone, sometimes it looks like taking a long walk in nature, and sometimes, it could look like having a good, long, hearty cry.

I just did. And immediately felt a ton off me and felt the room to breathe deeper and slower.

And so, here’s me unlearning and rewiring that, the act of crying isn’t good nor bad but merely an outlet and that in-between place that validates and honors who you feel and who you are. It’s a cleansing of the soul, some would say, and I couldn’t agree more.

Sending you love and space this weekend, loves.

#

09/17/2023

Healing from trauma can look different for everyone. And so does trauma itself.

The kind of trauma my gal-pal and I talked about last evening, is the kind that relates to past hurts, patterns and dynamics in a marital partnership and how, in the quest of trying to work on and better the relationship, you somehow develop a shuddering fear whenever a similar interaction occurs, that the same unhealthy and damaging pattern of communication will rear its ugly head once again.

The fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time that’ll ignite an undesirable reaction from your partner that makes you shut down so that the yelling and fighting will stop. The fear of the ‘what if’ of not being able to heal and arrive at a better place together. The fear that you’ll never be truly understood nor embraced by the one person you’ve chosen to live your life with.

Healing from traumas is so tricky. It takes time, it’s not linear, and it looks different for everyone. Therein lies in that process the need for awareness, compassion and empathy for self, aspects that we may not have always known innately to gift to ourselves freely. Therein lies the courage to try, to be supported by others in the trying, and with each healthy exchange, gain confidence and hope that the next exchange and the next will get better than the one before it.

You’re not wrong to decide to try,
Neither are you wrong to decide to walk away. What’s worst than not being honest to the other person, is being honest to yourself.

Remember who you are,
And may you always have the courage to honor it, trust it, choose it.

08/11/2023

A kind and wise gentleman sitting next to me on the plane said to me turned and looked at me and said:

“I want you to have a good weekend.”

I said thank you, and asked that he do the same.

Reminder that the simplest of gestures can sometimes be the nicest moment of someone’s day.

I passed it on to the lady beside me afterwards.

I hope you’ll be blessed with moments like this today and everyday and then remembering to pass it on. You never know when someone needs it 😍❤️

04/03/2023

“How is it already April, babe?” said me this morning. And also me when I hung out with a friend I haven’t caught up in what feels like too long going “Is this what they mean by the days are long but the years are short??” 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi there, dear ones. It’s truly been a minute I’ve shown up on here. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind all through mid March to now; it was only today, on a glorious Sunday that already feels too much like summer where I am, that I had to dedicate some hours to jump on the computer to get some critical work taken care of while thinking about the list of to-do’s and responsibilities that I’ve to cross out because I’m an adult with responsibilities, duties and commitment. Did I just describe your weekend too?

If I am, may I invite you to pause and close your eyes with me for a minute? Let’s start by taking 4 counts of breaths in, hold for 4 counts at the top, and then let it all out in 7 counts. Relax that grip in your shoulders and jaws, take this minute to come home to yourself, and repeat after me:

“It feels like there’s still much to check off, but hey me, look how far you’ve come. Look at what you’ve been able to accomplish, the strides you’ve already taken, the growth you’ve already made. You’re doing enough. You’re allowed to slow down; you’re allowed to rest.” 💆🏻‍♀️

Here’s a photo of me on a weekend afternoon a couple of months back, at the color factory here in Houston with treasured family, where all that mattered was laughters, relaxation, and good times. May we never loose sight and reach of moments like these, the ones that helps us recharge, re-center and reminds us the importance of balance and rest💫🌈❤️
💗❤️

03/11/2023

Hello dear one, and hello much needed weekend. How are you? I’ve been pretty swamped by a combination of work and business travels and am extremely grateful for this weekend that wound up being an easy and quiet one in the cost compounds of home. It truly is about the simpler things sometimes, won’t you agree?

In this Thursday-ish episode, I’m showing up in my pretty worn-out, a tad jetlagged and sluggish (allergies season!) being, coming to you with an episode sharing a recent catch-up sesh with a dear friend, who also is a repeat guest on my podcast, Sylvia Cheng. The pull to share this conversation stemmed from my reach for reminders to notice and relish moments, things and people around me amidst the hustle and to slow down and make space for these fleeting yet meaningful moments.

Sylvia and I spend this time catching up on life since the first conversation, creative pivots she made with her business, and how pouring into her business in turn became support and nourishment on her own self care. This is a heartwarming one, I hope you’ll enjoy it and then be stirred to connect with a loved one this week. Deep breathes always, dear ones. .

02/11/2023

🎙️ New Podcast Episode #52 💫

When it comes to the idea of embracing radical self love and self empathy as one of the essential steps to help us move through roadblocks and make attaining our desires and aspirations more accessible, I couldn’t think of a stronger advocator to join us on the podcast to enlighten us than Claudia 💫💖
⁠
Claudia Chan .co is a Mindset Life Coach who works with women to help them explore what they want deep in their hearts, and go after their dreams with courage and confidence instead of worrying about other people’s voices. She is also an International Best Selling Author to the book Asian Women Who BossUp, a proud mom to a 5 year old boy, and wife to a handsome and supportive husband. She holds the strong belief that, if everyone can live the life they love, this world would be a much better place 💕🙏🏻
⁠
In this conversation, Claudia empowered us to reframe what fear means in our lives and shed guidance on how we all have the ability to create safe spaces within ourselves that can eventually open doors towards possibilities and pursuing our passions and dreams even if it isn’t one that fits society’s definition of conventional and successful. This conversation is packed with so much heart and love; I’ve a feeling you’re going to relate to and enjoys much of this. ⁠
⁠
Click below link to listen:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/heart-open-conversasians/id1541242230

https://open.spotify.com/show/6R2d5pRckeFxo2sMyfe4yf?si=z-GnwROwRXG2io2BvmI-Vw

I’m intrigued already to exchange some afterthoughts with ya after 🙌🏻🙌🏻⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

02/04/2023

The sun. The way it fills, nourishes and energizes me. Anyone else? ☔️🙋🏻‍♀️ It’s been quite the brutally gloomy, rainy and cold week here (by Houston’s standards). The sun’s out for the first time this week yesterday and my level of elation was hard to contain, to the extent that I wrote in the greeting in a work email to my counterpart: “Am I the only one who’s chirpier already just because the sun’s shining and smiling at us?”. And to my pleasant surprise, I got the response of “I was just thinking that and oh yes, I feel the same! Enjoy the weekend!” :)

Hello dear ones. How are ya? Have you been taking care of yourself, especially during seasons and periods when it’s darker, wetter, gloomier than usual? If you’re in search of some tips from your Jane next door for some tried and tested practices that helped, do hop onto the pod space and find last week’s episode on the podcast where I shared 5 things that worked for me to find mental, physical and emotional balance through this season that’s by far not my jam. I hope this was supportive and keep you warm, both literally and figuratively.

How’s the weather where you are? Drop an emoji in the comments and let me know! ☀️🌤️❄️🌬️⛄️☔️🌊

01/08/2023

You folks already know how much I love love love connecting with and highlighting stories of my fellow Asian allies, friends and entrepreneurs via this podcast, a container that I strive to keep honest and safe to hold intentional, meaningful conversations in. And you know what I also love? That these treasured connections now presents the opportunities for me to support and contribute to their heart businesses, projects and causes in ways I can while getting my (shopping) needs (more like wants) met ;)

I’ve been looking for a bracelet made of precious gemstone that’s timeless, speaks of me, and customized to address my concerns and help ease my limiting areas. And this exact item arrived at the house today. It’s handmade, stone by stone, with love and intention from the ever charming, psychic advisor, spiritual life coach and friend, Serene 💕🤍 She made sure it was cleansed and blessed before sending it my way all the way from motherland Singapore. It feels so quality and looks so modern; I’m gonna be wearing this for a long long time!

Curious about the beautiful work that Serene’s doing, the chapters in her life that inspired it, and her advice on a next small step you can take to pursue your passion? Check out Episode 34 on the podcast for all of that and more 💫

This podcast, this container, this community. Truly a gift that keeps on giving. I’m the lucky one 💕 .

01/07/2023

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Heart Open ConversAsians

04/11/2025

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12/26/2023

09/23/2023

09/17/2023

08/11/2023

04/03/2023

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