Well hello there! My name is Kwanza (they/them); I am your local queer non-binary Holistic Health Practitioner, Yoga Teacher, Bodyworker, Herbalist and owner of Tonix Wellness. Tonix Wellness LLC born from seeing a gap in the wellness industry, getting quiet and following my intuition. A journey that took me from San Diego to Costa Rica for a few months, and then back to San Diego to further my training. Just to get the message that Long Beach would be home. I think I might stay a while.

I thought a lot about what to write here. I figured I could just list my degrees or tell you a few of my hobbies, but I wanted this space to feel less like boasting about accolades and more like a conversation. An ongoing conversation, I hope, will work in both directions. A space for me to share what I know and you to share what you know. We don’t gatekeep around these parts. To start the conversation, I’ll tell you a story and I hope to hear a story or two of yours soon.

I began building a relationship with plant medicines when my father was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016. I would always find myself going on deep dives through the internet and whatever book I could find and then taking the information I learned straight to my father to put into practice. What started out as just a way to offer wellness support to my father, birthed into a passion. I began experimenting with growing plants, making tea blends, tinctures, salves and fermenting foods. My passion grew with support from my community, and I began making wines, meads and even hosting wine tastings and other community events. My early degrees are in Mental Health on a macro scale so I decided to go back to school completing a 1000-hour program in Massage Therapy/Holistic Health, a year long Apprenticeship in Herbalism, Reiki Attunement and Yoga Teacher Training. Sharing this to inform my perspective on holistic health.

I am fascinated by the resources mother nature has allowed us at our fingertips AND I can acknowledge that access to these resources doesn’t often come easy for BIPOC LGBTQ+ and Non-binary humans. I saw this in many areas of wellness, but I noticed it most in my role as a Bodyworker; I saw how few of us were taught healthy non-sexual touch. Since so much of our trauma happens in relationships, our healing must also happen in relationships. The first relationship being the one that we have with ourselves. The next being the relationship we have with our community.

My goal with Tonix Wellness LLC extends much further than my products or my services. My goal is to create a space for conversations about what wellness looks like outside of the binaries. My goal is to make holistic wellness information accessible to populations that are often overlooked. We are all healers. Not because we are special, but because we are human. Human enough to live in our bodies and human enough to know what is best for them. You are your first healer. So, trust your intuition; you will get where you are going soon enough. Grateful to guide you in the ways I can, follow when you lead, and walk alongside you (teacup in hand).

Love always, Kwanz