Miya Kishi Dunets
“All of my work is in service of creative expression, individual and collective inner freedom, and building true community.”
A multi talented musician, children’s book author, yogi and wellness practitioner meet Miya Dunets! I met Miya back in Taipei several years ago when she was still working her corporate job in Hong Kong. Fast forward to 2020 I reconnected with Miya through her yoga and amazing music! Miya shares with us her personal journey from California, New York to Hong Kong and now back to California just last month and how yoga, music, has helped keep her grounded more so than ever. Read more about Miya here and do subscribe to her playlist, she has a beautiful voice!
Curito:
Hi Miya! You are a yogi, reiki and sound healer, mantra singer and a children's book author currently living in HK! How do you normally introduce yourself in a nutshell to new individuals you meet!
Miya:
I try not to force myself or anyone into a quick summary! But if I have to, I usually just say I'm a musician and wellness practitioner.
Curito:
Were you always on this path of yoga, healing and music? What were you doing before if you weren't and what incident brought you to get your trainings and begin this path full time?
Miya:
My interests have always been varied, but music has been a constant. I played piano as a child and started writing songs in high school. I wrote and performed music in NYC after college, while working in finance and then going to graduate school. When I moved to Hong Kong, I kept playing out a bit while I worked in the education sector, for a restaurant focused on plant-based eating and sustainable food systems, and for an international education nonprofit.
In 2016, I was feeling really stuck personally and professionally, and started to dedicate more time to my yoga practice. Part of what made that easy and fun was finding a studio that I really loved. That studio was Kita Yoga, where I've taught for the last 2.5 years. Yoga has so many benefits. It gets us out of our heads and into our bodies. It allows us to cultivate a growth mindset. It creates flexibility, strength, and resilience in body and mind.
I spent the end of 2017 back in NYC, continuing my work with the education nonprofit, getting my 200-hour yoga teacher certification on the weekends, developing "Birds of a Feather" (a song and book for kids, illustrated by Ya Chin Chang, an artist and friend I knew from Hong Kong), and creating my company, The Kokoro Collective. When I returned to Hong Kong, I started teaching at Kita. I went to India several times and back to New York regularly to take on advanced trainings - some focused on asana (the aspect of yoga that is most widely known, centered around various physical postures), some on meditation, and some on sound.
Developing my yoga practice helped me to come back to music - writing, playing, and recording. It helped me to come home to my heart and it helps me stay there.
Curito:
During your time in Hong Kong how have you seen the wellness industry grow from when you first moved there to where it is now?
Miya:
I've actually just moved from Hong Kong to California, but the wellness industry definitely exploded during the time I was in Hong Kong and I'm sure it will continue to grow. When I arrived in Hong Kong, Pure Yoga and Anahata Yoga really dominated the yoga scene. There were many asana classes on offer but not many standalone meditation (including sound baths and other sound-focused practices) classes that I knew of, outside of religious centers (though it's likely that I just wasn't tapped into the wellness-focused communities within the city at the time).
Coming from NYC, I was used to a wide variety of classes and studios, and being guided by highly trained teachers that included yoga philosophy and might also infuse the practice with elements of dance, Tai Chi, or other movement practices. Most of the classes I took in Hong Kong when I arrived just felt like workouts - good for physical health but sort of soulless. Classes were packed and the studios felt very corporate.
Now there are tons of boutique yoga studios, studios that offer every kind of workout you can imagine, lots of meditation and sound practices available, and alternative healers and holistic doctors everywhere you look. It's really wonderful to see the growth and appetite, because it means Hong Kongers believe they can take control of their own mental, physical, and emotional health.
On the flip side, because the wellness scene is a little less developed than that of other major cities around the world, the quality of classes and teachers is highly variable. I'm amazed what people feel they can charge in Hong Kong, despite lack of skill and experience. It's sort of a wild west (or wild east?!) situation in that regard. There are some really wonderful teachers, but there are also a lot of folks who haven't really dedicated very much time, energy, or effort to really understanding the history and essence of the practices they are sharing. I'll be interested to see how it all unfolds from afar!
Curito:
Is Hong Kong a hard market to enter if you are a freelance yoga teacher, a healer or an individual who wants to tap into this marketplace? Is language a barrier of entry?
Miya:
I think my entry was particularly easy because the owner of Kita Yoga is a dear friend who was incredibly welcoming and supportive, allowing me to teach at her studio and also share whatever practices I learned and felt would be useful for our students. Through Kita and my other work, I met other teachers who asked me to share in their spaces and collaborate. In general, Hong Kong is pretty small and the wellness scene is pretty open. As long as you are earnest and dedicated, you can definitely find a place!
Curito:
Which studios, instructors, healers and wellness restaurants/stores/cafes are your favorites in Hong Kong?
Miya:
I'm just going to keep it simple here and plug Kita, because I truly believe in both the business and every teacher who is a part of the studio. I highly recommend cooking at home with/for loved ones and consuming less when you can, but I do like Slowood (health food store) and Treehouse (cafe).
Curito:
In Hong Kong where can customers find your yoga classes, your reiki and sound healing offerings and perhaps kirtan nights?! Do you have a established community you work with?
“Developing my yoga practice helped me to come back to music - writing, playing, and recording. It helped me to come home to my heart and it helps me stay there.”
Miya:
Now that I've moved, I still teach public online yoga classes through Kita. I also teach yoga and meditation, and offer sound and reiki healing to groups and private students independently and plan to do a lot more of that. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging through the US, all of my work is online at the moment. But in the future, I'll also teach at studios in California.
Curito:
Who are some of your mentors and what inspires you to continue to do what you do everyday?
Miya:
I really love the work and teachings of Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Tara Brach. They're all Buddhist teachers who make the teachings accessible and warm. Not all of the practices I share are Buddhist, but they are all aimed at helping people to know themselves and alleviate some of our sense of individual separation and suffering. All of my work is in service of creative expression, individual and collective inner freedom, and building true community. Those are the things that I most value and so that's where I spend my time and energy.
Curito:
What was the inspiration behind Kokoro Collective? What does Kokoro mean?
Miya:
Kokoro is a Japanese word that is a sort of an amalgamation of heart, mind, spirit, and soul. I'm half Japanese and wanted to develop something that reflected my heritage and also my life's purpose. All the projects brought to life through this business are collaborative, born of the heart, and intended to make the world a better place.
Curito:
You mentioned you are leaving Hong Kong and moving back to California, what is next in the story line for you? What will you miss about Hong Kong and Asia? What do you hope to achieve in this new decade?
Miya:
With all of the tumult in the world, it feels like an important time to be with family. I grew up in a small rural town in California, across the street from my maternal grandparents, Japanese American farmers, and my parents and grandparents still live on that land. My sister and her family are in San Francisco, about 2 hours away.
For the next year or so, I want to work on my business, teach yoga and meditation, write more music, help my sister with her kids, and spend time with my parents and grandparents. In the next 10 years, I'd love to do a lot more of that and build yoga and meditation programming for underserved youth in California. I already miss the amount of traveling I did while I lived in Hong Kong, and some of the beautiful communities there, but I'm also excited to feel rooted for a while and to build community here.
Living in Asia helped me to see how large and grand the world is, and to deeply appreciate and honor cultural differences and traditions that make us all who we are, wherever we're from and wherever we end up.
Curito:
How can our audience follow your offerings, activities and how can we reach out to you for collaborative work?
Miya:
I'm in the midst of building out a personal website (www.miyadunets.com) and have a website for The Kokoro Collective (www.kokorocollective.com). I'm also on instagram and my music is on Spotify, Apple Music, bandcamp, etc. etc. Feel free to to DM me on IG or email me at miya@kokorocollective.com!
Curito:
Thank you for your time Miya, I can’t wait to see what other creations you continue to make going forward and perhaps I can collaborate with you in the near future as well! Wishing you all the best in this new chapter in your life!
First published on July 7, 2020
