Aikido Enchanted Story
Aikido Enchanted is an online small batch apothecary and metaphysical shop. Many of the herbs used in the apothecary are homegrown from my very own garden.
Aikido is a Japanese non-violent form of martial arts that was developed by Morihei Ueshiba in the early 20th century. The term "aikido" is made up of three Japanese characters: "ai" (合), which means "harmony"; "ki" (気), which can be translated as "energy" or "spirit"; and "do" (道), which means "way" or "path." Therefore, the literal meaning of aikido is "the way of harmony with the spirit." This name reflects the philosophy of the martial art, which emphasizes the use of an opponent's own energy and movements to defend oneself, rather than using aggressive techniques to defeat them. Aikido practitioners strive to blend with their opponent's energy, redirect it, and neutralize the attack without causing harm. The goal of aikido is to promote peaceful resolutions to conflicts, both in martial arts training and in everyday life. This is philosophy is what I believe applies to plant medicine. My great grandmother, Yukiko, was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, and just like she was the inspiration for my yoga studio, she is the inspiration for Aikido Enchanted. She is no longer in this realm, but she and I share a strong spiritual connection.
My Story
Hi, I'm Princess. If you follow my blog, you may have noticed my tag line "inspired by tea | guided by yoga". My love for tea began when I was a child. I spent entire summers at my paternal grandparents house after they moved to Virginia from the Bronx. My grandmother and I would have toast and drink tea in the morning while she read her newspaper, and we would chat about what we would get into that day. To this day, I drink tea every morning. It's a ritual that is sacred to me. One that brings me peace and memories of fun summers during my childhood.
Yoga is also a part of my daily ritual. My yoga journey began in high school, 10th grade. It was an option between that and what I call social gym because students did nothing but hang out instead of being taught actual physical education. So I chose yoga and realized that I really enjoyed it and even practiced yoga and meditation every morning before I left for school.
Herbalism became a part of my life in 2009 after my second dose of Depo Provera. After I stopped taking it, for years I experienced temporary infertility, ovarian cysts, and constant migraines. At that time, I was still working in the medical field, which helped push me towards herbal medicine. However, it wasn't until 2014 when I finally got deeper into my practice. It started with me wanting to find a safer way to maintain my daughter's asthma.
I soon realized that this was my purpose in life. To be a healer. To educate people about the use of herbs, yoga, and meditation to maintain a better quality of life.
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