S13e4: Kari Kuwahara – In Releasing My Pain, I Released My Mother

“Post-Process… I could see those things differently. I could see them from the bigger view. And I could also feel how good I felt and how proud I was of myself. I knew that I could trust myself.“ – Kari Kuwahara

Kari Kuwahara came to the Hoffman Process knowing the timing was right. After a traumatic life event triggered old traumas and buried feelings, Kari was ready to do the deep work to heal her pain from her relationship with her mother. The Process offered her a way to resolve the pain of her past. Kari was ready for the freedom to come.

Before we dive into emotional terrain, we often fear the power of the feelings we will meet and the unknown chaos we might encounter within. The Process’s cathartic work and safe environment supported Kari as she went deep into her inner world. Her teacher gave her loving guidance when he said, “We’ve got you.” As Kari describes, she realized that she wasn’t doing it alone and that there were “guardrails in place.” Through the expression work, she finally released her anger. Intense, overwhelming grief that had been buried under her anger then flooded in. Kari “was finally able to go there and just let it out.” She realized that this release was, in itself, what she’d been searching for.

After the cathartic expression, Kari journaled. Reading a sentence she’d written back to herself, Kari reached a powerful understanding. Speaking about her mother, she’d written, “I can’t fathom the pain her anger wouldn’t let her feel.” In experiencing the depth of her own pain under her anger, Kari saw her mother. In seeing her mother, Kari saw herself. This is a profound example of the power in healing negative love.

Through her courageous surrender to the Process, Kari found freedom from the pain of her past. We hope this powerful conversation with Kari and Drew moves and inspires you.

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More about Kari Kuwahara:

Kari’s childhood photo

Kari Kuwahara has a diverse background in the food world.  She is a chef focused on health-supportive cooking, a culinary event producer, and a retail program and project manager.

Her path has never been entirely linear. After studying at UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Kari explored several career directions before a family member’s serious illness shifted her perspective and sparked a deeper interest in healing foods, nutrition, and health.  That spark grew, and she enrolled at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York, with little i