Written by Sifu Sharon Smith
Letha Hadady, D. Ac, is considered to be the best-known blonde in NYC’s Chinatown and “The Martha Stewart of Herbs” by Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
No less than the Dalai Lama said of her, ‘I am confident that Letha Hadady will bring the ancient knowledge of the great cultures of Asia to a larger public”.
And so she has.
One of the nation’s leading experts on natural Chinese medicinal remedies, Letha is the author of many books on this topic, including Asian Health Secrets: The Complete Guide to Asian Herbal Medicine, Personal Renewal, Healthy Beauty, Feed Your Tiger, and Naturally Pain-Free.
I visited her in her NYC apartment to talk about her participation in The Immortal Sisters Conference at the Menla Center in upstate New York, August 25-30, 2017.
As one of Letha’s teaching collaborators, I have known her for many years. But I was surprised to discover that in addition to being an all-around medicine woman, she has a talent for transformation in many different areas – painting and music as well as the herbal medicine, teaching, and writing she is well known for.
Asking about her presentation at the conference, “Healing Your Heart, Mind, & Body”, she answered this way:
“The heart has 4 chambers that act like a string quartet playing in harmony. Circulation is important and breathing makes the blood move. As we breathe, and move, we enrich our blood with oxygen. We need to realize that beauty is built from the blood out. Our reservoir of richness comes from our diet and ability to absorb nutrients. Diet, rest, exercise, and sleep are what rejuvenate us.
I will be discussing not only the structure of the heart but diet, herbs, and special baths. Red foods support the heart. Cherries for example, help the blood vessels stay more flexible. We don’t want brittleness. When we are stuck whether it’s in our food choices, emotions, or lack of movement, we lack vitality.
Caregivers have a big dose of stress and guilt. Women are caregivers and these stresses come with the territory. How can we stay strong? Not just for others, but for ourselves. There is often the question, what could I have done? Homeopathic remedies help with grief, loss, and surfing the changes. “
How did you become a healer?
“Like many of us who are healers, I had come out of a period of intensity. It was a breakdown that led me to a life of healing. Like the Phoenix, there was an explosion of the old self to allow the new self to come in. It came at a time when I was leaving my old life and needed a rebirth. I was hallucinating, in a hospital. I needed to wait and allow. Be very Yin. I nourished myself, got a divorce, and then went on with my life. This reflection, this time alone was a sacred time. Taoism became a guiding principle in my life. “
And the Immortal Sisters? What do they mean to you?
I love my sister and miss her very much. We were like 2 peas in a pod growing up. But now, I live here and she lives in New Mexico so I’ve looked for other sisters in the world. And it’s always nice to connect with them. I find them here and there – women who immediately understand each other, accept each other, learn from each other, and support each other, I’m very happy to come and meet more and have more sisters!
About the Author: Sifu Sharon Smith is a teacher of Taoist health and spiritual practices, photographer, filmmaker, astrologer, and event producer in New York City. A practitioner of Qigong, Tai Chi, and other Taoist spiritual and healing arts for 38 years, she has been teaching them for 33. She is a Senior Instructor and a Chi Nei Tsang practitioner in the Universal Healing Tao system as well as being a certified instructor of Sheng Zhen Gong, the work of Master Li Junfeng. When she is not teaching her regular NYC classes, you can find her teaching in her favorite places in the Caribbean, South America, and Thailand (www.taosharon.com). Sharon’s photographs are in the collections of the Houston Museum of Fine Arts among other public and private collections in the U.S. and Europe, www.imagesbysharonsmith.com. She released her first film, “Saturn Saved Me” in 2015. www.saturnsavedme.com/
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