Giving Teens The Tools To Navigate Life

Etienne Trillo and mom Leilani Petranek. Photo courtesy Leilani Petranek

A Kaua’i duo is bringing nationally recognized Louise Mita to the Garden Isle for a workshop Dec. 12

Empowering the youths of Kaua’i by providing the necessary tools to overcome peer pressure and low self-esteem is what mentors Leilani Petranek and Matt Kirk hope to do by bringing the founder of Integrative Quantum Medicine, Louise Mita, to the island this month for a three-hour workshop.

“We know the value of what she does,” says Inspirit Entertainment’s Petranek regarding Mita’s mastery of “the art of energy” and her ability to provide the necessary tools to help others effectively navigate through life and optimize their potential.

“She has a way of getting you to a place of calmness,” says Kirk, who, along with Petranek, is an advanced student of Mita’s and will assist her during the workshop.

Guiding teens through troubled times especially hits home for Petranek, as her 20-year-old son, Etienne Trillo, was once afflicted by peer pressure and feelings of hopelessness. It was especially challenging for Trillo when three Anahola teens took their lives in 2008, one of whom was a childhood friend, says his mother.

“It was tragic, our community was just devastated,” says Petranek, an Anahola resident. “I always felt very, very close to this boy. He was a very bright light.”

Louise Mita. Photo courtesy Louise Mita

Fortunately, Trillo was able to get the guidance he needed from individuals like Mita, and now leads a successful life as an entrepreneur on O’ahu.

If the boy who had taken his life “had some tools like my son, maybe it would have been a different scenario,” Petranek says.

Sharing the same ingredients Trillo learned to create a recipe of self-empowerment is what Mita aims to do for other teens in the workshop.

“Teen time is such a critical time,” says Kirk, who says he’s quite surprised there isn’t something else being offered to kids who are still falling through the cracks. Connecting to children as they enter into adulthood just isn’t happening, Kirk says. And since “no one else is doing it … it’s really our job to do this for them. I know these troubled kids are some of the most talented kids out there.”

“A lot of these kids are very bright and talented,” agrees Petranek.

And learning how to combat daily pressures and focus and use their energy in more productive ways is what Mita will demonstrate.

“Being able to make the proper choices in life and have the tools is critical in calming stress and removing peer pressure,” she adds.

“We’re not in touch with our bodies anymore,” adds Kirk, who runs Kaua’i Nature School.

“If the teens could learn how to get in touch with their bodies and know what’s healthy for them or not,” he says, it could be immensely helpful.

Matt Kirk and Leilani Petranek. Coco Zickos photo

Mita has the same healing capabilities as native elders on the Mainland, Kirk says. She can self-diagnose a common cold through “muscle testing,” for example. Yet what makes her so unique is that she also lives a modern-day life.

The workshop will be held Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at black belt instructor Jared Espina’s Power House Jiu-Jitsu in Kapa’a.

The cost to participate in The Art of Youth Empowerment: Commanding Your Future is $75 in advance and $85 at the door. Full and partial scholarships are available. For more information, contact Petranek at inspirit11@hotmail.com or call 635-3026. To register, contact Mita at louisemita@taoenergy.com or call 534-1200.

“If this is a success, we can do it again next year,” says Kirk. “I’m hoping we’ll create some sort of network, and this is the catalyst.”

Louise Mita, founder of Integrative Quantum Medicine, has studied metaphysical alchemy, healing and martial arts since 1968. She has educated international organizations such as the World Economic Forum-Davos, Switzerland; Swiss Olympic Medical Center; British Petroleum; World Knowledge Forum-Seoul, Korea; WIN Conference; Sprint; the Universities of Hawaii, Alaska and Arizona; and the College of Psychic Studies in London. She is a certified practitioner and teacher of Chinese energetic medicine, tai chi, qigong and feng shui. Her background also includes reiki, Hawaiian healing arts, para-psychic sciences, kendo, kung fu, aikido, hapkido, jeet kun do and sho kon do.