mabuhay!
Step into a sacred space of healing, growth, and transformation. At Kapwa Wellness, we blend ancient wisdom with modern healing practices to guide you on your personal and collective wellness journey. Whether you're seeking personal transformation, emotional balance, or spiritual insight — we're here to support you.
what is kapwa?
Kapwa is an ancient Filipino concept of shared identity — the recognition that you and I are not truly separate. It is most simply translated as "fellow human", but it carries something deeper: an understanding that how I treat you is a reflection of how I see myself. That we're all woven from the same thread.
At Kapwa Wellness, we embrace this philosophy in everything we do. We see ourselves in everyone who walks through our door. We're here to create a space where every person feels physically, emotionally, and spiritually at home — where healing is both personal and collective, and where connection is the medicine.
the journey
In 2012, Maria Haswell, a Bay Area Filipino healer, and her husband Mark took over ownership of a beloved sanctuary known as Danville Yoga & Wellness Center. They infused the Center with their passion for serving like-minded individuals seeking well-being and connection. For 13 years, it was a community - a haven for minds, bodies, and souls.
But as life evolves, so do our journeys. The Center closed in 2025, paving the way for a new beginning - Kapwa Wellness. Maria and Mark's combined efforts have created a new sanctuary where every soul is seen, every story heard, and every person valued.
As before, it’s a place of solace, guidance, and community, continuing the legacy of holistic wellness that nourishes your soul and guides you toward inner harmony and enlightenment.
our vision
We envision a community where everyone feels at home — where healing is not a luxury but a shared birthright, and where ancient wisdom and modern life walk hand in hand.
We nurture empathy, connection, and mutual support. We honor the diverse paths that bring people to our door. And we offer a variety of classes, events, and services designed to support both the personal and the collective journey — because at Kapwa, we grow together.
ancient wisdom
For thousands of years, long before modern medicine took center stage, communities around the world turned to their elders, healers, and sacred traditions for guidance. Filipino shamanism and herbalism, Andean mysticism, Qigong and traditional Chinese medicine, indigenous ceremony — these practices were not alternative. They were foundational.
Some of these ancient traditions have been lost to colonization, neglect, or time. But today, they are being remembered. At Kapwa Wellness, we carry them forward with reverence — not as performance, but as living practice.
modern healing
Honoring ancient roots does not mean turning away from the present. We recognize that modern life brings its own demands — and that effective healing must meet people where they are.
We blend time-honored traditions with evidence-informed approaches, drawing from fields like psychology, neuroscience, and holistic health. The result is a path that is both transformative and grounded — rooted in the wisdom of the past, fully alive in the present.
our space
Some spaces are found. This one was built — first in the imagination, then in the spirit, and finally in the physical world — exactly as it was shown to me.
When we learned that Danville Yoga & Wellness Center would close after 13 years, I was heartbroken. Starting over felt impossible. But in that grief, something else arrived. Quiet at first, then unmistakable. My spirit allies came with a vision — and with it, a task.
They showed me an image I recognized from deep in my own history. The ancestral windows of the Philippines. Wooden latticed frames set with capiz shells — those translucent, luminous shells found along Filipino shores, fitted into the windows of traditional homes across the archipelago.
I had a black and white photograph of my family gathered together in the Philippines — my grandmother at the center, my father, my siblings, my relatives. A photograph taken before I was even born. It was part of my mother's collection, and some of those photos found their way to me about ten years ago. I have carried that image close ever since, without fully knowing why.
My spirit allies told me to make one of those windows.
I had no idea how. I had no wall to put it on, no space yet to imagine it in. But I've spent a lifetime learning to trust clear guidance — learning to move before I can see the whole path. So, I made it. Piece by piece, without a blueprint, following something I can only describe as being shown the way.
As I got close to finishing — the perfect space appeared for our new location. 4 Crow Canyon Court. Suite 205. San Ramon.
When I walked into the reception area and saw a wall with no window, I understood everything. The piece I had made without knowing where it would go had been made for exactly this wall, this room, this moment.
I installed lights behind the capiz panels so they glow warm and golden — the way light looks filtering through shells from the outside. And when I stepped back and looked at what I had made, I knew: this was not just art. This was a portal. Our ancestors are present here. When the lights are on, they are greeting every person who walks through the door — celebrating, welcoming, holding this space with us. When we leave for the night, they stay. They tend what we have built. They keep it ready for whoever comes next.
That photograph of my family is framed near the entrance, right where it belongs — part of the welcome, part of the warmth, present for everyone who arrives. My grandmother, my father, my siblings — all of whom I carry with me now, and who would have been so proud of this place.
They are not absent from this work. They are woven into it. Every session, every class, every person who walks through that door — they are here for all of it.
What I did not fully understand until later was that I had been to this new location before.
Twenty-five years ago, I worked in Building 10 of this same office park. I used to walk outside and look at the trees — tall, generous trees that wrap around these buildings like they are holding them.
My boss had a corner office with a balcony. I remember standing on it once, looking out at those trees, and thinking: I would love to have something like this someday.
I'm now in Building 4. Corner office. Balcony. Those same trees outside my window — still here, still generous, still holding everything.
I've come to understand that I was not just working in that building twenty-five years ago. I was being shown what was possible. I was building and practicing the vision before I had the words for it.
The space itself has a kitchen, a "Zen den" where classes are held, and a reception room we call Auntie's Living Room — because that is exactly what it feels like the moment you walk in. Warm lighting, comfortable seating, and a coffee table that holds a quiet surprise.
That marble-topped coffee table in the living room holds a secret. Lift the lid, and something wonderful reveals itself — the kind of thing that makes a room full of people smile all at once, without warning. What's inside? Come and find out.
The fridge is stocked with drinks. Help yourself. The soft serve ice cream machine makes occasional appearances — pineapple dole whip, chocolate, and ube flavors.
In Filipino culture, feeding people is not an afterthought. It is how we say, you are safe here. You belong here. You are family. The snacks are part of the medicine. The joy is intentional.
meet the team
maria haswell
Maria is a Filipina-American mystic, healer, and ceremony holder with over 30 years of practice. Her path has taken her across the world — from the Andes of Peru to the highlands of the Philippines — and she brings the depth of that lineage into every session she holds.
She is the founder of Kapwa Wellness and the creator of the Mystic Goddess Sigils Tarot deck.
For the full story of her journey and lineage, visit mariahaswell.com/about
mark haswell
Mark is Maria's husband, co-owner of Kapwa Wellness, and the steady, grounding presence behind the scenes and on the floor. A longtime student of various aspects of spirituality, Mark found Qigong on his own path to clarity, awareness, and calmness — and has been sharing it with others for over ten years.
When students walk into his class, they are welcomed warmly, met exactly where they are, and guided with a teaching style that is lighthearted, generous, and deeply felt.