Maru supports whole-person healing through Western therapy and Asian cultural practices.
Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance®
Moving For Better Balance is a 12-week evidence-based fall prevention program based on the Simplified 24-form Tai Ji Quan. This course combines traditional Chinese Taiji movements and modern science to help seniors improve their balance, muscle strength, flexibility and mobility, and internal organ functioning to enhance overall health.
MARU partners with Alameda County senior serving organizations to offer classes in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin and with translation in other languages.
Offered at local senior centers and housing sites.
"This Tai Ji class gave me confidence in myself. Now I enjoy going out for a walk and I really felt healthier and happier."Â - Maggie, Fall Prevention Class Participant
Senior Street Smarts
Senior Street Smarts is an 6-week course teaching seniors how to protect themselves while feeling safer in public. This course combines practical tips plus psychological concepts to increase a sense of safety and build community among seniors.Â
MARU partners with Alameda County senior serving organizations to offer the course in English, Korean, Cantonese, and Mandarin. Train the trainers is available to organizations interested in running the workshop series in their organizations.
Wellness Workshops
MARU offers an array of wellness workshops from Asian immigrant and refugee cultural perspectives to foster a deep sense of belonging, and community-building.
​​Topics and Practices include, but not limited to:
- Stress management
- Coping with anxiety and depression
- Communication skills to promote healthy relationship
- Early childhood development for parents
- Healthy eating and active living among elders
- Managing caregiver burnout and compassion fatigue
- Healing intergenerational trauma
- Developing Inner Resilience
- Yin Yoga
- Tai Chi
- Meditation and BreathingÂ
- Energy Healing and Tapping
- Art for healing
Workshops offered in English, Korean, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
Mental Health Counseling
Supportive Counseling Program offers free up to 12 months of service to Alameda County residents who are youths, adults, and seniors.
- Service is confidential
- No insurance required
- We specialize in working with East Asian communities: Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and Mongolian
- Our counselors speak Korean, Cantonese, Khmer, Mandarin, and English. Other languages are available with Language Line interpretation
To Make an Appointment, Call BAKI +1 (844) 828-2254
Asian Community Wellness Program (ACWP) Intro
Fill Out the Service Referral Form
“As a survivor of a suicide attempt, without organizations like MARU, I wouldn’t be standing here.” - Former Intern, MHAP Program
Youth Mental Health Program
Nearly half (48%) of AANHPI young individuals experience moderate depression, and 93% have faced race-based discrimination in the past year.
Alarmingly, 30% of those aged 14-25 have considered or attempted suicide.
MARU is a key mental health service provider for Asian and BIPOC youth in the Bay Area, offering free, culturally-integrated wellness services in schools and at our center. We offer:
- Individual, family, group sessions, workshops.
- Support for issues like intergenerational conflict and trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, and depression, interpersonal and community violence, gender and sexuality issues, LGBTQI+ support, bullying and loneliness.
- A blend of traditional counseling and art-based support, focusing on identity and belonging.
- Addressing family concerns including safety net support, parent-child communication and language barriers, communication with school personnel.
To learn more, Call BAKI +1 (844) 828-2254
Holistic Healing Practices
MARU uses a whole-person approach to wellness, addressing mind, body, spirit, and emotions. By focusing on root causes and combining conventional and alternative therapies, they promote long-term health and empowerment.
Key principles:
- Recognizing interconnected parts of health
- Identifying underlying causes
- Encouraging active patient involvement
- Emphasizing prevention
- Creating personalized treatment plans
​Offerings include Yin Yoga, Tai Chi, Energy Healing, EFT, support for AAPI trans youth, LGBTQ+ Southeast Asian clients, and workshops on systemic bias and community healing.
These programs are funded by Kaiser Permanente, Behavioral Health Department, California Department of Aging, Mental Services Act, Area Agency on Aging, Korean American Community Foundation of SF and California Dept of Healthcare Access and Information (HCAI).
