I was born and raised in the countryside of South Korea and my upbringing was both disciplined and wholesome. My parents dedicated their lives to raising me and my three sisters as best as they could. Mother worked long, long hours each day yet always served us with the best nutritious meals and provided us with hand-washed clothes. That was her way of communicating her love for us. Memories of my mother during my youth are the images of her working endlessly, and me longing for her presence in my daily life.

Because of my parents' hard and seemingly unending work, I was able to attend a private girl school during my teen years. In that environment I was able to excel and found a passion for athletics, dancing, acting and singing. In retrospect, my teen years in the girl school were like a priceless diamond and a time that shaped the essence of my womanhood today.

When I was eighteen years old, wanting a better life for us, my parents made the decision to migrate to Hawaii. I quickly adapted and thrived in the new environment and wholeheartedly embraced the stimulating challenges that life in this new country brought to me.

Every early morning I meditated to fulfill my American dream. I spent most of my time in academic pursuit, in working and in exercising. Early years in Hawaii were full of many personal struggles and I found that physical activities became my solace. Through various serious physical trainings, I found a way to get in touch with my inner self. Often I entered into a deep meditative state while lifting weights, running, swimming, yoga, hiking, rollerblading and dancing. Exercise became my best friend and one soothing to be with.

My love of physical training led me to become a personal trainer and I started training for a fitness competition. Since then I had competed, successfully, in numerous fitness competition and even won the Natural Hawaiian Classic Bodybuilding competition. My obsession in the pursuit of physical perfection was fueled by my desire to become a woman of a solid foundation and inner strength.

Through my work ethic and my success in fitness competitions, I was offered numerous and varied career. From a successful personal training enterprise to modeling, television and film work as well as stage presentations I expanded my work. I hosted a weekly fitness segment called "Fit For Life with Tess Yong," on the morning news of KHNL(channel 8) for about two years. I also served as a preventive health counselor for Hawaiian Medical Service Association. My luck extended to my native country, Korea. I was televised in all the major Korean TV networks as a fitness star. As a result of my TV exposures, I was asked to write a book about my life and the training methods. My book was published in 2002 along with the two video tapes and the 200 short exercise clips for the various Korean internet network.

Years of being disciplined in physical training, I yearned for softness and openness. In 2005, I created an energetic sensual flow dance called " Ki Sensual Dance." Since then, I have been exploring and facilitating Ki Sensual Dance. Ki Sensual Dance is a sacred and devotional way of life.