Your Thoughts Your Reality
Welcome to "Your Thoughts, Your Reality with Michael Cole," the podcast that shines a compassionate light on the journey of veterans battling through life's challenges. Michael Cole, a Certified Elite Neuroencoding Specialist, dedicated to guiding military veterans as they navigate the intricate pathways of post-deployment life. Join him as we delve into the profound realm of Neuroencoding science, empowering these brave individuals to conquer universal battles: procrastination, self-doubt, fear, and more. Together, let's uncover the strength within you to re-engage with families and society, forging a new path forward.
Your Thoughts Your Reality
Movement as Medicine: How Dance Transforms Mental Health
Can movement heal trauma? In this transformative conversation, Michael Cole welcomes Veronica Vasquez, an extraordinary practitioner who blends social-emotional learning, dance, and energy work to help people overcome their deepest challenges.
Veronica's journey from "failed dancer" to healing facilitator reveals the profound connection between our physical movements and emotional wellbeing. Once struggling with her own limitations—unable to remember choreography and feeling like an outsider in traditional dance—she discovered these perceived weaknesses were actually gateways to her unique gift: helping others process emotions through intuitive movement.
The discussion explores how our body posture and movement patterns reveal our internal emotional landscape. Veronica shares her revolutionary approach that begins each session with spoken affirmations before incorporating movement patterns that challenge the brain and release trapped emotions. This integration creates powerful breakthroughs, particularly for those with physical limitations or emotional trauma.
A mother's testimony about her daughter with cerebral palsy stands as powerful evidence: "Veronica talks to her about her abilities, not her disabilities." After months in Veronica's program, the child accomplished movements her mother never thought possible. Similar transformations happen for veterans processing PTSD, as movement creates new neural pathways that help redefine traumatic experiences.
For those seeking healing—whether from physical limitations, emotional wounds, or the invisible scars of military service—Veronica offers three practical steps: document your strengths alongside your challenges, take mindful walks to practice presence, and recognize recurring thoughts as signals of unprocessed trauma requiring attention.
Through her nonprofit JMM Dance Co. and mindset journal for children, Veronica continues expanding her impact. Ready to experience how movement might transform your emotional landscape? Connect with Veronica or explore the resources at empowerperformancestrategies.com to begin your journey toward embodied healing.
Welcome to your Thoughts, your Reality with Michael Cole, the podcast that shines a compassionate light on the journey of veterans battling through life's challenges. Michael is a dual elite certified neuro encoding specialist in coaching and keynote training presentations dedicated to guiding military veterans as they navigate the intricate pathways of post-deployment life. Join him as we delve into the profound realm of neuroencoding science, empowering these brave individuals to conquer universal battles procrastination, self-doubt, fear and more. Together, let's uncover the strength within you to re-engage with families and society, forging a new path forward.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello, hello everybody. Hey, so we had some tech issues. We're here and life is good. So for some reason my email didn't want to work and blah, blah, blah. So today I'm super excited we have Veronica Vasquez. Veronica is an expert in integrating social-emotional learning, fitness, dance and energy work to combat stress and burnout. She has a personal connection to the military community through her veteran uncle and cousin. She specializes in holistic healing by combining mental and physical wellness strategies. And Veronica is passionate about helping individuals build resilience and manage emotions through movement and mindfulness. So super excited to have you on, veronica. So tell us a little bit more about yourself, if you will, please.
Speaker 3:Awesome. Hi, michael. Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here. Yay, you so much for having me. I'm super excited to be here, yay.
Speaker 3:So I am a person who is super passionate about helping people find their unique thing that makes them light up. So since I was a little girl, I remember that the one thing I always wanted to do in the world was unite people from different paths to just understand each other and see how valuable they are. As a person, that was always and has always been. I don't think I've changed what's been the most important thing to me and all of the ventures that I do. I started at a really young age dancing. I love dancing and that has taken me down a path of teaching, entrepreneurship, training instructors to fitness and just exploring different ways of supporting people through fitness and and and and getting different, all these certifications and things to value, to bring value to my work.
Speaker 3:But essentially, as a kid, where it started was I love to dance, I had health issues and I had a dad who was a mental health therapist and for me, understanding psychology was just like, it was just normal to me and that's, I think, my first in like my first understanding of like being so intuitive with people's feelings and, of course, I believe I do have a gift in that area. But that's kind of where it started and where I am now is. I'm the founder of JMM Dance Co. A nonprofit that helps people through bringing mental health awareness through social emotional learning with dance, and I'm also the founder of Elizaron, which is a company that combines everything that I do from selling curriculums to teaching, training people in the dance and fitness world.
Speaker 2:Fantastic. I love that. You know and here's the thing, right is, I don't really dance, unless I have a little tequila, you know. Then I think I can dance right. But all jokes aside, it is so freeing when you just move your body and it's so good for our mindset and our emotion, etc. So it's super cool that we have you on here. So thank you for being on. Before we really get started, I want to remind people there I pointed the wrong way. On the right top right-hand corner of your screen is a blue QR code that takes you to empowerperformancestrategiescom Again for people listening on the podcast forums later and power performance strategiescom. There are free eBooks that I've written. There are Facebook groups for both veterans and their families. It'll be part of our, our our mission be part of our community. So check that out. There's all kinds of resources there. So, with that said, veronica, you ready to get started.
Speaker 3:Yes, I'm super stoked.
Speaker 2:Fantastic. So I know you kind of touched base a little bit on it. But what kind of really made you move into that journey into social, emotional learning, fitness, dance and energy, work and being begin, and what inspired you to combine these practices, what really put it all together for you to really get started doing it?
Speaker 3:I think the day that I realized was the day I decided to close my dance studio. Doesn't sound very good.
Speaker 2:It's funny, veronica. When things like that happen and for whatever reason, we're like, oh man, my life just got turned upside down. It's kind of crazy what opens up and where we move into the next realm of our lives to find fulfillment and things Right. So I'm assuming that kind of worked for you as well.
Speaker 3:It did so as a kid. I was a special individual and I just saw the world differently and um, whether that was, I mean I had. I had what they call attention deficit disorder. I don't like to call that, but I just I see the world differently and um, and with that being said, I also had health problems. So for me, dancing and exercising wasn't something that was not just for my health problems, but just the culture that I grew up in. It wasn't something that was accepted, nor was it, I guess, good for my health. I'd end up using my inhaler and nebulizer after so those type of things. So it made me just want to do it more. But then also I for me it was a natural connection of connecting my body with my, with my emotions, because I had a hard time speaking up, sometimes not because I didn't want to speak, but because I felt misunderstood. I would notice and understand things differently Most of the time people would be like I don't know what you're saying and I'd be so mad. It's like how do you not know what I'm saying? But I was just seeing what people were not seeing.
Speaker 3:And when I started teaching I was 16 years old. I had already been dancing, for definitely my gift is dance. Had been dancing all my life Jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical. I've been in competition teams. I had been in doing nine seasons of mega performances for like a mega church of 1000s of people twice a year. It was like huge performances that I would be in.
Speaker 3:So when I started teaching dance, I thought I'm teaching dance like anybody else is what you know dance? I thought I'm teaching dance like anybody else is what you know. That's how I saw that. So I thought apparently that was not happening.
Speaker 3:And and so, five years later, after running my studio and working with kids of at risk use, special needs students or in like individuals with with different abilities, and like people, people that had mental health issues happening who were coming to my dance and fitness classes as an avenue for healing rather than for skill yes, I just didn't know I was doing that. So I was like I'm not hitting the mark until finally I just I decided you know what, god, this, this is not my calling to own a dance studio, and I'm going to go back and figure out what my calling is, because in that moment, when I decided to close, had two locations, I realized that there was more to Veronica than teaching dance for a skill set, and that's when my whole world changed and I started going into a very different path and understanding what my gifts truly were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's really fantastic. It really is. You know so many people. First of all, let me just take two steps back and say so many people would not have the courage to do that in the first place, to find what their fulfillment or what their life's purpose is. So, you know, congratulations to you, first of all, for having the courage to do that. Number two, finding something that helps so many people. You know I can't commend that enough, so so bravo. So when you, when you, when you made that move you know what, what was some of the things that you know you really wanted to focus on, on the people you wanted to help people when they were coming to my classes or programs.
Speaker 3:One of the things that would be said regularly was you just have so much energy. When I come into the class with you, I feel like a different energy just comes into my body, and at first I was like, oh yeah, you know I would. I was really young, I would think. At first it was just after a while started to click with me this is not what we're talking about. Also, like it was just after a while started to click with me this is not what we're talking about. Also, like it was just the words that people would say that started to click to me.
Speaker 3:For me, it was at that moment I realized that I really wanted to help people from different walks of life truly step into who they are and empower them, and I knew that to do that, I needed to be able to fully explain what I do in my own, with my own curriculums, with my own type of system. And it didn't fit the mold of a dance class. It didn't fit the mold of a fitness class. It didn't fit the mold of just energy work by itself and and and that's kind of that's where it started. I mean, it's definitely been a journey from there. At that time, I was actually pregnant with my son. It was definitely hard and difficult to say the least, the decision I had to make. I wanted to have a franchise as a dance studio and it was difficult for me to say, hey, I'm stepping away from these two locations because I know that what I want to create is something else.
Speaker 2:Right and so when you have started, obviously you've started it and you're successful at it. So when you, when you started it, what are some of the key things that you see helps with you know, with people say, you know, again, we're going to bring it back to veterans and their families, but I think most of it is the human condition, it's stress, it's overwhelm, it's you know all of these, you know things that humans deal with in general. So what are some of the things that you see or have you know? People told you hey, man, this has really helped with you know this.
Speaker 3:Give me, give me some thoughts on you know, so that so people listening can get more of an idea, idea of what at all can help so what, um, what people are saying that is helping with the way that they view themselves, the way that kids uh, I work a lot with kids so, um, a lot of the kids can express their emotions differently. When they showed up, they can label how it is that they're feeling, as opposed to before they started working with us. They could be feeling angry and say I'm happy or whatnot, and just being able to label the emotions and parents saying, hey, you know, I'm not, I'm even like because it takes a while for people to recognize what's going on. But what I hear from most, most people when they don't recognize what's going on is your dance class is very different than my, than my kids go to other classes. My child leaves very confident here and is so happy and just saying that they want to like at home, want to be dancing like Miss Veronica, but what I'm seeing them do is like teaching us or or building or like just looking really confident, and I didn't see that before they started coming to your class.
Speaker 3:Uh, what adults will say is I feel so much more confident. I feel like I understand how my body and my mind are connecting, as opposed to I didn't recognize before, being self aware of. A lot of times I'll say like, like. They'll say like I condition, or I have um, I, I have like arthritis in my hands and I didn't really recognize how much power I actually have to like to heal um, to heal from, from the pains that I'm feeling, and how much they're tied to emotion. And those are the feedbacks that I get, that people recognize and understand that many of their like once working with me or working with our programs, that we have that their pain in the body, how much it's connected to the mental situation that is going on in their mind, whether it's a trauma, whether it is a like, a feeling that they've. Maybe you know some people have depression for so long they don't even recognize that that it's not normal to be depressed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Right yeah, it just becomes. It becomes part of their identity, literally. Right yeah, absolutely. So give us, give us some, some thoughts, if you will, on the difference behind body movement that connects into the emotional and the mental mindsets, and how the hormones well, you'll discuss it, but I'm just going to say what I'm going to say. The hormones are things that are released when we move our body and change our physiology. Tell us some of your thoughts on how that really connects.
Speaker 3:It connects tremendously so just psychologically, from the way that we walk or sit, shows so much to what's happening energetically and from a mindset perspective that I believe most people are not fully aware of the energy or the, the body posture that is causing the way that they're feeling and what they're manifesting out into the world. And once people recognize it, then they're like oh, now I'm aware and it. But it also takes. It's not only like okay, I'm doing and I'm aware, it's like it's also people wanting to make that change. Because one thing is knowing, like that the connection between my mind and body makes a difference. The other one is the other part of it is saying hey, I'm going to do the work every day to be self, to continue to work on that self-awareness and on that self-care on on me. And that's the hardest part. It's not really knowing the facts but doing the work into it. I do believe we all have trauma or we all have something that the way that we were born is. I guess what I'm trying to say is we all come from different family backgrounds and each family background carries its own generational trauma or its own generational blessings, right, that's why certain people, certain things are easier than others. And with that, when you're able to recognize, like, what patterns you've been having in your mind, in your body, in your emotions that are creating the outcomes that you're seeing in life, then from there you're able to see, well, what are the patterns that this person has that I? You know that I want to be like, and how do I now move my body differently, say different words and start to feel differently? I let's see the way that I connect that with people is what's different about what I do is I won't go into a class and just start teaching dance or fitness Like I will go into the class and the first thing that I do is I give an affirmation to people. So if it's kids, I'll do something like Hi, everyone Like I am so excited to be here today with you. Who is excited? And then you know we go and I go.
Speaker 3:Okay, we're going to start with the phrase I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I can dance. I'm like you're all going to say it with me. Are you ready? Come here, come here. And then we'll start with the small voice I'm like everybody, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I can dance. Then I go to a medium voice. And then I go to a really loud voice because what I'm trying to do is self-regulate, like get to see who needs self-regulation, who already has an idea of self-regulation, and small kids. And so then I get them all ramped up. And what did I just do? I just made them say that they're fearfully and wonderfully made and that they can dance. So then, without them recognizing, I'm already had them from their mouth say that affirmation before we even start dancing.
Speaker 3:And then when we start moving, I am having to move between repetitive patterns.
Speaker 3:There's a whole like thing to what I do If it's adults.
Speaker 3:I start off with adults by giving a phrase to them of confidence usually gets most people super uncomfortable.
Speaker 3:And then I start with patterns of movement that'll throw off from one style to the other but that have a mind body connection to where people say oh, my God, I feel like I had a mental workout, not a body workout, because we're we're playing around with patterns, because what I want the body to do is I want that muscle memory for people so that they're not just following my body because I said so, but that their body is. I'm starting to cue them without them realizing it, so that their body's starting to be like curious, of like oh wait, I don't know how to do that. Like now they're having to think, and when someone's having to think and be challenged, it's going to make them feel uncomfortable. It's going to bring out like it's going to bring out whatever's in this, whatever down here, is going to come up to the surface, and then they're going to start to come to a self-awareness and then from there they could be like okay, what do I want to do with this?
Speaker 2:yeah, I love that. I love that. So you know it's. It's funny that you know.
Speaker 2:You know what we think, you know so we feel as we feel, so we do and as we do, so we have, and it's literally something that we learn in neuroencoding and it's literally a thought process to doing you know and how you feel, et cetera. And it's really cool how you do this because there's so many times that you know, when you're just sitting still and you're slumped over and you're in a disabling state where you're just not moving forward and stuck and again and all those you know unresourceful patterns, and when you change your body and your physiology and then you start moving and you start thinking about those affirmations or whatever thoughts that you know. You are thinking, whether it be in the class or on your own, and start smiling and dancing, because who doesn't start if they're not thinking about a pattern and dancing? Right, you're just moving and enjoying it. You're smiling. It releases all of these amazing hormones. When the 22 muscles in your face smile, it automatically releases all of these great hormones that make you feel good.
Speaker 2:And so when you're putting those thoughts into your own brain in a class or whatever the case may be. It's absolutely magical how energy and motion emotion, if you will changes the game because it becomes part of you and it's so great that you're doing that. Can you talk to me a little bit about maybe somebody specific that you saw change? It can be, you know, kid please don't use their name necessarily on here but a kid or an adult, whatever the case may be, your husband, you, whatever the case may be, but of somebody that you saw, you know, a just a beautiful change in from being in one of your classes or some of the things you teach. I'd love to hear that.
Speaker 3:Yes, and actually I'll put it in the link below Um, there's, there's a lot, but one uh is actually a testimonial that I have from one of my programs moves made for me. And uh, the parent actually on in the testimony is saying how I'm making the kids feel in class, but she says a few things that um are, are just, are just really awesome. She says you know, my daughter has cerebral palsy and with cerebral palsy her muscles don't always like move when they want to move. When she wants them to move, there's just like that disconnection with the brain, right? She says, and in the testimonial she talks about how my daughter's been in a lot of different classes and she usually was feeling self conscious and she wasn't able to do the exercises. And Miss Veronica's class I've seen a tremendous change in her ability to move because the way that she's being talked to, she's being Veronica's talking to her. And she says in the testimony not just my daughter, but all kids into their abilities, not into the disabilities, and this specific class was a class with kids with disabilities, and she's telling them the potential of what they can do, not what they are doing right now, and I've seen my daughter be able to kick, to start jumping over things that I didn't even know she could do. And after a few months with Miss Veronica, now she's doing these things. We've even been able to pull out her braces for a short amount of time during the class, and these are huge steps for her is what the mom talks about in the testimonial, and that example is one example that I've heard so many times with students with disabilities that teachers will also mention. This student wasn't able to do this three-step follow of a movement before, and now they're able to.
Speaker 3:Or for me personally, I stopped following what I was told in dance classes and that was due to my. I had a teacher in college. She changed the way I saw and viewed dance. She I remember stepping into the room and I was so caught up in like I have to have specific dance steps and I need to look a certain way and I need to remember the movements, and I didn't view dance that way. I I have a hard time counting so I'd be so self-conscious. And so she did modern dance. I'm in connection with her still, but when I learned modern dance, it opened to switch something in me and realizing like that's what I do when I'm letting this energy flow within me and then I'm projecting that onto my students and we are moving to the flow of this energy that is then releasing the emotions that are trapped inside our bodies. And when I'm, and so that it made a change to me of that realization, and when I'm, and so that it made a change to me of that realization, and those are just a few of them.
Speaker 2:Those are fantastic. Okay, yeah, veronica, those are fantastic. I mean, can I just stop? First of all, I just got chills. We call them God bumps, not goosebumps.
Speaker 2:So when you talk about, when you talk about you know your, your, your journey, right, and the courageousness and braveness of you saying, ok, I'm going to close these studios, I'm going to do this because this is what I want to do. And you go back and you look at this teacher that taught you a different way, that felt more in integrity with you, right, and felt natural for you, because dance really should be natural, it should be just a feeling, right, that you know in that sense. Of course there's structure and you know certain aspects when you're performing I get that. But when you can release and have the, there's that emotional connection with your body and your, your, your soul, if you will. It's such a beautiful thing.
Speaker 2:And then here's the craziness If she didn't teach you that, would you be where you are now Because you're open to it? And that little girl and all the other kids that you're changing their lives both now and they're teaching it to their parents and they're teaching it to other people how amazing is the work you're doing. I mean bravo, it's fantastic.
Speaker 3:Absolutely fantastic. Thank you. No, I don't think I would if it were for her. Actually, she has a retirement coming up, a retirement party this Saturday, and I'm going to be there. But I don't think I would be if it weren't for her, because when she met me at that time I'd been dancing already for years I felt like a complete failure.
Speaker 3:I didn't think I was a dancer and um and because of her I've actually entered the university's dance company and I was with my studio at the same time and everything, um, as the first freshman in the dance company, which was unknown, because she was really able to tap into my like, helping me see the uniqueness of my talent, because I couldn't see it. All I could see was I'm a failure. I can't remember dance steps and I dance all day, three hours a day, for all these productions. I still can't get it right. What's wrong with me? And like? That's all I could see in my head, because I wasn't seeing that I have this gift of releasing, of helping people release energy, and and that the way that I do it is through movement. I didn't see that the way that I do it is through movement. I didn't see that All I saw was a failure that couldn't count to the beat of the music and couldn't remember what I do for the sake of it, and I was so self-conscious of it Actually, though it took me years afterwards it's not like it was an aha moment, right, when it was like God was working in my life for years and that healing of me, recognizing it and healing through my own students of being able to stand in front of people and be okay with myself, that I don't remember my own dance steps because years later, it came to me that if I'm doing energy work, the energy is not counts, it's not the same.
Speaker 3:So then I'm moving with the flow of this energy, which is why I don't remember the dance steps, because I'm dealing with different energies in the room and I'm actually very talented because I can, like, on the spot, choreograph like there's no tomorrow to different dance and fitness, to different dance and fitness. And when I started saying that to myself and recognizing in my that in myself, then I was really able to step in and be like hey, I'm proud of who I am, I'm confident in what I do and this is what I bring to the table and it's like nothing you've seen before. So I am, I'm going to help you and like, and when I'm I wasn't in that. Then of course you know it's like, it's like you're, it's like if you're giving an apple to someone that wants an orange.
Speaker 2:Totally so, hey, so when we're done with this and we're at the end of the show, it flew by. But I want to give you some tips for you and your students, some neuro encoding tips. So just, we'll talk after the show. So so, really quick. How do people reach out to you if they're interested in learning more about what you do?
Speaker 3:Info at jmmdancecoorg is our email. Jmm Dance Co is a nonprofit. They can look up at JMM Dance Co online Also. Just a quick thing I just recently authored a journal that is a mindset journal for kids and we do have through our nonprofit initiative of getting these books into as many schools as we can in California. So we're definitely looking for people who may want to donate. Buy one book and it gives a book free to another kid. It's a wonderful book that helps kids understand the practices of journaling. And at Veronica Vasquez Garcia on Facebook or on Instagram and just my site, veronicavasquezgarciacom. Those are ways to connect with me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely love it. So, and if you can, please feel free to all of our social media. Go in there and put all your information in there later on, you know, when you get a chance, the more we can help your mission. We're absolutely. We're in all on on all cylinders, so please put your info in there. And then, if you can, give three simple tips to get veterans and their families further faster.
Speaker 3:Three tips that I have is one get a paper and write down all the qualities of who you are, and even as a family writing down the qualities of as a family, what are your strengths and then, on the other side, writing down what are those things in your head that are coming up, that are like, depending on what you believe in the demons and Christianity or just the blockages or whatnot and write them on the other side so that you're able to see first, like these are all the qualities of like who we are as a family, who we are as, and these are. These are the things that we may be struggling with right now, but then at the end, finding a value, like I know for me and my family. Every year we create our values as a family and our values as individuals, and they change with the seasons. Right and when we can have that in front of us and see who we are, then, regardless of what season we're going through and like and what trauma we may be like going throughout the moment, then, when we have it on paper, we're able to see. So that's number one.
Speaker 3:Number two is taking walks, taking walks in the mornings and just allowing yourself to be able to be fully in the presence of this moment right now. And then tip number three is to um, to take time to really release things that may. If there's memories, if there's things that that that that keep coming to you, though that that's a signal, that that's, that's something that you that's a trauma or something you haven't released. So, especially if you're going through PS, um, um I have a hard time with my words sometimes, but P P, s, t, um, um and uh, and and you're having like memories that come up of, of trauma, of whatever that was like being um. Like I said, being able to recognize like this is not just one passing thought, but this is something that I need to work on, to release it, because it's not who I am.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic. And you know, with PTSD I think you're trying to say PTSD, right- yes that's it.
Speaker 2:Well, I knew so a lot of times. You know, with that trauma, the trauma generally happens once and we relive it because it gets stuck, because we haven't processed it and released it with a different definition. Ptsd can be helped removed, released, if you will, when you find a new definition of what it meant to you, and then your brain can actually release it. And so that's an absolutely great tip. Lean into that and do some work on it, because it keeps coming up. Absolutely. Love it, veronica, you're absolutely fantastic. Thank you for being on the show, as always. I always tell people that time is the most precious resource we have as human beings. We do not get it back. So thank you for spending some of your time with us and some of your minutes of your life with us. Really appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thank you Michael, thank you everyone.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and everybody we're out of here.
Speaker 3:Bye.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on another insightful journey of your Thoughts your Reality podcast with your host, michael Cole. We hope the conversation sparked some thoughts that resonate with you. To dive deeper into empowering your thoughts and enhancing your reality, visit empowerperformancestrategiescom. Remember your thoughts shape your reality, so make them count. Until next time, stay inspired and keep creating the reality you desire. Catch you on the next episode.