#10 Being the Strong One: A Conversation with Sonia Rodriguez, Master Life Coach

What happens when the woman who holds everyone else together finally lets herself be held? 

In this episode of Grief Comadres, I sit down with Master Life Coach, speaker, and educator Sonia Rodriguez — someone who has personally supported me on my own healing journey, and who has also worked with my daughter. We talk about the hidden grief that lives inside being "the strong one," what self-abandonment really looks like, and how healing can ripple across generations. 

Whether you're grieving a person, a relationship, or a version of yourself you thought you'd be — this conversation will meet you right where you are. 

📌 Connect with Sonia: https://www.facebook.com/Soniacoaches

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Bienvenida to Greek Komate, a podcast for women navigating grief in all its forms. Whether you're killing from death, divorce, job loss, health challenges, or life's many transitions, this is your state sacred space. I'm Jackie, a Greek coach and speech language psychologist, and your Komate and its journey. Here we share our stories in the website without change. We support each other through loss and transformation, honor our culture and collective strength, and find hope and community. You are not alone in your grief comade. Pull up a chair, get your cafecito, and let's walk this journey together. All right, everybody. Thank you for joining us for another episode. Welcome to our Grief Gomadres podcast. Today's conversation I've been excited about all week long. Um, even more excited when um Sonia reached out to me and wanted to collaborate on a project together. So this conversation is really close to my heart because I'm sitting down with someone who um has supported me through my own growth, through um lots of you know tough emotional times that I went through. Not only me, but generational, because you worked with my mom, you've worked with my daughter, um, you and your daughter have, you know, really, really like inspired and like given us so much. So today I'm joined by Sonia Rodriguez, who is a master life coach since 2018. Um, not only that, but a speaker, an educator, and you help women. Um, and I love in your bio where you say you help women who are used to being the strong ones. Um, you're the founder of Lotus Wellness Coaching and Mommy and Me Coaching. You're the co-founder of that, of that um Mommy and Me Coaching. So, Sonia, thank you for being here. Thank you for taking the time. And um, I would really love to start with your story. What led you into life coaching and into this kind of work of supporting women on such a deep level?

SPEAKER_03 2:23

Okay, so first let me just start by saying, as I hear you saying all that, like I literally can feel my heart. Like there's like a warm feeling in my chest. So I just wanted to share that with everyone. Thank you. And I feel too like it's this like full circle moment. Um somehow back then we didn't know, right? But when our journey started, it would kind of lead here and hopefully moving forward to other things. So thank you. So I love that. So a little bit on my story, I think like most of us until we feel like broken or or lost or numb or confused is when we finally gain the courage to reach out. Um I didn't realize it is a cultural thing, but I think all women, all humans, we we kind of want to do things by by ourselves, right? It's almost like you have to prove your worth by being capable of doing stuff. I don't remember where I where this was embedded in me, but I know somewhere, whether it was unconsciously or consciously, I believed that you have to figure out things on your own. Um, that in order to prove your worth and your strength, you you need to not reach out to people, you need to not tell them all the cheese me, right? That like my aunts and my mom would always say, like, those no tienen que saber lo que está pasando in la casa, right? Like uh that's like our stuff, right? Like, no vas a ir y decir las cosas, lo que pasa aquí se queda aquí, right? So I think I kind of grew up with that, and I came to a point where I feel like I was just going through the motions of life, quote unquote. And I hadn't shared with anyone or told anyone that I felt like I was drowning, you know, like I felt like if I was showing up at work, like how I was intended or supposed to show up, then I was slacking at home with my husband and my kids and the household duties, right? Um, and vice versa. So, you know, a lot of things happened, and I find myself feeling sick, like I was physically sick, emotionally sick. I do have two herranated discs. I found myself not being able to drive, not being able to sit, to sleep. And so I spend a lot of nights like crying, like just think overthinking things, but not like feeling like I had no one, you know, that I could talk to. Right. Since I was always the strong one, it was like, who am I gonna ask? Like they're always asking me for advice, they're always asking me for support. Like I'm gonna tell them, they're gonna be like, what do you mean you need help? You know, like wait, what I think coming to you and you're like, you can't be asking me, like I'm the one that needs shit fixed or whatever, right? Um, so I found myself like kind of just keeping it in, and obviously I wasn't sleeping because there was all this stuff that I was holding in, and so I of course started scrolling through the phone, right? Like what we all do, because that was gonna be the magic. But I mean, it ended up being exactly what I needed. Like, as I started to read people's stories and understand that, like, all families and moms and educators or people that, right? Like employees, whatever title you want to give yourself, like we all have our struggles, and that I wasn't the only one. Um, and that there is actually people and community that are willing and wanting to support you because they've been through similar things. And honestly, this like random like advertisement came out for life coaching. Like, I had never heard what that was. Like, yeah, like what is that? Like that's something that we talk about, or like yeah, and to this day, there's still people that are like, Life coach, what is that, right? And I think everybody has kind of like a different interpretation of it depending on how it affected you. And so honestly, I feel like I randomly, but not randomly, it was divine intervention. Um, I came across coaching and it like completely, completely changed my life. And so that's like a little bit of how I accidentally, well, like I say it was all divine intervention, how I came across live coaching. Um, and I decided to actually study it and become certified instead of kind of just hiring a coach. Um, and I think what led me to that was this school that I decided to choose was really big on we're our own first client. Right. And so we are actually doing the work on ourselves as we're going through the curriculum and the course, and then also practicing with other coaches, and so it was just such a beautiful experience. And I feel like once I experienced that, and then I went to live events, there's nothing like that. Like I can't compare anything else to those experiences. I was like, I feel like I was like Tom Cruise, like jumping on the couch. I don't know if you ever saw that with Oprah, where it's like you want to tell everyone around around it, but then at some point you have to realize, okay, not everyone has been through this journey.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Or not everybody's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

They think you're crazy. Like, what the heck are you talking about? And then I had to remind myself there would have been a moment in time if someone approached me, I'd be like, Well, what the hell is life coaching? You know, and Leo would always tease me, my husband, he would always say, Babe, los Mexicanos quieren una faja, una crema, un jugo, ellos no quieren platicar. You know, like he was like, people, most Latinos, you know, and I include myself, like no quiet pagar for a life coach, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Right, yeah. I love that, but you know, it's so true, like it's kind of until we like hit what our rock bottom is, that we start to search for for more, right? And like I love that you're being honest, you know, like you were showing up here, the you know, you're showing up, but not feeling like fully like you're showing up a hundred percent at home and in other aspects of your life. And I think that like I know for example, for me, like I'm the master at like master of disguise, right? Like I can feel so sad, so depressed, so broken, so unworthy, so unloved, all of these things, but I'm I'm employee of the month, or I'm at the Bible study, like you know, like reading, you know, scriptures and stuff. And so it's really like internally, we we're the only ones that know exactly what we're carrying. And internally, like when we hit that point where we're like, I just can't take this anymore. I and also like there's a point where you also have to have hope. Like, this isn't it, like this can't be what life is, right? Like there's more. And you know, when when you said like you wanted to jump on the couches, and you know, like that's where I started doing this podcast because I'm like, I want everybody to hear this. Like, like grief coaching, like we all carry grief, like we all can benefit from a coach, you know, to help us live our best life. And so I I feel the same way. Like I'm like, I want to talk to people, and then I'm like, okay, calm down, Jackie. Not everybody's ready.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

You know, and then I'm all why isn't anyone jumping on the couch with me? Right? Like, why isn't anyone joining me? Excited as I am right now, and then I told Leo at one point when I realized like crickets, you know, like I thought all these people were gonna like, yes, tell me, tell me more. And like that wasn't the case, right? Again, because they weren't in the same journey I was. So like I clearly remember telling Leo, like, we had just invent invested like a good chunk of money, right? For me to become certified. And I was like, babe, like, what do you think? Like, what if I just coach for free? And he was like, Yeah, no, you know, like he was like, Again, his journey wasn't my journey, he didn't experience what I experienced. Like in his mind, he's like, We just spent all this money, what do you mean? Right? Like, he was like, No, and then I remember reflecting and telling him, you know what? And like this holds true to me, like 110%. I was talking to Mia about that yesterday. I said, I came to a place where I said, you know what? If it helps me, like me on a personal level, become a better person, a better human, a better mom, a better community member, and some of that trickles to my kids, then to me it was worth every single freaking penny that I invested. Right, you know, and he was on board with that, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Yeah, yeah. Um, I love that. Okay, so I think that in just your introduction, I know that there's women that are in the grief community, the grief co um, the grief comadre community that are like, yes, like I I felt that way. I I hear you. How would you explain to the this woman that's like listening to this podcast right now what like what life coaching is and kind of you know like what the difference is between, you know, uh going to a therapist or a licensed professional counselor and life coaching? And and it doesn't have to be technical, but like in the most simplest like way, how could you explain this to this woman?

SPEAKER_03 12:11

So I think as I was kind of reflecting, like getting ready for the podcast, the first thing I wanted to share with your community is that I was grieving, like I was going through grief, like my life as I knew it or I thought had like completely fallen apart, you know. Like in my mind, I had done everything right. Like, you know, when I was pregnant from my first son, like I didn't want him to have some of the experiences that I had had. So like I would play the classical music, I would read the stories when I was pregnant, I would take the vitamins, you know, all of that stuff.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

You checked all the boxes.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

Uh-huh. Like I felt like I had done everything right. And when I there was like a moment when I realized, right, that my life wasn't everything I had hoped for what it was going to be, or what I thought. Like, if I was a good parent, my kids would have been like that. If I was a good wife, you know, my relationship would have been looked like this. If I was a good teacher. So I it just hit me that like that was a grief, right? Like I was going through grief. Like I had lost the life that I thought I knew or I thought I had. So I guess what I would offer again, like I said, this is just from my personal opinion and my own stories, and also going through therapy and also having life coaches, I feel like for the most part, therapy kind of takes you back in in in time to like um, you know, trauma that happened to you or experiences that happened to you, and they help you kind of heal from that trauma. And I think coaching, even though yes, at a deeper level, you do tap back into some of that trauma and you do some work with that. Uh, but I think coaching is more like, okay, where are you today? Like, where are you right now? Taking some time, which we don't do, to kind of like self-inventory, self-reflect, like slow down. Like, who am I? Like, who am I in this grief? Right. And what is it that I'm needing and wanting right now? Whether it's grief, like I said, not living the life that you thought you once had, uh, the grief of actually losing someone, a loved one, right? The grief of losing a job, like what whatever it is, right? Your financial situation changing. So I think coach takes you, coaching takes you exactly where you're at. And it carries you almost is kind of like the word that's coming for me. Like it provides this like safe space for you to like just come and let go of that mask, right? Like that we talked about, or like pretending, like at work, there's a certain image, right? Like you have to act a certain way and be a certain person, like in front of people, you act like you know, not that you're pretending, but like it's like what does society in our mind is like how does society want me to show up, right? Like as a mom, as an employee, as and I think coaching takes all of that away. Yeah, I think coaching, you get to show up like raw and vulnerable and unfiltered, and the coach is just gonna hold space for you because we've all been through that too, like something similar. And I think with a therapist, right? Obviously, their credentials are different. They diagnose, right? They label, we don't do that, like we don't diagnose, we're not doctors, uh, we're not medical experts, we're not giving medication, we're not curing anyone, right? We're just like I said, holding the space for you to figure out where you're at, what you need, and how can I co-create with you? How can I support you in this journey to get you to where you want to go next, right? Yeah, and then I think the difference also I think in therapy is more kind of and and tell me if you agree or disagree with this. I think therapy is kind of more like you go to it because you feel like whether you're ready or not, like the therapist is gonna help you. And I think that's a big difference with coaching. You have to be ready, you have to be open, and that's not to say that like you have to be at a certain place in your grief, it's just you have to be willing and open to try it, right? To experiment with it, to feel it out, right? Yeah, and see where it takes you, like trust in that which is greater, whether you believe in God or universe or whatever. And it's almost like I like to think of it like you're going back to your factory settings, right? Like before the world told you all these things, whether it was negative or positive, and they filled your mind and your brain and your heart with all these experiences. It's kind of coaching gives you the opportunity to inventory that and go back and kind of reassess all of that and decide, okay, does this still resonate with me? Does this still align with me? Or do is that not who, you know, that's who someone else wanted me to be, or that's who I thought society wanted me to meet to be, or I thought, you know, that's the only way my parents would be proud of me, right? Right. Um, so I think for me, those are the biggest differences. We don't diagnose, we don't cure. Uh, we're not fixing you from your trauma. We're taking all of it, we're taking the beautiful of life, we're taking the hard of life, what we call big T trauma and little T trauma, and we're kind of like working through it, right? And figuring out what serves us, what we want to take with us, and what we want to release and let go of.

SPEAKER_02 18:16

Yeah. And you know, like honestly, like when we when you first approached me, and you you told me that you had, you know, like a 12-week scholarship and an opportunity for me to do um coaching, like my first instinct was like no, settled.

SPEAKER_03 18:38

And I love that you shared that with me, Jackie. Uh, because I had no clue.

SPEAKER_01 18:43

Yeah. Oh gosh, I was like, oh, I had like you're gonna talk and we're gonna do woo-hoo, and we're gonna, which is what my husband said, right?

SPEAKER_03 18:52

Like, no one wants to just talk, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:54

Yeah, and so it it really is like when it's meant to be, like things happen, right? And when it's really meant to be, like, like I'm a testament to to therapy. I I highly love and respect and value LPCs and counselors and social workers. Like I I love their they're they have hearts of gold.

SPEAKER_03 19:18

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 19:20

I have been like I'm I'm grounded in my faith, and I feel like I've been grounded in my faith while carrying depression, while you know, sitting at the depths of my brokenness, but I've still had that, I still have gone to church and and joined um prayer groups and and retreats and this and that, but I feel like the light switch turned on when I actually did those coaching sessions with you, and I feel that like it it it is a combination of everything in in in my life, but really it's it's like the icing, you know, the icing on the cake or the cherry on top was when I started to do coaching with you, and I started to realize that I had the power to make changes to my my here and now and to my future, right? And so I it's very true. Like I feel like I couldn't wait to go talk to you. And like we would we would meet super early, right? We would meet like at 7 a.m., I think. And I wanted like complete privacy. So I would drive out to get in my car and I would drive just to a park down the street or even to an empty, um, an empty parking lot. And I was just like, and I would even say, like, can I just say something without being judged? Like, I'm gonna just say it, and it's gonna sound like the biggest a-hole thing I'm gonna say. And like you, we don't, we don't, we're not always real with ourselves, you know, like we're thinking things, but nobody talks to us and tells us, hey, it's okay to process that right now. And like what I loved is that every time we met, it's like you gave me the tools, but you showed me how to use them in the moment. And so, like every time I left, I left feeling like, all right, I could do this. And then I would find myself like going through the week and then using that tool. Maybe I used it incorrectly, halfway, half right, half wrong. It didn't matter, but I felt like empowered, like I can do this, you know? And so I I do want to say, like, I feel like coaching is like I I feel like there's a a need and a necessity for everything, right? And I I think that therapists and LPCs play a huge role in our healing. And I feel like coaching like is the cheerleader at the like like helping you run the last mile. Like maybe therapy got you started and the coach, you know, like coaching kind of pushed you through to the finish line. Um, but I feel like we all work hand in hand. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:13

And if I can add to that, I'm a big believer in creating your own team, if you will, whether you want to call it your community, the familia, your your healing community. And I agree with everything you said. Like I said, I mean, I've had a therapist, I believe in therapy, my children have had therapy. Like, I think there's like a time and place for everything and certain parts of your healing journey that will benefit from certain things. So, like, I'm all about like, I mean, see your physician, right? Like, see your physician uh regularly. See a therapist. I think, at least for me, for a long time, therapists had like a negative, right? Like, I still, you know, like why do you have to go to the therapist? Like, see, like, you know, they don't get it. So like therapy was looked upon like right away when you say therapy, they're like, like if you say, like when I talked about marriage encounter, they're like, oh, you guys are gonna get a divorce, you know, like a lot of us think that there's a problem. Oh, there's something really wrong. Well, I mean, we all can benefit from a therapist, all of us, even if you feel that you haven't had big trauma, like a therapist can serve you, a coach, you know, a religious leader if that's what you feel comfortable with. Because yes, our family and our friends love us, they want the best for us, but they also have had their own journey, they're still healing. Our we parent from our wounds, right? And we were parented from our wounds, and not to like put the blame on anyone, we all did the best we could, right? But yeah, and so like I think the more you add to your toolbox, it's not only just skills and strategies, like you said, but the more people you bring on board that you feel aligned with that can support you and help you, like bring them on board, right? So just to finish that, the power of and which you and I talked about that, like I think that's a big thing that coaching has taught me as well, too. That you can have a therapist and a coach. You can be healing and celebrating, you can't be lost and confused and still know where you want to go, right? Like that is what being a human is all about. Like, there is no such thing as like getting from you know, like a straight line and like everything fitting in perfectly. That's not reality, right?

SPEAKER_02 24:53

As much as like I feel like as much as the TV shows and the watch, like even social media, like you see, like, gosh, their life is great. Like, look at what where they're at, look at what they're done, they're so happy. But what we don't see is all of like the ups and the ups and the downs and the like down, down, down, like their lowest points in their life.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

And if you remember, I don't know if you remember that I shared this with you when we were coaching. That a big thing for me is coaching is not about living out. Sometimes people confuse that too when they're not sure what coaching is. You know, it's like, oh, it's just those people that are always happy, or they just pretend like the world's perfect, like we live in a shithole, you know. Like, look at everything that's happening in our society. They want me to be happy, or like, you know, they act like they're happy, they're delusional, right? But the thing is that life coaching is not about creating a perfect life. Like life coaching is about, like you said, gaining the tools and the skills so that when life does happen, because it is gonna happen, it doesn't matter who you are, how much money you make, how much education, where you live, none of that matters. All of us will experience both sides of life, right? Like the struggles and the celebrations. And coaching is about like reflecting, like, okay, how do I want to respond to that trauma, or how do I want to respond to those challenges, or how do I want to respond to those life experiences? And it's never gonna come out perfect, right? Like the more you practice and the more you reflect, and the more awareness, the more you decide how you want to show up in those situations. So that's what coaching does, it helps you show up consistently growing um and improving and how you respond to those things.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

Yeah. And I'm gonna like add on to that personally, like I feel that coaching has given me a lens to see to be more grateful and also to like see, like, like celebrate even like the tiniest wins, or um, I'm I'm starting to like like be more thoughtful about writing in in my calendar, my work calendar, and so about like what like like oh I'm so like this happened, I'm so grateful, this happened. And so I have a 23-year-old son who you know is has his own life. And so I would love to say, like, oh, my son and I had breakfast today, and we talked for three hours, and you know, but that didn't happen. So, you know, the last last week or this past week, um, he was he was actually out of his room, he wasn't working, and it was 10 minutes of his time where we were talking, catching up. And so in my journal, I put, I'm grateful for this pocket of time. And so now I'm being more grateful for even like I didn't have a three-hour breakfast with him, or it wasn't this like we got to go to the movies and hang out, but I'm grateful for these 10 minutes and I'm gonna reflect back on them when I start telling myself, my my son's gone, he's not, you know, paying attention anymore to me, or you know, like I'm gonna be more reflective on those like tiny like blessings that we have in life. Um, so yeah, like so life coaching, like I am a big proponent for it. Um there like there is like a subtle difference when we talk about like like master life coaching and like grief coaching. Like grief coaching for me is like we're really talking about like we're really first bringing to light like the grief that we're carrying. Um, but then once we get there, it's kind of like the tools overlap, right? The tools are overlapping um between the grief coaching and the life coaching, but all in the in the same essence, like they fall under the life coach umbrella. So um one of the things that like I just totally love about you and like um I just like your story is how you work with your daughter, and I am like it's it's very personal to me because you and your daughter, I don't want to get emotional, but you and your and your daughter have like really helped me and my daughter's relationship, and you know, one of my daughters did coaching with you because the same way, like jumping on the couch, like everybody needs to hear this. I'm like, young girls, young girls, like girls, daughters, like our daughters need to hear this, our daughters need to be empowered with the tools to get through this harsh, harsh world and and know that they are worthy and feel confident and loved and happy. And so I've met your daughter before, Mia, and like this your daughter is just like amazing. Um, but you you've collaborated on with with her on some projects and a couple of them that my daughter um and I have like benefited from. So, can you talk to us about like some of the things that you and Mia have done and just like kind of how that story started? Like, where did it start? Whose idea was it?

SPEAKER_03 30:36

Mine, of course, because I'm the one jumping on the couch and my family's looking at me like esta loca, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:42

Like they're like what's happening.

SPEAKER_03 30:44

So, like, yeah. So to start that part, just like you said about your son, right? Like how now you kind of start to rethink things differently. You know, like at the beginning, of course, like I said, I felt like things were shifting for me. And one of the things I forgot to mention too was like, this sounds so crazy, but I started to notice like the clouds. And like I remember walking out of Costco and like for a moment, kind of looking at all the people, and I was like, why, why doesn't anybody stop and like look? It was like what I call the Toy Story sky, like where it's that like beautiful, like aqua blue, and like the clouds were all like puffy and white and like perfect, and like I find myself stopping and staring at them in awe of the beauty, right? Like of this earth and this planet that we live in. And like, why isn't everyone stopping and looking for it? So, like, those were one of the first things I noticed that I was actually looking at the trees and listening to the birds and this cliche, right? And cheesy as that sounds. Like that was part of like my reconnecting, right? To self, like getting out of that like numbness, if you will, right? And like starting to like kind of come back to life and like noticing all these things that I had forgotten about, like all these beautiful things that you notice as a kid, yeah, yeah. That you just forget again because life happens.

SPEAKER_02 32:16

So that's all around us, and it's great.

SPEAKER_03 32:19

Yes, and why don't people like like notice it, right? Like we're so caught up in like consuming and all of that, which right, but um, so like I think at the beginning, like I wanted my family, like I knew it was gonna help them, like I knew that they could benefit from it as well, too. And like at one point, I actually even coached my husband, which some coaches would tell me, I don't know if that's a good idea to coach your own spouse. Uh, but for us it was a positive experience. But um, like they weren't ugly about it, but they weren't quite ready in the beginning, you know. It was kind of just like they would just look at me and kind of try to figure out what the heck is mom talking about. Again, they didn't go through the experience that I did, right? When I went to coaching. Um, so like at first I thought they were gonna jump on board with me and like everything was gonna be perfect.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

So uh a happy family jumping on the couch.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

So and and I've super okay, I've done a lot of work on that for my kids to be perfectly honest with me. And you know, we can invite Mia to share her story about that, but a lot of people see her and like she's amazing. Of course, I'm gonna say that, right? Like the way she speaks and stuff, like my mama heart just, but there are times when we don't get along. Like honestly, when I found out I have two boys, older boys, Max and Alex, and then Mia. When I found out I had a girl like Leo kind of teased me because I go, I was all, you know, my relationship with my mom isn't super close. So, like in my mind, I was gonna have this opportunity to like have my girl, and we were gonna be BFFs, and we were gonna hang out together and like do all these things. And she was little, little, and we would butt heads, right? Like, yeah, like a lot because she's so like she knows what she wants and she speaks up for it, and she yeah, like she like I said, and you'll you know get to hear her say her story. So there was a little bit of me that was like, wait a minute, this isn't what I thought, like my daughter relationship. So, like when people tell me, I'm like, oh, believe me, it's not all roses, right? Like we do butt heads, like we do. Um, so how did it start? I I think they probably just got tired of me always talking about it, right? Like she was little, so like I would tell her about it. So we were talking a little bit about it yesterday, and like I said, she can add more to it, but she kind of said, like, she didn't really know what life coaching was. I mean, she was like six or seven, but she did know the part of mommy was helping people, and so she wanted to help people. And like when she said that, that just you know, like like it made me emotional. So those are the little seeds that I tell you that we're planting, like it may not look like how we thought it would look like, but we are we are changing those generational patterns, right? And beliefs that came from our moms and our awelas and all of that. Like we are making a difference. So the fact that she's a kid, I I don't think I ever thought as a kid, like, at least that I can remember. Let me help. I want to help people. I was like, I want chips, right? I want like what are you gonna buy me? Where are we going? Like, where are you taking me? Um, so the fact that she said that, I think that's kind of where it started. And then she was really big on YouTube, of course, you know, like watching videos. She was little and she would make little videos, like, welcome to my channel. Like, she didn't have a channel, like she would do that kind of stuff. So I didn't know this. She just shared that with me yesterday. So I think that was kind of my way in because I wanted to do something with her. She was all about doing videos, and I thought like she shined in that scenario. So, can we do videos together and do things like give positive advice or tips and stuff? So that's kind of how our journey started. Of um, and then also at an event, a live event I went to. Her and dad went to pick me up. Uh, I was waiting to take some pictures with the presenters, so I didn't know how long it was gonna take. So, mommy, you want to get down? Get down. You know, I introduced her to some, I actually ran into a coach that was here, like I didn't even know she lived here. And so when we went up to take the picture, I told them, you know, like Mia says she wants to be a life coach. And right away they were like, Oh, can we interview her? Blah, blah, blah, and all that. And so that's kind of what she was sharing with me yesterday. That mommy, I really didn't understand what life coach is, but I just knew that I wanted to help like people too. She was and it was pretty cool, like to get interviewed. So, from that is like where we started to brainstorm the mommy and Mia. She came up, she reminded me yesterday. She came up with the name Mommy and Mia uh coaching where the magic happens. Like she added that little slogan, and I just love it, you know, like mommy and Mia coaching where the magic happens. That I was like, Yeah, like magic. Life coaching does feel like magic, right? So that's kind of where our journey started. And then from there, we went into the workshops, the mommy and Mia workshops. Cause I was like, okay, how could she help me? Well, mother and daughter, right? It only made sense that that would be the next step. Like, right, let's work together and facilitating that. She loves that, she's been giving me a hard time. We need to do another one. Yes, mama, we do. We need to do another one, and then from there, it just went into the coaching, you know, like us coaching together, which is what we did with your daughter. So, yeah, that's kind of the journey on that. So, yeah, I just want to be clear like life is not perfect. You know, there are moments where we don't get along or see eye to eye, but I just love love that she's open to it, she's excited about it, she wants to help people, like she contributes a lot, like her magic, right? Like, just flows through her. And like, I hope she never loses that.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Like, I love I mean, I feel like like I'm an adult, I'm 40 years old, and um, I did your um your love, love yourself challenge.

SPEAKER_03 38:37

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 38:38

And um in the month of February, and like Mia's just very insightful, and she like I love that she's a teenage girl saying it in her own way and using examples of like things that are happening to her and how she's used the tool. So, like, maybe you started, you know, just out of wanting to bond with her more, but she's been like a sponge taking all of these tools and consejos, and like it's so powerful when you start to see like the woman you admire, like your mother, making changes in her life and like loving herself, and like what better gift as women that we can give our own kids, but like a representation of like this is real, this is what real life looks like, and I'm gonna love myself through it, right? And so you've like, I mean, yes, it's not perfect, you know, but like you've given that to me, and like the journey isn't over, like you all still are working together. So, um, yeah, so that's the teaser is that next interview will be with Mia, and like I can't wait. Like we kind of I we're talking about her now, but the every everybody that listens to the next episode is just gonna be blown away by her intellect, like how beyond her years she is.

SPEAKER_03 40:06

Like I always say she's my secret weapon, right? Like that's what I would say all the time. Like, I bring her on the videos because she just, yeah, like I feel like she lights up a room, you know? Like, yeah, I just love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:18

Yeah. So we're we're gonna we're gonna have that episode soon too. Um, so I, you know, we we kind of like have crossed paths again in February, and you came to me with like a proposition or an idea, and I'm totally on board and I'm totally like excited about this. But can you give us a little bit of insight into like something that we're planning and that we're working on for the month of May?

SPEAKER_03 40:47

Yeah, so I participated in your grief um program that you offered, right? It was like a couple of sessions of like loss and right loving yourself through grief. Loving yourself through grief. And so I signed up for that. Like I was like, I I want to do that. Yeah, like I like I said, those full circle moments where like I just wanted to support you and be open to that and stuff. And for me, as I was reflecting and I was hearing your community talk and stuff, like something tapped on me that it would be a beautiful gift to offer your community. Um that self-love and grief can exist, right? And like I tell you, there's something magical about like I could feel your energy and your love through the screen, but when people are sitting in a room and you're genuinely holding space for each other, and you've had similar experiences, and you're dealing with hardships or whatever, like something about women coming together and wholeheartedly just opening up and supporting and being vulnerable and being kind and compassionate and being open. There's like a magic that I can't explain. So I was like, what if we offer a retreat, right? Like, what if we kind of like a continuation to like what you've offered and an opportunity to be live, to be in person, to be in the same room, uh, to feed off of that energy, to hold space and support and hold each other up and go a little deeper into all of that, you know, that we're feeling and going through with our grief and our journey. Um yeah, so it's kind of an opportunity to release a little bit and also like I don't know, there's like I said, something just beautiful about people coming together uh for the same reason, right?

SPEAKER_02 42:55

Yeah, I mean, I agree with you. Like I I read and I've listened to podcasts that are saying like there's nothing like the experience, and we're no longer in the time of COVID. Um, you know, like online is convenient and we can connect, right? Um, from far, you know, places far away. But there is nothing like sitting next to like another person, another woman. And I think that we as women, like we need each other more now more than ever, right? Like I'm I am tired of having that, you know, like we're not in competition anymore. We're not in like we are in community. We are about like lifting each other up. And now, because we've gone through coaching, it's like I want to scream and tell you, like, yeah, like you can live your life and be like totally happy and fulfilled and and navigate, you know, like the grief, like you you can be okay. Um so um, shall I share the what our what Our um our retreat is called.

SPEAKER_03 44:04

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 44:05

It's raíces in La Tierra. It's a retreat for grief, for healing, and for ancestral strength. And um it would be a two-day, just to give like a little bit of info, like a two-day um in-person retreat. Um, and we will be, you know, within the next couple of weeks, we'll be sharing more information about like the days, the time, um, the the investment of the retreat. Um, but more than anything, like I think we're gonna women are gonna walk away feeling like not only that they are like being able to what is it like the so that like release, like okay, release what what what they've been carrying in their heart, but they're gonna also be able to like like also honor our ancestry, right? There's a lot of like pain that can come with like reflecting back on like our generational wounds and our generational traumas, but there's also like a beauty to like acknowledging them and like and seeing them in a lens of like power and strength and like this is like soy la mujer like right now because of you know my ancestry and the past and the past women that have got me here, right? And so I'm excited about I'm I'm super excited to like continue to share in our communities um more about the the in-person retreat that's coming up. So um everybody stay tuned because that is coming. Um, and you know, we'll be sending out emails and you'll see us on our Facebook groups. Um, but Sonia, where can someone find you? Like on social media, where can they find you if like someone is listening to you right now and they are saying, like, I I'm connecting with her, I she understands me. Like she's she's like you're speaking to that person and they're feeling like an interest and a calling to like work with you. Where can people find you?

SPEAKER_03 46:13

They can find me at Lotus Wellness Coaching. That is the name on my Facebook page. Um, that's the name on Instagram. Um, they can reach out to you and you can connect them with me. Um, they can text me and yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:29

Yeah, I will be linking your page, um, your Facebook page on the bio in this podcast episode. So if you are interested in like learning more about Sonia and like reaching out to her, um, you'll get that link in the in the podcast description.

SPEAKER_03 46:46

Um and then of course, real quick, I just want to say, and then of course, coming to the event, right? Like to meet us. I mean, it'll be a lot of like Jackie and I I think are very similar in a lot of things. Like we want it to be, it's not like an official, right? Like it's gonna be very calm, very loving, very um, yeah, like where you just come as yourself, like and just be open to receive whatever is meant for you. Like I would love, love, love for you guys to join us at our live and man. I mean, I'm excited about it. Like we're, you know, uh co-creating it and facilitating it for you. But believe me, I think Jackie will agree. Like, I get so much out of it too. It's healing for me too, and it's a gift for me too. And I just love, like I said, there's nothing, nothing compares to being in a room with other humans, right? Um, you know, uh supporting each other.

SPEAKER_02 47:46

And I glad that you that you stopped me and said, wait, one more thing. Because like you will come with like at whatever level you're at, you will come maybe at the depths of your brokenness. You may come at the peak of your life where you're like, it can't get any better than this, right? Like, I don't need, you know, I don't need to talk about, but but you're gonna come wherever you're at, and you're gonna get like a root rejuvenation of like of um like women, you know, like empowerment and community, and you're gonna leave feeling like transformed. You're gonna leave feeling like like you can, you know, like you can tackle, you know, the world, you know, like this this is gonna happen, like you can you're gonna be okay. You have a community of of mujeres that are behind you, you know.

SPEAKER_03 48:39

So and then do you wanna share the dates just so that people can kind of start like thinking about it already? Yes, because we specifically, Jackie and I talked, and we specifically picked May, uh, because you know, as women, as mothers, right, as full-time employees, we tend to say, Oh, I don't have time, I can't, I have too much. Like, what a beautiful gift to give yourself in the month of Mother's Day, and even if you're not a mother, you know, like as a woman, as a human being, to give yourself in a whole year, give yourself two days to come and receive and offer and heal and celebrate and cry and do all the things. There's it's magical, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 49:28

Yeah. So the dates are Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd. And so, of course, like we won't be doing an overnight. It would be you come um for a couple of hours on Saturday, go home, do your thing, come back on Sunday and join us. Um, and then um, you know, same way for a couple of hours. So I'm super excited. I can't wait, I cannot wait. Um, yeah, so Sonia, oh my gosh, thank you. Like, I once we said like let's do this podcast, let's let's thank you for like first of all, like inviting me to be to co-collaborate with you on the on the um raíces in la tierra and for agreeing to do this podcast. Like I always leave talking to you like feeling energized. And so um I hope that our listeners today like feel the same way, that same excitement. Um, I just you know, I always thank my comadres like thank you for choosing to listen because you don't have to like you can turn it off. And so um I'm very grateful for this opportunity to be in your car speaker or in your ear pod or wherever you're listening to us at right now. Thank you. It's an honor to be able to take up this time and this space in your busy schedule, and I cannot wait to connect with you again. Con mucho amor, until next time.

SPEAKER_03 50:53

Thank you.