MyStory of Empowerment and Transformation

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I want to dedicate this blog so that you get to know me a little better and tell you my secret of why I do what I do from a holistic perspective, how I have related concepts that serve me both in what I do in Mind & Light and in my personal life and what I am contributing to the people around me so that they can achieve happiness and balance both in their lives and in their spaces.

My name is Marianela, but everyone knows me as Nela. I am an architect by profession, I have taken interior design and photography courses. In 2020 I certified as a Yoga instructor.

Some will think why I did this last certification if it has no relation to design and that is why I wanted to do it. I was at a point in my life where Mind & Light was starting to grow, had a lot of work and literally did almost everything in the company. There came a time when, without realizing it, I had lost my training discipline, I didn't eat so well, I spent many hours sitting in front of a computer, I kept awake a lot, my phone always had a thousand notifications and I can continue…. Anyway, my life had no order and was about to collapse.

When I started this Yoga certification, I promised myself that I was going to be present and I was going to disconnect from the world to get the most out of it. There were people close to me who even got annoyed about it, but from there I began to change my thinking and not feel bad saying "I'm on the course this weekend and I won't be available".

One of the things that stressed me out a lot was not being able to say “NO” to someone and at the end of the day, I would say yes and I was the one stressing about committing. So little by little I understood that you don't always have to be available, sometimes you have to say no and sincerity is one of the best gifts someone can receive, even if they don't realize it at the time.

Every time I progressed in this certification, I realized that I was studying concepts that could be closely related to design and architecture. Something they taught me in college was to conceptualize an idea and then came all the design. Working, I don't always deepen a concept as such, but I do worry about many other things that form a unique sensory experience. I'm writing this blog because sometimes I feel like I'm not transmitting it, but there are people who hire us because they want only us to design, so I do know that it is transmitted in what we do.

Little by little I realized that not only did I learn more about Yoga, but it was a before and after in my life. Concepts that used to be a word for me have managed to have a great impact and have transformed my way of living life. Some are the foundation, alignment, balance, order, harmony, and action. I easily managed to bring all these words to my life by changing my daily habits, as well as to my work by implementing them in the spaces we design.

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This has led me to be more determined in my decisions and goals, I feel more creative, I love to get up early to take advantage of the day and do everything I set my mind to, I organize myself much better to do different things and I always seek in my days to have a balance between work, physical and mental health, sharing with my loved ones. Sometimes it happens that I felt guilty for not being 100% working, but I realized how enriching it is to take a break to exercise, meditate, read, talk with a loved one and that is a necessary balance to be happy.

I love my job, I love teaching yoga and mobility classes. So to continue doing what I love, I take care of my physical and mental health to give my best every day.

I hope this blog is motivating for whoever is reading it and to make a change to be your best version.

A hug,

Nela.

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