Tuning Into Our Inner Wisdom And Living With Purpose Through Mindfulness With Susana Merida

Considering our ancestors’ conquests, it is not impossible to have more than one lineage. In fact, it is likely to be of different descents. And that is precisely what makes our character unique and exciting! Unfortunately, it can also be the catalyst for insecurities, and we still feel that we sometimes don’t belong. If you are someone or know anyone who is weighed down by cultural expectations or self-doubt, don’t miss this episode! Susana Merida talks about the pivotal moments of her life and how mindfulness, having an abundance mindset, and identifying the things or people that are most valuable to you can help you eliminate distractions so you can finally have a spot for yourself. Tune in, get clarity on your priorities, and be inspired to conquer the world in your own skin. You are beautiful just the way you are.

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Tuning Into Our Inner Wisdom And Living With Purpose Through Mindfulness With Susana Merida

It is time for another special guest. This special guest is going to inspire you in many ways. We have with us, Susana Merida. Susana, welcome.

Thank you.

I'm excited to have her because she has a story where she has to find her path, even following unconventional ways. Let me tell you a little bit about her. She is a former pediatric dentist who fell in love with mindfulness, yoga, and wellness. She decided to pursue her purpose and passion. Now she's a full-time yoga instructor and NLP practitioner. Susana is going to share her story with all of us. We are going to talk about mindfulness and how we can use this tool to tune into our inner wisdom so we can live on purpose. Susana, how are you doing, my friend? I'm excited to have you here.

Thank you. First of all, I'm super honored that you invited me and approach me. That was even blissful for me. My name is Susana Merida. I'm honored to be in your show. I was invited. I'm humbled to provide my story. I hope I inspire all the people around us. I come from Venezuela. I was born in Caracas and then I went to Valencia. My mom is born in China. My grandma is from Japan. My grandfather is from Italy. My dad's side is the same. My dad was Jewish. He passed away. I have a little of everything in the world. I studied Dentistry because my parents were a good example. I chose that career. I love it and I enjoy it.

I went to Puerto Rico and I did my residents in Pediatric Dentistry. I love it, too. I had a great time. I went to Maryland and I work at the University of Maryland in the fellowship program. I teach resident students and undergraduate students. We also will be in communities in Southern Maryland, and rural areas where they will need a bilingual pediatric dentist. I will say from my heart that those times were hard and rough as a wife, a mom of two kids, and a Latin woman. I have no regrets. I love it.

I love your story because you have such a diverse background. It is interesting. How did it feel growing up with many diversities in your family? I imagine many religions, locations, and backgrounds. How did that enable you to be where you are now, experiencing diversity?

Most of all, appreciate everywhere where you go. Get connected with the roots. My table will have plenty of diverse foods. The table is always where you gather together. There will be Italian food, dumplings, hallacas from Venezuela, and arepas. First of all, my roots make me the person that I am. I love to welcome everyone from everywhere. I love to learn from other cultures. I’m not 100% Chinese, Asian, or Venezuelan.

As a young child and growing up as a teen, I wasn't feeling good enough about my body and my skin because I felt like I didn't belong. I was a little bit of this and that. As I’m growing and absorbing all that culture, I love it. I married a Venezuelan guy for many years. I have two kids. His side family was from Venezuela and Spain, the Islas Canarias. That was the final amalgam. That old amalgam mixture is what we are. That's what I am.

Appreciate everywhere you go and get connected with your roots.

I love that you even brought up that at the beginning, when you were a child, maybe you felt that you were not enough. You didn't belong. Honestly, that is something that I see with all females, including myself. I've struggled in that area. We are going deep quickly in this interview, which is great. How did you overcome that? How did you reprogram your mind to say, “I'm enough?” Is this something you are still working through? Everything is a lifelong process.

When I was a teen and getting older and bigger, one day in my mirror, I said, “You are different. That's okay. You don't have to fit in any category.” As I grow, then I go into the medical field. My resident was for the University of Puerto Rico, which is a well-recognized university by the ADA. It is rated five stars. It was tough for me to be standing in my heels and say, “I'm different. I'm Latin. I'm a woman, but I'm smart and intelligent. I do know what I'm doing.” I was shy. People don't believe it.

She told me that and I'm like, “No.”

I was shy. I go in through meditation, yoga, and all this for my own self-growth. I used to go do presentations. In Maryland, for example, we were in front of the health department, senators, and the whole government staff to show up and present what we were doing in the schools, the health department, and the dental clinic. I have an accent. I have a Sofia Vergara accent and who cares? I have to set my mind to say, “I speak two languages. I wish I could speak more.”

Nobody was laughing at me. It was me here. It was my own insecurities. I say, “Susana, if you go to a Congress, a dental meeting, or a new product, you prepare, learn, and study what you have to do with your emotions.” I took the path to start reading great books. My body was sending signs as well that I wasn't paying attention. My heart was beating. I’m anxious and having a panic attack. At that time, I love these platforms. I love that we can connect because I'm older. There was some misconception that everything has to be high. The beauty of my growth is we can pass it along to the people behind us, especially women. That's why all this is a story, all this journey.

I love it, Susana, because one of the things that we connected over was the accent. For me, the accent was an insecurity for many years, until I decided, “My accent makes me unique. For sure, people will remember me after the meeting because I'm more exotic.” That is completely true. I started to embrace and reframe the meaning that I was giving to me having an accent. I'm like, “This is my differentiator. This is how I'm going to show up into the world.” Embracing what makes you unique is something that we need to do more of. It can be super helpful.

I'm super grateful. It’s like yoga. It’s a little light that we spread out of the darkness. We’re making this path for people. One of the things I do is reinvent myself. One day I say, “This is what I'm going to do now, but we will go over that later.” I'm the brand or my yoga practice is the product that I'm going to show. People ask me, “Do you want to do it in Spanish? Do you want to do it all in English?” Even my son said, “Mom, you should do it in one language. Do it in English.” I said, “I'm going to do it both because we are a bridge to connect.”

That is the law. That's what yoga is about. Yoga is not religion. You can have your religion, whatever you decide. I belong to Jewish, Catholic, and everything. The point is that the world needs bridges and connections to bring it all together. If we are strong and proud of ourselves even when we have an accent, we let people in Spanish see us, maybe they're learning. They will say, “If she's doing it, I'm going to do it, too. She inspires me.” There may be people that don’t speak Spanish and are then willing to learn in Spanish. They're going to listen to us in things in Spanish. That's why I like to bring that up in both languages.

Back in my corporate job, I remember seeing one of the plant managers of the refineries. He was French. He had this accent that was so thick. I remember looking at him, hearing him talk in a high status within the corporation, thinking, “If he did it, I can do it.” It's leading by example and creating more visibility for people like us. You were in the field of Dentistry which I love. You love that, but you started to realize that your body was telling you something. Tell us about how you realized that it was time to rewrite your story. How do you define that yoga, mindfulness, and all those things were for you?

First of all, I love what I did. We would go to schools. We will do oral screenings. We will prepare everything to do with OSHA regulations. I was reviewing. I was the director of the center. We will go see 100 teeth put fluoride, a screening, and send them to the clinic. I love that interaction. I love to serve. In that position, I wasn't taking care of my body and listening to my body. I have multiple emergencies for pain here.

I couldn't move my arm. My neck couldn't move. I needed to drive two hours with traffic with snow and without snow. My heart was speeding. This is a lot of pressure. I'm not saying that every dentist is there or every person has to leave their job, switch, and reinvent. What I'm saying is to pause, breathe, and pay attention. Your body is sending signs.

In my case, I speak from my mouth, I was flowing through the mode that I didn’t have time to say, “Hey.” I missed a lot of things because I was in the doing mode and I forgot to be in the present moment. My body has hard feelings. I couldn't sleep at night time. I will even be sensible. I will cry. My hormones were on a rollercoaster. I was in my 40s. Maybe my menopause was starting to show up. The thing is that now, nobody would talk about that.

No one’s saying anything about that unless you were close friends. You will have the confidence to speak and ask some questions especially not Latin. We are making these jokes, but the reality is that we were raised. I want to also demystify this. I want to change. That’s why I'm a super warrior. We can make all women support each other in a different way. It’s like, “I want to look better than her.” In the end, we always struggle. All women have days that we feel sad. We have days that we look in the mirror and we don't like our bodies. One of the things that I think of is the beauty of my growth. I'm here to learn from older women and also the younger ones.

We are a circle of women. When you laugh, I laugh. When you grow, I grow. When you heal, I'm healing, too. I couldn't get up on my bed. That was my rock bottom. I don't want anyone in the world to be on that path because it’s sad and scary. I had to take medication. I don't even know what was happening. I know medications, the physical body, the physiological, and the biochemistry. Based on my knowledge, I was scared. How can I show up at work saying, “I'm taking this medication?” You don't say it because that's another thing. You keep it high. That was what I was so good at.

With that smile, you were like, “Everything is all right.”

I'm good. I'm fine. Everything inside was crushed. That “fake it until you make it” hurts your body. I need to get working. I'm going to take the medication. I took half. I talked to my doctor. “What can I do extra to help this? I'm not thinking of taking this medication forever. I'm not going to think about that. I'm going to take it even if my body doesn’t feel good. I feel scared and all those things that come in.” I called it la lora loca. What is out there that I can learn? That's what I started. Also, I'd be cycling, kickboxing, and spinning classes, you name it. It was good.

Pause, breathe, and pay attention. Your body is sending signs.

When I found my mindfulness and my yoga practice, I said, “This is what I need. This is what my body was craving.” It was funny because I had a friend from Puerto Rico. She was not a dentist. She's from the health department. We met by universe attraction’s law. She was with me when I have to take the medication. I feel scared because I knew vertigo, all the things, all the sensations, and claustrophobia because I suffer from panic attacks and anxiety. I was close to depression, but I took action right on time. She said, “I love my children. I love the work that I do. I love to see my kids.” When you work for the government or for a teacher, it's not the same as a private practice. I was fine with that.

Maryland is one of the states that have a limit license. Since I graduated from the University of Carabobo Venezuela and did my residence in Puerto Rico, they have this special limit license that you can work in health care facilities or federally qualified health centers. I said, “This is what I need in my life.” I was happy, but there was something missing. I didn't know what it was many years ago.

I said to my friend, “I'm happy. I love my family. I have a grateful life. I'm grateful for what I have, but I don't see myself as a pediatric dentist forever. I don't know what it's going to be. I don't know what it is. I'm telling you that there's something in my body that don't think that I’m going to be spending the rest of my life doing this. There's something else for me. I didn't know.”

When we moved to Texas, there was another bottom for me. That was the ignition for me. “I need to remind myself.” I took the exam to have the boards and all the exams to have a private practice and work in Texas. I took it three times and didn't pass. Every time I didn't pass one part, then I had to retake it. I got my depression and anxiety back again. I don't want to feel that way. One of the things that I learned also is that as young kids, we have this shifting of minds that we come from generations, those limited beliefs, or those beliefs that we think that we are and expectations. I thought that if I wasn't yet a dentist, there was no Susana. There was no me.

You didn't make it. You were not good enough.

A lesson I learned these past few years that's been the peak of my growth is this. You value because you love yourself. You believe that’s what you are.

Everything starts from within. That's it.

I went to therapy. It's okay to say it because that's another thing. I love Brené Brown. When you show up and be vulnerable in the arena, then you can speak and receive advice from other persons who's been in the arena. The person who hasn't been there doesn’t know what this body feels. Being vulnerable, I have to sit on my knees and say,” God, Universe, what is it? Show me a sign. Tell me what you want. What is the why for this?” The universe showed me one person and then another. I met my coach. I did the certification with her. I started therapy with her. I went to my therapy with psychological. I did my all. It's shocking because when they ask you, “What does what Susana want?”

You have never asked yourself that question. You have always followed the path that you were given. Suddenly, you are shocked by that question.

That's when I look back. I was focused on the doing and that success because we saw that to be successful is when you got this type of job, house, or life. That's all around. Everything comes from the inside.

We forget to be because we are focused on doing.

We have to have goals. I was depressed and I felt like I have no value when I didn't pursue what I'm supposed to be doing my whole life. I changed and I feel like the happiest person in the world now. We can now talk about, “What does Susana want?” Susana wants to be happy. If you believe in your God, your Universe, or your Buddha, we’re created to be happy.

With my coaching clients, even before setting goals, the first question they answer is, “Who do they want to be?” We focus on doing and then having. Be, do, and have. I love that you let being happy be that direction because that is everything.

When you're happy with yourself, you have to work and first recognize, “What do I need to do? What am I doing that is not working?” First, acknowledge, then take action. There becomes a transformation. Go exploring. That's where everything evolves. That’s what I'm here for. I wish the younger generation can hear and learn that it’s not about expecting the right moment to feel good, expecting the right time, or expecting when everything is settled. There’s no more pressure in my life.

I love it, Susana, because you're right. A lot of people are waiting for the perfect moment to come. Perfection is a type of procrastination because perfection will never come. You keep waiting and being unhappy and unfulfilled. There are many things that you said that spoke to me. Also, thank you for your vulnerability because you are an open book. Our readers are going to resonate with you so much and appreciate you showing up as imperfect Susana, like we all are, imperfectly perfect.

If we don't talk about it, everybody's going to be high. I promise myself to choose this new path of me to keep serving. One other thing is if I can inspire another teenager or woman, you have to be gentle with yourself. Be compassionate with yourself. Give yourself time. Also, don't make the excuse to stay in that zone. There is a yoga phrase that I quote all the time. “Find comfort in the discomfort.” We are so accustomed to being in our comfort zone. We don't want to get out of there because it's comfortable and it's good. If it's working, you are never going to take the leap to say, “This is it.” Be brave. Take the courage.

If you believe in God, the universe, or Buddha, you’ll realize that we were created to be happy. 

Also, look for people who inspire you. Look for the connections. I don't have the word envy. It's admiration. We were sold with this belief of envy, competition, and comparison. Let's put all those aside and find a way. “I don't feel good with my body. I’m not sleeping well. I want to lose weight. I want to change work. She's doing it. He's doing it. Let me try to reach him. Let me try to learn from what he's doing,” instead of saying, “Let’s just do it.” We are mirrors of each other. Something that is bothering you over there is because there's something that you want to see from that.

Perception is the projection from the inside. Whatever we perceive outside is coming from the interpretation that we have inside of that situation or person. I love the abundance mindset. There is a piece for everyone. Why are we competing with each other like there is just one piece for everyone? There is so much to go around. I love that.

Something that I loved about your experience is that you experimented to gain clarity. You tried spinning. You tried different modalities of wellness and physical health. You didn't stop. You kept going with the hope that you were going to find that thing. I'm saying this because sometimes people try one new thing. They don't feel inspired and they're like, “It wasn't meant to be.” Here's the thing, you got to experiment and pivot as you go along the way until you find the right thing. I love that you did that for yourself.

That's because you have to first acknowledge that you are not happy, you want to lose weight, or you’re feeling well. You have to be compromised with that. You have to be in a commitment to yourself. Many times, we are committed to work, family, and appointments. When it's time to take care of ourselves, we make excuses. I’m faithful to what I believe. One of the good things about my programming neuro-linguistic work certification in my therapy is that you write your values down. I tell everyone, “You don't have to write ten values. Write down five, at least.”

I can share mine. My peace is non-negotiable. That’s one of my values. My family is not negotiable. That's one of my values. I'm committed to myself. That's non-negotiable. That's one of my values. I'm honest. That's not negotiable. You'll add it on and on. When a situation comes, you breathe, pause, reset your mind, and say, “What are my values? Does this go along with my values?” If it doesn’t go, I don't betray myself. I say, “No, thank you,” without guilt. If I say yes and it’s something that doesn't go along with my values, I'm betraying myself.

You are creating resentment against yourself. I love values, too. It's such a simple exercise, but it’s a framework for any decision-making step. I always say that with your values, you can define what is a distraction versus an aligned action. That is the same thing you are saying. I'm sure there are people reading and they're like, “Everything you are saying is resonating with me, Susana, but I don't have time to tune into myself. I don't have time for me.” What will you say to a person based on your experience?

First of all, you have to be committed to yourself. That's number one. You set up time. Forget others. You have time for golf with your friend and have a glass of wine. You have time to take your kids to the nursery and come back. Sometimes, we forgot about ourselves. I love to sleep. Start meditating. If you have to be at work and get up at 7:00, set up the alarm to get up a little earlier. You don't have to be sitting this meditating.

Get out of your bed. Close your eyes. Put your feet on the Earth. Pause. Put 1 hand on your chest and 1 on your belly or 2 on your chest and start with gratitude. “Thank you, God. Thank you, Universe.” Be thankful. It’s the energy, attitude, and how you want to start the day. You can add some more minutes. Also, what I found frequently is I cannot meditate. I cannot stay still. 

A lot of people haven't even tried it. They're like, “No, I cannot do that.”

The PNL, I do in my classes, is when you have to change the chip. It's like a new iPhone or Samsung phone. It’s an update. Like a computer, you need to reshape all those and also give yourself the chance and the opportunity to try new experiences and new things. We are in this corner with judgment and pre-judge. We don't look like, “Let me try it.” Give yourself the chance to feel it and try it before saying, “I'm not good on that. I can never be that.” Give yourself the opportunity and try it. If it doesn't feel good and you feel like it's not working, okay, but it's not just one day. You have to be consistent in your meditation.

I love to go to nature. When I feel an imbalance, I go with my barefoot. Go outside with my feet on the grass and feel the sun out there. You don't have to be standing. For two minutes, breathe, and feel your chest rise. These are real research that said that being barefoot, you receive all the energy. The ions go all the way to your body. Create your mantra. “This is a good day. I'm strong. I'm healthy. I'm at peace.” Say the words, “I am.” It's the most powerful words that come from the inside. People who know me for a long time have been seeing a transformation.

The pandemic was my transformation year because you always make excuses. You don't find the time. We give time to everyone but we are so hard on ourselves. Sometimes in my classes, I said, “Close your eyes. Reach your hands up and then hug yourself as tight as you can. Close your eyes and say something beautiful to yourself. Talk to yourself the way you talk to someone you love.” You take time to tell your daughter, your family, or even your pet, “My lovely,” but with ourselves, “I’m fat. I'm old. I'm not good enough.” Stop it for five seconds. Breathe. Connect with your breath. Smile. The moment you smile, you’re releasing hormones of happiness and joy.

Even if it's not a genuine smile, when your body changes, your mind starts changing. Everything is interrelated. I'm so happy you mentioned that. Even smiling in the mornings, even if you're not feeling like it, your mindset is going to change like this.

We have kinesthetic and visual. I'm visual myself. I like music. I’m kinesthetic, but I'm visual. I don't want to become an obsessive perfectionist because perfection is out of my league. When you organize your space and everything using order, I like to have fresh flowers, for example. I always suggest that to my friends. For me, it works. I feel sad or I'm knowing the energy level. I'll know the things to reach in my body to put my level of energy up. Go put fresh flowers in your home, light a little candle, or a little incense. You can clean.

Sometimes we have so much stuff that we don’t need. When you look around your space visually, it’s all in harmony. That’s simple to make you feel good in one day. You don't have to be out, shop, and spend money or be miserable. You have the power to change your mindset when you get up in the morning every day. That's something that I learned. You choose.

It's important to start your day in control because that defines the tone for the rest of the hours. Sometimes people wake up and they're all over the place. They have a meeting, this, and the next thing. They are focusing on the external rather than their inside, rather than tuning in within themselves. I love that. Let’s talk about mindfulness because mindfulness is so related to everything we have been talking about. A lot of people know about mindfulness. Some people reading may be like, “I've heard it, but I don't know what that means specifically.” How would you define mindfulness for those reading?

Be brave, take courage, and look for the people that inspire you and make connections.

Mindfulness for me is when you are connected and fully present with your body, mind, and spirit. It is when you gain to be here in the present moment. You're not thinking about what you're going to do five minutes later or an hour later, or what happened in the past. You’re just here now. Also, it is a way to live because you want to live in peace. We want happy and peaceful lives. Humans are the ones who complicate it. If you see children and pets, they are in the present moment. Those are my teachers.

You see a kid that is crying one moment and then you hold him. He forgot everything and he's happy again. You see a pet and he's playing like my dog, for example, Maya. She starts licking and eating. She's there. She wants to be hugged. She's fully present. Every time your mind goes away or goes back, I invite you to go back to your center. There are mudras that you can place fingertips or palm to palm. Close your eyes. I say this always, “When you are at work, on a phone call, in a meeting, or texting, you don't have to respond immediately.

Yoga and mindfulness will teach you that you can control your energy, pause, and breathe. You're not going to be from here to there directly. You're going to take the moment in the time to respond. That's one of the beauties of mindfulness because you are in the present moment that you stop and say, “Do I have to do this now? Do I have to respond to this now? Is this going to hurt? It's going to have consequences.”

Your awareness changes. You start a little ten-minute meditation. You can walk and have mindfulness meditation. You can peel off fruits and have mindfulness meditation. You can eat and have mindfulness meditation. It's not just sitting here like this. This is supposed to be like the monks in Asia, but there are so many different ways. You add more to your life and it becomes part of you.

Mindfulness helps so much in overcoming people pleasing, overcoming meetings, and avoiding boundaries because you start tuning to what's best for you at the moment. Your body speaks to you. It’s speaking to you and you're like, “I can tolerate more,” until one day you are like, “I can't anymore.”

We are trained that if we do more, it is better. If we say yes to everybody and everything, it is better because maybe they're not going to think that I can’t do it. All the things come back to you. When you are consciously living in the present, working, and resetting your mind with PNL, that's a lot of work. You can say no without guilt. You don't have to be multitasking. One of the things in my generation that was multitasking was action. As I'm learning from my experience, while you focus your energy, there you go. Instead of doing so many things, focus your energy on one thing, and then you go with ten more results.

Meditation is a type of reprogramming of your mind for you to be more conscious because a lot of things are unconscious. As we have learned in NLP, behavior, learning, patterns, and habits we run change. All of those are unconscious. Whenever we react to things, that's based on our unconscious programming. We haven't even stepped back to reflect on, “Is this going to help me? Does this align with my values?” The practice of mindfulness and meditation is getting more into your body and mind to make change conscious rather than running on autopilot all the time.

Another thing that I noticed in the younger generation is that I wish there will be more awareness of the time when you're sleeping. We need to sleep and rest. Your body needs to sleep for at least six hours. Your brain needs to rest. That's linked with all mental health, bipolar disorders, depression, panic attacks, and anxiety. Suppose you are working and taking care of your body. You are on the medication, and your complaint is, “I can’t sleep at nighttime.”

I will suggest part of the mindfulness to do this routine. As you have your morning routine, have your nighttime routine. Two hours from getting to bed, be away from the devices. Have a light dinner with less sugar and more fresh salad or lentils, something that is good for your body. I love oils. Spray lavender oil on your pillow. Have a bubble bath or a fresh shower that you are preparing for that time.

It's like grooming ourselves. For me, it's the same as your ritual to love yourself. That's mindfulness, too. If I want to go to bed at 10:00 because I need to get up earlier to be aware of time and do my five minutes meditation, let me prepare ahead. The more you do it and the more you practice, it becomes part of your routine. It feels good.

You have to let the control go. Sometimes we need to just flow. Maybe one day you don't get all the time, but at least you are in the car. Mindfulness is also what you hear, who you are with, and what you eat. Get up in the morning. You want to watch the weather. If you want to drive, you want to know how’s that traffic. Try to shoot for something, a little quote or meditation. There are so many options out there that instead of being stuck in the traffic, you breathe and listen to something, a podcast, for example.

I love podcasts from Erika de la Vega. Oso Trava is another podcast that I listen to a lot. He brings people, especially Latin, but I like to listen in English, too, like Oprah. I have two boys. I had to teach my boys to recognize that they can cry. That's another thing that I love about yoga. Yoga taught me to welcome inclusion. It's not just men. We are all a unit. Sometimes you need to cry. Cry. We put the labels. “Men don't cry.”

Try to listen to something that will fill your soul. When you get to your work set up or have to deal with a situation, you have the tools. You already have tons of things that you can choose before you react and say, “Can I make a solution on this now? Can I have a response to this?” Maybe something doesn't go the way we want it because we are so accustomed to control that we want things in a way. If something doesn't happen that way, it’s because the universe was rather actioning to you the way they're supposed to be.

That is true because 90% of people achieve with consistency. Part of that is expecting perfection. Even when bringing a practice like meditation or mindfulness, your practice is not going to be the same every single day. If you want to meditate for 10 minutes but something happens, then meditate for 2 minutes instead of 10. Consistency and showing up are so much better than having the expectation of a linear path and being perfect every single way. Even driving, we drive at least once a day. You can practice mindfulness. It doesn't have to be the same and perfect.

If you have a dog, watch your dog. This is a one-hour meditation that I practice a lot. You watch your dog and your steps, inhaling one step forward, exhaling with the other leg. You are present in that moment. When you watch your dog, you’re inhaling and exhaling. You look at the flowers. You look at a tree. You see the sky and then you are feeling the present moment. Sometimes you can hear some music if you want. You need to have your phone. It’s okay.

There is no such thing that has to be a perfect way to mindfulness. Sometimes we were expecting perfection. That's why I say, “Always be gentle with yourself. Do what your best can do. Keep trying.” We started with gentle yoga. One day your body is going to move differently. It's okay because there's nothing wrong or bad. Be in the moment.

The moment you smile, you release hormones of happiness and joy.

One of the things we have talked about before is that mindfulness is a great tool to tune into your own input, start trusting your gut, understand yourself, and listen to your body. How did that help you in your journey of finding your purpose and what fired you up? How did that help you? What do you need to learn in order to get there, too?

First of all, we have to unlearn. Every day we learn new things, but you have to be open to unlearn and learn new things. That's when you remove all your baggage, titles, insecurities, judgment, beliefs, and all these internal talks that we have to ourselves. You have to put aside and say, “This is a new day. I'm going to start like a new day. Universe, show me where is my path. I'm ready. I'm here.” In my case specifically, remove the shame. “What are people going to think? What are they going to say? Even family or colleagues that will see me. ‘She's not practicing. She's doing this.’ I don't care because I'm committed to my values and I'm happy.

I came to this Earth to be happy. Once you’re happy and you feel connected with your gut and heart, this is all our brain. We always point to our chest. No, it’s here in our heads. If your heart or gut says, “Go for it,” but it's here. You know when something feels good here. As a yoga teacher, I observe bodies. When people are hurt or are not sure, what do we usually do? You see people walking. They'll go like this. Once you know your roots, you are in alignment with your root chakra. You feel what you are. You feel it right here. Roll your shoulders back and say, “This is it. I feel it right here.”

You show up empowered and ready to go.

In my case, personally, I have to be thankful because my best friend and partner who is my husband always works alongside me on this journey. It's not easy. Not everybody is that blessed. I hope and wish that everybody out there can find the person that is going to say, “Is this what you want? Go for it.” He is always by my side, but specifically in this one.

It was a big change. It was a big change even for my kids. My kids are young men now. I told him, “My heart feels that I'm on the right path.” When you do all these reinventions and you strive to figure out, “What I'm going to do with my life? What if I'm not good at this?” and all those self-doubts that we have, you have to say, “What was it that I like to do when I was a kid?”

When we were kids, we were the happiest person in the world. Even if the environment doesn't help, I can guarantee you have to be stuck in the back of your brain. Unconsciously, you have all the experience and the vitamins, but you always go with that moment. A song, smell, or food will transport you there. All the connections in the body will say, “When I was doing this, I felt the happiest in the world.” That's what I put my guts and my puzzle started to bring it all together. I have another talent. I can embrace it. It's okay that I removed my scraps. I embrace that. I use and combine it.

I am not saying that I'm going to push aside that part of me. I love it. I'm proud of it. They gave me the little condiment and ingredients for the yoga. There are many yoga teachers out there. There are plenty of options that you can go to. That goes for you, teachers, here in Houston, too. Everyone is unique and different. 

As a yoga teacher, this is Susana. This is what I offer you. I have my knowledge in the medical field, my knowledge in programming and linguistics, my passion, and my knowledge of the environment because I’m also a certified environment teacher. I do the wall, which is for injuries. I start adding because it was a new me. I used to be on this side. You compare. You put Susana and then I melted all in one. I used to go to training. I used to study. I used to go to be better. In the sense that before I wanted to prove something. In this space, I feel so safe because I prepare myself. I go to workshops. I keep studying, but I don't need to prove anything.

In that practice of gratitude, it seems like you have a consistent credited practice. I feel that also makes you feel whole, instead of lacking something or scarred by something. It makes you feel like you have it all already because it's true. All the resources you need to succeed are within you already.

There’s a keyword that I learned. When I started teaching, I was insecure as a yoga teacher because I was new there. In the beginning, I didn't want them to throw me to the field. I said, “I'm not ready.” You're never going to be ready. Go for it. I have to be thankful as well for my yoga teachers and students. I learned from my yoga students and teachers. When I do my training, she will push me. It’s Kristin. That studio is already closed, but I used to work there. She will challenge me. “Do you want to go and teach this class?” I was like, “Yes.” I was shaking, but I said, “I got this.”

The more you practice, like everything, consistency becomes part of you. I'm thankful for my yoga students. Each one of them has something that made me a better yoga teacher and not just as a yoga teacher, as a human, and as a person. I’m thankful for that. You want to have an income and a studio. Right now, I'm having fun. I have my income. I'm learning, but the other talent that I mentioned, I can keep serving.

That's what's important, at the end of the day.

You see a person that comes with back pain. I give some tools, modifications, and breathing techniques because of the power of breath. The pandemic has taught us so much about taking care of our bodies. We took for granted the simple physiological human thing that is to take a big inhale, breathe, and exhale.

It’s the most basic thing, but it’s life.

People sometimes don't know how to breathe. I have tons of students that come to me like this. They cannot hold their breath and start learning. It’s baby steps. I said, “Be patient with your body and with yourself. Be gentle.”

Mindfulness is being present in the moment that you stop and reflect on what you need to do.

What if someone is out there, one of our readers, has this inner voice as you had during your journey that is telling them, “There is something more? Maybe this is not it,” what would you recommend to them? Maybe it’s a practice or whatever. What would you recommend that they do to start tuning into that and redefining their direction?

First of all, I want to say that your job, age, nationality, and status doesn't define you. Once you know that, you believe it. What you believe is what you are. You go back and start taking a piece of paper. Write down the things that you love and that make you happy. I love to share with my friends. I know how to cook. I love to help people to organize their houses. Know the sense of making money. That's another misconception. we need the money. That’s abundance. It’s energy because money is energy. If you focus on what makes you happy, you'll fulfill your needs inside.

Maybe you love your job and what you’re doing, but you still think that you have something extra to provide. Maybe you're young and you say, “I can keep doing this, but when I’m in my 50s, I would like to have my own business.” Start getting ready to prepare for that. First, go when you were young. Go back there and write down, “This will make me happy. I'm musical. I love to see people feel good.” If you like to help people to feel good, okay. I like to eat healthily. I can cook. I can be a nutritionist. There are so many ways. You don't have to change it. “I say bye to everyone.” Prepare yourself. Another thing is to learn how to communicate better.

With yourself or to others?

Yes. Sometimes we want people to read our minds or assume what we want. Maybe you have a friend who is good at cooking and you are good at decorating. That will match. It’s a partnership. Alliances always are good. Sometimes you have to go on your own. You can grow with someone along the way and then each one can take different directions, but it’s okay. “She has something that I don't have. I learned from her. I learned from him. Now I'm ready. I'm going to go this path.” Look for something.

What is their intention? You want to serve. You want to make people happy or healthy. In my case, I want to bring the wellness of aging. I would love everyone would do yoga and meditation. Once you're in yoga, everything is aligned. There’s yoga, meditation, and pranayama. You start to see your life. It’s a way to live your life. I don't know if I mentioned that I’ve been six years meatless free.

You mentioned it but not in the show. That’s incredible.

I'm not saying that everyone has to choose that path, but you can do it one day in a week. Once you add in all these changes, then you say, “How can I be a good provider and provide little seeds that I can plant for a better world?” Do you want to create a business about the environment? That's a good way. Start reaching people and make connections. I love Instagram. I am a person that isn’t private. It was funny because there was a joke. “She's my friend, Susana.” I say, “Yes, I went out on Instagram.” “Is she lesbian?” she said. “No, I'm not.” I’m super welcome to everyone. 

We are all one. We respect everyone.

I wasn’t private on my Instagram. When my friend invited me to start doing live classes during the pandemic to a group of women, each site, one in Dallas, one in another place. I thought, “I'm going to be public.” I have more things to be grateful that being out there, showing up, and connecting with people. I have great friends that I met on Instagram like you. I have another friend in Miami. You start learning. That's a good way to start. Also, you have to read good books.

I love books. They are the best mentors ever.

Invest in yourself. If you want to go for a decent path in your life, start doing little workshops. Invest in coaching. There's always the excuse. “I don't have the money.” You don't have the money now but make the arrangements. How can you get there? Make the numbers. Instead of buying every day at Starbucks, put that money aside. Invest in something for your business to grow.

It’s all resourcefulness. People can figure out whenever they put that as a high priority on their list every time.

If your gut is telling you that you’re now happy where you are, or you want to do your business or do something, don't wait.

Trust it and start doing something, my friends. That was beautiful. I'm excited to have you here. I'm inspired. I'm energized to continue with my day after this show. I didn't tell you this surprise. I finalize the show with what I call Rapid-fire questions. I'm going to ask you questions and you reply quickly with the first thing that comes to mind. We're going to have a little bit of fun here. What’s your favorite book?

I have many, but I will say my favorite book is The Four Agreements. I have many. I'm a super nerd. I would recommend it. If you have the time, it’s a not too long book.

Every day we learn new things, but you have to be open to unlearn and learn new things.

Describe yourself in one word.

Creative and magical.

What are you the proudest of?

I'm proudest of myself and how far I’ve come. I have to go a long path to be sitting here and believe that I have something to share. It’s easier for you to always be high or say no later. I stood up for what you believe is true. I'm proud of myself. I’m always thankful that I have good support around me, my family, and my husband. I’m thankful 100 times for my kids and my family. I'm thankful that I stick with the plan that I said one day and I'm still on my path.

What's your favorite part of being a yoga teacher?

My favorite part of being a yoga teacher is seeing everyone's transformations, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Sometimes they don't know and realize it. I have to come and say, “It's been a month since you come here. I see you. You're glowing.” It's overwhelming when I see a person that can sleep, feel, and speak better.

What's the best piece of advice someone has given to you?

I would say my dearest, Elena Ruiz. You should interview her. She's amazing. Elena taught me to be faithful and loyal to my words and my vows, to believe in myself, and that I always have the option to choose. You always have options to choose from.

What an amazing way to conclude this interview. I'm inspired and impressed. I'm proud of your journey. Honestly, you're the perfect story for this show because this show is all about people trying to discover who they are meant to be and follow that path that feels in alignment, like you did, my friend. How can people find you on Instagram?

You can find me on Instagram, @SusaMLove. Love is medicine. My name is Susa M. Love. I post my stories. I post every day. If I'm doing something, you can reach me through them, on Facebook, or LinkedIn. I’m having fun. I don't have cards. I don't have a webpage yet. I'm working on that because one of the things about this transformation is you have to be patient and set goals. You don't have to skip or jump a step.

I teach Saturday mornings at Yoga on the Brazos. That's in Richmond. I’m also super honored to teach two days, Mondays and Thursdays, at the gym in Anytime Fitness. It’s near the freeway here in Katy which is good because it's another environment. It’s not just a yoga studio, which is different. I love to see people that go to the gym to make muscles but find their body, mind, soul, and spirit in my class. Also, you can find me in my little yoga space for private yoga sessions.

I’m also doing special birthday parties or bachelor parties. I bring the whole experience. I transfer my full things and I create 90 minutes to your experience in your home. We do some yoga classes. You got all your friends and family, and we do some yoga. If you want any private sessions because you're new to yoga, I can offer private sessions. Contact me by DM.

It’s a little space that I have. It’s not a studio. It’s in my home. I'm protective of my space, but everyone looking for peace inside is going to be welcome here in my little space here. I have this, which is the wall. This is a restorative type of yoga that you can find with me. We will do poses on the mat and then they will be posted on the wall. These are for lengthening and back injuries.

I love your stories. I love your content. She's in Houston, Texas, because we have international readers.

I’m in Houston, Texas. Usually, I work sometimes with corporates as well. They hire me and I go on a lunchtime 2 times or 1 time each week. I go there and we do chair yoga or gentle yoga because it’s just the pose. It's to calm your mind. That's one of the things that I'm doing. Hopefully, in a few years, I want to be bigger. I want to expand this. Everyone, please reach me if you are new to yoga. I can be a guide and walk you hand-by-hand with experience. You will feel a lot better. I can guarantee you. Your body will thank you for that. Before I leave, I would like to share books that I love. This one is a good book on yoga.

It's The Yamas & Niyamas. That’s the book she’s holding.

Your job, age, nationality, and status don't define you. 

This one is a highly recommended book that you can start going in the middle of yoga. It's simple. It's a nice book. Next is The Power of Now because I love the stones and energy.

That's one of my favorites, The Power of Now from Eckhart Tolle.

Another one is Wherever You Go, There You Are. It’s for learning how to meditate. I have tons of books. Another one I love is The Artist's Way by Cameron.

I've heard of it, but I haven't read it yet. That's awesome. My friend, you are like me. I have tons of books. I love them. I'm obsessed with them.

Write down your dream. Manifest your dream, but be specific. Write down what you want, how you want it, and when you want it. Put all the colors and the details. Be specific. You have to believe that the universe will send it, but you have to be specific. If we don't believe, trust, and write down what we want, nothing is going to happen.

Thank you so much for this amazing interview. I'm happy we got to connect.

Thank you for inviting me. I'm so honored. I would like to end with a little meditation.

Let’s do it. 

Place your feet resting over the floor. Hands over your knees. Sit proud and tall. You’re parallel to the floor. Close your eyes. Shoulders away from your ears. Feel the air coming through your nose. Take a big inhale and exhale. You notice your chest rise. Slowly start to visualize this beautiful golden light coming from the corner of your head and all the way down to your toe.

One more breath. Inhale. Count to four. Hold it. Count to three. Create a mantra. You exhale. Count to six. One more breath. Inhale and count to four. Hold it. Count to three. You exhale. Count to six. Place both hands on your chest. Do the Añjali Mudrā. Feel your heartbeat. Allow this moment to be your space. Bow with your chin to your chest. Namaste.

Namaste, my friend. That was relaxing, all I needed. Thank you so much. You're such a beautiful soul. I'm grateful to you.

I'm grateful. Thank you. I'm humbled and honored. I hope we can make these friendships that start now and grow more.

I love it. Thank you for everyone tuning into this amazing episode. I'll see you next episode.

Important Links

• Susana Merida
• The Four Agreements
• @SusaMLove
• Facebook - Susana Merida
• The Yamas & Niyamas
• The Power of Now
• Wherever You Go, There You Are
• The Artist's Way
• Yoga on the Brazos
• Anytime Fitness

About Susana Merida

Susana Merida is a former pediatric dentist who fell in love with mindfulness and yoga. She decided to pursue her purpose and passion and now she is a full-time yoga instructor and NLP practitioner.