Latest / Enough & Evolving / From Trauma to Power: Reclaiming Your Body, Mind & Life with Johannah Bradley
Transcript
- Tyona Vallejo: Hello and welcome to Enough In Evolving Podcast. I'm your host, Tyona Vallejo, master certified life coach and mindfulness expert, you reclaim confidence, break through unhelpful patterns and manifest the relationships and life you desire. Now let's get started. All right, welcome back to the podcast. ⁓ I am so excited I a special guest. My first guest ever is someone that ⁓ I absolutely love. She is so and dear to my heart. Truly, truly. I have the pleasure of interviewing ⁓ Johanna She is the owner of Empower Yoga Studios and Empower Lifestyle Retail Store. She is a lifelong yogi with over 32 years, 32 years y'all, of practice. She has transformed her personal experiences with trauma and loss into a powerful mission of healing and empowerment. Through her work, Johanna is dedicated to helping others reconnect, grow, and thrive. She is also the proud mother of three beautiful grown children. I am so, ⁓ honored that she said yes being my first guest ⁓ and that are celebrating this woman's history month with her story. further ado, Johanna Welcome Johanna! Johannah Bradley: So much, I already teared up during that introduction. That was so lovely. Thank you, Ty. I feel the same way about you. Tyona Vallejo: Yes. Oh my goodness. Yes, yes, yes. You know, we, get to have all the fun. And so we're going to jump right in and talk about all the things. I just introduced you. Is there anything that you would like to share with the listeners about your story about when you started the studio, how long you've had it open, all of that. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, I opened Empower Yoga ⁓ years ago. ⁓ is flying in Rancho Cucamonga and ⁓ to Claremont about five or six years ago and opened the retail store just shortly after that. And been an incredible journey, ⁓ like everything. we have a lot going on. you know, in addition to getting to offer amazing classes in movement, yoga and other forms as well. We do international retreats every year, which you are a part of. We're headed to Portugal shortly, which is incredible. We do yoga teacher trainings and I... Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Amazing. Johannah Bradley: Truly believe we have one of the best yoga teacher training programs around for 200 hour certification. And then we're just launching our first ever ⁓ fall 300 hour training advanced studies in yoga. So ⁓ just keeps blossoming and growing. And we're making such a huge ⁓ in the community and in the world. It's really exhilarating. ⁓ ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yes. ⁓ my goodness. Absolutely. I'm always hearing from students about how grateful they are to have your studio to go to this community that they get to share and that supports them. And I don't think you'll ever really understand the impact that ⁓ ⁓ has created ⁓ people. But Can you tell us a little about when that all started? When you decided, like, when you were inspired to take this path of wellness and entrepreneurship? Johannah Bradley: Yeah. I, in order to give like the full context of what Empower means to me and what drove me to take this huge leap of faith a secure corporate job to ⁓ life of entrepreneurship as a single woman, ⁓ that takes a lot. I have kind of go back to ⁓ my and my story ⁓ and it feeds into why I named Empower Yoga the way I did. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: came down to Southern California when I was 18 to go to college at Scripps in Claremont. ⁓ I met a very handsome ⁓ man freshman at a women's college, which is pretty impressive shows when you're really determined. Right? ⁓ You can a And ⁓ ended up getting married between junior and senior year when I was 20, had my first, our first baby at ⁓ 21. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Woo. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: And we were off. So, you know, very young and started this life in the area. Had two other beautiful children, all in my ⁓ 20s. then in my 30s... things started to kind of fall apart in terms of my marriage. And there was a lot of complexity there. And I do always like to give a little kind of caveat or trigger warning. I am gonna discuss some potentially triggering issues like suicide and violence. So if that's, you I just wanna let people know, give them a heads up. Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. Johannah Bradley: Ultimately, through a lot of tribulations, we were going to separate. And unfortunately, my husband at the time also struggled with mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse. And so in 2013, he took his own life in front of Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. Thank Johannah Bradley: of me and our youngest son Jackson with a gun. And there had already been a lot of trauma leading up to that. ⁓ Those things don't happen in ⁓ ⁓ the older kids were downstairs. But the reason I have to talk about that is because the level ⁓ of ⁓ and that comes from an experience like that. Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Right. Johannah Bradley: cannot be overstated. I lost myself. ⁓ that's best way I can say it. And I know, you know, there's many other people who have had different experiences where, but it's still the same effect. We, you know, it was just a daily job to ⁓ of survive and just to be in the world ⁓ do the best I could ⁓ my kids. ⁓ ⁓ also lost both my parents that year within six months ⁓ cancer and Alzheimer's. So really just is this, I still look back on it as this like unreal Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: time. Like how does that happen? Fortunately, I have one an incredible group ⁓ support structure ⁓ of ⁓ And I've been practicing ⁓ yoga and types of mindfulness since I was very, very young. ⁓ Slowly, that helped me back to my self. Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. Thank Mm-hmm. Hmm Johannah Bradley: And yoga and mindfulness was a huge part in just, I call it like reintegrating into my body, into the present moment. With PTSD specifically, ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. Johannah Bradley: become so disembodied that like doing something like taking a seated meditation is not even possible nor wise. You have to find ways to kind of slowly patch yourself back together to even have moments ⁓ awareness and presence because it's just too chaotic ⁓ your brain, honestly, and in your body. So even really hard like yoga poses, like balancing on one foot, doing something crazy with my foot. behind my head or something, it just slowly helped the noise in my mind and bring me back to my breath and to my body and to be more present. ⁓ I also did a lot of therapy and a lot of ⁓ things. always want to say yoga installation is not a holistic, ⁓ I don't think, solution. I did EMDR. I've done lots and lots of different things. But was a huge part. Tyona Vallejo: and Yes. Yes. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: So in 2000, I'd been working a corporate job for a really long time in sales and marketing. in 2019, my kids were getting older. I was finally ready to, I'd always wanted to be an entrepreneur and yoga was so important to me. that I thought sharing it with other people would be the perfect thing to do. ⁓ So name Empower is about right? Because you can't be empowered without being embodied. ⁓ And my husband's name Matthew. So the ⁓ is also symbolic of him. My maiden name, my parents last was Muse, M-U-H-S. So that's another place the ⁓ comes from. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Right. you Johannah Bradley: also stands for mental health, not only for my husband, but also for myself and my kids. And we all ⁓ need that, know, so much. Also, in a nice turn of events, our beautiful logo. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: is symbolic of the word om, which is like the deepest mantra for yoga of just life and universe and ⁓ and everything. So it a lot of meaning more than just a cute name ⁓ for me. And we off. Yeah. I think so. Yeah. And that Tyona Vallejo: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And I think that's felt. I think that's definitely felt intention. ⁓ ⁓ Johannah Bradley: Yeah, that was the beginning of it. You're probably going to ask or talk about it. I don't want to. That was not the end of the journey of by any means. And there some next steps. So ⁓ I'll leave it at that unless there's another ⁓ specific question. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah, no, I loved what first of all, thank you ⁓ being ⁓ so vulnerable to share your story, the absolute hardest parts ⁓ of your journey. And I think ⁓ essential for us ⁓ it to the light to share it in a way that be. ⁓ helpful for others to see that pains they're dealing with, whatever traumas they might be ⁓ through, there actually ⁓ light, there a way to find healing, and you are a beautiful example of that. And ⁓ you talked about ⁓ when someone goes through that type of trauma, how they really disconnect from their body. I believe that on a level, we are ⁓ all ⁓ much disconnecting from bodies, whether we've experienced time, ⁓ you know, big trauma, little T trauma, or we're experiencing secondary traumas now. ⁓ even by just opening up our phones. so can you speak a little bit more to that disconnect of your body and what that was like for the listener who might be like, huh, I wonder exactly that feels like, what that is, ⁓ what she means that? How can they tell they're... disconnected from their body because I'm sure you not have noticed. You might have noticed because you had been a yogi for so long already, but feel like some people are, they're just not even recognizing that. Johannah Bradley: I think you're spot on and also I think like everything there's degrees and I think we all and still to this day, know, there's so much availability of disassociation. Like there's so many ways to disassociate. ⁓ For me, at the time, like immediately ⁓ losing ⁓ Matthew experiencing Tyona Vallejo: ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: My, always a little hard to describe, but it the most painful thing. The most ⁓ unacceptable ⁓ was was like to just sit. And I grew up ⁓ meditating. My was a Zen Buddhist, so I used to sit for hours silently. ⁓ That wasn't something that was like unfamiliar to me. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: but people and people would recommend it. And the way I would explain it at the time, I remember I'd kind of get mad that they would even suggest such a thing because it was so painful. ⁓ And I'd say that would be like spinning in a fire. Like it's too hot. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: And that's what it felt like to have any silence. I vividly ⁓ in the even weeks ⁓ after having really, it was actually The Walking Dead is what I would watch. Like it just helped strangely soothe my brain. So having this really like ⁓ aggressive TV on. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: ⁓ Candy Crush on my phone at the same time. I mean, was it's to look back on that is so odd. it was truly this just attempt to like, you know, I dropped the kids off at school and I would literally turn on every input I could get and everything that would give my brain something else to focus on. ⁓ And ⁓ ⁓ to I still managed to make it to yoga class, which is Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yes. Johannah Bradley: Thanks amazing. And I the but I couldn't do gentle yoga. It wasn't that kind of thing. But what I could do is really powerful, strong movements at that time. Because it was kind of the equivalent of a TV show and Candy Crush, I'd have to focus so I don't fall over. If I'm balancing on foot, my brain has to be somewhat in my body to prevent me from falling over. Right? mean, literally, it's that like, simple ⁓ is ⁓ to hold myself in this really hard Tyona Vallejo: Okay. right. right. Johannah Bradley: position ⁓ took a certain amount of focus. And it kind of forced me to be at least a little bit present, you know? ⁓ And then after a really rigorous class, ⁓ ⁓ in Shavasana and I would cry. Tyona Vallejo: Thank you. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: I would always cry in Shabbat, not always. It would just come pouring out and I just let it. But it was like a clean cry. It was like ⁓ allowing ⁓ it ⁓ good whole versus kind of ⁓ this really other states, I'd have these really confused, angry, know, cries. It also includes really, really Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: repetitive thought patterns, extreme repetitive ⁓ patterns. And I think in some ways that's the definition of PTSD, right? ⁓ you relive ⁓ even without a trigger, it would just be there. ⁓ have the amount of ⁓ deep ⁓ that I had with a dead person is almost like... ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Right. Johannah Bradley: very much processed ⁓ and over and many were unproductive. know, many were not like guided. were this just repetitive thought and I would get these flushes ⁓ of in body that would go upward. Almost like when you're embarrassed, but just like everything would just go to my face. ⁓ I also remember my head, my forehead and the top of my head being numb. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: They were just always numb, which is just really interesting. Like, you know, I have some theories, but there's all these signs. The biggest one though, overall is just not being able to be with myself. You know, just not being able to be in that silence or anything that needing constant distraction, which I think we all have to some degree these days. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So. You and I started working together after you had gone through your therapy and lots of other modalities and were on a road of healing at that time. When came to me, a lot the challenges that you were having were more around the business. ⁓ things like that. Can we in that direction? I think that was so, ⁓ so helpful for the audience to hear the story and what it looked like for you to move that healing, both physically and emotionally, and the ⁓ actions you were taking on that journey. And then. like life, just continues ⁓ happen, ⁓ and new challenges come into play. And so you had done some major, major healing. And then ⁓ can you share us where you found yourself we started working together? Johannah Bradley: Yeah. Yes, everything you said is accurate. I don't think the two are unrelated. I think I was in for this discussion, and it's almost like it ⁓ has been the perfect steps. Because when I started working with you, I was feeling really hopeless. Tyona Vallejo: Hmm. Johannah Bradley: really bad about myself. ⁓ like I was feeling like I'd made some big mistakes. And that was in regards to the business, know, a year after I opened, COVID happened, the pandemic happened, which is maybe I think the worst thing that could happen to a yoga studio in terms of that. But I can't think of anything that would be more devastating to a new business in that way. But we were, know, and I was already on kind of the like build back post pandemic. And I felt like, and my kids were going through Tyona Vallejo: Hmm. Hmm. Mm-hmm. Johannah Bradley: some really hard stuff. And I was taking that really personally. And I felt like I'd kind of everybody down and let myself down ⁓ maybe made a huge mistake by opening a business, honestly. The thing I was ⁓ why think it's all so tied together is because I now recognize it was the next of my brain working the same way it had been working. I also ⁓ reflected ⁓ if I ⁓ started working with you five before, it wouldn't have worked. I don't think because I was so disassociated and you always say, love it's one of, one of my favorite things that you say is like awareness is everything. Awareness is our biggest gift. what we have. And when you're in such deep PTSD, it's not accessible. The awareness isn't there. So I really think it was kind of this perfect staging that I built like the ability to be somewhat aware. Again, I came back to my body through some tools. Tyona Vallejo: Yes. Yeah. rate. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: And then you stepped in I was able to, ⁓ you with you ⁓ use awareness to start then taking ownership and control over my thoughts. And I think the biggest like reflection that I have ⁓ is I keep seeing Tyona Vallejo: Right. ⁓ Johannah Bradley: meme pop up recently that says, if you can overthink the worst that can happen, why don't you try overthinking the best that could happen? I think of our coaching together when I see that, because it's so exactly what it's all about. ⁓ to do that, to make a change in your thoughts, you also have to have some connection. Tyona Vallejo: Yep. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. right. Johannah Bradley: Right. And you of course provide tools for that. But I just feel really lucky, I guess, that I was at a place where I harness that awareness then use ⁓ some of tools that you were offering. ⁓ And it ⁓ just gave me coaching power to... Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: to focus on the best that could happen. And honestly, worked. all mean, honestly, it's just like, that's best way can say it. Like, business is completely transformed. It's the best that could happen. My kids are incredibly successful and ⁓ healthy have moved through some incredible things. ⁓ content. Tyona Vallejo: You Yeah. Yeah. amazing. Johannah Bradley: that's pretty cool. yeah. And, I really, quote you a lot, honestly, I quote the coaching time ⁓ together a lot ⁓ there's just these really specific reframes that, ⁓ you were able to share with me. The thing ⁓ I was thinking too, in preparation for this is just, we get. So sure that the story's true. Like I was really certain there was no way to look at certain things differently. I mean, I think I may on a coaching call said, you're wrong. you don't understand. Tyona Vallejo: ⁓ yeah. Yeah, right. I know a lot of clients have wanted to like throw jabs at me and I'm like, hmm. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, and it turns out you weren't wrong. There are other ways still to even hard stuff, like life is still going to be hard, you know. ⁓ If it's okay to share a couple of the like big nuggets that transport you. Because these are the, there's a couple that I really think about a lot. One ⁓ was do this kind of thing about fact. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah Yes, Yeah, ⁓ my gosh, please, please, yes. Okay. Johannah Bradley: versus story. And I remember ⁓ kind of being in an unhappy relationship at the time and a very firm story I had in my mind is, but I'm old. So I let go of it. ⁓ And that my mind was a fact. ⁓ And I so well you sharing that Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. right. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: no to a 90 year old you're very young, is true. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: that the fact is, and at the time I think I was like 47, the fact is, on your first, like you're 47, but then the judgment on it is this idea like I'm old or I'm too old for this or I'm, you know, these different things. And I just think that's such a clear, concise example of taking kind of the emotional like story that we put on something that's just such a simple fact. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. right. Thank Johannah Bradley: and I'm turning 50 this month and now I feel young. It's weird. It's like, feel like I have so much, know, there's no kind of like attachment to that idea or that limitation. Tyona Vallejo: Thanks. Yes. ⁓ my gosh. That's so huge, right? It opens up a whole new world of possibility for you that you're not seeing. But I love how you made a point to say that it was perfect timing when we started to work together because you did have to really heal. it is a nervous system. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, and it's a simple thing. Yeah, exactly. Tyona Vallejo: healing that has to happen. That at least we're dealing with traumas like that, you know, like you experienced where there was some severe PTSD happening. Yeah, you had to come back to a particular level ⁓ of in nervous system, a particular level of ⁓ being in own body again. ⁓ so that you could become more aware the things that you were thinking about that ⁓ you ⁓ weren't you, right? ⁓ Johannah Bradley: Right. Yeah, I don't think it would have been possible in the state. But yeah, and ⁓ think there still would have been some help, but I almost feel like I was taken on this kind of ⁓ It was the right thing at the right time. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Right. Yeah. Yeah, always, always. And what do they say about the when you're ready, they arrive. And I do, you know, I think across the board. Most of the clients that come to me, they have gone through therapy already. ⁓ And so healed from whatever deep emotional or past or situations that they. ⁓ Johannah Bradley: arrived. Tyona Vallejo: they had to manage through in their life. And now they're ready to go to that next level, but they're just feeling like where you were, where it was just like, okay, I'm lacking a little confidence here. I'm able to get my head on, looking at this as if it's really, truly possible for me, that all of that, you know. you keep just getting slammed down by doubts and just like overwhelming negative thoughts, yeah, those are the people that usually start coming to me and we definitely work that. ⁓ So you there was a few other ones, I didn't want to interrupt you. ⁓ Johannah Bradley: ⁓ no, also true. Everything saying. do ⁓ this for sure will cry as I talk about their happy good tears. My daughter was going ⁓ through a really tough time. And she had for years been with some of the same things that her dad Tyona Vallejo: Mm. Johannah Bradley: struggled with and I was very caught up in this trauma loop in that like as a parent you just want to fix and by the time we started working and I had so much fear like so much fear around her well-being and by the time we started working together she was getting help she was starting to find help, but all I could focus on still was the fear because it had happened so many times that then there had been like a fall some help. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Great. Johannah Bradley: So, and it was really devastating. We were talking about that and you offered at one point that what if instead of, because I had a lot of things to say about what could go wrong. You know, you said, what if you recognize that your daughter, I think she was like 24, 25 at the time, is. doing something right now that some people never accomplish in their whole life. that's incredible. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Really. Johannah Bradley: No. ⁓ the reframe of that allowed me to honestly tell how proud I was of her ⁓ and mean Tyona Vallejo: Hmm. Mm-hmm. you Johannah Bradley: You know, because when you're caught in the what's the worst that can happen? I didn't feel proud. I felt scared. ⁓ And when put it that way, because I do 100 % believe that's true. I remember the conversation we had after that kind of digested. ⁓ And I think ⁓ she it. I think she really felt ⁓ the of having her mom like genuinely feel proud. Tyona Vallejo: Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry. Johannah Bradley: versus holding on to the fear. she's amazing. Three years later, she is like, totally thriving. And ⁓ do ⁓ genuinely proud. she's done that honestly, a of people ⁓ could never ⁓ And she's young. Tyona Vallejo: Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: you know, and she's accomplished this incredible, incredible rebirth into wellness everything. ⁓ So was a big, big, big one. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Hmm. ⁓ I love hearing that. Yeah. Huge, huge. Johannah Bradley: And I couldn't even see, I just couldn't even see that perspective. And you offered that and then it still took maybe a week for that to really sink in. Tyona Vallejo: Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that that's what's so incredible about this work. I've had lots of my own experiences with that. Those things as well with other coaches ⁓ coaching it's just like we can't what we can't see. You know, we we are the fear is so gripping on our perspective. It literally is. Johannah Bradley: Yeah. Tyona Vallejo: you know, taking our higher thinking mind offline. And it's, we're really experiencing life through this dysregulation in our nervous system of just fear. How do I protect? How do I, what do I? And just like, when we're able to settle ourselves enough to ⁓ you know. open the ears a little bit to hear something just a little bit different from someone outside, because you're not hearing it inside. It's not, then you that what if, you know, and it just blows your open. And it's just like, you hear what's true, what's wanting to like come up in your heart, but you can't access it because your brain's so ⁓ freaked out trying to protect yourself. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, and I think that's very resonant with kind of the theme of this, is, you know, female empowerment specifically because like you said, I mean, it's things that you can't find on your own, which is also, think, a big difference from therapy. And I've loved my time in therapy. Like I said, it offered a lot. But to offer an alternative in a loving way that you can see from the outside can be the most empowering ⁓ thing. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. yeah. Hmm. Yes. Johannah Bradley: You know, and that's not necessarily how the modality of works, but is how the coaching works. And it is, I mean, that's ⁓ the power ⁓ and And. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: Honestly, I just almost have a hard time thinking about it because it like is so true that once you ⁓ to get those new stories and switch it, your life changes. That's the crazy thing too. Like, I mean, it's just, you change the story. It's that's why that quote is so resonant. What if you overthink ⁓ all possibilities? ⁓ You just like. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, it's incredible. mean, like I said, your daughter's doing amazing. My business is thriving. I'm very happily comfortable in my singleness and my age. it just, it's all, you know, it's all possible and everything just ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Hmm... Yeah. I love it. Yeah, I love it. I love it. And this this shift in perspective, the shift in attitude, this isn't like, what do they call it, the ⁓ the positivity where you just like, you know, you're basically gaslighting yourself. It was never that. ⁓ So ⁓ can maybe share with the listener how it's how that's different? Johannah Bradley: Mm-hmm. Tyona Vallejo: how you were never like trying to get into this positive Pollyanna attitude. It was just like Johannah Bradley: It's, feel like that toxic positivity is just another form of denial. It's like not facing ⁓ on life terms. It's kind of almost like staring in the mirror and saying, everything's fine. Everything's fine. It's It's great. It's fine. ⁓ But like your body, your actual belief structure are inside still saying like, no, you're in danger and you're dysregulated and you know, ⁓ serving yourself all these other thoughts. It's almost an that's why I like the age example I gave is that because it it almost feels back the emotional layer of it. And that's not to say it's not an emotional work. It's just the the laying ⁓ ⁓ kind of emotional belief structure around like I'm right or something like that. I ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: It takes the drama away. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Johannah Bradley: Take the drama away. I love it. Take the drama away and just like focus on kind of the facts, how it resonates in your body. We did a lot of, you know, body work just because that kind of takes the drama away. ⁓ When you that anxiety is a sensation, right, it takes it out from being like, ⁓ my God, I'm so anxious. ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yes, yes. A story that feeds the anxiety, right? You start to separate them. It's not about forcing positivity sticker or a happy face sticker on you. It's actually just like accepting, being curious about what is there to begin with, the anxiety, the fear, whatever's coming up, compassionately. Johannah Bradley: Yeah. Tyona Vallejo: creating space for it to be. in doing that, it starts to just transmute, transform. It's that quantum physics, you look ⁓ at, they look at an atom, ⁓ it right? It's like that kind of idea. Yeah. ⁓ Johannah Bradley: Totally. Well. I think a lot about because I was raised in this ⁓ family, my dad would tell all these Buddhist stories. And one that always resonated with me and is very well known is ⁓ the Buddha would talk about the second arrow. And think that with this because his story loosely told ⁓ is that, you get hit by an arrow, that's going to like it will hurt. ⁓ Right. So you it, you deal with it. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Johannah Bradley: second arrow is when you start saying, my god, why do I always get hit by arrows? ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: Why am I the one who, you know, got this? Is this ever going to heal? Am I, you know, did I do something wrong? Am I, know, this or that, like layering all the drama onto it. And the Buddha talked about that called it the second arrow. Like life is going to be lifey. There's going to be stuff that happens, but through and ⁓ tools coaching, I mean, offers of other ways to look at it. It can just be like, ⁓ ow, arrow hurt. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't have to lie there. Oh, it freaking hurt. But like, yeah, yeah. Johannah Bradley: Yeah, it's hard, it's tough, it's like, and that's not, you know, that's not toxic positivity, that's meeting life on life's terms. And, and then having a clear mind to ⁓ forward to not get stuck, right? Not get stuck. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah, not get stuck in the personalization of this, you know, the victim mindset, that whole thing. It's like, yes, ⁓ We victims at times in circumstances, but that doesn't mean that it serves us to hold that mentality through our journey. Yeah, yeah. Well, I love it. am so you know, I'm so in love with you and I'm so in love with the journey you've through that you have pulled yourself up. I mean, you truly are walking the walk and, you know, everything that you provide for us as a community, in ⁓ the community as well as you also were telling me the other day you're volunteering for other things. Can share? Johannah Bradley: Yeah, it's, yeah, some issues that are important to me and it is ⁓ to this. I think it's just really cool. like the one that I'm working with has to do with just, you know, supporting immigrant laborers. But ⁓ I, like of us, when I at the news or some different things, I feel really overwhelmed and I feel And I've been teaching a lot in my classes ⁓ lately that what I'm more and more is I don't. help anything when I'm angry when I'm ⁓ or when I'm overwhelmed, ⁓ incapable ⁓ positive action because I start to ruminate. It's kind of the same thing. Even when it's like well intended, I'm like, why is this happening? You ⁓ But kind of that same adding the drama in. ⁓ So we practice calming the nervous system down and being mindful, ⁓ Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: Then I was able to find, I mean, they're very small things, but I can actually take action, feel like I'm helping. And then it turns out that actually is much more satisfying to my soul and to seeing what's going on in the world. Because I feel like even if it's small, I'm doing something and I'm in action. Tyona Vallejo: Yes. Yes, you are making a ripple effect in this world. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Johannah Bradley: Yeah. And then through that, and I've been doing just kind of this specific like kind of watch out work that a lot of people are doing, which is great. ⁓ then it's so cool. Cause ⁓ people who are really front lines, doing a dedicating their lives to that work ⁓ me to come teach nervous system regulation yoga to them Friday, actually. And it's cool. It came up because then I can bring a little bit more. of my experience and some gifts that I have to the people who are really dedicating all their time. So it's just, again, when I'm there, when I'm present, when I'm embodied action over rumination, the opportunities arise to actually make me feel empowered and maybe there's actually ways to help. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And that is a conscious choice. I love that you point that out. ⁓ know, that ⁓ notice that ⁓ our is taking us in our actions ⁓ and we become more mindful about our choices on ⁓ where focus our minds so that our actions can be elevated ⁓ and impactful in a positive way. Yeah, good. Johannah Bradley: Exactly. Tyona Vallejo: Well, thank you so much, Johanna. I appreciate it. Is there anything else you want to share with the listeners? Anything you want to let them know about coming up in the studio again or how to connect with you? Johannah Bradley: I mean, please, if you haven't come take class with us, I adore your class. It's a little like cheat code to experiencing Thayona's coaching because you come take gentle yoga and get little like bits ⁓ of your wisdom and your insight. was just saying something about one of your gentle yoga classes today. It's just these little Tyona Vallejo: Yeah. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: moments and these little tokens. With the class I took the other day, said, just notice how it feels to prioritize your sensation. that's been living in a very good way, rent free in my head. ⁓ That little pause, like just little insights like that, like taking the moments and everything to do that. So ⁓ come see us. have lots of amazing teachers, including you and myself and mainly just, you know, thank you for this. Tyona Vallejo: Mm-hmm. home. Hmm. Johannah Bradley: This is the joy and you've helped me so, so, so much. I guess the one other thing almost a little cheeky is it's kind of overwhelming. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. Once start to see how caught up we all get in our heads, it's like you really see it everywhere and you wanna kinda help ⁓ and you know, share all this with other people. So I'm really to have the opportunity. Tyona Vallejo: Yeah, it's wild. Yeah. Johannah Bradley: I'm Tyona Vallejo: Totally. I it. Well, thank you again ⁓ and check Empower Studios ⁓ and thank you tuning in. This ⁓ is Enough, ⁓ evolving podcast remember that you are enough and you are always evolving.