Anastasia Sanchez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Anastasia, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Finding stillness again. The first year of building my business was filled with planting many seeds — working multiple jobs, showing up to events every weekend to promote, outreach galore. Now that those seeds are blooming, I have the energetic space to be still and relax more, finding ease in my life once again. With that stillness, it’s reconnected me back to cooking fun recipes again!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My business is called Mindful In Motion. It’s a preventative wellness business rooted in the therapeutic Bodywork. I currently offer assisted stretching, Cupping therapy, and heated muscle Scraping. The goal of my practice is to provide people with a space to fully surrender and let go while we work through the physical tension that has been stored in our bodies. I aim to find the root source of the bodies challenges by holistically understanding the person‘s lifestyle and stressors to not only work through that tension but also provide education on how to prevent it in the future. I am also working on creating events that are built around intentional connection to one’s self and community with access to resources and facilitation by others in the field that focus on mindfulness and connecting with one’s true source.
As someone who has always battled nervous system dysregulation, I searched for many years to find a balance of tools to implement in my life for more optimal daily functionality. It is such an honor to be able to share those tools with others. When I work with clients regularly I have the ability to watch what tools they implement and can see firsthand how their bodies respond and can watch the tension melt away. That rewarding feeling keeps me showing up every day with a smile on my face and a deep pride in the career that I’ve built for myself.
My background is an interesting mix of working with the mind-body connection. I studied kinesiology and recreational therapy. I’ve taught fitness classes on & off since 2017 and went straight into my career during the heat of the pandemic in 2020 to provide recreational therapy to inpatient psychiatric hospitals in Seattle. Being able to provide fun activities & implement mindfulness during such a critical time, I recently ended my 5 year career in that field to go full time with bodywork that I’d be simultaneously judging for years. I couldn’t be happier with the work that I’ve been blessed to do and I can’t wait to watch how Mindful In Motion grows and expands.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Anyone who knows me, knows my sister is my rock. She is 10 years older than I am and she played the role of provider, protector, and big sister all in one. From a young age she always motivated me to want more out of life and to stay on the right path. She supports me in choosing a life that fills my heart with joy and brings in the logic that I need when my mind can be overly idealistic or based in emotion. She’s always been somebody that has been there for me no matter what, even if we’re going through challenges or she doesn’t agree with the choices I’m making. We always come back to each other with love and I’m so grateful to have a person like her in my life.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Oof.
Many of the most successful people share their “rock bottom” moments and how they have used their resiliency as fuel to reach their highest goals. There has been many times where I’ve hit these rock bottom moments.
I quit my job in a bodywork studio with the desire to finally launch a business I had been conjuring up for years. However I didn’t have full faith in myself and was mass applying to jobs in the corporate world, a space I had never walked into before. I was battling confidence issues, debt, a terrible job market, and the fear to be seen. That fear to be seen put me about eight months behind in starting my business. I waited months to get my LLC and procrastinated on doing social media marketing and demoing at Events for as long as I possibly could before I hit a very low state in life. I hit a point in my darkness that I had to face head-on and no longer accept. I started pouring some energy into social media marketing, and showing up as a vendor, collaborating with multiple businesses, spending a majority of my free time strategizing and learning how to get out of the darkness. As I write this, I’m about 6 months into finally pouring energy into my business — that I am now focusing on full time — and I can’t explain how glad I am to have made those panicked efforts to get out of a place or scarcity & fear. Being seen is still a challenging thing that many of us can relate to (especially if you’re secretly deeply introverted like me). To be seen for a business I’ve always dreamed of, that’s worth every moment of vulnerability.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The wellness industry is booming right now. Most people are shifting towards a healthier lifestyle right now and it’s a beautiful thing to watch. With that, there is a new ideal that you now need a 20-step wellness routine everyday to be regulated, fit, and at peak performance. People are now experiencing what I think of as “wellness fatigue/burnout”. There’s hundreds of brands and influencers convincing you to buy special products, programs, and engage in intensive all-or-nothing lifestyles to become the healthiest person.
When truly, we would all function more optimally if we took more time to connect to ourselves, our bodies, to listen to what it wants as the days shift. Creating time to focus on our breath and notice where we are holding stress, what kind of thoughts are causing our unhealthy lifestyle choices, then going out and seeing what changes need to occur. We don’t need to keep adding more, consuming more, and overstimulating our mind. You can bio-hack and reach peak performance by simply tapping into an energetic space that feels grounded & centered in your heart’s mission. As cheesy and cliche as it may sound — less truly is more.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
Living authentically. We’re always told that love is the highest state of consciousness and when you act out of love, the world is a better place and you’ll achieve all that is meant for you. I’m a firm believer in this. A podcast that I love made a comment that argued authenticity is the highest state of consciousness and love follows. It’s a great perspective. When we take off our masks, say how we feel, listen to our intuition and ACT on it (as long as it is rooted in love and not hate), then we can finally create action steps towards the life we desire. I have my most successful days in business, fitness, and connections when I am operating authentically.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mindfulinmotionatx.com
- Instagram: @mindful.in.motion.atx
Image Credits
Henry Selis
