Awilda Rivera is a yoga teacher, spiritual advisor and success coach who has dedicated her life to help empower others to succeed. She’s navigated a few twists and turns in her own life as she transitioned from being a law professional and into the world of spirituality and wellness.
A cardiac episode in her late 20's brought Awilda to face a very real truth in her life. Ever since the age of ten she’d been committed to becoming a lawyer. She took a sense of responsibility in being the first person in her family to go to college and held high expectations of herself to not disappoint. Yet as she lay there in the hospital bed, with only one and half years of law school before graduation, she could no longer deny that this wasn’t what she wanted anymore.
The question that surfaced after admitting this to herself was “what intention do I want to live my life with? What kind of intention do I want my work grounded in?” She pinpointed that her passion was to help others. The journey that ensued was onerous, messy and wonderful. By following the thread of "wanting to help people" Awilda was able to hone into exactly how she could help. Today, she’s not only living her dream by helping other people live their dreams, but she’s also an inspiration for the multi-passionate soul who loves more than one thing and wonders how it could possibly come together.
Tune in to hear the rest of her story! In this grounded conversation Awilda shares valuable wisdom about pursuing what you love and how to manifest it to life including mantras and mudras that you can use.
Resources:
Book to learn more about mudras
Key Nuggets:
- Dreams change - sometimes what we thought we wanted isn't what we want anymore and that's OKAY. We go through so much growth in life that we may not be the same person as our past. For Awilda, it was recognizing that her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer no longer resonated with her.
- Identifying your natural talents is one thing but then you need to figure out how to strengthen it and choose how you want to use it.
- In listening to Awilda’s story of finding what she wanted to do, I noticed that she had a different method for honing into each skill:
- Awareness of natural skills - for the longest time, she thought that her clairvoyant abilities were part of her culture and that everyone else who grew up in that tradition had it too. Eventually she realized that this skill was unique to her and worked to sharpen that skill.
- Discovery – just trying things can get you somewhere. Awilda tried yoga and loved it, which brought her down the path of becoming a yoga teacher.
- Keeping eyes opened for opportunities - if Awilda hadn't been diligent in looking into coaching training, she may not have come across the opportunity for a scholarship to a coaching program. And if she hadn't reached out to the scholarship coordinator, she may not have realized that she still had a chance to make a submission to the scholarship. Then she sat down, worked her tushie off and lo and behold actually got the scholarship!!
- Multi-passionate souls are making way for themselves and Awilda demonstrates this with successfully being a spiritual advisor, coach and yoga teacher. The old adage "jack of all trades, master of none" seems to be going out of style ;)
- Here's her advice in pursuing more than one thing that you love:
- Depending on what your passions are, you may need to branch out separately. In her case, all three passions weave together nicely. Her partner's passions, on the other hand, do not. He's a real estate agent and a gifted actor. In his case, he needs to create a separate brand for each passion.
- Here's her advice in pursuing more than one thing that you love:
- One of her hardest lesson in chasing her dreams is that it required a lot more hard work and consistency that she thought. She knew it’d be hard but it required much more consistency than she imagined, which ended up being a lesson in patience. "It’s a marathon not a sprint"
- This lesson can really be expanded into all the different pursuits of heart callings whether it be finishing up that yoga teacher training or clearing your junk drawer of emotions.
- No matter the journey, EFFORT, CONSISTENCY and PATIENCE are key. And you gotta do it with COMPASSION and SELF-CARE.
- According to Awilda, if your business is really aligned with you (ex. your beliefs, values and intention; and mental and emotional well being) then the business will kind of take on a life of its own and could actually guide you.
- To listen to her business, she first looked at the biggest spectrum of who her passions can reach. For her, this is what drove her because she’s always looking to improve the quality of what she has to offer and how she can add value to ultimately fulfill her why of trying to help other people succeed in what they love.
- Yoga brings you closer to your own truth. This is one of the biggest lessons that Awilda has learned.
- Awilda is all about manifesting desires. She explains that we can use the “whole package” of yoga – poses, meditation, philosophy (ie. 8 limbs) and mindfulness to help us
- The practice helps you to slow down and become present. She gives an example of a guitar - when you strum the right chord, the music radiates and attracts a sense of beauty. With the wrong chord, well it just sounds all wrong.
- Mantras for manifesting what you want. Here are a few of her recommendations. The best way to do this is to use the ones whose energy resonates with. Say it out loud or silently to yourself.
- To plug into the universe: SO HUM or I AM
For abundance: Om Shri Maha Lakshmi Omaha
- Mudras are like yoga for your hands and are also powerful ways to help you align your vibe.
- For abundance: Apan Mudra - Press your middle finger and ring finder to your thumb. Visualize planting seeds, watering them and growing bountiful crops and express gratitude to the universe. You can also use the mantra “I sow seeds, nurture them and reap rich rewards. With the universe’s help, I gratefully accept”.
One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:
Trust in yourself and believe in the mission of helping others. Awilda finds that as long as she stays true to this and embodies it, she ends up growing and become more successful.
One nugget of wisdom that you would share with fellow seekers who are also on this journey of growth and transformation:
Be authentically you. Your journey won’t be everyone’s cup of tea every single step of the way. As long as you’re not hurting anybody and are living in truth, it will work itself out.
Links:
If you have any questions for Awilda or want to learn more, connect with her through:
Website: www.awildarivera.com
Facebook: Awilda Rivera Coach Yogi Spiritual Advisor
Instagram: @missawildarivera.com
LinkedIn: awildanrivera