We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sherria Cotton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sherria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I’m a marketing professional by trade. I’ve worked at some of the top public relations and marketing firms in New York City, and have made a global impact through my work on iconic brands such as Dove and Baby Dove. Through my work, I’ve helped millions of girls obtain self-esteem education globally, launched a Black Doula Directory to combat the Black Maternal Health crisis in the U.S. and developed beauty campaigns that have made women feel confident and beautiful in their own skin.

Although I’ve made an impact in the professional world, when I had my first son in June 2019, my mindset completely changed. I realized that I’d made my work my ‘baby’ for so long and now it was time to make a pivot. No one can prepare you for how motherhood changes you; it holds up a mirror to your deep seeded insecurities, places of vulnerability and areas where improvements can be made. For months returning to work from maternity leave, I struggled with balance of family and worklife. I also struggled with my own mental health once COVID hit in March 2020. I knew that something needed to change and it wasn’t until almost a year later that I started to see a therapist. I also started taking Ayurveda classes online. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian healing system dating back 5,000 years ago that encourages us to align ourselves with nature for optimal health. I feel in love with the practices because it also challenged me to set aside time for self-care, meditation and deep reflection.

Once I started incorporating Ayurvedic practices into my everyday life, something awakened in me where I knew I wanted to share the practices with other people, especially moms who were in the midst of struggling with their mental, emotional and physical health postpartum. In 2023, I took a leap of faith and left the marketing industry, which had been the only type of work I’d ever known – to start my own wellness business, SelfRetreat Wellness Co., where we offer both corporate wellness and individual wellness workshops and coaching. Most of the trainings incorporate Ayurvedic practices, many of which are being validated by modern science (i.e., Meditation) to help calm the nervous system, decrease anxiety & depression symptoms and create an overall sense of wellbeing.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the past few years is that change can be scary; leaving something that you’ve always known can be challenging. However, having faith in yourself and pursing your passion is worth the risk.

Sherria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My bio:
Sherria Cotton is a Certified Ayurvedic Wellness Coach. She has trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City and hosted interactive wellness workshops for companies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions, including Steve Madden, the U.S. Department of Education and Achievement First Charter Schools. In 2023, I founded SelfRetreat Wellness Co. – a sacred space for women to uncover their true inner beauty, reconnect with their intuition, and heal from past traumas and limiting beliefs through in-person and virtual coaching.

How I got into the wellness industry:
The transition from workaholic to a mother who now needed to evolve her priorities is what kicked off my wellness journey and subsequently led me to found my own wellness company.
We as women are raised to wear many hats…

At home, we are nurturing mothers, the supportive partners, and the problem-solvers. In the workplace, we’re the dependable colleagues, the strong leaders, the go-to for getting things done. For friends and relatives, we become the confidantes, the listeners, the shoulder to cry on – everyone can emotionally rely on us.

Society often tells us our worth is measured by our ability to give endlessly and with unwavering grace. But the truth is, beneath this carefully constructed facade, many of us are running on fumes. The pressure to be “everything to everyone” while battling never-ending expectations can leave us utterly depleted and disconnected from who we are at our core.

The healthiest thing you can do for yourself and for those you love is to prioritize YOURSELF. When you start holding yourself in the highest regard and focus on your needs and desires, something beautiful unfolds… You exude magnetic confidence, your intuition strengthens, and your capacity to give and love overflows naturally.

SelfRetreat Wellness Co. offers a gateway to rediscovering the most empowered and radiant version of yourself. We believe in the transformative power of the “SelfRetreat” – a dedicated time for introspection that allows you to reconnect with your inner wisdom and reclaim your power.

Services offered/problem we solve for clients:

Inspired by the ancient holistic tradition of Ayurveda, our platform takes you through a personalized journey that facilitates much-needed self-discovery, trauma healing, and peak health and wellness, translating into tangible results like:

-Feeling calm, focused, and more in command of your days rather than rushed and overwhelmed.
-Developing a renewed sense of self-compassion, embracing your body’s natural rhythms.
-Knowing you’re the creator of your own happiness, and your most important relationship is with yourself.
-Silencing the nagging inner critic, becoming so assured in your unique talents and abilities.
-Making lifestyle choices that honor the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit, fostering a sense of balance and fulfillment.
-Seeing self-care as a time for nurturing and replenishing your energy, not a selfish indulgence, so you can show up more fully for yourself and those around you.

You deserve to thrive, not just drag through life. Together, we can create a safe and supportive space for you to explore, heal, and blossom into the extraordinary woman you were always meant to be.

I feel most proud of….
Being able to be a part of a wellness revolution where women are realizing that they don’t have to ‘do it all’ and that they are inherently worthy just by being born. There are so many women who develop lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and suffer from common mental illnesses like anxiety and depression – and they suffer in silence; without taking care of themselves, and if they do, feel selfish for doing so. SelfRetreat Wellness Co. invites you to set aside time for practices that are nourishing to your mind, body and spirit.

Disclaimer:
Sherria Cotton and SelfRetreat Wellness Co., does not provide healthcare, medical, or nutritional therapy services or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any physical, mental, or emotional issues. The information provided by SelfRetreat Wellness Co. is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. Always seek advice from your physician or other qualified healthcare provider before undertaking a new health regimen.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I had to go on a journey of doing ‘inner emotional healing work’ first before I made the decision to leave my marketing career. Books that I read to help me included:
– Vibrate Higher Daily by Lalah Delia
– I Am Diosa: A Journey to healing deep, loving yourself, and coming back home to soul by Christine Gutierrez
– The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

To uncover my hidden talents, I read:
-Discover Your Dharma by Sahara Rose

To keep me focused and build a solid business foundation:
– Self Made by Nely Galan
-Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

I’m always learning, always evolving as a human being in life and in business. I love making recommendations to women that I coach. Here are a few books that I have referred to my clients:
-The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
– I Am Worthy: Break the Spell of Unworthiness, Reclaim Your Divinity, and Unearth Your True Power

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The biggest lessons that I had to learn was that ‘everything that glitters isn’t gold’ – especially as to how coaches and influencers present themselves on social media. I use social media as a marketing tool to attract clients, but I’m not in the business of being an influencer.

The rise of wellness gurus on social media has its positives and negatives. It’s positive because there’s a wealth of information being disseminated that audiences around the world can learn from, relate to and find community. However, it can be negative because social media is an automatic place of ‘comparison.’ When we see someone else’s healing journey or ‘glow up’ it can look way different from our own and then we start to judge ourselves (both clients and wellness professionals like myself). I had to learn that just because a certain coach has a well curated feed and their path looks pretty, that path isn’t necessarily ‘mine’ and I cannot promote certain wellness tips just because they are popular on social media.

My goal is to help every client personally and holistically. I want to know about their habits, routines, personal challenges, health issues, types of music they listen to, the types of friends they have; everything you take in has an impact on your life and my job is to get to the root cause of what’s making you feel bad, unbalanced, unhealthy, less whole – and help you to develop a plan to get to a place where you are feeling healthy, whole, positive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.selfretreatwellness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnessbysherria/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherria-cotton-135b13a/

Image Credits

Image credit for all photos (except headshot): SelfRetreat Wellness Co.

Headshot credit: Dove CROWN Act