We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Marcum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
When I was growing up my mother told us that she didn’t believe in vacations. She wanted us to go immerse ourselves in another culture, learn a language and expand our horizons, instead of lying on a beach with our headphones on for a week.
She had gone to Nigeria as part of a church group in the early 60’s and her time in Africa changed the trajectory of her life. She took part in Mississippi Freedom Summer, registering voters in the south in 1964. My father was an activist too- there are photos of him in Congo transporting medical supplies in the 60’s. His books about Angola are still used as text books on the subject in universities.
Their examples have inspired me to look carefully at what I’m contributing to those around me, and to those whose paths I cross when I travel. I hope to bring some of my parents’ integrity to my work on yoga mats, on the written page (my book Close to Om: Stretching Yoga From Your Mat to Your Life) and on the retreats I lead.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My mother told me that I came out of the womb with an independent spirit. Even today, friends say that I dance to the beat of my own drum. I’m someone who thrives in the challenges of creating something new. I had my own yoga studio in LA , wrote a book called Close to Om, prepared celebrities for the Oscars, worked with athletes collaborated with global brands, created content for Medicare’s Silver & Fit, and built my own internationally recognized platform at andreamarcum.com. And I am still curious about what comes next.
Change is the one thing we can count on in our lives, and the flexibility I find most valuable is less physical than it is metaphoric. It’s a willingness to stretch outside of what I think I know and learn a new way – regardless of age, and in myriad circumstances.
Curiosity is the elixir of life.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the pandemic, my mother’s Parkinson’s disease was amplified and we had to move her to a care facility. Because my work went online, I was able to leave LA for long stretches of time to be in Northern California with her. I’d always felt tethered to LA as it was where my private clients and classrooms had been. My online platform (andreamarcum.com) became a studio without walls- I could work from anywhere, and I was able to spend the last two years of her life close to my mother.
As she was passing away- my then husband surprised me with a divorce. The loss of a mother and a marriage at the same time was not easy to navigate- but it forced me to make changes that I might not have otherwise. I now have a different idea of what I think is possible, and an awareness of how important it is to do the things we mean to while we still can.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I think managing expectations is a theme for success. Both our own expectations, and those of our clients. Often things go sideways in a business, on a retreat or in the sequencing of a class- but that can lead to something far better. Our tight grip on how we think things need to be can be a bit of a boobytrap. Possibility is fluid and limitless- expectation, as they say, is resentment waiting to happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.andreamarcum.com
- Instagram: andreamarcum
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andreapietrangelo
Image Credits
P.I.C. photos for the one of my laughing in the river- the rest are mine