We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Candace Machado . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Candace below.

Alright, Candace thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

My business started in an orange corner in my home 8 years ago. During that time I was working as a mental health practitioner in a Psychiatric hospital and came to realize, that was not where I was supposed to be but I knew that I wanted to help others in a more meaningful way. I started out with a vision of combining mental health practices with holistic practices and fusing them together. In Wyoming we do not have many services that combine mental health and holistic health together. So I started to pave a path. Blazing a trail that doesn’t have a guide book can be a daunting task. There were moments where I questioned myself, second guessed choices and decisions, and wondered if my vision was ever going to become a reality. Over time things started to fall into place and every time I found myself becoming challenged the universe gently reminded me that I was on the right path and to keep going. Heres what I have learned over 18 years of my business career. Know your vision and go after it. Get comfortable with failing and being criticized. Find passion in what you are doing. Learn from the times of challenge, they will teach you everything. When in doubt slow everything down. Contemplation is key. Know you’re worth and the service that you provide. Don’t rely on validation from others, learn to validate yourself. Being successful starts with how you feel about yourself and the relationship that you have with your thoughts. Looking within to your own truth will be the guiding principle of success.

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.

Theraexpressions Meditation was started in a an orange corner of the world and has expanded over the last 8 years. My company’s mission is to “OM your own Mental Health”. This means to combine mental health practices with holistic practices to empower each individual person to know their worth. I started my company out of a need for there to be an alternative way to address mental health from a whole body perspective. We have four pillars in Thera: Meditation, Mental Health, Yoga, and Ayurveda. Our focus is to look at the whole body system with the person to see where the disconnections are. was an observer to a two part system in Wyoming when it came to addressing mental health concerns: Medications and Traditional Counseling. I wanted more for people so I began the long journey with creating and building the TheraCommunity. A place where people can heal, grow, and look deeper within themselves. The TheraCommunity is a place where like minded people can go to feel empowered and calm. My team of instructors and ambassadors have all been an instrumental part in bringing the TheraCommunity together. Thera provides 1:1 deconstructive/yoga sessions (online or in person), 1:1 Ayurvedic Health consults (online or in person), sound healing sessions, aerial yoga workshops, mental health workshops, retreats, educational and business workshops, business wellness programs, online programs and our beloved Rebuild your Life 9 month program thats starts every September 1st. Our Rebuild program is a 9 month program that is dedicated to Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, and Mental Health techniques. We focus on breaking down the steps to rebuild the relationship with your mind and body, to create a sense of wholeness in ones life again. We focus on walking along side others so that they may be empowered to solve their own problems while we are guiding them. I believe what sets us apart from others is our ability to see the whole picture of what is happening for a person and to help them break down to the roots of the struggles. I am most proud of how far I have come as a business owner and how far my team has grown. Im proud to have a team of sisters beside me every step of the way. Thera is about Community, Radical Transparency, Comittment, Acceptance, Non-Judgement, and above all Support. We love to meet new people and to get to walk along side of them as they grow and heal.

Theraexpressions.com

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

The advice I would give to anyone when managing a team would be Communication. Communication is key to a well rounded working environment and happy people. I have found much success with listening, brainstorming, accepting suggestions, and feedback from my team on what would help the company grow. Boundaries would be my second area of focus. Asking your team what their boundaries are is key in not placing them into positions that they do not enjoy or feel comfortable with. My third area would be self care for everyone. As a member of thera we all have our own self care and spiritual practices outside of teaching. We support each other by attending our teams classes, workshops, and retreats. Self care is a corner stone for a company’s emotional well being. When one person grows we all grow.

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

One of the biggest lessons that I have had to unlearn was “I can do it myself”. When I first started Thera I thought I would be able to do everything on my own and it would all fall into place: marketing, advertising, community building, partnerships, collaborations etc. This mindset helped me to stumble around for my first several years and if I knew back then what I know now I could have saved myself a lot of time, energy, and heartache. It wasn’t until my fourth year that I got out of my own way and sought out assistance. Best decision I could have made for myself. Another key lesson that I have had to unlearn is that I don’t have to say yes to every collaboration, partnership, or helping others with their businesses. In my first several years I felt “pressure” to help everyone and I would find myself saying yes to things, people, and situations all the time. This led me down a path of looking for acceptance and validation from others but really it was fear I was running from. Fear of rejection. Are people going to like me? Are they going to accept me? That fear was a driving force for the first six years of owning Thera.

Contact Info:

• Website: Theraexpressions.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/theraexpressions_meditation
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheraExpressions
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/candace-machado-89053a50
• Youtube: Youtube.com/theraexpressionsmeditation5371

Image Credits
Herver Machado Macahhdew Studios