We recently connected with Erica Nunez and have shared our conversation below.

Erica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Taking a risk is comparable to jumping through fire—it’s essential for growth, building resilience, and deepening self-trust. This is something I wish I could tell my 23-year-old self who after college, moved to Atlanta with a negative balance in my bank account. Supported by my sister and best friend’s unconditional love, I embraced the challenge despite the odds. From a young age, maybe around 7 or 8 (my parents might say differently), I became the child who took risks. This mindset has helped me on a lifelong journey of facing hardships, adventures, and opportunities.

In college, I was captivated by yoga videos, inspired by the possibility of making art with my creative side. Although my yoga journey began then, it wasn’t until I moved to Atlanta that I started practicing consistently. My love for the practice and curiosity to deepen my personal practice, led me to complete my 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training there. By July 2022, I was teaching at the very studio that nurtured my growth both on and off the mat. As a yoga instructor, I emphasized the importance of listening to one’s inner voice or wisdom—a theme often explored in yoga. This focus on inner wisdom became central not only in guiding my students but also in reflecting on my own life. Teaching challenged me to tune into what truly resonates with me as I themed my classes, highlighting the very things I needed to process myself.

The pandemic, while a period of global hardship, provided a unique opportunity for me to reconnect with my early passion for creating videos. This reignited my creative craving, and I began exploring how to merge my practice with visual storytelling, hoping to make art through my yoga and my lens.

In May 2023, this practice of listening deeply to myself led me to make another significant decision by ending a long-term romantic relationship. I had outgrown the partnership, recognizing a need to live more authentically, which led me to join the full-time teaching team at my studio in August. This role pushed me daily out of my comfort zone, helping me to cultivate resilience and a deep trust within myself.

However, by December 2023, a series of events prompted me to reevaluate my path. I believe when the Universe is trying to redirect you, it does what it needs to make it happen. These incidents urged me to lean into my inner wisdom and softness, leading to another risk: leaving Atlanta and the very job I loved, to be closer to family, something I had been craving. With no concrete plans but a strong sense of my worth and a trust in the toolbox of skills I’ve accumulated over the years, I was ready to embrace my next chapter.

Immediately after moving, I jetted off to Guatemala for the Illuminate Yoga Retreat located at the magnetic and vibrational Lake Atitlan. This retreat brought challenges early on, but after spending 7 days there, I realized how those challenges are mirrors to the inevitable challenges we encounter in life. It’s important to listen to how you react when challenged or when an expectation is not met. Leading with love and acceptance, I saw how you can maneuver through challenges, leaning on your support group or a group of expanders who are all navigating similar situations but with integrity.

It seems that every risk I’ve taken has prepared me for the next, each one shaping me into a wiser and more equipped person, ready to face the next challenge. This pattern of taking risks and being open to receiving lessons, has led me to become adept at navigating uncertainties, constantly building my courage and deepening my trust in myself. Now, whether it’s jumping through fire or taking the risk, I feel prepared and eager to embrace whatever comes next. I am excited and inspired by the possibilities that lie ahead as my imagination and creativity begin to flourish.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, as a first-generation Cuban American. Growing up in a Cuban household, I learned the importance of being bilingual and having a strong work ethic from a young age. By the age of 15, I had my first job at a local ice cream shop. Throughout grade school, I was known for my friendly personality, athleticism, and excellent penmanship.
My journey into the creative world began in college when Instagram started gaining popularity. Watching yoga videos on Instagram, I was inspired by how people created art through their movements and the addition of music to their videos. This sparked my interest in yoga and the desire to create similar inspiring content.

In my mid-twenties, around 26 or 27, I was given an opportunity to be a content creator for a non-profit organization that provided free yoga and yoga education to underserved communities. Despite my lack of experience, I embraced the challenge and began exploring my potential. This period was overwhelming as I navigated creating marketing posts, but this was a crucial step in my career development.

The onset of COVID brought significant changes. With the rise of TikTok, I initially resisted but eventually embraced the platform. Practicing yoga at home, I began filming myself, experimenting with content creation. My journey on TikTok started here, involving a steep learning curve as I relearned video editing and content creation. Despite the initial challenges, I persisted, gradually building a small, supportive community that enjoyed my yoga videos, daily vlogs, and other creations.
In the spring of 2022, during my Yoga Teacher Training (YTT), I decided to branch out into the Instagram world with my yoga videos. Initially, I posted on my main Instagram account, but the lack of support from people I knew played tricks on my mind. Putting myself out there in a new way felt embarrassing and made me feel overly exposed. I stopped posting on my main account and felt called to create a separate business profile for my yoga content. My profile handle, @SoyLaRosa_yoga, is an ode to my late maternal grandmother, Zoila Rosa Jimenez. She used to always joke and say in spanish, “I am Zoila Rosa, because soy la rosa (I am the rose). Despite my hesitation, I started posting and found it more aligned with my vision.

From 2020 to 2023, I experienced a transformative period, aligning spiritually and artistically. I expressed myself through my phone’s lens, which also led to the realization of my unhappiness in a long-term partnership. This personal struggle impacted my motivation to create videos, as I felt my content gave a false impression of my life. This led me to the decision where I took a significant break from social media to focus on what I truly wanted.

Now, I am at a new stage and place in my evolution. I feel the itch to start creating again. My intention is to bring inspiration, peace, and the beautiful act of yoga asana (the movement) into people’s minds. Seeing someone be in their passion is contagious and hard to look away from. I hope to inspire my community and young people to block out the outside noise and learn to start listening to their inner wisdom. To create what brings them joy, no matter how many people like their posts. Because it’s never about being liked, it’s about being authentically you and having the courage to share yourself with the world while knowing your self-worth is not defined by who deems you worthy of popularity. The more you live by this, the more you will realize how you filter out what is not aligned with you. Only then will what is truly aligned with you come into your life.

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

Some resources that have significantly impacted my management and entrepeneurial thinking and philosophy include the works of Dr. Brene Brown. I first heard of Dr. Brown through a friend who recommended to listen to her podcast episodes on Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays channel. The episodes are titled: The Power of Vulnerability, Rising Strong, & Daring Greatly (pt. 1 & 2). These episodes have been most influential in my personal development. They not only enhanced my management skills and career journey but also have profoundly impacted my life, ultimately shifting my career trajectory.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In my view, the best ways society can support artists, creatives, and a thriving creative ecosystem is by raising salaries for creatives. Most creatives wear several hats and play different roles where they end up contributing much more than people realize, yet they are often under valued and underpaid. The core issue issue is that society tends to undervalue creatives until they achieve notable success. Some employers will refuse to pay a creative their value because of the lack of awareness to their value, making it extremely challenging to make a sustainable living in this industry.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @soylarosa_yoga
• Other: TikTok @soylarosayoga

Image Credits

Photo credit to Melle Houston @mellehouston