We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kelly Alvarado-Young a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic allowed me (cough, cough) REQUIRED me to sit and reevaluate my life. During the lockdown, alone with my son, I thought about self-care from a new perspective. Self-care to me had always been about disassociating who I was as a Latina. How was I living a life in alignment with my desire to help people, especially other Latinas? How was I breaking generational cycles of trauma? Yo, what was I doing to stop playing into the capitalist, White, heteronormative, cis-gendered female wellness space?
I said to myself, “whoa, I need comunidad to heal with others who have similar stories or understand the struggle of immigrants and who are navigating the world holding onto the cultura of our familiar and challenging the status quo for a more equitable world.” My dream wellness space would allow me to connect with my ancestors, connect to my spirituality, and look at yoga and meditation, not for physical achievement but a soul/body (re)connection. So, I told myself (insert internal voice), “yo, if you don’t see yourself out there, make something out there for yourself and others.”
A silver lining of the 2020 pandemic was that I could take a yoga teacher training at home, work full-time, being a mami and wife. I started an online 200-hour online yoga training in November 2020. I already had practice from going to studios, but now I could practice in my room in our house’s 3’ x 8’ hallway to create my flow. No teacher there told me how to move my body, connect my thoughts, or push me into pretzel-like poses. I could take the lessons of quieting the mind, connecting to the full spectrum feeling, allowing my body to release what no longer served me, and focusing on myself and my mat.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
The purpose of La Brega Wellness is to cultivate the confidence and authenticity of Latinas through yoga, meditation, and wellness coaching. I am proud of using yoga and meditation as central healing modalities to cope with generational trauma, domestic violence, child loss, and her life experiences as a child of immigrants. These life experiences are big life traumas that could have ripped my soul apart. I could have constricted myself into a smaller version of who the world was telling me to be as a Latina, Pero that was not my path.
I have been given the gift and call to ensure we get back up when the collective gets knocked down. Everyone needs a hyper person in their corner saying, “you got this!” The problem I solve through La Brega Wellness is the constriction of Latina confidence. Society tells us not to be loud, big, bold, and full of life or carry the stories of our ancestors with us.
The wellness space I created is about supporting Latinas to find the confidence to be their most authentic selves. Wear the hoops to that meeting, take yourself out for a nice meal because you don’t need a man or partner to do those things for yourself, and be willing to tell mami y papi that you are happily single and not going to die sola for not being married. Finding our voices and values and taking them to action as Latinas through mindfulness practices and coaching is what I provide.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The lesson I had to unlearn was the Latinx saying “calladita te ves mas bonita” (you look better when you don’t talk). I had been silent in so many spaces, so I didn’t come off as the angry Latina, the know it all, the one who always has a concern, question, or comment. I was raised just to be seen and not heard. The idea of staying under the radar was success manifested.
In January 2021, I had the chance to participate in the Decolonizing Your Teaching training through Afro Yoga (Holla, Ms. Angie!). The mentorship space was with other womxn of color who were also creating more than just a yoga business but social movements for healing for the collective. I was finding my voice in serving and using yoga, meditation, and wellness coaching with Latinas seeking to build, enhance, or solidify their confidence.
The group empowered me to name what I was trying to do: end “calladita te ves mas bonita” culture. As Latinas, we have a lot to say, and building the confidence to sometimes go against cultural norms is breaking cycles of women’s silence. To gain the confidence to share what I am doing on social media and make some money on the side (yo, transparency, please!).
Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.
My side hustle is currently a part of my career portfolio. I work full-time as the global onboarding experience program manager for a well-known tech company. I love the opportunity to build my reach on social networks and the financial stability needed to pay off my student loans (a whole other story). Eventually, this business will be scaled to host multiple group coaching and retreats annually.
Past Milestones
January 2021 Decolonize Your Teaching Mentor Program
March 2021 Launched @LaBregaWellness Social Media
December 2021 Created LLC and Applied for Business License
February 2022 Officially Opened La Brega Wellness, LLC
July 2022 Launched Latina Personality Quiz
December 2022 First sale of Latina Self Discovery Course
Future Milestone
March 2023 Launch Latina Confidence Group Coaching quarterly – Will you be a part of la fiesta?
December 2023 Latina Rest & Wellness Retreat in Cancún, Mexico – Will we see you on the beach?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.labregawellness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labregawellness/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drakay/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRaDEVQvb2cvuRqPD6YdVHw
- Other: Spotify Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNSK0jkE2ye0toTn8sCZM?si=3a888b4d0bae4f1b Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/LaBregaYoga
Image Credits
Madison Perkins Photography