We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Bacon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Rachel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
Both of my parents, Brett and Toni, were stellar examples of living a life with full authenticity and enthusiasm. My father, Brett, once a hellion in his home town in rural New Hampshire, grew up to become an Army veteran, attorney, fictional author, small business owner and creative. Brett lives a truly colorful life of taking chances, being bullish about getting results, and never quitting. My mother, Toni, once a reserved elder sister from a family of 8 Italian American kids from Rhode Island, grew up into an award winning chef, artist, small business owner, and life of the party. She lived a deeply introspective life in tune with the energy of the universe, was meticulous with her craft, took the utmost pride in her very hard work – nourishing those closest to her in more ways than one.
Growing up I had this yin/yang fiery energy from both of my parents. There was an insatiable hunger for professional growth and goal achievement supported and spurred on by my father. From my mother, I had this deep, emotional encouragement to be empathetic and a pillar in the community through showing up for others and serving the greater good.
As a benefit: I like to think this has shaped me into this motivated but calculated and energetic risk taker – in my creative endeavors (as a singer for an alternative band) as well as my professional endeavors (as a public health professional and yoga teacher). My mother always urged me to give something a try, and so long as I was having fun with it – it was worth the work. One time growing up back in 2000, my mom encouraged me to sing acapella a very trendy radio hit by Mandy Moore for my elementary school talent show; since then my fear of being in front of a stage has been a non-issue. I certainly ripped the band-aid off when I was young thanks to her encouragement. Now I perform very well in front of crowds, either in educational trainings for my public health work, singing on a stage, or teaching a yoga class. I make sure I’m prepared, calm but engaging, and enthusiastic when I speak in front of others – and I thank my father for that one, having been coached by one of the best former-Army JAG Corps litigators.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Rachel Bacon. I have a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Boston University. I am a 200 Hour Registered Yoga Alliance teacher. I am also a singer in an alternative rock band from Boston (check us out: dropbear). My pronouns are she/her/hers. I am also a 30-something year old woman, wife, friend, former Army brat, and a dog mom to two rescue chihuahuas.
I have a few academic publications under my belt from my time spent as a Public Health researcher and program manager. The creative stuff that really excites me is my yoga teacher work (check me out: Balsamic Moon Yoga), in which I teach vinyasa, power yoga, and lifted (cannabis infused) yoga. My specialty in yoga is certainly the lifted yoga component – in which I operate under my sub-brand called Balsamic Moon Lifted Yoga. I teach in person workshops and virtual classes for yoga students who are curious or experienced with the co-therapeutic benefits of cannabis and yoga. I take the canna-yoga pretty seriously – so I seek to design yoga experiences that work with the consumption, not against, encouraging students to move with intention, be curious about their sensations, and to also perhaps keep track of their journey in a custom journal template I created for such a session.
With my professional background in public health, I have a knack for systems based thinking, big picture and small idea connections, and I’m very well adept at presentations, educational sessions, product and sales management, systematic evaluation and business management. I love that I have this blend of academia and professional experience core to the human experience in health and wellness – And I think this blended background of mine sets me apart as a yoga teacher in particular: my expertise in communicating behavior change, fitness, presenting information, and community engagement.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Since I’ve been pretty little, I’ve had this ability to identify patterns of consequence so I always tried to mentally plan ahead extra, extra well. For so many hypothetical scenarios. Endless “well if this happens, then this might happen, so I better…” kind of thought exercises. Who knew – this wasn’t just some “fun, intellectual quirk” I might have had – but a serious symptom of anxiety.
Yoga has been the best tool for unlearning catastrophizing and endless anxious-driven patterns of thought. It really took my 200 hour yoga teacher training to learn about the yoga kleshas – the distortions of the mind which cause suffering – to understand that everyone in life has bad things happen, but it’s our choice whether or not to suffer. I also realized that I can think ahead about all of the negative outcomes, but that isn’t serving me in the best interest of my mental health to focus on how things can go sideways.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In my post-undergraduate life I had this really seemingly clear trajectory: go to graduate school, go to more graduate school, work, publish research, get another certificate or something professional, on to the next goal, rinse and repeat. I stayed true to this plan for my entire 20’s. I found myself working long, grueling hours in some environments where the boundaries weren’t great for work-life-balance. When I was a young professional, I thought it was all a part of paying my dues. I figured, if I could just hang in there long enough for another advanced degree (my doctorate) – I’d be smooth sailing. I got the most ideal job to set me up for this next step at a prestigious university – but when I got there and had worked for a while, I realized I wasn’t truly happy. I would get so anxious at work I would run sprints up and down multiple flights of stairs, over and over, until my calves were on fire – all in an attempt to avoid panic attacks. I felt intense pressure to be perfect and uphold the university’s high standards so I could keep my position. I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and was suffering as a result. But on paper, everything was according to “my plan.”
Then this pretty disruptive thing happened – the COVID-19 pandemic – and I was forced inside. My husband, and I with our two dogs packed our stuff up, left the South Shore of Massachusetts (south of Boston) and moved back in with my parents in New Hampshire. I struggled with remote work, general mental health, and witnessed the beginnings of my mom’s diagnosis with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. I realized – the grind and “my plan,” was not working, this professional and academic path.
I needed something more conducive to my spare time with family, rather than an all-consuming professional life. I made a choice; I temporarily closed one door and opened another. I switched up my goals. I took up yoga teacher training during lock-down and the post-COVID in-between period of society when everyone was re-learning how to operate in public together. I started to write lyrics and tap into my creative energies with my band. I left professional environments that no longer were a fit for me. It felt like this big renaissance out of some pretty awful circumstances I couldn’t anticipate outside of “my plan.” I’m glad I made the pivot – life is too short and too precious, and it’s honestly totally fine to admit to yourself when your really intensive plans aren’t actually satisfying you anymore. It’s more heroic, honestly, to change it up!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: balsamicmoonyoga
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachellbacon/
- Other: Spotify: dropbear
Instagram: dropbearbandhttps://linktr.ee/Balsamicmoonyoga
Image Credits
Portait (blue dress image): Bethany Owens