We recently connected with Tiana Sherrod and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tiana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
Over the course of my career, I’ve encountered many lessons that have been vital to my personal and professional development. In the midst of learning the lessons, it didn’t always feel vital but I am grateful for the insight and knowledge I have obtained.
I think the most consistent lesson that I have learned is separating who I am from the work that I do. In the society we live in, we don’t always recognize the many roles and titles someone may have outside of their profession. Sometimes we have the tendency to misjudge or perceive someone for the job they perform and associate that with who that person is or how they should behave. I constantly have to remind myself that I am human first, therapist and yoga instructor second.
I don’t have to live up to a certain persona or portray an image to satisfy the black and white thinking society has imposed upon us. Purpose does not equal personality. Just as the work I do, I am multifaceted with many layers. There is not one word or title that defines who I am in this lifetime. Learning that has allowed me the freedom to exist. It has allowed me the freedom to explore, to change, to express and to feel. It is also allowed me not to personalize my work and the way and how I measure success versus failure.
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?
Becoming a therapist was not the career I imagined for myself. The question you always get asked is “what do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer was always, “I want to be a pediatrician.” As a child, I was able to witness my mother work in a Black Owned pediatricians office, which shaped my desire to help children.
It wasn’t until my Sophomore year of college, that I realized Biology Premed was not the major for me. It was within a conversation with my academic advisor that I was able to explore other options for a new major. She asked what classes had I taken that sparked an interest in me? It turned out that a human development and family studies class was something that sparked the same passion within me that I experienced for being a pediatrician. After much consideration in conversations with my family, I decided to change my major. My new advisor was able to provide insight on what career choices were available to me, and being a therapist was one of them. After graduating from undergrad, I took a semester off and transitioned into my masters program for Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
In 2012 during my time in graduate school, I fell in love with the practice of yoga and advocating for mental health and wellness. At that time I didn’t have aspirations of being a yoga instructor. I was pursuing my career and I enjoyed the ease and relaxation it provided me during stressful times personally and professionally. My goal was to graduate, get some experience under my belt and eventually transition into private practice. In 2018, I founded the nonprofit Healthy Pleasures Inc. I hosted self-care events, workshops, participated on panels, and more. In 2018 to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental health, I started “Cope for the Culture” Podcast geared toward discussing mental health topics and experiences as it relates to black and minority communities. I also published a Self Care Journal ” Letters to the Queen’s Soul, The Journey to Queendom and Self-Care Planners.
Within my career, I have had the opportunity to work with children, families and adults through various Mental Health Agencies and community partners. The more I practiced as a therapist, the more I adopted the holistic perspective of considering each individual in mind, body, and spirit considering barriers systemically and traumas experienced. As I began to learn about trauma-informed yoga, I decided to pursue Yoga Teacher Training. I had the opportunity to receive my Yoga certification in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.
After completing my training in 2020, I began teaching classes immediately on a donation-based level and opened my online/mobile yoga company Flowtious Soul Yoga (pronounced Flow-Choo-Us). The following year, I pursued my 300 hr yoga teacher training. It incorporated Holistic Mental Health making me a 500 hr CYT. This training allowed me to bridge the gap between the work I was doing as a trauma therapist and a yoga instructor. I began putting together things for myself and making connections that would allow my dreams to become a reality. Having this additional knowledge/framework gave me the courage to pursue Private Practice full time through the Healing Corner, PLLC in 2021.
I am super grateful for the work that I do as I know I am walking in my purpose. I can admit, It’s not always easy to say that. I can’t take for granted the position an opportunity I have had to make an impact in my community.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
There are so many different definitions of success. This is mostly because we are human, and everybody doesn’t view success in the same way. I have gained lots of training and knowledge in my career as a therapist and yoga instructor. Each role comes with their own expectations and stages of obtaining success.
In the wellness world, it is easy to get lost in the work and the results considering the service based nature. Sometimes that comes with doubt and being hyper critical of everything you do, especially if you associate your qualifications with the results of your clients. What has been the most helpful for me is separating Tiana, the person from Tiana, the professional. I have learned the importance in trusting myself, and observing what was in my control. Success is a spectrum, and sometimes the smallest things make the most difference. I had to learn to recognize the smaller things in order to get to and appreciate the bigger picture I imagined.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I am a social person and huge on community. I love meeting new people and connecting with others from different walks of life. This is a part of me that I brought into my work when it came to building relationships. In the entrepreneur world, It is so important to build community. If you an entrepreneur, you have business goals, and sometimes that means connections are forced based on a need or potential outcome.
It was important for me to establish genuine connections. This meant showing up as my fullest self and being intentional with the people I met from clients, to class participants and colleagues. I allowed myself to be present in the work and services I provided to my community. I am super passionate about normalizing, mental health, holistic wellness, and helping my community heal themselves. This passion requires me to be intentional about the energy and work I put out.
Having this mindset has allowed me the opportunity to build good working relationships. Some of which have blossomed into a beautiful friendships. I have learned a lot from the people around me, and in turn, I have been able to provide the same to them. The development of those relationships and people becoming familiar with my work, allowed them to feel comfortable in referring me. A huge portion of the business I receive is based off of word of mouth and those relationships I was intentional in building. It’s not something I take for granted. I am grateful to every person who mentioned my name and businesses in rooms I wasn’t in.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thehealingcornerpllc.com https://flowtioussoulyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehealingcornerpllc/ https://www.instagram.com/flowtious_soul_yoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100037234850244
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiana-sherrod-lcmhc-45088b72/
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cope-for-the-culture-podcast/id1465327760
Image Credits
Phylicia Barr Photography Deryle Daniels DSquared Photography