Adriana Correa - Giving Yourself permission to Rest, and take a break

Adriana Correa

[00:00:00] Wendy Manganaro: Hi everyone. My name's Wendy Manganaro and I am the Host of the Wellness and Wealth podcast. I'm so happy to have you find us. And if you could take a moment and hit that subscribe button, I'd really appreciate it. This is the podcast where we believe when you show up better for yourself as a woman business owner, you show up better for your business. 

So sit back, relax. And learn from the practical to the woo-hoo, how to best take care of you. Have a great day. Stay blessed. And leave a review when you're done listening to the show, thanks so much. 

[00:00:38] Wendy (2): Hi everyone. We're back for another episode today. Super excited as always to have you here listening, and today's topic is giving yourself permission to rest and take a break with Adriana Carrera. 

So I'm gonna start off with reading her bio and then we'll get into the show. Adriana Correra, empowerment coach and founder of a Spectral Wind, 1 0 2 L L C, a brave space for self-care, nurturing and empowerment. She leads and guides, femes in their spiritual and healing journeys whether they are just starting to form a self-care routine or are now more savvy and ready to manifest the life they desire, she's a certified reiki master, a body and spirit detox coach, a motivational guide using human design as a blueprint for life to help you reach the best version of yourself.

Welcome. 

[00:01:36] Adrianna Correa: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me, Wendy. 

[00:01:40] Wendy (2): I'm excited because as I've done this show, we keep talking about all types of self-care and I say it's from the practical to the woo, and today we're talking about resting and what that means because especially for female entrepreneurs, we can feel like.

We go 24 7. Funny little thing. I actually had a pajama day by accident the other day and I was like, I didn't have to go out today. You should have seen. It was like the the best day ever. I was like, I have nowhere to be. No client just happened that way and I was like, I couldn't have planned this better.

It was great to be in my pajamas all day. It's rare that it happens, but I love it because I think that we all need that depressurized day. So I wanna ask you, what does rest mean to you? 

[00:02:25] Adrianna Correa: So resting is so important for our self-care.

And rest for me reminds me of the word respite, which is to take a break, to pull back from something that you don't want to do. And in Spanish, the word, respite is respiro which is too breathe. So to me, rest is to take a breath, a fresh breath and release. And that's the most minimum thing that we can give to our bodies, is to breathe, to give ourself that break.

And I bring that up because I've noticed how we go about life. And some people don't breathe. They just wake up in the morning and they just go, go, go, go, go, and then just go to sleep. And it's this cycle and just giving yourself that. In the morning, the evening, just take a couple of deep breaths, can help you, your brain, your spirit, your everything just maximized.

So that's what rest means to me to breathe. 

[00:03:20] Wendy: And it's so interesting because, I read somewhere, don't quote me, where that if humans were responsible for our own breathing, we wouldn't do it.

[00:03:29] Adrianna Correa: It's like we forget to. Because we're so busy in our head, in our minds with all the things that we gotta do during the day.

[00:03:36] Wendy (2): And even for myself, working out I have to remind myself, okay, breathe through this. You don't have to hold your breath the whole time. Going through anything That's anxiety written, I'm like, okay, take a breath.

Before you start, take that deep breath. So when we're talking about breathing and that we're so busy, where do you find that those situations where people forget to rest, especially in entrepreneurship , but where do people forget to rest? 

[00:04:04] Adrianna Correa: When we are initially starting, entrepreneurship becomes like our whole life.

Nobody tells you that doing or being an entrepreneur, it's going to be one of the like more time consuming tasks in your life, more so than if you had a nine to five. So in the beginning, we just dive right in. And some of us hyper focus, and that's where we lose sight of that balance.

So for me, it was so clear because my work ethic came from my family. We migrated from Columbia 20 plus years ago, and we would go on 10, 12, 14 hour days and it was almost a validating system. The more you work, the more you bring value to you, to your family, to your business. And so in my entrepreneurial, journey, I had to relearn that and I had to relearn to say, no, I don't have to earn my rest.

I am worthy of rest. I can give my body rest and I give myself permission to rest. Because when people don't realize it, that when we rest, it may be us come and we flow and we feel recharged and we feel excited about our business again. 

[00:05:12] Wendy: My listeners can't see me, but I do not look at, but my family's Puerto Rican, and as you're talking, I'm like, oh, you're bringing up my whole childhood.

[00:05:21] Adrianna Correa: Yes. Many of us first generation or immigrants experience that. 

[00:05:27] Wendy: I've had talked about it with other people on the show. When you come from this idea, even though we, I came from entrepreneurs, which is really quite incredible. That my grandmother came from Puerto Rico and started her own businesses which I thought was groundbreaking.

But that idea, I'd like how you said that, that idea of validation, that idea of if you don't do it this way, it's not the right way and you're not earning, or you're not as respected and that alone. If you come from a background of that, the mind shift it takes to work through that.

So talk to me about how that happened for you, because I know for me, I'm still uncovering layers of what that looks like for me. 

[00:06:16] Adrianna Correa: Yes, definitely. So around 2021, I came across human design and based on my energy type, I was able to realize then that I wasn't meant to work 14, 15 hour days, I don't think anybody is, but it's realizing that I needed to take naps, so I started to schedule naps during my day and not.

One thing is to schedule them and take them. Another thing is not to feel guilty about taking the rest. So it was a whole process and realizing that the more I gave my permission again to rest, I felt better. I was less cranky. I was able to manage the afternoon tasks in a way that was more conducive to productivity than just running myself ragged from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM and earning the rest at 8:00 PM at night when I was completely flustered, when I was in tears almost cuz my body was so tired.

So honoring those cues from my body really helped me, understand that I do better work when I'm rested my clients feel the difference. My projects, my post, everything feels different when I'm rested. 

[00:07:26] Wendy: So that's interesting cuz I'm curious because I know what my family's response was. How has your family taken that?

[00:07:33] Adrianna Correa: I had to educate them. I had to coach them and say, Hey listen guys, this is what I need because my family doesn't really need rest. They could just go on for hours and hours and they're like that bunny the battery . Yeah. Sell bunny. Yeah. They can just go on and on and on. And I was actually conditioned.

race along with them until my body said no more, and until I started feeling the physical, outcome of running myself ragged. Right through stress, through unable to, sleep well through, unable to lose weight or gain weight in a manner that was too fast because I wasn't managing the stress, because I wasn't resting, because I wasn't sleeping.

It's all a cycle. So I had to tell them, listen, this is what I need to do, and I had to step out of certain social, expectations of gatherings with family and say this doesn't align. And little by little they started seeing how I was acting differently after I rested, after I told them, no, I can't do this cuz it goes along with boundaries of my time, of my energy.

And so now they're like, okay, we think you need to take a little break. You need to take a little nap because you're acting a little cranky. So it's almost like a joke, but that really helps, telling the people around you, your needs so that way they can meet you there. 

[00:08:48] Wendy (2): So you said something very interesting, taking the nap and not feeling guilty because there is the one thing to schedule it, and then there's the other based on other people's expectations where A, you feel bad or you think you should feel bad, or whatever that could be for you.

So how do you do that crossover. Especially if you, if we have listeners who are like, oh, that's my family. They have this expectation of me to always go, how do they do that? Set those boundaries, because that's a difficult thing, especially for female entrepreneurs starting a business. Like I know for me, when I started my business, my husband was like, why isn't the house clean?

And why? And I was like, what? What?

[00:09:31] Adrianna Correa: We're in a business here sir. 

[00:09:32] Wendy (2): If I was working nine to five you wouldn't come home at six o'clock and ask me that. Why are we asking me that now? So how do I do this and not feel guilty, especially somebody's so prone to answering to everybody else.

[00:09:46] Adrianna Correa: First is self-compassion. You have to be compassionate towards yourself and towards your upbringing and the way I did it, cause sometimes I will just lay there and my mind would not let me go to sleep. My mind was still going and going. So practically I would actually chant, affirmations or I would put relaxing music to help my body to signal it to, okay, it's time to rest.

And, I would tell myself, why am I doing this? What came up is because I need to come first in this moment because this is a love act for me, because this is what is good to me right now. And in order for the people around me to be good and to get the best that I can give them, I need to be rested. So as that continual repetition in your mind of I am worthy of this rest, this rest is needed and it's for the highest good.

And little by little the resistance of my ego kept letting, okay, she's doing effort because it's what she needs right now. And it became easier and easier and easier. 

[00:10:45] Wendy: And I'm sure that's been quite the process, cuz like I said, it took me a long time for myself, one, to realize that there was an issue because I remember working in my twenties and actually that's what prompted me to go back to school.

I come from a family of, hairdressers, whole family, 14 hour days. It's not for me. I f figured that out when I was 13, I washed blue-haired ladies hair in aquanet days and that was not for me. Anyway, I did get into retail and I moved up management whole thing. And I remember coming home after a six week stent opening up National Store 7:00 AM to 11 o'clock at night for six weeks.

And I literally felt like I could not feel my legs and I share this for anybody who's going through this cuz my mom's like, see, told you you'd go back to school if you did this. Which was good. I'm glad she said that. And my grandmother wanted me to too, but I say this because. I don't think people know, they think they can go and we're gonna get into a little bit of that is that idea of hustle and grind.

And what it really physically does to your body. Because my legs were like, unless you have to pee, you are not getting off a couch or a bed. I was down for a week after that because of physical exhaustion and I was like, what's wrong with me? I'm 20 something. I should just be able to keep.

Cuz I watched the whole family just always go. 

[00:12:09] Adrianna Correa: It's an expectation that you gotta put up with the same amount of hours. And it's so crazy because we all are very different beings, energetic beings, and we have cycles and we have seasons of creativity and seasons of work, work, work and seasons of just rest.

And that's what I teach my clients to honor their own cycle to realize, okay, if you're a woman, when you have your menes, the moon affects how you feel and also your energy levels. How are we honoring that? We are, right now, in summer, transitioning into autumn. We don't do the same activities from summer To Autumn.

So why would we do the same with our business? Why would we do the same with our lives? And it's almost reteaching ourselves how to see time in a more flowy manner. Why are we trying to do this robot things? We're not robots and we coming to this entrepreneur trip from the corporate because we don't want to be rockets, we wanna flow.

[00:13:04] Wendy: Absolutely. So let's get into that. Because again, when you start business, I wasn't starting a business at that point. I was young and I was like, this is not for me. 

[00:13:14] Adrianna Correa: But you realize it? And you listen to your body. There's a lot of people that are like, oh no, I gotta keep going. So I'm gonna drink more coffee and I'm gonna drink more energy drinks and I'm gonna do all of the things and more sugar.

So I could keep going, going, going. And like you said, those physical results in their body in a couple of years. It doesn't even have to be 10 years. It could be as soon as three years, your body will start presenting symptoms 

[00:13:35] Wendy: to let you know. And, and I'm a big believer our bodies tells us everything that's really going on.

So when we talk about that though, people leave corporate, that's mass exodus after the pandemic definitely start their own business and. There is that mindset out there of that hustle and grind. If I just try harder, if I work more hours, even for me, who does marketing? I have people who tell me if I just put out more content on more places and I'm like, just do one really well, but just this whole idea of more, more, 

[00:14:07] Wendy (2): more, more, more.

[00:14:09] Adrianna Correa: Correct. 

[00:14:09] Wendy: What does 

[00:14:10] Adrianna Correa: it 

[00:14:12] Wendy: look like on the burnout side because I don't know, I think some of us are so conditioned to do that. I don't know if we realize we're actually burning out while we're burning out. 

[00:14:24] Adrianna Correa: Correct. So the first thing is when you don't want to work on your business, that's the first, that sign that you are burning yourself.

When you're waking up in the morning and you're dreading to do the tasks, and we do the business because we like what we do. We hope that this entrepreneurship, it's all a journey to do what we are meant to do here in this world. And it's exciting. But when that stops happening every morning, that's my cue.

I'm like, okay, if I'm dreading going to my business, then there's something that I need to do. And physical things like being unable to sleep is a sign of stress. It's a sign that the body is going through a lot like heavy things and you need to help your mind and your body to stress.

And ultimately getting sick disease is a lack of balance and it's often brought up from a poor diet, stress or not sleeping well. And when you are hyper focusing on your business and you're no balancing the other aspects of your life, you may forget to eat healthy and you may forget or neglect to sleep the hours that you are recommended for you to feel better or you may, eat stuff to keep you going.

So it's all a mindfulness thing. It's because life is a game and we're get, we're here to experience it. And so we are trying to decondition from this whole, you have to do all of this and now create our own experience of what it means to have our own business and be our own boss. So that's part of the entrepreneurship journey of this.

Hey, I get to decide and call the shots and I make good decisions for myself, so I'm gonna eat well and rest well and make sure that everything that I do, for the highest good of my business, including resting. 

[00:16:05] Wendy (2): I love that. And when we talk about that highest good that in itself is a mindset switch when we talk about that and eating well and resting well that doesn't necessarily, mean every diet under the sun. I had to work with a nutritionist to be like, that's not what that means. That doesn't mean that you're harder yourself on one area. It's just implementing little things as you go. Listen to yourself because I think that's what people don't realize.

And I think sometimes with entrepreneurship, we are all or nothing people because it's, in order to be in business, you have to have some thick skin and there's all sorts of things. But we do it in an all or nothing way sometimes. 

[00:16:45] Adrianna Correa: Yes, I can relate to that. I can relate to that. And it's also understanding that resting doesn't only mean taking a nap, it means listening to music.

It means doing an activity that you. And taking yourself away from the current task. So when you come back to that task, you refresh your energy. Is that of a child or somebody that is, it's like a butterfly using Sprite and beaming because everything that you do for your business is imprinted with your energy.

So if your energy is high when you're creating content or your energy is high, when you want to see clients, the results are gonna be better than if your run dry and drag it and you don't wanna create anything. So it's giving yourself permission to create the spaces of breaking away from the menial everyday task and do something that is fun.

And it could be as easy as 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening of just listening to music. 

[00:17:39] Wendy: I'm glad you said that because I always say that success doesn't look the same to everybody. That means rest or taking care of yourself. Doesn't have to look the same to everybody too.

It's finding out what works for you the best. So for people who are listening to this and saying, 15 minutes? I have kids, I have spouse like I have four animals. God love them and they keep me pretty deep, busy, but , plus the kid and the spouse and all that but for those who think this is such a foreign idea.

What's a good starting point for them? That's really a foreign idea, because I know there are people out there, because that's where I came from, was okay. I'd go play, but then I'd feel guilty or whatever. But. For those who are really going well, where? Where would I put that in my day?

Because the idea of waking up earlier to have 15 minutes when I could be sleeping doesn't seem so exciting either because you have those people who are like, unless you get up at five in the morning every day. There's a whole slot of those people too. And that works for some people. It really does, and they do all of their self-care during that time.

But for those who don't see it. I don't see where I would be able to do that. How do you get them see that they probably have time if they don't know it. 

[00:18:59] Adrianna Correa: Definitely. Yeah. I a lot of my clients are mothers. Initially when the autumn season comes and school comes, that's another set of things.

But I always ask them, there's always a five or 10 minute window, during the day, and most likely we're spending and scrolling because we want to disconnect. So I ask them, what do you do after you drop off your kids from school? Do you have five to 10 minutes then, or what do you do after you put them to bed?

Do you have five or 10 minutes then? And it could be as simple of just right before you going to bed, allowing yourself to five more minutes before going to bed to get your mind into a playful mood. And if it's journaling, coloring, knitting whatever it is, five to 10 minutes, that's a good start but being honest with yourself that you do have time cuz you're choosing to honor other things.

And sometimes, sometimes it's scrolling. 

[00:19:51] Wendy: Yes, I, well that's what I was really hinting at, cuz even I'm guilty of that and I, and it's so funny because I teach women about time management on social media while they're marketing. And one of the biggest thing is I don't wanna be on it because then I end up scrolling and I have my clients set a timer and intention and then a timer and then scroll if you have time left.

But when you do that, you realize how much time you really get back in your life and I like that you said it's this mindless detachment that you do that for, right? Because it's too hectic here. But you're not shutting off your brain while you actually do that. Me, the social media gal saying that.

But you don't shut off your brain unless you have something else that's not connected there. And so for those people who are. Okay, so what I do, for me, I like to actually read a physical book still once in a while because it's not any of this. So for me, it's really good for me to physically take a book out and read it, and I get tired that way, which is great.

But what other ways can women not. For lack of a better word, hide in the scrolling . Like that you said coloring. I used to color all the time, that was my pandemic project. But , me too.

 What other ways? Because five minutes isn't a long time, but it really is a long time when you start to give about that moment. 

[00:21:12] Adrianna Correa: I like singing. You sing the one song that you love and it could be on your drive back from work if you have a nine to five or a long drive.

Just singing creates a different energy. And parallel to that, playing an instrument, if you have more than five minutes, anything that moves the energy that it changed your vibration. Will help you. And when we do coloring, when we do other activities, it's almost like we're tapping into our inner inner child.

And if you have children and you give those children the grace to play and the grace to do the rest, why aren't we giving that to us? And that's so true. We come back to the I I'm worthy of this. I'm worthy of five minutes for my own day, for 

my own good. 

[00:21:59] Wendy (2): Good wording there. I'm worthy. I know for myself, that was a journey and a process to allow myself to know that.

And so that's really what we're talking about is when we take care of ourselves, we're saying that we are worthy our own self care because we give out so much to other people. 

[00:22:22] Adrianna Correa: Correct. So it's bringing back balance into your life. and I have nieces and nephew. I don't have children of my own, but they understand that sometimes mommy needs to go to take a break and my sister and I talk or walk or do whatever it is to, and the children now are saying that, I heard them say no, mommy needs to take a break.

And they're realizing that when mommy comes back from that break, she's refreshed and she's not as angry with them or yelling at them because she center herself. She balanced herself, she gave herself what she needed.

[00:22:51] Wendy: And my son, he's 17 and he knows, he's like, all right, so I'll see you in a few minutes. Great child. So for those who are like, okay, that's great. I can rest. What are the other benefits that people see when they rest in this way? Because that's what I think sometimes we miss what it actually gives you. 

[00:23:13] Adrianna Correa: Instantly, after 15 minutes, you will feel lighter or uplifted If you do something that you really like, it's just what your brain does. When you switch activities to something that brings you joy, you're gonna feel that and it can permeate for the rest of your day. And if you're doing it every day, so this energy is compounded and it's growing and growing and growing.

So feeling good right away, over a period of time, a week or two weeks, you're able to deal with stressful situations better. You're not jumping, you're not reacting. Cause now you, your brain is more calm in a more balanced state. So you can, see things from a perspective and react to them differently than if you were going, going, going

and then I felt that during the days that I do take a nap, I'm able to fall asleep better at night because it's not like a pressure cooker at the end of the day. I've released some pressure during the day, so at night my mind is not going like crazy. I'm able to do the things because I'm more proactive because I have rested, and so I get more things accomplished.

[00:24:17] Wendy: I was laughing. I'm sitting there listening to you. I'm like, the same way. I'm a 20 minute nap girl. I get 20 minutes and my whole day turns around. I'm like, oh my gosh. And it's so funny. 

[00:24:26] Adrianna Correa: It's up a new day after this nap.

[00:24:28] Wendy: 20 minutes, and I'm ready to go again. But before that, because I can feel it. And when I push through to get it done. I do start to make mistakes, I start to, as opposed to being like, all right, shut it down for 20 minutes and then come back to it. It makes all the difference in the world to give myself permission to do that. One of the things I was gonna ask you, Because again, if it's, this is a foreign idea that it's okay to take a nap or it's okay to not be in the hustle and grind is for those people who are so into this, again, that's where I started from.

I didn't know I could, adult covering became the thing a couple years ago and I was like, this is cool. I really liked doing that when I was younger, but how for those people who are struggling with. What do I do? Like I don't even know what I like because I'm so used to working 14 hours a day or I'm so used to being on, for whatever reason all the time.

[00:25:28] Adrianna Correa: I will have them go back, and look at their childhood and see what was the thing their favorite thing to do when they were between the ages of five and ten. Pick one activity and in the case that is not possible. Then look at the children around in your life, like through your friends or through your own children.

What do you see them do that you're like, oh, that looks kind of fun. And we've all been there when we're like, oh my God, they're having so much fun. I wish I could do that. And just create a list so you can rotate, oh, I want to do this. And, have fun with it. It doesn't have to be the same activity every day.

If it makes it easier for you to do the same activity, go ahead and do it and just be playful.

[00:26:10] Wendy: Yeah, absolutely. And that's the thing is taking the time not only to give yourself permission, but to find out what you like. It's okay. Yes. 

[00:26:18] Adrianna Correa: And it's okay to. Half time thinking about it.

And it's okay to do what you like, cuz there's, that's the other paradigm. Women that have repressed their own feelings because, oh, that wasn't allowed. Or, have one lady that after 20 years she bought her, herself the doll that her mother couldn't afford for her. So she bought that doll because it was what brought her joy.

And so I would say to her, play with that doll then, if it brings you joy, five minutes, change the dress or whatever, and it's at the comfort of your home, or it could be in your car. If you, have a nine to five job or a longer job and you have a lunch break, get in your car and deal.

[00:26:54] Wendy: That's a great idea. I love the whole idea of the doll, that's a whole taking care of yourself on a money mindset level. That is in extraordinary, by the way. And I think that's really important, and that's all that we're talking about, is like these ideas of how to take care of yourself if we've gone through a difficult childhood money because this is the society we live in and what we're doing is reprogramming ourselves.

[00:27:16] Adrianna Correa: It is upgrading the software that we are worthy of it. That is important to do it because we're gonna be better for it.

[00:27:23] Wendy: Exactly. So I have so enjoyed having you on the show today. I know you have an offer for our guests, so I'm going to let you let people know what that is. 

[00:27:36] Adrianna Correa: Thank you so much, Wendy. I really enjoyed my time here talking to you about rest and giving ourselves what we need.

That's part of my empowerment, business, approach. And I do have an eight week program where I teach people to learn about their own chakra system, learn about their energy and the rhythms within them. And it includes reiki sessions, it includes coaching sessions, and. Five days a week, contact with me.

So throughout the week we can talk about anything that comes up, through these ideas, through this implementation of a new way to see themselves. You can contact me through my Instagram account, Spectral Wind 1 0 2 or through, email Spectral wind 1 0 2 gmail.com. 

[00:28:19] Wendy (2): Thank you so much, and I'll have all of her links in our show notes, so please go back and take a look.

Thank you for spending time with us as we talk about different ways to self-care. And don't forget to subscribe to not miss next week's show. Have an abundant week.