October 24, 2023 • 49 mins
Ever pondered over the true essence of success?
What if personal fulfillment resided not in a six-figure job, but in pursuing your passion?
Our fascinating guest, Maria Angelova, will make you rethink traditional notions of achievement. She transitioned from a high-ranking position as a Director of Finance to follow her heart and become a Pilates instructor.
Unravel her inspiring journey, where she decided to prioritize happiness and self-care over a high-paying corporate job, leading to the creation of Rebellious International, still chalking out a path to a fulfilling lifestyle.
Conversation highlights:
- Shifting mindsets and finding fulfillment
- Overcoming challenges and embracing opportunities
- Significance of passion in overcoming turbulence
- Alleviating fear, getting comfortable doing the uncomfortable
- Self-care and mind-body connection
- Sustainable wellness and lifestyle
We also delve into the criticality of self-care and the mind-body connection for overall well-being. Maria emphasizes the need to engage in activities that bring joy to maintain a healthy balance. So tune in for an enlightening conversation where conventional perspectives are turned upside down, leading to a fresh understanding of well-being, success, and fulfillment. Our journey to sustainable living is centered around so many different facets, and this episode certainly kindles passion, your road to personal growth and our contribution to help save our planet! SHARE, SUCCEED and SPREAD JOY !!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Vai Kumar (00:00):
Hey folks, welcome to another episode on Podcast
Fresh Leaf Forever.
Today I have here with us thewonderful Maria Angelova.
She is a podcast host, like me,and she is also a thought
leader, disruptor, speaker,author, pilates teacher, mindset
(00:20):
coach and founder CEO ofRebellious International.
She is on a mission to changethe face of the wellness
industry by shifting the mindsetaround prioritizing self-care
and redefining fitness.
Prior to RebelliousInternational, Maria spent
17-plus years professionally,with experience in corporates
(00:42):
and telecom, finance andinsurance industries.
So, maria, welcome to the show.
How are you today?
Maria Angelova (00:49):
Thank you so much for having me here, Vai.
I'm so grateful to you for theopportunity to be here.
I'm great.
Vai Kumar (00:55):
Oh, wonderful.
And so, with an MBA and a pastexperience as Director of
Finance, from there to findingRebellious International, take
us through this transformationjourney of yours.
Maria Angelova (01:09):
So I come from a family of academia.
I'm Eastern European, as youcan probably tell by my accent,
and I grew up when it was allabout making good grades,
studying, getting a good job,and that's what I did.
I was that OA student, theHonor student.
I finished as a SalaritoriumHigh School and then Highest
Honorary for my undergraduateand graduate degrees.
(01:32):
However, as a side geek, Ialways had fitness as a passion.
I started going to the gymregularly at age 12.
And at age 16, I startedteaching group classes at the
gym and I loved it.
I always loved it, and even inmy 20s.
I'll tell my friends one dayI'm going to have my own fitness
(01:52):
studio.
However, it was the salary andthe benefits and all of those
things that keep us comfortablewere there.
And then 2012,.
Two years after I had mydaughter, I discovered Pilates.
I was originally veryunimpressed because I was used
to the high intensity type ofworkouts and it was slow and I
(02:15):
didn't feel much.
I'm so glad we stuck with itbecause it literally changed my
life.
It allowed me to reallyinterconnect body, mind and
spirit.
And 2016, I resigned mycorporate job and decided to
start my own thing, and I calledit rebellious because everybody
told me that I am crazy, prettymuch, to go from a finest
(02:37):
director to a Pilates teacher.
Vai Kumar (02:40):
Uh-huh, uh-huh, why not?
I mean whatever gives youfulfillment, right?
So right there, delving intomodern day aspects of lifestyle
and carving out this path tofulfillment.
Where do you think lies thoseimpediments, maria, I don't
(03:00):
think everyone aims atfulfillment.
People define success assomething else, right?
So they see things differently.
So right there.
It's so nice that you startedus off by pointing about
fulfillment.
Maria Angelova (03:18):
Yeah, I don't think many of us are taught to
think about success and definingsuccess as being happy, being
fulfilled, enjoying what we do.
For many of us and for manysocieties, successes, whether
your achievements, what is yourtitle, what type of house do you
live in, what kind of car doyou drive and the beautiful part
(03:42):
of it is, you can have both ifyou follow your heart and do
what you want.
I will share with you.
I did an event at a middleschool a couple of months ago
and I asked kids middle schoolkids, so they're probably 14, 15
somewhere there.
I said what are some of themost important aspects of when
(04:05):
you find a job?
And the majority of themanswered by money.
Vai Kumar (04:12):
Oh my goodness, yeah, now kids are like, so they are
also so in tune with.
I don't know how adults think,or probably how adults perceive
life to be, so they just think,ok, it's all in the money.
Maria Angelova (04:28):
And I asked them .
I said there was only one kidwho said liking what you do?
And I asked them.
So I said so if you have money,is that going to make you happy
?
And you should see their eyes.
They were so confused.
They were like whoa, isn't thatright?
Like now they're like.
Vai Kumar (04:45):
But what is this woman talking about?
Maria Angelova (04:47):
They were confused, but my point was wow,
it's such an early age.
They already have apreconception of what makes you
successful at a job, and it'show much money you make.
Not that there is anythingwrong with making money.
However, we forget aboutfulfillment.
We forget about doing somethingthat we love.
(05:07):
Yes, my transition from financeto wellness was a very
non-traditional one, but youknow what?
I live a life that I love theimpact I have on people.
It fires me up, it makes me sohappy.
To some people might be themost boring job ever, but for me
, I get joy and I get happinessout of that, and for me, that's
(05:30):
important.
Vai Kumar (05:31):
Yeah, because how many people you and I connect
with in our podcasting journeyalone, right, I mean, it's all
about what you learn everysingle day, what you derive from
those experiences and theopportunities that arise out of
those connections.
So, yes, money is needed foreach one to lead life
(05:55):
comfortably, no doubt about thatat all.
But for children to have thatpreconceived notion, like you
said, that it's all in the moneyand so right there, don't you
think they're missing out ondefining for themselves certain
goals and finding their trueself and making themselves come
(06:17):
out with their true self?
Maria Angelova (06:18):
Yeah, absolutely .
And I'll tell you, I have adaughter, I have a 13-year-old,
and my parents were fantasticparents and they gave me, they
empowered me, and they gave mesuch a strong foundation for
life and I do believe they didwhat they thought was the best
thing they can do for me interms of wanting to be a great
(06:39):
student and all that.
I think what we forget is thatour kids are an individual and
that individual might havecompletely different desires,
passions, wants than we do as aparent.
And I'll tell you, as a parent,sometimes, when my daughter is
(07:00):
like, well, that's notinteresting, if I hadn't gone
through my growth journey, I'dbe like what do you mean?
It's not.
This is important.
Grades are important, how doyou do school is important, and
I just still do think it isimportant.
But I also think what it isimportant is that we encourage
our kids to thrive and to be whothey want to be and who they
(07:21):
are, instead of conditioningthem to fit into a box.
Vai Kumar (07:26):
Oh, yes, yeah, it's all check the box mentality and
the achievement culture.
So right there somewhere, don'tyou think we are also not
letting them get out of theircomfort zone and explore for
themselves what it is like tokind of alleviate fear and get
(07:49):
comfortable doing theuncomfortable?
I think you have certainlytreaded that path and you know
what it is like to and for theneed for everyone to feel
comfortable about doing theuncomfortable right.
Maria Angelova (08:05):
Yeah, I think that once again, we are told
that this is the box and this ishow you fit in the box and it's
a good thing to fit into thebox.
Just yesterday I was talking tosomebody and he was telling me
about his journey and it wasrelated to financials, and he
said I just want stability.
And I said so, it's safetythat's keeping you in the box.
(08:29):
He goes, I know, I know.
And then he tried to tell methat's not the case and I said
you know, safety is a trapbecause we're so conditioned to
think you have to be stable, youhave to be safe, you have to
get a good job and stay there.
Listen, if that's your path andif that's what you want to do,
there is nothing wrong with it.
But even think about it.
(08:49):
You might want to beincorporate totally cool.
But maybe the job that you're innow, maybe you don't like your
boss, maybe you don't like theposition that you're in, but
you're like I don't know, am Iqualified for that position out
there?
What if I cannot manage?
Well?
Well, here I'm established.
I don't want to push myself todo something different.
So we end up staying in placesor maybe even in a relationship
(09:12):
that we're not happy in becausewhat's on the other side?
Well, what if what's on theother side is so much better
than what you've got today?
Vai Kumar (09:21):
So right there you get stuck, when you can totally
be unstuck and be more towardsthat path of fulfillment, like
you and I talked about a fewminutes ago.
Maria Angelova (09:34):
Yeah, 100%, and you have to be aware.
Is the fear going to be there?
Yes, fear is just part of beinghuman, and now I look at fear
as okay.
There is an opportunity to growwhen I'm uncomfortable.
It's a good thing, because it'spushing me to the next step, to
the next level.
Vai Kumar (09:55):
So if you were to tell people the one thing and
I'll get to alleviate that fear,what would that be?
So how do you overcome fear?
Maria Angelova (10:06):
I think you put that fear in the passenger seat,
you buckoid them and say let'sgo together.
Fear will be there and Ipersonally don't think fear
would ever disappear because youmight get comfortable with
something and then there will bethe next thing that will be
uncomfortable.
It's kind of like a ladder thatyou go through, so the fear
(10:28):
will always be there.
Recognize that fear is nothingother than your mindset trying
to keep you safe and, as we said, safety is a trap.
So look at it as oh, I'mfearful.
There's an opportunity.
Look for the opportunity thatcomes along with fear.
Vai Kumar (10:44):
So embrace that opportunity instead of just
getting trapped in that bucketof fear, right?
Yes, yeah, yeah, well said,well said.
Then realize this thing ofpassion.
So how can we just trigger thatpassion in individuals and make
(11:05):
that more significant inalleviating this fear or in
getting out of this comfort zonelike we talked about?
Maria Angelova (11:16):
So I think passion is super important and I
think frequently we subdue ourpassion, like for me.
I've been wanting to do what Istarted doing for 20 years, so
it took me a long time to getthere.
And why?
Because of the box.
Well, you have a good salary.
Well, you have a good education.
Well, you should climb up thecorporate ladder.
(11:38):
Well, you have good benefits.
All of those things that wereconditioned to think are great,
which they are, as long as theydon't keep you trapped.
And I had this internal fire,this passion, this attraction
toward something that's, formany, is viewed as
nonconventional way to besuccessful.
Right, I think the importantthing is to stay connected to
(11:59):
who you are, to who you areauthentically are, and listen to
the desires of your heart.
And frequently your desireswill not be understood by others
.
Frequently you might be calledcrazy or rebellious.
However, when you follow yourown heartbeat, there is, I will
(12:20):
tell you, I never expected mylife will be where it is today
when I took that one decision.
In a way, I'm experiencing lifetoday like I couldn't even
imagine it before and the more Iwant to grow is I can be very
comfortable where I'm today, butI want to grow because I'm
(12:41):
fueled by passion and by fire ofgetting more and more people to
feel great, and I think passionand sticking to your why is
super important because therewill be turbulence as part of
the journey.
It won't be like a rocket shipup to be more like a roller
coaster journey and when youhave a strong passion and a firm
(13:02):
belief, it will take you far.
Vai Kumar (13:05):
Okay, so that is where emphasizing and redefining
that why becomes importantright.
Maria Angelova (13:12):
Yeah, it has to be your why and not somebody
else's why.
Vai Kumar (13:16):
Oh, of course, of course.
And your own journey, I mean,is proof enough, I guess, in
terms of how unpleasantexperiences can lead to
incredible opportunity, right?
So why don't you just sharesome of your life experiences,
maria, in terms of just helpingour listeners globally realize
(13:38):
how one should see kind of lightat the end of the tunnel and
not get bogged down, even whenthere is like a rough patch?
You said rightfully, you calledit turbulence there.
Maria Angelova (13:51):
Yeah, so I would say when I quit my job I was so
excited.
I was like I get to do what Iwant to do and I thought I have
all of this great experience andeducation like this is going to
be a phenomenal journey.
Well, it kind of started with abig dive downwards before it
went upwards it's.
I didn't find the supportsystem because most people were
(14:13):
like what are you doing?
Like why are you living thiscareer that you've been building
for so long?
It caused disruption in myfamily because my husband was
he's also an entrepreneur and Ipulled the safety rock of the
paycheck and the benefits fromunderneath his feet.
You know that shook up thefamily dynamics so it was
(14:34):
uncomfortable.
At home.
I voluntarily gave away mysix-figure income, so that was
uncomfortable.
And you know what else wasuncomfortable?
I had no idea what to do to getmy business going and I was
like how is this possible?
I have all of this education,all of this corporate experience
(14:57):
, like why am I so stuck?
And that's what I starteddiving into mindset and my
limiting beliefs.
And you know, I come fromEastern Europe.
There is no, and the time whenI grew up there there was no
entrepreneurship.
My family is academia, so, onceagain, not entrepreneurship.
I had a lot of limiting beliefsaround money, around sales, so
(15:17):
there was a lot of growth thattook place for me to start
climbing up.
And it was a journey, and it isnot a journey for the faint of
heart, because and that is whyyour passion and your why is so
important and you believe intowhat you want.
And I had a decision go back tocorporate or figure this thing
(15:41):
out, how to make it work, and Ichose saying you know what?
I will figure this out.
I've figured things before.
I will make it work and andI'll also tell people, which is
very important, when thingsdon't work our way, the way we
want them to, they are workingfor us because there is a lesson
in there that we need to get togrow as human beings.
(16:03):
And my business is at the statewhere it is today because
things didn't go my way.
Vai Kumar (16:11):
So always then you're forced to just do that
self-introspection and and thenyou know like again and again,
emphasize on the why and thentrigger your passion even more
to be able to decipher what'sactually going wrong.
Right, and I think it's likeyou know, your luggage didn't
make it in Brazil and to oneother place that you visited.
Maria Angelova (16:34):
And you know you were like how, yeah, how many.
Vai Kumar (16:37):
How many years old were you then?
You were probably a collegestudent or high school student.
Maria Angelova (16:43):
I was like 19, something like that, 18, 19,
something like that, and Iarrived, for I was.
It was a two-month trip and Iarrived in Colombia and my
luggage for the two months didnot get there and I just had the
clothes I was wearing.
That was it for a two-monthtrip and I had to figure it out.
I was a college student so Ididn't have like a big bank
account to like go shopping andyou know what I figured it out.
(17:04):
It's fine when life presentsyou such nuggets, their
opportunity.
Look at them as opportunities.
And I tell my clients sometimesopportunities are missed, guys,
that's misfortune.
Vai Kumar (17:17):
Yeah, so true, so true.
I mean you just have to, youknow, always not get bogged down
.
I think you know, I've justexperienced that myself in my
life in a different form, inseveral different forms, and I
always, you know, just I and Iand I have emphasized and
enunciated this so many times onthis show I just look at myself
(17:41):
in the mirror and I smile andthat just gives me so much
energy and then I'm able tofigure things out from that
point.
So I think that's where, youknow, I can just completely
relate to what you're saying outthere, maria, and I guess, for
us to have like a better futureand for us to even be able to do
(18:05):
that self-interest faction, themind-body connection becomes
important, right, and the needfor all of us to embrace it.
And we all are living in a dayand age where sustainability,
our ability to save and protectthis planet Earth and for us to
(18:27):
have a future which is much moresignificant, dominant, vibrant,
however you choose to put itright.
I think there are severalfacets to this piece of the
puzzle sustainability.
So where do you think MariaAngelova comes in terms of the
(18:48):
mind-body connection that shecan just help people with, and
what is the role of mind-bodyconnection on a serious note, in
terms of how we can just propelourselves forward?
Maria Angelova (19:05):
So mind-body is all that I put it.
So that's like my.
You know my passion Because, tothe question we just talked
about, in order to know you'reon the right track, what I
follow is, like, my guide is myintuition, and a lot of times
when our intuition tells us,just quit your job, start
teaching Pilates, common senseand logic are like are you crazy
(19:28):
?
Right?
You have that internalconversation.
When you do self-care, when youare body and mind aware, when
you have that body-mindconnection, when you have a
sense of does this feel goodinto my body or does it not?
When I have this thought of, Iwill quit corporate and start my
own business, how does thatmake my body feel?
(19:48):
Does it create like a lot oftension or is it like, yeah,
feels good, right?
So being in alignment with whowe are and using self-care to
stay in alignment, choosesilence.
What the world has to tell youabout what you should do, how it
views you and so forth is ofparamount importance as we grow
(20:08):
and for our well-being, and thenhow that ties to sustainability
.
When you self-respect yourself,when you have a self-care
routine, a big part of yourself-care routine becomes how do
I nourish myself body, mind andspirit.
What kind of food do I eat?
Do I want to eat GMO foods ordo I want to eat real foods?
(20:30):
Do I want to eat organic foods?
Right?
How do I want to take care of myenvironment?
Do I want to spread toxicchemicals on my lawn?
Do I want to spread toxicchemicals into the air to kill
bugs and bees, which are greatfor our environment?
Those are things you startthinking about and you realize
(20:54):
that you are a part of anecosystem that works beautifully
together.
And when we're driven by ego,when we're driven by profits,
when we forget about servingothers from the best that we can
, we start impacting ourenvironment, which is what we
are seeing now, sadly, innegative ways.
(21:17):
So I think you being the bestthat you can, each one of us
being the best that we can, Ithink, goes very much hand in
hand with how we care for theenvironment, how we care for
each other, and wanting to makethe foods that are out there,
that we consume and put into ourbodies better, to keep the
water that we drink notcontaminated, to keep
(21:37):
environmental toxins out of ourskin, and so forth.
Vai Kumar (21:42):
So, in other words, that whole mind-body connection,
building that ecosystem, it'sall a matter of investing in
oneself, right?
So, kind of you know, you justfocus on yourself.
But in other words, when youjust focus on the right things
for yourself, your self careroutine it almost is like it
(22:04):
takes care of everybody aroundyou as well.
So you are nurturing thecomplete ecosystem around you,
isn't that right?
Maria Angelova (22:13):
That's exactly right.
And that's your family, that'syour colleague, that's your
friends, that's your.
You know, like your community,like whatever you're a part of
environment right it's.
We're all together in this, andwhen we're, when one of us is
not whole, you overspill.
If you have, if you get anegative energy, guess what?
You're going to spill thatenergy on everybody around you.
(22:35):
If you're overflow with goodvibes, guess what?
That's what you're going tospread around.
It's a choice, which one youwant to spread.
Vai Kumar (22:43):
Okay, how then, can we make those right choices?
I mean, how do we offset anysay, for lack of a better word,
or to be, you know, just bluntand abrupt?
How do you offset failure?
If you will, so again, themind-body expert in you, how do
(23:03):
we maintain equanimity of mindyou?
Maria Angelova (23:07):
know there is no such thing as failure and I
think it's very important toremember that.
There are only lessons whensomething doesn't go our way.
It's not the reflection of whoyou are.
We frequently tie failure,perceived failure, to our
identity.
Oh, I'm a failure, oh, I saidI'm going to do that and it
didn't work out.
And then what does that do?
(23:27):
That just spirals downwards andtakes us down to a rabbit hole.
When you have a perceivedfailure, I would say pause, take
a breath and say okay, what didI learn from this experience
and how can I get the resultsthat I was going after in a
different way, based on what Ilearned?
Once you change your mindsetaround failure and you realize
(23:51):
there is no such thing asfailure in life, your experience
in life will be very different.
And going back to the mind-bodyconnection is simple things,
something self-care, things suchas breathing, going for a walk
outside, meditation, journaling,reading quality literature that
(24:12):
empowers your body, mind andspirit.
Self-care is inevitable to keepon your journey of ups and
downs, and the more you grow,instead of being a roller
coaster that's like high ups anddowns, it's more like a more
subdued roller coaster.
Vai Kumar (24:31):
I guess that just we are now once again, you know,
like it's not wantonly, but evenlike practically speaking, we
are just kind of kind of tyingit all together in terms of
emphasizing on self-care and bysaying, hey, don't get trapped
(24:51):
in this achievement culture,right, don't feel that you are
judged by somebody and don'tfeel that you are answerable to
somebody.
So that's what probably makesus, even in the first place,
think, oh, okay, even when achild comes back home with a bad
grade, probably, you know, theyjust think, oh, mom and dad are
(25:14):
not going to accept this.
I'm like, you know, I just failto meet their expectations or
whatever, right, but there hasto be a way out.
There is a way out.
Maria Angelova (25:24):
Well, you know, I'll tell you when my daughter
gets stressed out about a grade,I my priority is for is her
health.
I do not wish for her to beupset about a grade and I tell
her okay, so you didn't do well,so what could you have done
differently so that the nexttime you have a test or a quiz
or whatever it is, you can dobetter?
(25:46):
I also need her to understandthat the way she performs is not
about me, it's about her.
So if you choose to study andmake a better grade, if you want
to go to college, your chanceswhen you have better grades and
better knowledge, will be betterto get into college than if you
don't.
You're not going to college forme, you're going to college for
(26:09):
yourself.
Do you want to go to college?
Maybe you do, maybe you don't.
But I think this way we empowerour kids to one realize okay,
getting a whatever grade is nota failure.
That is a lesson.
So it becomes a practicalexample of what we just talked
(26:31):
about.
Vai Kumar (26:34):
Yeah, and then again, somewhere we all get also
bogged down by this idea ofbeing a perfectionist, right,
even as parents, you know likesometimes, you know unknowingly,
we become like a control freak,if you will.
And how does this play into ourwell-being?
(26:55):
And again, as a parent, youcited an example already.
That's beautiful.
How better can we just sendthis message across to this pool
of global listeners, maria?
As to the need for moderationright In everything, so I'll
(27:17):
tell you why.
Maria Angelova (27:18):
As I call myself a recovering control freak and
perfectionist, I realized howmuch damage those things were
doing to my health by havingreally high expectations set.
I took that and I wrote a storyin my head that unless I make
an A plus, my parents are notgoing to love me, which is not a
(27:39):
true story.
That is what I got out of itand therefore I drove myself
crazy to do everything perfect.
Well, that just is not a goodplace to be, and I suffered very
high stress.
I suffered very high levels ofanxiety and anxiety attacks, and
that was just not good for myhealth.
(28:03):
It's very important for us toremember that our health is
precious and sadly for many ofus, that becomes a realization
once it's too late or we havesome kind of a health scare.
So remembering okay, how isthis serving me?
How is perfectionism serving me?
Is it serving me?
What if I tone it down?
(28:23):
Could I still be doing a greatjob and enjoying life more and
savoring life more, rather thanworking on the midi greedy?
That probably for most peopledo not even matter, because a
lot of times the perfectionismis self imposed.
And then, from a controlscontrol standpoint, we have to
realize that we only havecontrol over ourselves.
Vai Kumar (28:47):
We have to be aware of.
Maria Angelova (28:48):
What are the things you have control over and
situations that you do, andwhat are the things that you
don't have control over?
You don't have control over theroad notes.
You might think you do and youmay want to change them, but
they have choices and sometimeswe are fighting an uphill battle
which will never be won.
In creating tension andconflict and sometimes accepting
(29:11):
and knowing where your powerlies and not wasting our energy
is such a huge win.
Vai Kumar (29:18):
Oh, beautifully said, and we all, again, you know
it's so disturbing to even knowthat we all live in a day and
age of chronic inflammatoryconditions, right?
So where, then again, this needfor self care, this need to be
(29:38):
very moderate in terms of, okay,feeling answerable to others
and feeling, you know, the senseof perfectionism and being
trapped in this achievementculture and all of that.
So, again, going back to themind body connection and putting
things in perspective in termsof chronic inflammatory
conditions and all of that,because all those are very
(30:01):
important.
Wellness is a huge aspect of usbeing able to have a
sustainable lifestyle in thefuture, right, because we just
cannot imagine a planet wherethere are, like, say, if there
is, you know, a million people.
Of course, we are much more than, way more than a million people
, but even if you were to take asmall town and there's like a
(30:23):
million people, you just cannotimagine 80% of the population
being like down with onecondition or the other.
Right?
How about a minor or whateverextent it may be?
So what then, are the aspectsyou think, maria, are crucial?
I mean, having seen and workedwith so many clientele, like,
with the mind body connection,are eating practices.
(30:45):
So is it just the mind or is ittaking care of the body in
terms of a self care routinewith exercise and things like
that?
Maria Angelova (30:57):
I think a lot of the diseases not, I think.
I know research shows that alot of the diseases nowadays are
related to chronic stress andlifestyle choices, which is
which is good news and bad news.
The good news is that we havethe power to change those.
The bad news is that we havefallen off the wagon in terms of
(31:20):
those and we are really failingourselves Because, once again,
health is if you want to thrive,you cannot thrive.
I always tell people you cannotbe successful with the broken
body or a broken mind, and youknow you can use success, even
in the modern definition ofsuccess.
So the lifestyle choices youmentioned foot key exercise yes,
(31:44):
it's a pillar of health.
You're sleep, how you manageyour stress.
We talked about sustainability,environmental toxins how much
are you exposed to those?
All of those basics have to bethere.
If you don't sleep well, if youdon't eat well, if you don't
exercise, you're not going tolong term.
(32:05):
And it's interesting I have aclient who is very highly
stressed and we've been talkingabout managing stress for years
and I'm like it will catch upwith you.
It will catch up with you.
And we had a conversationyesterday and she's like my
blood work is off and I'm like,once again, I can only tell you
(32:26):
as an adult have a choice ofwhat you're going to do with the
information that I give you,but chronic stress will catch up
with you, not today, nottomorrow, but over time.
And guess what?
Chronic stress will kill you.
Vai Kumar (32:43):
Yeah, I mean it just has become so, so significant
that people realize that, right,we all can feel healthy and
then, up until the point we justfall down.
We can abuse our body, we canabuse our mind to the extent
that we can tolerate.
But I always tell people, youknow, that I get to.
(33:04):
You know, talk to heart toheart conversations that I can
have with.
There's not very many that youcan have that with, but you know
, you just have your circle ofgood friends and acquaintances
with whom you can just freelytalk.
Right, with those people Ialways try to give my two cents
worth.
You know I've had aninflammatory condition for years
(33:27):
.
You know I've wrestled with,wrestled with Crohn's disease,
but all I can say is I'velearned to manage it because I
just need to give myself,empower myself, advocate for
myself, give myself the righttools in my toolbox to be able
to manage it.
(33:48):
So that doesn't get the betterof me, right?
So I always find it sad thatpeople think, oh, somebody fell
prey to something unfortunate,but then I can still continue to
abuse my body.
I can just continue to abusewhatever you know like habits I
(34:08):
cultivate.
In terms of right from habits,as in you know, most people tend
to define habits as okay.
Are you like a smoker?
Are you like a drinker?
Are you like this, are you likethat?
No, it's all about yourself-care routine.
Also, right, how will you sleep?
Your technology use?
Because, yes, during your highschool days, or your middle
(34:31):
school days, and my middleschool and high school days, we
probably had no cell phones andyou couldn't.
I know, I mean, I've listenedto your show so I could tell
from that.
That's when I found out aboutthat lost luggage in Columbia
and Brazil.
And same goes for, yeah, you goland for study abroad.
(34:55):
You have no phones.
You had to figure your way and,like Milan, italy or wherever,
that was right.
So I, from technology, use theimpact on mobility posture.
I think you can take it fromthere.
I think I've.
Maria Angelova (35:14):
So I want to mention something very important
that you mentioned by, andthat's chronic condition.
So once you have a chroniccondition, realize that there is
a lot you can do with lifestyleand mind, body to positively
manage your chronic condition.
And that's another do youchoose to take ownership and
empower yourself or do youchoose to be the victim of your
(35:34):
condition?
So I think that's a very, veryimportant point that you make
there is a lot you can do tomanage chronic condition with
self-care.
Vai Kumar (35:42):
And then, yeah, right , there is epigenetics.
Right, because earlier everyoneattributed everything to
genetics.
But then epigenetics is alllies in your diet and lifestyle,
your habits, in terms of whatroutine you practice, for you to
be able to redefine yourgenetic predisposition, or
whatever that may be.
Maria Angelova (36:03):
The environment is impacting you.
So that's super, super key.
And then from I'll tell you,from technology standpoint,
people like me will have a lotof work to do, because nowadays
technology is just causing havocin the bodies because of the
slouch posture, because of theseating.
Like you said, when we grew upwe didn't grow up on the phones.
(36:23):
We grew up playing outside,socializing with friends,
running, and I don't know aboutyou, but my parents had a hard
time getting me home to watch TV.
That was like the bribery and Ihad no interest in watching TV.
I wanted to be outside with myfriend.
Oh you're the same Right, whichis very flipped right now.
But I'll tell you one thing isI'm starting to get more and
(36:44):
more younger.
I was clients before.
It was like 45 pluses when theX and pains come Now, if I look,
I mean I did a scoliosisscreening at the local school
and I was like whoa, like theposture of kids.
Nowadays it's going to become anepidemic because you know what?
It's not just about look andappearance, it's about
(37:04):
functionality and when you'relike this at age 13, 14, that is
not a good place to be.
They are now discovering thatkids are actually growing horns
onto their cervical spine by thetime they're teenagers.
I mean, that puts compressionon the spine.
You know, on the nerves If yourslouch, it compresses your
(37:28):
digestive system, your lungs,your cardiovascular system.
The implications of poorposture are severe and I think
we're going to see more and moreof that coming up.
People sit way too long whenthey sit.
You know it's hard to sit upnice and tall for 10 hours, so
people slouch the constant.
You know, when my daughter ison the phone I'm going to feel
(37:48):
like you know hands full.
Vai Kumar (37:49):
Oh yeah, I'm always.
I'm always telling my folks athome hey, please keep it at
eyesight level, Do not just benddown.
You know, these are allconscious things.
I mean, nobody taught me this.
I kind of somehow gave myselfthe resources, I learned it all,
and then I realized theimplications of not doing it.
(38:14):
So then I just try to follow it, not that I'm like 100% spot on
following or doing all theright things.
I'm not trying to project myselfhere to be like a super human
or a yeah, but I just try, I tryto do the right things and, in
spite of it, my health is stilla journey.
(38:35):
I'm just crossing the bridge,I'm just gradually there, but
I've learned so much along theprocess and that's what, even
via this podcast and via myblogs and so much more or in
person conversations withfriends and acquaintances, my
goal is always, when I'm out andabout in the community I try to
(38:56):
do offer my two cents for thebetterment of folks.
So I guess, yeah, when it comesto exercise again, does it
matter being consistent versus,say, overdoing, in terms of, say
, some people think, oh, I haveto do strength training, I have
to lift weights, I have to beout and about running, when,
(39:18):
probably, if you can manage 15minutes of being on that bike
every single day, or 15 minutesof a yoga or Pilates routine put
together, combined together,that's what I try to do.
I do.
I learned Pilates a couple ofyears ago and so I just try to
do like a yoga and Pilatesroutine every morning and,
whenever possible, I just go outand take walks.
(39:41):
If it is not a cold day, I tryto get at least like 15, 20
minutes of walking, and thenevery hour, or at least every
hour and a half.
I just make sure that I'm notdoing prolonged sitting.
So where is the consistency interms of consistency being
important versus the volume?
Maria Angelova (40:01):
Consistency is key, and what I always tell
people is consistent, consistent, consistent volume.
Grow it over time and wheneveryou can.
Once you establish the habit of, let's say, I have to move
every day, your body will startseeking movement.
Right, it's not going to beokay sitting down for eight
hours slouching over and notmoving.
(40:22):
So consistency is very key.
Consistency and you mentioneddifferent varieties of movements
.
You know, do we know thatstrength training is great for
females?
Because for everybody, butespecially for females?
Because, suppose, toporosis,should you lift weights?
Yes, okay, you're that personwho despises lifting weights and
(40:45):
you're either going to liftweights or rather not do it, or
you're going to go for a walk,and if you're to lift weights,
you're not going to do it, butif you're going to walk, you're
going to walk every day.
So what should you do?
You should do that one thingthat you're actually going to do
, because if you're just sittinghere and thinking, well, I
don't like to do weights, Idon't like to do weights, I'm
not going to do it, guess what,you're not doing anything, right
(41:06):
.
Vai Kumar (41:07):
Yeah, whereas while going walking, you're again
kindling your passion, you'refueling your passion, you're
deriving happiness.
Maria Angelova (41:15):
So always tell people you have to find
something that you like.
So I love pilates, I love torun.
You might be like I don't likepilates, I don't like to run, I
love to walk, I love to dance oh, do you know what?
Then you go walk, then you godance.
You love to lift weights liftweights.
Of course.
You want to keep a balanced body, so you want to have a balance
of strength, flexibility,mobility, right?
(41:36):
Because if you're really bulkyand there is no flexibility in
your body, that's going to causeproblems.
If you're hypermobile and youdon't have control into your
body, that's going to causeproblems.
You do want to maintain as muchas you can balancing the body.
Do what you like, right.
And also, I think we live in aculture of fats, right.
(41:58):
I've been in the fitnessindustry for 30 years and there
is all this.
There is a new type of gadgetor movement.
You know that they come up withevery day.
The basics of fitness have notchanged since back in the day.
Move and do it with intentionand enjoy it, like, if you want
(42:19):
to do a new routine, do it, butalso think if you're a couch
potato, don't go do CrossFit.
Crossfit is for very eliteathletes right.
So you know yourself.
Respect your body, meet itwhere it is and start building
step by step, consistently, towhere you build a routine that
works for you.
Vai Kumar (42:38):
Yeah, right there you've given us kind of the do's
and don'ts for sustainablewellness and lifestyle, and
earlier you talked aboutauthenticity as well.
So just be true to yourself.
So so well highlighted there,maria, and with sustainability
at the forefront, how can wemake it better for us and the
(42:58):
planet?
Say, mental health, I think,has taken a beating these days.
Maria Angelova (43:05):
It's like a big time beating these days.
Yes, you know what?
If you do not take care ofyourself, if you spend all day
in front of technology, isolatedfrom people, if you're highly
stressed out, if you don't eat,try, don't sleep right, you
don't move Inevitably yourmental health will be impacted.
It's not a question if it willbe impacted, it's a matter of
(43:27):
when it will be impacted.
And what I always tell myclients is listen.
It is a lot easier to addressan issue before it becomes a
serious issue.
Right, it's a lot easier toaddress mental well when you
have days when you're feelingoff than when you're dealing
with anxiety and depression.
It's a lot easier to addressyour lack of mobility before you
(43:48):
have a stroke or before youhave a heart attack.
And just realize that I meanyes, inevitably some of those
have genetic predispositions.
There is the family history, noquestion about that.
But realize that you also havea lot of empowerment into the
choices that you make to be abetter person and when you take
care of yourself.
(44:09):
I always tell people start small, start consistent.
You will start feeling thedifference and you'll be amazed
of what a 10-minute walk can dofor your mental health when you
start thinking that, thinkingthat, guess what.
It's not going to be somethingthat you have to do.
It's going to be something thatyou want to do right,
absolutely.
You're going to go to yourfriend and go guess what.
I walk for 10 minutes and guesswhat.
(44:30):
I feel so much better, let's gowork together tomorrow.
Guess what?
Now you're empowering yourfriend right.
Guess what?
Now your friend is a betterfriend, a better mom, a better
colleague, a better communitymember.
It spills over.
Vai Kumar (44:46):
Yeah, right there, there's inclusivity in what you
do as well, right?
Inclusivity can be in severaldifferent forms.
You just propagate wellness,you propagate good stuff.
That's inclusivity.
And then inclusivity, of course, when it comes to diversity,
equity inclusivity right there,that's also being inclusive.
(45:06):
And don't you think we all needto be a little bit more
empathetic, and just don't youthink that this will help.
Maria Angelova (45:13):
I also think that the more interconnected and
conscious we are with who weare, the more that opens us up
to empathy.
When we are too much into ourego, too much into the material,
too much into the power, toomuch we see a lot of that today
(45:34):
to the separation, separatingourselves by ethnicities, by
color, by political views and soforth, that does not serve us
well.
Vai Kumar (45:42):
Well, so beautifully highlighted.
Maria, Thank you so much fortaking the time to talk to us
today.
I think my key takeaways fromthis conversation has been
self-care, work towardsfulfillment, not just getting
immersed in achievement cultureand then do not get trapped in a
safety net, but just get out ofyour comfort zone, explore the
(46:06):
uncomfortable.
That way you really go towardsthat path of fulfillment and
fulfillment of your goals.
So right there, the mind bodyconnection, everything it all
just is like intertwined andeverything just blossoms and we
in turn can contribute to a moresustainable future for us and
(46:26):
for the planet.
So wonderful conversation andthoroughly enjoyed having you
here on the show with us, and ifyou would like to put out your
contact information and any ofyour work books, whatever it may
be, feel free to do so.
So sure.
Maria Angelova (46:43):
My book is called Mind and Body Living with
Positivity, passion and Purpose.
You can find it on Amazon indigital and print, and my
website you are welcome to check.
My speaking website is, thewebsite is mindbodyexpert.
com and my mind body website isrebellious-studio.
com.
(47:03):
I would love to connect withyou.
I believe in the power ofcommunity and tribe and Vai.
Thank you so much for theopportunity to be here with you
and your listeners today.
Thank you.
Vai Kumar (47:14):
Absolutely.
We just totally enjoyed havingyou here, and listeners, as
always, follow the podcast, ratethe podcast, leave a review
from your podcast app of choice.
Follow me on Instagram andYouTube.
That's a new channel there withall these wonderful videos
@vaipkumar.
That's V-A-I-P, K-U-M-A-R.
(47:35):
And for all things digitalmedia and lifestyle, until next
time with yet anotherinteresting guest and yet
another interesting topic.
It's me, vy and wonderful Mariasaying bye-bye for now, bye.
Hey folks, welcome to another episode on Podcast
Fresh Leaf Forever.
Today I have here with us thewonderful Maria Angelova.
She is a podcast host, like me,and she is also a thought
leader, disruptor, speaker,author, pilates teacher, mindset
(00:20):
coach and founder CEO ofRebellious International.
She is on a mission to changethe face of the wellness
industry by shifting the mindsetaround prioritizing self-care
and redefining fitness.
Prior to RebelliousInternational, Maria spent
17-plus years professionally,with experience in corporates
(00:42):
and telecom, finance andinsurance industries.
So, maria, welcome to the show.
How are you today?
Maria Angelova (00:49):
Thank you so much for having me here, Vai.
I'm so grateful to you for theopportunity to be here.
I'm great.
Vai Kumar (00:55):
Oh, wonderful.
And so, with an MBA and a pastexperience as Director of
Finance, from there to findingRebellious International, take
us through this transformationjourney of yours.
Maria Angelova (01:09):
So I come from a family of academia.
I'm Eastern European, as youcan probably tell by my accent,
and I grew up when it was allabout making good grades,
studying, getting a good job,and that's what I did.
I was that OA student, theHonor student.
I finished as a SalaritoriumHigh School and then Highest
Honorary for my undergraduateand graduate degrees.
(01:32):
However, as a side geek, Ialways had fitness as a passion.
I started going to the gymregularly at age 12.
And at age 16, I startedteaching group classes at the
gym and I loved it.
I always loved it, and even inmy 20s.
I'll tell my friends one dayI'm going to have my own fitness
(01:52):
studio.
However, it was the salary andthe benefits and all of those
things that keep us comfortablewere there.
And then 2012,.
Two years after I had mydaughter, I discovered Pilates.
I was originally veryunimpressed because I was used
to the high intensity type ofworkouts and it was slow and I
(02:15):
didn't feel much.
I'm so glad we stuck with itbecause it literally changed my
life.
It allowed me to reallyinterconnect body, mind and
spirit.
And 2016, I resigned mycorporate job and decided to
start my own thing, and I calledit rebellious because everybody
told me that I am crazy, prettymuch, to go from a finest
(02:37):
director to a Pilates teacher.
Vai Kumar (02:40):
Uh-huh, uh-huh, why not?
I mean whatever gives youfulfillment, right?
So right there, delving intomodern day aspects of lifestyle
and carving out this path tofulfillment.
Where do you think lies thoseimpediments, maria, I don't
(03:00):
think everyone aims atfulfillment.
People define success assomething else, right?
So they see things differently.
So right there.
It's so nice that you startedus off by pointing about
fulfillment.
Maria Angelova (03:18):
Yeah, I don't think many of us are taught to
think about success and definingsuccess as being happy, being
fulfilled, enjoying what we do.
For many of us and for manysocieties, successes, whether
your achievements, what is yourtitle, what type of house do you
live in, what kind of car doyou drive and the beautiful part
(03:42):
of it is, you can have both ifyou follow your heart and do
what you want.
I will share with you.
I did an event at a middleschool a couple of months ago
and I asked kids middle schoolkids, so they're probably 14, 15
somewhere there.
I said what are some of themost important aspects of when
(04:05):
you find a job?
And the majority of themanswered by money.
Vai Kumar (04:12):
Oh my goodness, yeah, now kids are like, so they are
also so in tune with.
I don't know how adults think,or probably how adults perceive
life to be, so they just think,ok, it's all in the money.
Maria Angelova (04:28):
And I asked them .
I said there was only one kidwho said liking what you do?
And I asked them.
So I said so if you have money,is that going to make you happy
?
And you should see their eyes.
They were so confused.
They were like whoa, isn't thatright?
Like now they're like.
Vai Kumar (04:45):
But what is this woman talking about?
Maria Angelova (04:47):
They were confused, but my point was wow,
it's such an early age.
They already have apreconception of what makes you
successful at a job, and it'show much money you make.
Not that there is anythingwrong with making money.
However, we forget aboutfulfillment.
We forget about doing somethingthat we love.
(05:07):
Yes, my transition from financeto wellness was a very
non-traditional one, but youknow what?
I live a life that I love theimpact I have on people.
It fires me up, it makes me sohappy.
To some people might be themost boring job ever, but for me
, I get joy and I get happinessout of that, and for me, that's
(05:30):
important.
Vai Kumar (05:31):
Yeah, because how many people you and I connect
with in our podcasting journeyalone, right, I mean, it's all
about what you learn everysingle day, what you derive from
those experiences and theopportunities that arise out of
those connections.
So, yes, money is needed foreach one to lead life
(05:55):
comfortably, no doubt about thatat all.
But for children to have thatpreconceived notion, like you
said, that it's all in the moneyand so right there, don't you
think they're missing out ondefining for themselves certain
goals and finding their trueself and making themselves come
(06:17):
out with their true self?
Maria Angelova (06:18):
Yeah, absolutely .
And I'll tell you, I have adaughter, I have a 13-year-old,
and my parents were fantasticparents and they gave me, they
empowered me, and they gave mesuch a strong foundation for
life and I do believe they didwhat they thought was the best
thing they can do for me interms of wanting to be a great
(06:39):
student and all that.
I think what we forget is thatour kids are an individual and
that individual might havecompletely different desires,
passions, wants than we do as aparent.
And I'll tell you, as a parent,sometimes, when my daughter is
(07:00):
like, well, that's notinteresting, if I hadn't gone
through my growth journey, I'dbe like what do you mean?
It's not.
This is important.
Grades are important, how doyou do school is important, and
I just still do think it isimportant.
But I also think what it isimportant is that we encourage
our kids to thrive and to be whothey want to be and who they
(07:21):
are, instead of conditioningthem to fit into a box.
Vai Kumar (07:26):
Oh, yes, yeah, it's all check the box mentality and
the achievement culture.
So right there somewhere, don'tyou think we are also not
letting them get out of theircomfort zone and explore for
themselves what it is like tokind of alleviate fear and get
(07:49):
comfortable doing theuncomfortable?
I think you have certainlytreaded that path and you know
what it is like to and for theneed for everyone to feel
comfortable about doing theuncomfortable right.
Maria Angelova (08:05):
Yeah, I think that once again, we are told
that this is the box and this ishow you fit in the box and it's
a good thing to fit into thebox.
Just yesterday I was talking tosomebody and he was telling me
about his journey and it wasrelated to financials, and he
said I just want stability.
And I said so, it's safetythat's keeping you in the box.
(08:29):
He goes, I know, I know.
And then he tried to tell methat's not the case and I said
you know, safety is a trapbecause we're so conditioned to
think you have to be stable, youhave to be safe, you have to
get a good job and stay there.
Listen, if that's your path andif that's what you want to do,
there is nothing wrong with it.
But even think about it.
(08:49):
You might want to beincorporate totally cool.
But maybe the job that you're innow, maybe you don't like your
boss, maybe you don't like theposition that you're in, but
you're like I don't know, am Iqualified for that position out
there?
What if I cannot manage?
Well?
Well, here I'm established.
I don't want to push myself todo something different.
So we end up staying in placesor maybe even in a relationship
(09:12):
that we're not happy in becausewhat's on the other side?
Well, what if what's on theother side is so much better
than what you've got today?
Vai Kumar (09:21):
So right there you get stuck, when you can totally
be unstuck and be more towardsthat path of fulfillment, like
you and I talked about a fewminutes ago.
Maria Angelova (09:34):
Yeah, 100%, and you have to be aware.
Is the fear going to be there?
Yes, fear is just part of beinghuman, and now I look at fear
as okay.
There is an opportunity to growwhen I'm uncomfortable.
It's a good thing, because it'spushing me to the next step, to
the next level.
Vai Kumar (09:55):
So if you were to tell people the one thing and
I'll get to alleviate that fear,what would that be?
So how do you overcome fear?
Maria Angelova (10:06):
I think you put that fear in the passenger seat,
you buckoid them and say let'sgo together.
Fear will be there and Ipersonally don't think fear
would ever disappear because youmight get comfortable with
something and then there will bethe next thing that will be
uncomfortable.
It's kind of like a ladder thatyou go through, so the fear
(10:28):
will always be there.
Recognize that fear is nothingother than your mindset trying
to keep you safe and, as we said, safety is a trap.
So look at it as oh, I'mfearful.
There's an opportunity.
Look for the opportunity thatcomes along with fear.
Vai Kumar (10:44):
So embrace that opportunity instead of just
getting trapped in that bucketof fear, right?
Yes, yeah, yeah, well said,well said.
Then realize this thing ofpassion.
So how can we just trigger thatpassion in individuals and make
(11:05):
that more significant inalleviating this fear or in
getting out of this comfort zonelike we talked about?
Maria Angelova (11:16):
So I think passion is super important and I
think frequently we subdue ourpassion, like for me.
I've been wanting to do what Istarted doing for 20 years, so
it took me a long time to getthere.
And why?
Because of the box.
Well, you have a good salary.
Well, you have a good education.
Well, you should climb up thecorporate ladder.
(11:38):
Well, you have good benefits.
All of those things that wereconditioned to think are great,
which they are, as long as theydon't keep you trapped.
And I had this internal fire,this passion, this attraction
toward something that's, formany, is viewed as
nonconventional way to besuccessful.
Right, I think the importantthing is to stay connected to
(11:59):
who you are, to who you areauthentically are, and listen to
the desires of your heart.
And frequently your desireswill not be understood by others
.
Frequently you might be calledcrazy or rebellious.
However, when you follow yourown heartbeat, there is, I will
(12:20):
tell you, I never expected mylife will be where it is today
when I took that one decision.
In a way, I'm experiencing lifetoday like I couldn't even
imagine it before and the more Iwant to grow is I can be very
comfortable where I'm today, butI want to grow because I'm
(12:41):
fueled by passion and by fire ofgetting more and more people to
feel great, and I think passionand sticking to your why is
super important because therewill be turbulence as part of
the journey.
It won't be like a rocket shipup to be more like a roller
coaster journey and when youhave a strong passion and a firm
(13:02):
belief, it will take you far.
Vai Kumar (13:05):
Okay, so that is where emphasizing and redefining
that why becomes importantright.
Maria Angelova (13:12):
Yeah, it has to be your why and not somebody
else's why.
Vai Kumar (13:16):
Oh, of course, of course.
And your own journey, I mean,is proof enough, I guess, in
terms of how unpleasantexperiences can lead to
incredible opportunity, right?
So why don't you just sharesome of your life experiences,
maria, in terms of just helpingour listeners globally realize
(13:38):
how one should see kind of lightat the end of the tunnel and
not get bogged down, even whenthere is like a rough patch?
You said rightfully, you calledit turbulence there.
Maria Angelova (13:51):
Yeah, so I would say when I quit my job I was so
excited.
I was like I get to do what Iwant to do and I thought I have
all of this great experience andeducation like this is going to
be a phenomenal journey.
Well, it kind of started with abig dive downwards before it
went upwards it's.
I didn't find the supportsystem because most people were
(14:13):
like what are you doing?
Like why are you living thiscareer that you've been building
for so long?
It caused disruption in myfamily because my husband was
he's also an entrepreneur and Ipulled the safety rock of the
paycheck and the benefits fromunderneath his feet.
You know that shook up thefamily dynamics so it was
(14:34):
uncomfortable.
At home.
I voluntarily gave away mysix-figure income, so that was
uncomfortable.
And you know what else wasuncomfortable?
I had no idea what to do to getmy business going and I was
like how is this possible?
I have all of this education,all of this corporate experience
(14:57):
, like why am I so stuck?
And that's what I starteddiving into mindset and my
limiting beliefs.
And you know, I come fromEastern Europe.
There is no, and the time whenI grew up there there was no
entrepreneurship.
My family is academia, so, onceagain, not entrepreneurship.
I had a lot of limiting beliefsaround money, around sales, so
(15:17):
there was a lot of growth thattook place for me to start
climbing up.
And it was a journey, and it isnot a journey for the faint of
heart, because and that is whyyour passion and your why is so
important and you believe intowhat you want.
And I had a decision go back tocorporate or figure this thing
(15:41):
out, how to make it work, and Ichose saying you know what?
I will figure this out.
I've figured things before.
I will make it work and andI'll also tell people, which is
very important, when thingsdon't work our way, the way we
want them to, they are workingfor us because there is a lesson
in there that we need to get togrow as human beings.
(16:03):
And my business is at the statewhere it is today because
things didn't go my way.
Vai Kumar (16:11):
So always then you're forced to just do that
self-introspection and and thenyou know like again and again,
emphasize on the why and thentrigger your passion even more
to be able to decipher what'sactually going wrong.
Right, and I think it's likeyou know, your luggage didn't
make it in Brazil and to oneother place that you visited.
Maria Angelova (16:34):
And you know you were like how, yeah, how many.
Vai Kumar (16:37):
How many years old were you then?
You were probably a collegestudent or high school student.
Maria Angelova (16:43):
I was like 19, something like that, 18, 19,
something like that, and Iarrived, for I was.
It was a two-month trip and Iarrived in Colombia and my
luggage for the two months didnot get there and I just had the
clothes I was wearing.
That was it for a two-monthtrip and I had to figure it out.
I was a college student so Ididn't have like a big bank
account to like go shopping andyou know what I figured it out.
(17:04):
It's fine when life presentsyou such nuggets, their
opportunity.
Look at them as opportunities.
And I tell my clients sometimesopportunities are missed, guys,
that's misfortune.
Vai Kumar (17:17):
Yeah, so true, so true.
I mean you just have to, youknow, always not get bogged down
.
I think you know, I've justexperienced that myself in my
life in a different form, inseveral different forms, and I
always, you know, just I and Iand I have emphasized and
enunciated this so many times onthis show I just look at myself
(17:41):
in the mirror and I smile andthat just gives me so much
energy and then I'm able tofigure things out from that
point.
So I think that's where, youknow, I can just completely
relate to what you're saying outthere, maria, and I guess, for
us to have like a better futureand for us to even be able to do
(18:05):
that self-interest faction, themind-body connection becomes
important, right, and the needfor all of us to embrace it.
And we all are living in a dayand age where sustainability,
our ability to save and protectthis planet Earth and for us to
(18:27):
have a future which is much moresignificant, dominant, vibrant,
however you choose to put itright.
I think there are severalfacets to this piece of the
puzzle sustainability.
So where do you think MariaAngelova comes in terms of the
(18:48):
mind-body connection that shecan just help people with, and
what is the role of mind-bodyconnection on a serious note, in
terms of how we can just propelourselves forward?
Maria Angelova (19:05):
So mind-body is all that I put it.
So that's like my.
You know my passion Because, tothe question we just talked
about, in order to know you'reon the right track, what I
follow is, like, my guide is myintuition, and a lot of times
when our intuition tells us,just quit your job, start
teaching Pilates, common senseand logic are like are you crazy
(19:28):
?
Right?
You have that internalconversation.
When you do self-care, when youare body and mind aware, when
you have that body-mindconnection, when you have a
sense of does this feel goodinto my body or does it not?
When I have this thought of, Iwill quit corporate and start my
own business, how does thatmake my body feel?
(19:48):
Does it create like a lot oftension or is it like, yeah,
feels good, right?
So being in alignment with whowe are and using self-care to
stay in alignment, choosesilence.
What the world has to tell youabout what you should do, how it
views you and so forth is ofparamount importance as we grow
(20:08):
and for our well-being, and thenhow that ties to sustainability
.
When you self-respect yourself,when you have a self-care
routine, a big part of yourself-care routine becomes how do
I nourish myself body, mind andspirit.
What kind of food do I eat?
Do I want to eat GMO foods ordo I want to eat real foods?
(20:30):
Do I want to eat organic foods?
Right?
How do I want to take care of myenvironment?
Do I want to spread toxicchemicals on my lawn?
Do I want to spread toxicchemicals into the air to kill
bugs and bees, which are greatfor our environment?
Those are things you startthinking about and you realize
(20:54):
that you are a part of anecosystem that works beautifully
together.
And when we're driven by ego,when we're driven by profits,
when we forget about servingothers from the best that we can
, we start impacting ourenvironment, which is what we
are seeing now, sadly, innegative ways.
(21:17):
So I think you being the bestthat you can, each one of us
being the best that we can, Ithink, goes very much hand in
hand with how we care for theenvironment, how we care for
each other, and wanting to makethe foods that are out there,
that we consume and put into ourbodies better, to keep the
water that we drink notcontaminated, to keep
(21:37):
environmental toxins out of ourskin, and so forth.
Vai Kumar (21:42):
So, in other words, that whole mind-body connection,
building that ecosystem, it'sall a matter of investing in
oneself, right?
So, kind of you know, you justfocus on yourself.
But in other words, when youjust focus on the right things
for yourself, your self careroutine it almost is like it
(22:04):
takes care of everybody aroundyou as well.
So you are nurturing thecomplete ecosystem around you,
isn't that right?
Maria Angelova (22:13):
That's exactly right.
And that's your family, that'syour colleague, that's your
friends, that's your.
You know, like your community,like whatever you're a part of
environment right it's.
We're all together in this, andwhen we're, when one of us is
not whole, you overspill.
If you have, if you get anegative energy, guess what?
You're going to spill thatenergy on everybody around you.
(22:35):
If you're overflow with goodvibes, guess what?
That's what you're going tospread around.
It's a choice, which one youwant to spread.
Vai Kumar (22:43):
Okay, how then, can we make those right choices?
I mean, how do we offset anysay, for lack of a better word,
or to be, you know, just bluntand abrupt?
How do you offset failure?
If you will, so again, themind-body expert in you, how do
(23:03):
we maintain equanimity of mindyou?
Maria Angelova (23:07):
know there is no such thing as failure and I
think it's very important toremember that.
There are only lessons whensomething doesn't go our way.
It's not the reflection of whoyou are.
We frequently tie failure,perceived failure, to our
identity.
Oh, I'm a failure, oh, I saidI'm going to do that and it
didn't work out.
And then what does that do?
(23:27):
That just spirals downwards andtakes us down to a rabbit hole.
When you have a perceivedfailure, I would say pause, take
a breath and say okay, what didI learn from this experience
and how can I get the resultsthat I was going after in a
different way, based on what Ilearned?
Once you change your mindsetaround failure and you realize
(23:51):
there is no such thing asfailure in life, your experience
in life will be very different.
And going back to the mind-bodyconnection is simple things,
something self-care, things suchas breathing, going for a walk
outside, meditation, journaling,reading quality literature that
(24:12):
empowers your body, mind andspirit.
Self-care is inevitable to keepon your journey of ups and
downs, and the more you grow,instead of being a roller
coaster that's like high ups anddowns, it's more like a more
subdued roller coaster.
Vai Kumar (24:31):
I guess that just we are now once again, you know,
like it's not wantonly, but evenlike practically speaking, we
are just kind of kind of tyingit all together in terms of
emphasizing on self-care and bysaying, hey, don't get trapped
(24:51):
in this achievement culture,right, don't feel that you are
judged by somebody and don'tfeel that you are answerable to
somebody.
So that's what probably makesus, even in the first place,
think, oh, okay, even when achild comes back home with a bad
grade, probably, you know, theyjust think, oh, mom and dad are
(25:14):
not going to accept this.
I'm like, you know, I just failto meet their expectations or
whatever, right, but there hasto be a way out.
There is a way out.
Maria Angelova (25:24):
Well, you know, I'll tell you when my daughter
gets stressed out about a grade,I my priority is for is her
health.
I do not wish for her to beupset about a grade and I tell
her okay, so you didn't do well,so what could you have done
differently so that the nexttime you have a test or a quiz
or whatever it is, you can dobetter?
(25:46):
I also need her to understandthat the way she performs is not
about me, it's about her.
So if you choose to study andmake a better grade, if you want
to go to college, your chanceswhen you have better grades and
better knowledge, will be betterto get into college than if you
don't.
You're not going to college forme, you're going to college for
(26:09):
yourself.
Do you want to go to college?
Maybe you do, maybe you don't.
But I think this way we empowerour kids to one realize okay,
getting a whatever grade is nota failure.
That is a lesson.
So it becomes a practicalexample of what we just talked
(26:31):
about.
Vai Kumar (26:34):
Yeah, and then again, somewhere we all get also
bogged down by this idea ofbeing a perfectionist, right,
even as parents, you know likesometimes, you know unknowingly,
we become like a control freak,if you will.
And how does this play into ourwell-being?
(26:55):
And again, as a parent, youcited an example already.
That's beautiful.
How better can we just sendthis message across to this pool
of global listeners, maria?
As to the need for moderationright In everything, so I'll
(27:17):
tell you why.
Maria Angelova (27:18):
As I call myself a recovering control freak and
perfectionist, I realized howmuch damage those things were
doing to my health by havingreally high expectations set.
I took that and I wrote a storyin my head that unless I make
an A plus, my parents are notgoing to love me, which is not a
(27:39):
true story.
That is what I got out of itand therefore I drove myself
crazy to do everything perfect.
Well, that just is not a goodplace to be, and I suffered very
high stress.
I suffered very high levels ofanxiety and anxiety attacks, and
that was just not good for myhealth.
(28:03):
It's very important for us toremember that our health is
precious and sadly for many ofus, that becomes a realization
once it's too late or we havesome kind of a health scare.
So remembering okay, how isthis serving me?
How is perfectionism serving me?
Is it serving me?
What if I tone it down?
(28:23):
Could I still be doing a greatjob and enjoying life more and
savoring life more, rather thanworking on the midi greedy?
That probably for most peopledo not even matter, because a
lot of times the perfectionismis self imposed.
And then, from a controlscontrol standpoint, we have to
realize that we only havecontrol over ourselves.
Vai Kumar (28:47):
We have to be aware of.
Maria Angelova (28:48):
What are the things you have control over and
situations that you do, andwhat are the things that you
don't have control over?
You don't have control over theroad notes.
You might think you do and youmay want to change them, but
they have choices and sometimeswe are fighting an uphill battle
which will never be won.
In creating tension andconflict and sometimes accepting
(29:11):
and knowing where your powerlies and not wasting our energy
is such a huge win.
Vai Kumar (29:18):
Oh, beautifully said, and we all, again, you know
it's so disturbing to even knowthat we all live in a day and
age of chronic inflammatoryconditions, right?
So where, then again, this needfor self care, this need to be
(29:38):
very moderate in terms of, okay,feeling answerable to others
and feeling, you know, the senseof perfectionism and being
trapped in this achievementculture and all of that.
So, again, going back to themind body connection and putting
things in perspective in termsof chronic inflammatory
conditions and all of that,because all those are very
(30:01):
important.
Wellness is a huge aspect of usbeing able to have a
sustainable lifestyle in thefuture, right, because we just
cannot imagine a planet wherethere are, like, say, if there
is, you know, a million people.
Of course, we are much more than, way more than a million people
, but even if you were to take asmall town and there's like a
(30:23):
million people, you just cannotimagine 80% of the population
being like down with onecondition or the other.
Right?
How about a minor or whateverextent it may be?
So what then, are the aspectsyou think, maria, are crucial?
I mean, having seen and workedwith so many clientele, like,
with the mind body connection,are eating practices.
(30:45):
So is it just the mind or is ittaking care of the body in
terms of a self care routinewith exercise and things like
that?
Maria Angelova (30:57):
I think a lot of the diseases not, I think.
I know research shows that alot of the diseases nowadays are
related to chronic stress andlifestyle choices, which is
which is good news and bad news.
The good news is that we havethe power to change those.
The bad news is that we havefallen off the wagon in terms of
(31:20):
those and we are really failingourselves Because, once again,
health is if you want to thrive,you cannot thrive.
I always tell people you cannotbe successful with the broken
body or a broken mind, and youknow you can use success, even
in the modern definition ofsuccess.
So the lifestyle choices youmentioned foot key exercise yes,
(31:44):
it's a pillar of health.
You're sleep, how you manageyour stress.
We talked about sustainability,environmental toxins how much
are you exposed to those?
All of those basics have to bethere.
If you don't sleep well, if youdon't eat well, if you don't
exercise, you're not going tolong term.
(32:05):
And it's interesting I have aclient who is very highly
stressed and we've been talkingabout managing stress for years
and I'm like it will catch upwith you.
It will catch up with you.
And we had a conversationyesterday and she's like my
blood work is off and I'm like,once again, I can only tell you
(32:26):
as an adult have a choice ofwhat you're going to do with the
information that I give you,but chronic stress will catch up
with you, not today, nottomorrow, but over time.
And guess what?
Chronic stress will kill you.
Vai Kumar (32:43):
Yeah, I mean it just has become so, so significant
that people realize that, right,we all can feel healthy and
then, up until the point we justfall down.
We can abuse our body, we canabuse our mind to the extent
that we can tolerate.
But I always tell people, youknow, that I get to.
(33:04):
You know, talk to heart toheart conversations that I can
have with.
There's not very many that youcan have that with, but you know
, you just have your circle ofgood friends and acquaintances
with whom you can just freelytalk.
Right, with those people Ialways try to give my two cents
worth.
You know I've had aninflammatory condition for years
(33:27):
.
You know I've wrestled with,wrestled with Crohn's disease,
but all I can say is I'velearned to manage it because I
just need to give myself,empower myself, advocate for
myself, give myself the righttools in my toolbox to be able
to manage it.
(33:48):
So that doesn't get the betterof me, right?
So I always find it sad thatpeople think, oh, somebody fell
prey to something unfortunate,but then I can still continue to
abuse my body.
I can just continue to abusewhatever you know like habits I
(34:08):
cultivate.
In terms of right from habits,as in you know, most people tend
to define habits as okay.
Are you like a smoker?
Are you like a drinker?
Are you like this, are you likethat?
No, it's all about yourself-care routine.
Also, right, how will you sleep?
Your technology use?
Because, yes, during your highschool days, or your middle
(34:31):
school days, and my middleschool and high school days, we
probably had no cell phones andyou couldn't.
I know, I mean, I've listenedto your show so I could tell
from that.
That's when I found out aboutthat lost luggage in Columbia
and Brazil.
And same goes for, yeah, you goland for study abroad.
(34:55):
You have no phones.
You had to figure your way and,like Milan, italy or wherever,
that was right.
So I, from technology, use theimpact on mobility posture.
I think you can take it fromthere.
I think I've.
Maria Angelova (35:14):
So I want to mention something very important
that you mentioned by, andthat's chronic condition.
So once you have a chroniccondition, realize that there is
a lot you can do with lifestyleand mind, body to positively
manage your chronic condition.
And that's another do youchoose to take ownership and
empower yourself or do youchoose to be the victim of your
(35:34):
condition?
So I think that's a very, veryimportant point that you make
there is a lot you can do tomanage chronic condition with
self-care.
Vai Kumar (35:42):
And then, yeah, right , there is epigenetics.
Right, because earlier everyoneattributed everything to
genetics.
But then epigenetics is alllies in your diet and lifestyle,
your habits, in terms of whatroutine you practice, for you to
be able to redefine yourgenetic predisposition, or
whatever that may be.
Maria Angelova (36:03):
The environment is impacting you.
So that's super, super key.
And then from I'll tell you,from technology standpoint,
people like me will have a lotof work to do, because nowadays
technology is just causing havocin the bodies because of the
slouch posture, because of theseating.
Like you said, when we grew upwe didn't grow up on the phones.
(36:23):
We grew up playing outside,socializing with friends,
running, and I don't know aboutyou, but my parents had a hard
time getting me home to watch TV.
That was like the bribery and Ihad no interest in watching TV.
I wanted to be outside with myfriend.
Oh you're the same Right, whichis very flipped right now.
But I'll tell you one thing isI'm starting to get more and
(36:44):
more younger.
I was clients before.
It was like 45 pluses when theX and pains come Now, if I look,
I mean I did a scoliosisscreening at the local school
and I was like whoa, like theposture of kids.
Nowadays it's going to become anepidemic because you know what?
It's not just about look andappearance, it's about
(37:04):
functionality and when you'relike this at age 13, 14, that is
not a good place to be.
They are now discovering thatkids are actually growing horns
onto their cervical spine by thetime they're teenagers.
I mean, that puts compressionon the spine.
You know, on the nerves If yourslouch, it compresses your
(37:28):
digestive system, your lungs,your cardiovascular system.
The implications of poorposture are severe and I think
we're going to see more and moreof that coming up.
People sit way too long whenthey sit.
You know it's hard to sit upnice and tall for 10 hours, so
people slouch the constant.
You know, when my daughter ison the phone I'm going to feel
(37:48):
like you know hands full.
Vai Kumar (37:49):
Oh yeah, I'm always.
I'm always telling my folks athome hey, please keep it at
eyesight level, Do not just benddown.
You know, these are allconscious things.
I mean, nobody taught me this.
I kind of somehow gave myselfthe resources, I learned it all,
and then I realized theimplications of not doing it.
(38:14):
So then I just try to follow it, not that I'm like 100% spot on
following or doing all theright things.
I'm not trying to project myselfhere to be like a super human
or a yeah, but I just try, I tryto do the right things and, in
spite of it, my health is stilla journey.
(38:35):
I'm just crossing the bridge,I'm just gradually there, but
I've learned so much along theprocess and that's what, even
via this podcast and via myblogs and so much more or in
person conversations withfriends and acquaintances, my
goal is always, when I'm out andabout in the community I try to
(38:56):
do offer my two cents for thebetterment of folks.
So I guess, yeah, when it comesto exercise again, does it
matter being consistent versus,say, overdoing, in terms of, say
, some people think, oh, I haveto do strength training, I have
to lift weights, I have to beout and about running, when,
(39:18):
probably, if you can manage 15minutes of being on that bike
every single day, or 15 minutesof a yoga or Pilates routine put
together, combined together,that's what I try to do.
I do.
I learned Pilates a couple ofyears ago and so I just try to
do like a yoga and Pilatesroutine every morning and,
whenever possible, I just go outand take walks.
(39:41):
If it is not a cold day, I tryto get at least like 15, 20
minutes of walking, and thenevery hour, or at least every
hour and a half.
I just make sure that I'm notdoing prolonged sitting.
So where is the consistency interms of consistency being
important versus the volume?
Maria Angelova (40:01):
Consistency is key, and what I always tell
people is consistent, consistent, consistent volume.
Grow it over time and wheneveryou can.
Once you establish the habit of, let's say, I have to move
every day, your body will startseeking movement.
Right, it's not going to beokay sitting down for eight
hours slouching over and notmoving.
(40:22):
So consistency is very key.
Consistency and you mentioneddifferent varieties of movements
.
You know, do we know thatstrength training is great for
females?
Because for everybody, butespecially for females?
Because, suppose, toporosis,should you lift weights?
Yes, okay, you're that personwho despises lifting weights and
(40:45):
you're either going to liftweights or rather not do it, or
you're going to go for a walk,and if you're to lift weights,
you're not going to do it, butif you're going to walk, you're
going to walk every day.
So what should you do?
You should do that one thingthat you're actually going to do
, because if you're just sittinghere and thinking, well, I
don't like to do weights, Idon't like to do weights, I'm
not going to do it, guess what,you're not doing anything, right
(41:06):
.
Vai Kumar (41:07):
Yeah, whereas while going walking, you're again
kindling your passion, you'refueling your passion, you're
deriving happiness.
Maria Angelova (41:15):
So always tell people you have to find
something that you like.
So I love pilates, I love torun.
You might be like I don't likepilates, I don't like to run, I
love to walk, I love to dance oh, do you know what?
Then you go walk, then you godance.
You love to lift weights liftweights.
Of course.
You want to keep a balanced body, so you want to have a balance
of strength, flexibility,mobility, right?
(41:36):
Because if you're really bulkyand there is no flexibility in
your body, that's going to causeproblems.
If you're hypermobile and youdon't have control into your
body, that's going to causeproblems.
You do want to maintain as muchas you can balancing the body.
Do what you like, right.
And also, I think we live in aculture of fats, right.
(41:58):
I've been in the fitnessindustry for 30 years and there
is all this.
There is a new type of gadgetor movement.
You know that they come up withevery day.
The basics of fitness have notchanged since back in the day.
Move and do it with intentionand enjoy it, like, if you want
(42:19):
to do a new routine, do it, butalso think if you're a couch
potato, don't go do CrossFit.
Crossfit is for very eliteathletes right.
So you know yourself.
Respect your body, meet itwhere it is and start building
step by step, consistently, towhere you build a routine that
works for you.
Vai Kumar (42:38):
Yeah, right there you've given us kind of the do's
and don'ts for sustainablewellness and lifestyle, and
earlier you talked aboutauthenticity as well.
So just be true to yourself.
So so well highlighted there,maria, and with sustainability
at the forefront, how can wemake it better for us and the
(42:58):
planet?
Say, mental health, I think,has taken a beating these days.
Maria Angelova (43:05):
It's like a big time beating these days.
Yes, you know what?
If you do not take care ofyourself, if you spend all day
in front of technology, isolatedfrom people, if you're highly
stressed out, if you don't eat,try, don't sleep right, you
don't move Inevitably yourmental health will be impacted.
It's not a question if it willbe impacted, it's a matter of
(43:27):
when it will be impacted.
And what I always tell myclients is listen.
It is a lot easier to addressan issue before it becomes a
serious issue.
Right, it's a lot easier toaddress mental well when you
have days when you're feelingoff than when you're dealing
with anxiety and depression.
It's a lot easier to addressyour lack of mobility before you
(43:48):
have a stroke or before youhave a heart attack.
And just realize that I meanyes, inevitably some of those
have genetic predispositions.
There is the family history, noquestion about that.
But realize that you also havea lot of empowerment into the
choices that you make to be abetter person and when you take
care of yourself.
(44:09):
I always tell people start small, start consistent.
You will start feeling thedifference and you'll be amazed
of what a 10-minute walk can dofor your mental health when you
start thinking that, thinkingthat, guess what.
It's not going to be somethingthat you have to do.
It's going to be something thatyou want to do right,
absolutely.
You're going to go to yourfriend and go guess what.
I walk for 10 minutes and guesswhat.
(44:30):
I feel so much better, let's gowork together tomorrow.
Guess what?
Now you're empowering yourfriend right.
Guess what?
Now your friend is a betterfriend, a better mom, a better
colleague, a better communitymember.
It spills over.
Vai Kumar (44:46):
Yeah, right there, there's inclusivity in what you
do as well, right?
Inclusivity can be in severaldifferent forms.
You just propagate wellness,you propagate good stuff.
That's inclusivity.
And then inclusivity, of course, when it comes to diversity,
equity inclusivity right there,that's also being inclusive.
(45:06):
And don't you think we all needto be a little bit more
empathetic, and just don't youthink that this will help.
Maria Angelova (45:13):
I also think that the more interconnected and
conscious we are with who weare, the more that opens us up
to empathy.
When we are too much into ourego, too much into the material,
too much into the power, toomuch we see a lot of that today
(45:34):
to the separation, separatingourselves by ethnicities, by
color, by political views and soforth, that does not serve us
well.
Vai Kumar (45:42):
Well, so beautifully highlighted.
Maria, Thank you so much fortaking the time to talk to us
today.
I think my key takeaways fromthis conversation has been
self-care, work towardsfulfillment, not just getting
immersed in achievement cultureand then do not get trapped in a
safety net, but just get out ofyour comfort zone, explore the
(46:06):
uncomfortable.
That way you really go towardsthat path of fulfillment and
fulfillment of your goals.
So right there, the mind bodyconnection, everything it all
just is like intertwined andeverything just blossoms and we
in turn can contribute to a moresustainable future for us and
(46:26):
for the planet.
So wonderful conversation andthoroughly enjoyed having you
here on the show with us, and ifyou would like to put out your
contact information and any ofyour work books, whatever it may
be, feel free to do so.
So sure.
Maria Angelova (46:43):
My book is called Mind and Body Living with
Positivity, passion and Purpose.
You can find it on Amazon indigital and print, and my
website you are welcome to check.
My speaking website is, thewebsite is mindbodyexpert.
com and my mind body website isrebellious-studio.
com.
(47:03):
I would love to connect withyou.
I believe in the power ofcommunity and tribe and Vai.
Thank you so much for theopportunity to be here with you
and your listeners today.
Thank you.
Vai Kumar (47:14):
Absolutely.
We just totally enjoyed havingyou here, and listeners, as
always, follow the podcast, ratethe podcast, leave a review
from your podcast app of choice.
Follow me on Instagram andYouTube.
That's a new channel there withall these wonderful videos
@vaipkumar.
That's V-A-I-P, K-U-M-A-R.
(47:35):
And for all things digitalmedia and lifestyle, until next
time with yet anotherinteresting guest and yet
another interesting topic.
It's me, vy and wonderful Mariasaying bye-bye for now, bye.
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