Hey there, listener! Thank you for checking out our older seasons! We're adding this note on the top of the show notes to keep you up-to-date with the show. Connect with Jen Amos and get bonus content when you subscribe to our private podcast show, Inside the Fort by US VetWealth, at http://insidethefort.com/

Last Updated: September 2, 2024

---

157: "I perceive failures as valuable chances for growth and as vital steps on the path to achieving success." The Meditative Epiphany of LaToya Westbrook

Have you ever had a spiritual or transformational experience that significantly altered the course of your life?

Jen Amos speaks with U.S. Army Combat Veteran and Founder of SoHi Healing, LaToya Westbrook's remarkable journey, from her decision to join the military to escape a challenging childhood to her battle with PTSD and substance abuse following her deployment in Afghanistan. Learn how a spiritual awakening guided her toward becoming a certified sound practitioner and mindfulness coach. She also discusses her role within The Rosie Network, where she serves as a 2021 Service2CEO Graduate, Alumni, and Southeast Region Chapter Lead. Listen to the transformative power of LaToya's meditation, yoga, and sound healing practices, and find inspiration to embark on a similar journey of self-improvement.

This interview is also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vg9mt_ZKs_Q

Contact SoHi Healing

• Website: https://sohihealing.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/sohihealing/
• https://www.youtube.com/@SoHi_Healing
• https://www.instagram.com/sohi_healing/

--

Check out our last newsletter for 2023: https://mailchi.mp/5f4af326864a/holdingdownthefort

Do you want to do more than “follow orders,” think outside of the box, and manifest your dreams? Then you’ve come to the right show! The award-winning podcast, Holding Down the Fort by US VetWealth, is returning for Season 7 to highlight motivational stories of personal growth, financial awareness, and autonomy in our military community. The show is hosted by Jen Amos, a Gold Star daughter, Veteran Spouse, and Entrepreneur.

Access our FREE PORTAL for bonus content: https://holdingdownthefortpodcast.com/portal

Season 7 is in partnership with The Rosie Network! Read more - CLICK HERE

Get the latest updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter:  CLICK HERE

Our main sponsor US VetWealth is proud to offer a FREE Retiree Appraisal to help military retirees make a confident and informed decision on the Survivor Benefit Plan and Thrift Savings Plan. Get a comprehensive understanding and financial valuation of your time in service today by visiting: https://usvetwealth.com/usvw-appraisal/

In the Fall of 2023, Jen Amos was sought after by InDependent to co-host the 8th annual InDependent Wellness Summit™. In August 2022, Jen Amos' work on the podcast was recognized by Disney Institute and she was hand-selected as the only non-Disney employee to moderate the first Military Spouse Employment panel for the Veterans Institute Summit. March 2022, Jenny Lynne has voted the 2022 Naval Station Norfolk Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. November 2020, Jen Amos was awarded “Media Professional of the Year” at The Rosie Network Entrepreneur Awards! The show continued to collect award nominations in the following years. In September 2021, the show made the Final Slate in the 16th Annual People's Choice Podcast Awards for the Government & Organizations category. In November 2021, the show was an Award Finalist for the 5th Annual National Veteran & Military Spouse Entrepreneur Awards. December 2021, the show was a Golden Crane Podcast Awards Nominee. September 2022, the show was a Finalist for the 13th Annual Plutus Awards presented by Capital Group for “Best Military Personal Finance Content.”

Holding Down the Fort has also been featured in multiple media outlets including Military Entrepreneur (M.E.) Magazine, MOAA’s Never Stop Learning Podcast, The Leadership Void Podcast, Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast, Sisters in Service Podcast, Get 2 Vet, Blue Star Families of Dayton & Southwestern Ohio, Legacy Magazine, U.S. Veterans Magazine, The American MilSpouse, VeteranCrowd Network, It's a Military Life, VirtForce, Military Veteran Dad Podcast, and much more.

Enjoy our show? Kindly leave us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/30SJ7NW, Podchaser https://bit.ly/3dnCacY, or write a LinkedIn Recommendation for Jen https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenamos/edit/forms/recommendation/write/

Jen Amos 0:00

Let's see. Cool. All right. All right. And today we have Latoya Westbrook on the show. Latoya, thank you so much for joining us on holding down the fort by us bet wealth season seven. So exciting.

Speaker 1 0:14

Thank you so much, Jim, for having me here. It's a pleasure to share my experiences with you and the guest of holding down the fort. I'm looking forward to this.

Jen Amos 0:22

Yes, absolutely. So I what I want to do Wait, give me one second. My, my low battery features on so my screen closed? Oh, no. Sorry, Dennis. Dennis, my editor. Thank you, Dennis. Okay. All right. So I would love to just warm up by asking you a fun icebreaker question. So I have a bunch of questions in front of me. So I'm gonna, like just kind of go through this and you tell me when to stop. And then I will pick out a question. So here we go. I'm just gonna keep pulling and you just tell me when to stop. Okay. All right, here we go. So let's see what the question is. Oh, okay. Here's one for you that you can share with our listeners. What is the first thing people typically notice about you?

Speaker 1 1:02

My height? Yeah. So I am 62. And I still wear heels. I am a fan of like, go high or go home. And so when people meet me in person, they're like, Oh, my God, I didn't realize you were so tall. You know, like, even in the virtual space just sitting down, you know, you can't gauge it. And when they see me in person, and like, Oh my God, look at this, like tall goddess or whatever they say. And then my heels, may I my heels are not shorter than three inches. So I'm typically around six, five or six, six. When I wear my heels. Yeah. So that Okay, first things,

Jen Amos 1:38

I love that. So I'm like five one, and I don't like wearing heels anymore. And so we there definitely would be a crazy height difference between you and I ever stood each other sit next to each other side by side. It's funny because like, you know, my, my former co host shout out to Jenny land, like she's a lot taller than me as well. And she loves wearing heels also. So whenever we were next to each other, it was just, you know, it was just you could just totally see the height difference. But I love it. I love it. And I love how you I love how you said go high or go home. Like I've never heard that before.

Speaker 1 2:09

That's my philosophy because I used to like my mom had to coach me when I was younger. I used to like try to make myself shorter, shorter hands. Like were like small pumps. And she was like, No, you know, you're a beautiful young lady Be confident. And she coached me through that process. And so ever since then, is just like, what I am here, high heels and all.

Jen Amos 2:30

I love that i Wow, what a supportive Mom, that's amazing, you know, to have to have like your own mother coach on that. I feel I mean, I'm coming from a place where my mom was like, Oh, don't go out in the sun too long, or else you're gonna get really dark, you know, so I always felt insecure in my skin for the longest time then eventually I was like, Okay, well, I'm gonna like always be brown. So I might as well just like embrace it. Like, I can't, like hire policemen forever. So I just love how I just love how your mom like really encourage that and say, Hey, hi. Go hire go. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 2:58

I'm so thankful.

Jen Amos 3:01

Yeah, well, thank you for sharing that I, I am I'm really loving these icebreaker questions, because I feel like it's just a great way to open up and to get to laugh and like, learn something new about each other. And now I know that if we ever were standing to sitting next to each other, there'd be a huge hype friend, so good to know, I will keep that in mind. And, yeah, i i And so with that, I'm just excited to chat with you. We had a really good offline conversation some time ago. And, um, you know, one thing I really liked about your story, and we're gonna get into it soon is you have your, like a master reframe her. And for anyone that's hearing the word reframe, for the first time, at least in the context of, I guess, like psychology and trauma, healing and all that it's like, it's the ability to, in my opinion, its ability to look at your past, and look at it in a way that serves you moving forward versus like, hold you back and keeps you in the past. And so I was very inspired, you know, to hear your story, considering, you know, one of the most pivotal moments or one of the greatest experiences of your military service was that first deployment, and which, which I know we'll touch we'll touch upon in a second here. But let's go ahead and start with you sharing a little bit about why why you're on the show today. Like I know that you're coming like you're coming forth, but so much. I think wisdom and experience, like I said we're gonna get into, but, you know, why did you feel compelled to share your story today? We'll start with that. Okay. So

Speaker 1 4:37

I felt compelled to share my story today with holding down the fort, excuse me, because I know that holding down before it one of your missions is to celebrate and uplift and empower the military connected community. And as a combat veteran and military connected entrepreneur, I feel that it's important to Share my story to inspire others to keep the conversation going so that we can continue, you know, this, this full circle of empowerment community, continue to share. I am an advocate for not being the one to be a gatekeeper, I want to share and put it out there and inspire in any way that I can. And I feel that some of the values that I hold for my business, so high healing and holding down the fort are aligned, I don't typically just do a podcast with any and everyone. And so with that in mind, I feel like you know, our two missions are aligned in that way to where we want to uplift, inspire and empower the military connected community and share.

Jen Amos 5:44

word love it. Yeah, well, thank you for sharing that. And, you know, your, your business today. Really, the reason why you're at the reason why you have your business today has a lot to do with your history as an Army combat veteran. And I was reflecting on I was reflecting on your story again, and I, I again, I I'm trying to find this because I am just so inspired by how, like you turned your you turn your turn your, your service around to be something positive and uplifting and to empower other people. And so let's go ahead and dive into that. And, and I guess I, you know, forgive me if I'm trying to be delicate about this, because I like I said, I felt it felt it meant so much to me that you shared your story in detail the way that you did offline. And so I want to want to open the floor to you now to talk about that history as an Army combat veteran. And all the things you went through starting with starting with why you joined the military to begin with,

Speaker 1 6:49

okay? All right. So I joined the military, first and foremost, to serve my country. But if I'm being honest and transparent, I also joined to, you know, create a sustainable income for myself to also be able to go to college. And if I'm being really honest, I was running away from my past. Unfortunately, like so many people in the world today, I am a survivor of child abuse in and witnessing domestic violence between my parents domestic violence, excuse me, between my parents more so one person to the other. So my mom was abused for a very long time. And so growing up in that environment, and being a survivor of childhood abuse, in all the ways, I was just running away from the hurt and the confusion in the anger. And so it was a way for me to escape I tried, you know, retail for a little while, as a young adult, didn't like that it wasn't serving me even way back then. I tried many different things to try to help support my family, and it just wasn't the right fit. And so at a certain point, I was just fed up. And so although, you know, I wanted to join the military to serve my country, it was also a way to run away from all of that hurt that anger, that confusion that had been built up over the years. And then because of the environment that I grew up in, I wasn't afraid to join, you know, most people are a little apprehensive, a little hesitant. But I felt that I had weathered all of the storms, I was like, drill sergeant, what, like I can handle it, like I'm building through this. You know, it's like, we know that that, you know, healing and things of that nature was needed for me to overcome those types of mindsets. But that back then that's where I was. And so that is essentially why I joined. So I joined the United States Army. That was not my first pick, by the way for those of you listening and have known me for a very long time. The US Navy was and so I ended up in the army went to basic training went to a it in Fort Aberdeen, Maryland, I had I hesitated, hesitated because I'm like, Okay, wait a minute, where did I go? Okay, before and then get stationed at Fort Knox. And so why my entire experience wasn't garbage, as I like to say or trash. They didn't have a lot of fluctuations of the ups and downs, you know, went through it like everyone else. I was challenged a lot because of my height. I did join the military a little bit later. So I was already met with you know, people wanting to challenge me right off the bat. And so in one way I was just like, oh, here we go again. You know, I thought it was getting away from from all of these types of experiences, but it was just one thing after another. And so I had my ups and downs. I am still friends with many of the people that I went to basic training with and AITC you know, a lot of the time in basic training and it was very fun, very challenging, very rewarding. But then on the other hand, I also experienced sexual harassment on many, multiple occasions. Excuse me. And so that was leading up to my first duty station. And then I got stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and I got to live, you know, the nine to five soldier life for about a year, before we received the news that we were to be deployed. And although I knew what I was signing up for, so to speak, I, you know, that still not something you're prepared for mentally as a young adult, and it's just like, holy crap. And then I just happened to have the MOS of 91, Fox, which back then was back then was small arms repair. And so I fixed weapons. And so of course, they needed me, you know, I am one of the ones that was on the front lines, you know, there to fix the weapons, so on and so forth. So leading up into my deployment, you know, had the fluctuations with the nine to five soldier life, it was fun. But on the other hand, you know, I had to submit to leaders who were not the best in leadership, you know, you have that battle as well, you know, I'm I was, you know, fresh out of high school did a little bit of community college, but I also instinctively knew, like, this is not how leadership should be. So I had those challenges. I also unfortunately, experienced sexual harassment at that unit, my first unit. And it was just, it was an eye opener, at least. And so prior to getting deployed, we had our brief, you know, everybody, every unit has a brief before they get deployed, and they start packing and getting their affairs in order, so on and so forth. Fortunately, we had time to do that. I know not many people have that luxury. But in our briefing, and this is, in my own words, we were pretty much told that we may or may not make it back. And so here again, already hit with like, gosh, like I can't win for losing, there's just always something after another. And so I remember being told that because of where we were going, there was heavy combat action, we were going to be high up in the mountains. And we were, you know, explained the difference between combat in Afghanistan and combat and in Iraq, in terms of, you know, potential ambushes, and so on and so forth. And how much more easier it was to be spotted out or attacked in the mountains because of a multitude of things. Um, so as a young adult, and I just, I can't even imagine for people who were younger than me that heard that what they felt and what was going through their mind. With that being said, I did all the things before deployment, like I was drinking and partying doing the most, because I was just like, you know, YOLO you only live once.

Like, what it's like, it's like a bachelorette party, you know, like, just go all out. Right?

So we had the deployment, we we had that brief, did all the things packed, and then we were deployed, and then I'll never forget, flying in to where we were meant to be stationed for the entire year. We were already being shot at. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, we're not even there. Like God, please protect me. Yeah, so we had that experience. So again, it's just like, for me, personally, I was looking at it through the lens of trauma. So it was just like one trauma after another one challenge after another, and back then I really didn't know how to navigate those things. One of the saving graces for the military, from the military, for me was the fact that I had a consistent routine, at least that kept me you know, up and moving and going. But anyways, so we're on the way already getting shot at, we land safely. Thankfully, praise be to God, in my opinion. And, you know, we get situated and again, it wasn't all garbage. i There were fun times there were a lot of learning experiences. I have so many hilarious memories for how we pass the time. It's just great. Sometimes I'll call my friends and we'll just crack up for hours. But then we had, you know, the combat action. The IED explosion where I was that we thankfully many of us survived. And again, this sexual harassment It was so bad during deployment that myself and a couple of other women had to file a claim against this one perpetrator and so it was just like, not a good one like it can I get a break like these are you hear me So I had that experience. And unfortunately, back then, you know, things are a lot more progressive now, and people are taking sexual harassment in the military more seriously. But back then I didn't get a chance to witness that, that change. And so us filing a claim and putting in complaints and being proactive, was kind of like a slap on the wrist for this perpetrator. And so I had to learn how to navigate that as well. I went to Afghanistan slightly overweight, by military standards. And when I came back, I was this big. So all of the stress, the combat action, always having to live in the dark, just really did a number on me and I didn't realize it, I thought, you know, Oh, me healthy. While I'm, you know, being unwell, I'm deployed, eating all the fruits and veggies, and but I didn't realize I was subconsciously and then physically, you know, doing what I can to stay motivated to stay alive to survive. You know, it was my outlet in so many ways. And so that was my experience. Again, not all bad. But, you know, if I had to put a percentage on it, I would say it was 5050 in my hands. And so because of that, I came back and had the PTSD, the anxiety, so on and so forth. And we'll touch on that in a moment. Because those experiences are what led me to where I am today.

Yeah, you know, I, one thing that was sticking with me is the phrase you used lens of trauma, like you were looking at your military experience through the lens of trauma, it sounds to me that it was kind of building upon what you experienced in your childhood, or it was like adding upon that experience. And so I, I just wanted to, like highlight that phrase, because I don't think I've ever heard it in that way before. And yeah, I think about it reminds me of even my own upbringing, like I'm a Gold Star family member, and we lost my dad when I was 10. And a lot of my, like, a lot of my young adult, like my young teenage years, two young adult years, was looking through the lens of abandonment issues, or like being a fatherless daughter. And, you know, I'm not there anymore. Like, that's not who I am anymore. I don't identify with my past anymore. But like, I, I, I really liked how you how you labeled it that way, it's like you were looking at life through the lens of trauma, because that's, like, that's very much how I can relate like, how I would describe my upbringing as well. And, again, definitely in a better place now than it was before. Like, all of that feels more like a dream and a memory to me at this way. But to you know, to me, it already hints at how far you've come since then, to be able to openly, you know, talk about everything that you experience, you know, from a little bit from your childhood to, you know, what you experience in the military and allowing to allowing both experiences to exist, like the good experiences and the bad experiences to coexist, that I think that takes a certain level of I don't, I don't think maturity is the word but like, like, you have to work a lot to get to a place for you to acknowledge all of that. And so I just wanted to highlight that and, and let you know that I see you and, you know, I'm excited to hear, you know, where this is leading to next, you know, thank you, thank

you for acknowledging that. You know, I would, I would chop it all up to emotional intelligence, you know, that's something that is built over time as the age and intelligence and all things growth and all things. And so thank you for acknowledging that and pointing that out. It means a lot. And like you said, I don't identify with the trauma in my past anymore. But it's, it's important for me that I share these things to let people know you can overcome and achieve it does get better.

Yeah, you know, it reminds me like one of my, like, my best friend was asking me about my upbringing recently, and he was apologizing. He's like, Oh, I'm, I'm sorry, if I triggered you. I'm sorry. If I brought up something in your past that, that you're not comfortable with talking about I'm sorry if it hurt you. And I said, Honestly, I'm really grateful you asked me because I don't have an attachment to it anymore. Like I can openly, openly talk about it. And so I like how I like how you said like, yeah, that's the word. I was looking for emotional intelligence, right. It's like, it's kind of like developing that emotional strength to you know, record, like go through the grieving stages that you need to go through to acknowledge your past and then come to a place of acceptance and, and giving back, which is where you're at right now. I feel like in your, in your healing journey. Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. So um, yeah, let's go ahead and talk about life today because I know that they're like you mentioned early on there was a time where you thought you were going to be a drill sergeant. You thought you had the personality. Yeah. And considering it You know, my first impressions of you at this point, I'm like, wow, I, I don't see her like that. I don't see. I don't see that personalities.

Yes. So my goal when I first went in and realize like, oh, you know, I'm gonna be with the United States Army, and I heard about the drill being becoming commissioned as a drill sergeant, all of the perks, you know, helping to mold and hold space for the young soldiers. I was just like, Oh, I'm perfect for that, you know, they were telling us you had to have a certain age, you know, you can't get emotionally sucked in from somebody crying. I was just like, Oh, my God, like, this is just a cakewalk for me. All the stuff I've been through, oh, my god, like, I'm the perfect fit. Like, you can't, you can't break me, you know, back then that was my mindset. You can't break me. I'm good for this. And unfortunate. Well, I wouldn't say unfortunately, because it's a part of my process. But I had a very bad attitude back then. And I had the, the physical strength to kind of master it. I've always back then I used to do a lot of weightlifting, and so on, and so forth. So I just had like this, like this tough exterior, and this persona that I had in my head that I allowed to manifest. And so I felt like, I am going to be the bomb drill sergeant, like, I'm gonna scare these poor little soldiers into doing what's right. That's, that's where that came from, though, you know, like, feeling like, the drill sergeant was my identity and role at that time, because of all that I had overcome or had navigated and been through. Um, you know, that's not healthy. But that's where I was. And that's where they race and initially came from.

Yeah, no, exactly. So it's just, you've obviously come a long way to the point that you can, you know, chuckle about it, you're like, oh, yeah, you know, back in the day, that's where I want to be. It's kind of like, it's kind of like looking at old like high school photos. You know, like, Why did I wear that outfit? I thought that was like such a great and at the time, and it's not, it's really not? Yeah, well, um, you know, your, your company today didn't come out of the blue. I know that it took it was it was years in the making. And it started, it started with you personally. Getting back into meditating traditionally, so not like, you know, download an app and listen to guided meditations like you, you actually went old school with it. And it's part of what led you to where you are today. So let's talk about first and foremost, when did you even start meditating? Like, what, what got you to do that? Because if you ask me, I remember for the longest time, I was very anti meditating, I thought, I thought I'm praying, praying is meditating, you know, like, this whole thing. I was like, I'm already meditating as I'm praying, you know. But eventually, I had to learn, oh, there's actually value in sitting and just being still, you know, so tell us about that. I guess that, that that realization for you that meditating would work for you?

Yes. Okay, so just a little quick backstory, leading up to how I got into meditation. So when I came back from Afghanistan, I was a hot mess. Like many young soldiers, I did all the things I did a lot of drinking, you know, to try to ease the pain to try to help me sleep easing anxiety, I didn't know it was anxiety back then. But I was trying to comfort myself and self soothe. And so I went through all the things, the nightmares, the sensations of PTSD, depression at a certain point. And I did step out and reach out for help and go to therapy. But back then, in my personal opinion, it wasn't as effective and therapeutic as it is today. And so I stopped going for a little bit, because the stuff that they were providing, I could have Googled for myself, so I was just like, this isn't helping. And I continue to self medicate, and take over the counter pills. And then, you know, on top of that, I was prescribed sleep aids and depression medication from the VA. So it was just a hot mess, like, internally and externally. And so that lasted for quite some time before I had a spiritual and life death experience. And it was in that experience, where I said to myself, like, alright, if, if, if this isn't a wake up call, I don't know what it is, I'm not going to be able to make it and survive living this way forever. And so with that, I was in a very unhealthy relationship at that time as well. And so we continued our relationship for a couple years afterwards. But I knew instinctively at some point, I was going to have to cut ties so that I could just walk away and start over and walking away and starting over was in 2015. So I ended up in New York of all places, had never been to New York, but I was just like, you know, I need a fresh start. I need to go somewhere where I I don't know anybody. And for most people again, that would be a scary thought New York is huge. You have like 40/49 street and like, take this train and don't go there. And you know, all these, but I was just ready for it. And to this day, New York is what I would consider one of my soul places. And I just felt free. I don't know what it was like a lot of people can't stand you're like, they hate it, but I love it. I love the art, the grit, the grime, the trash on the streets, you know, the music. To me, it's just one big, beautiful symphony. And I really believe it's because that's why I started to get still in change, experience freedom from all the trauma, the pain, the deployment, the unhealthy relationship. And so, in New York, I started going back to school with the GI Bill. And after school after class, I would go down to this cute little area in New York near the water and just sit still. And, you know, just people watch, put in some, like serene music, not any hip hop or any just like, instrumental music and just like zone out. And so that was the beginning of me learning how to meditate. I didn't know it at the time. But it was, you know, the beginning stages. And then I had a friend who actually introduced me to practicing meditation, and my world just opened. And so in 2015, I started meditating traditionally, and for those of you listening traditionally, is simply you know, just sitting down, hands on your thighs, or hands on your heart, instrumental music or not, and just zoning out, allowing yourself to be still. And while we're talking about this, I also like to point out that meditation is not about quieting your mind, because it's unnatural for our minds to do that, thoughts will come. And so it was a learning process, I had to learn that if thoughts would arise during my meditation to simply acknowledge them and let them go. And so it was just little nuggets. And it took time for me to build a consistent practice. Um, so that took place for about a year. And then I had a very, I don't know if we talked about this offline. But I had a very interesting experience. One day, when I went down and sat by the water, I had, there are four stages of meditation. And I believe I was at like the third or fourth stage, which is like bliss, in connection with higher consciousness in the greater divine. And in that session, I, I was in the zone, not paying attention to anything or anyone around me completely in stillness at this point, no thought. I felt like I was just surrounded by those warm white light. And then I felt like I was levitating, like a clear, solid signal off of the ground. Yeah. And so I, I was in the moment, but then when I realized, like, holy crap, I feel like I'm levitating. I kind of scared myself out of the meditation. And I chuckled when I think about it. But I did allow myself to sit and process that experience after the fact. And I feel like that was my enlightening moment that, you know, set this the steps in motion for me to be where I am today.

You know, that is so I think that's so beautiful, and a blessing compared to the trauma you've experienced, you know, like, like, it's easy to have, remember those traumatic moments, but like to have a moment of like, clarity and that like that spiritual connection that that, you know, the thing that you I can't even describe like, what you obviously because you experienced it. It's a it's a divine experience for you. And, you know, not everyone's a wake up call is going to be traumatic, even though like you did experience that in your past. In this case, it happened to be this beautiful divine, like, in one of the noisiest places in America. You found stillness and clarity and enlightenment in your own way and kind of like waking up from a dream, you know, you kind of like kick yourself out of it in a way by I love. I love how you reflect on and you're like, Wow, that was a very, that was a very, like, magical moment. Like I really I really felt like I was floating and so right. Yeah, that what an amazing story.

Yes, yes. So that was my experience. I have not levitated or had another experience like that. Since then, I have reached higher levels of connecting with the Divine and my spirit guide but nothing like that experience. And that's why I hold it so dear to my heart and treasure it because it was one of the catalysts to get me to where I am and so If I continued meditating, traditionally, and then I got into learning about mantra meditation. And then you know, the different types of japa meditation, which is using a mala or prayer beads. And my consistency with meditation led me to become more consistent with my yoga practice all over again. And then because of that, I just naturally began to be drawn to yogic philosophy, the eight limbs of yoga, you know, the yoga, sutras, understanding, you know, certain laws, the laws of attraction, like all these things, and that was the beginning of my healing process. Honestly, I always attribute it to sound healing, but initially started with the meditation, and the self immersive self study.

You know, I like I like, you know, this journey goes all the way back to 2015 2016. And you're just doing it casually. And then it started to, you know, you started to build upon it and study more and get into serious yoga philosophy. And so let's talk about, you know, what, what led you to starting a business like making this opportunity to help people? Yes, so

with my immersive self study, excuse me, and the benefits that I was reaping, so just a little recap really quickly here. Because of my meditation practice, I was able to stop drinking alcohol, I am no longer reliant on any medications, I don't, I hardly even take a pill to this day if I don't have to. So I'm free from all of that, because of my consistency with my practices. The first time that I meditated and then experienced sound healing, I was able to sleep through the night without the nightmares, the cold sweats the tremors. And so that is essentially what led me to where I am in or about 2018, after those two or three years of studying and being consistent, and learning and embodying those practices for myself, I became a yoga teacher. And so that's when the light bulb went off. And then I was like, oh, man, you know, I'm, you know, a disabled combat veteran, you know, I have all these aches and pains, is meditation did this for me, as the yoga is doing this. For my body, I can only imagine how many other people it can help, especially my brothers and sisters in uniform, or out of uniform. And so that is the inspiration that led me to creating White Violet yoga to begin with. And since well, let me back up here. So it led me to create a White Violet yoga. And so in the beginning, my focus was to teach mindful movement to veterans, because I realized the benefits, I have scoliosis, I have back problems from the IED blast that I experienced the achy knees, you know, from running my cartilage into the ground. Because that mud, the unit that I was attached with, all we did was run. And so I was just like, I can relate like this, this, I get it, I get what the veteran is going through what they're experiencing. And the yoga meditation literally saved my life, and turned my life around. And so I'm going to give back in this way. And so that was what led to the incorporation of White Violet yoga, it was named white Valley yoga at that time. And so I used to do donation based classes, yoga at the park, all the things, trying to help my veteran brothers and sisters. I did that for a little while. And then things started to not feel very aligned for me. And so I actually had to go back to the drawing board and pivot. And this is something as an entrepreneur that we don't talk about, or sometimes we're afraid to do is pivot when necessary. So I had to pull back my offerings, go back to the drawing board and figure out why things weren't feeling aligned anymore. And so my reasoning was, or what was provided to me by divine, a guidance, if you will, during meditation was that I wasn't really living and giving authentically based on my experience, and that was, you know, meditation. So I was so focused on the trend of being a yoga teacher and like, trying to fit in and make a name for myself and it wasn't aligned because that's not what turned me around. That's not initially why I wanted to give back and share. Because, you know, the meditation is what had in my head made the biggest impact on my life and so I went back, change my offerings. Fast forward all these years later, we I have rebranded to so high healing. And so my focus is to help the military connected community heal, thrive and grow using a combination of sound meditation, traditional meditation and mindfulness based practices.

Yeah, you have to tell me about the sound therapy session you had back in, I think, 2018 or 2019? Because, yeah, because what I found most interesting about hearing you talk about it is that it was virtual. So the impact still came through. So tell us about that.

Yes, so I like to share this experience, because everybody always assumes that my first sound bath was in person, and it wasn't. Someone sent me a link to this fabulous sound healer. To this day, I still follow her. I listen to the sound Beth, I just love her. So I'm, like, I really look up to her. I'm just like, oh, I want to be you. When I grew up. She's like, she was one of those kinds of people. And she just has this great energy. Anyways, someone gave me a link to one of her found that was like, Hey, you're into meditation? Have you ever tried sound healing? And I was like, What is first of all, what is that? Like? What is found therapy? What are all the things and so I listened to her sound bath. And for me, I you know, I just lay down on the couch one day, not really knowing what to expect, put in my headphones, and just like, Okay, this is interesting. And I'm just like sitting there, you know, going with the flow, going with a vibe, if you will, and I eventually closed my eyes. And then for me, it was like, I was broken open. And I like to use the analogy, like, I felt like I was a cracked egg and the show was breaking off the sound, the vibrations, and the frequencies from the sound healing just opened me up in the most beautiful and positive way. And it allowed me to excavate all of the gunk that was still inside. And so that sound healing really penetrated me on a cellular level. I felt lighter, I felt freer after that sound healing session. And again, it was a catalyst to me becoming a certified sound healer, myself, and just really doing what I needed to do for the last, I don't know, seven or eight years, to be able to give and share back to people. I'm a big believer in practicing what I preach. And even more so adding to that embodying what I preach. So that first sound healing session was just a beautiful awakening moment, penetrated me on a cellular level and allowed me to heal things that I didn't even know still needed healing, and restoration. So that was really big. I felt like I was restored in a lot of ways. And I was able to reclaim my voice and really step into who I am.

Yeah, you know, it's it's understandable that this was a journey for you a long journey years worth of self healing, because most of your life was through the lens of trauma, you know, and it just kept adding and adding and adding and so, to me, it sounds like the sound bath was like, kind of the final cleansing for you like, Well, fine, like whatever toxins are left in your body, you know, kind of thing and, you know, they say, oh, drink fiber, so to clean out your digestive system, you know, get all the last gunk in there, sorry, I didn't mean to grow it to my digestive. But um, you know, it's, it's, it's, uh, it's amazing, you know, to hear to hear your testimonial of, of this experience. And, again, like being a combat veteran, and you know, wanting to have had that a stoic drill sergeant exterior to now being just so like Zen, I think it's very inspiring, because the military does build build up our service members to be stoked to, you know, not about you're not even trust your own feelings, to trust, whatever orders are given your way. And so for you to have gone through this whole journey of self healing and self awareness and self love, and to now do it for other people, I think is it just very beautiful and powerful, and to know that you had experienced it so intimately? And personally, I imagine that you know, the people you work with and can feel that and really, really believe in everything that you're offering to them.

Yes, I get the most beautiful comments and reviews and it's just, it's it's beautiful to be able to witness someone else's transformation. And I'm glad that I took the time to not only learn and practice what I preach, but to embody it because like you said, people do feel that they can do know what's real and what's not. So I take that very seriously.

Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, going back to the, the importance of like, allowing this to be a process to be a journey. I know that was one thing we were talking about offline is that, you know, like, we have to, we have to start somewhere like this may not be the end all be all, like, you know, for you. It trends, it really transformed you. But it took years it was a whole process was a journey. But this is the starting point, right? Like for anyone that can relate to your story, this could be the start of you know, something better, like the start of the healing process?

Absolutely. I'm a firm believer of that. Yes.

Love it. I love it. Love it, Latoya. Well, you know, I feel like we we've done a great job covering your story, and you know, leading up to how you started. So high healing. And here we are today. And I want to let me just sidebar real quick. So I want to make sure that are there any questions you want to make? Sure I asked you before we get into the universal takeaways?

Um, no, I'm just prepared to answer them because I have, you know, my notes so that I

know Yeah, I think I figured we can like match notes right now. Yeah, cuz I have my notes. You have yours. I'm like, let's just make sure we covered everything. Okay, Google. Okay. I'll get I'll get back in. Awesome. Well, let's wait as we start to wrap up here. It's, it's incredibly important for me to, you know, remind our listeners who we're doing this for, and this for our military community, whether you're an entrepreneur or not. And I feel like there is a lot of, I would say, universal takeaways, you know, from your story that we can share with our military community. So what are some that? I mean, I haven't listed here, but I'd love to hear from you. You know, what are some takeaways you'd like to share with our community today?

So some universal takeaways for me, and I think I have maybe revisited this since the last time we talked. And they they relate to being an entrepreneur or just navigating life. So first and foremost, this sounds so cliche, I know. But I always suggest and tell people to breathe. Why, because when we breathe, when we breathe intentionally, it's one of the only things that our brain has to focus on. Seeing you, you know, one thing at a time, our brain can when we are intentional with the breath, and we're breathing in 234 Out 23456, our brain can't focus on anything else. So you're almost forcing yourself to be still become more present within that moment. And just chill out. You know, nothing in life is really that serious if you give yourself the opportunity to just zone out. So I always suggest first and foremost, read find Google some breathing exercises, they're easy, easily accessible via Google or my website, or with me on Instagram Live. So that's one universal lesson to share, breathe, I promise you things will get better or at least be alleviated. My other things that I like to share are to embrace failure. So I always encourage my my friends, my family, my clients, to view failures as learning opportunities and stepping stones towards success. Because you know, the resilient entrepreneurs, and people who navigate life, we understand that setbacks are natural, it's a natural part of the journey, it doesn't mean that we have to stay stuck in those setbacks. And we can also use it as fuel and inspiration for growth. Let's see here. Resilient, resiliency is another universal lesson that I like to share. Someone who is resilient, is often able to, you know, after they've learned their lessons and processed what they need to process and have taken the time to sit with it. They're able to, or we are able to easily spot pitfalls or setbacks in the future, you know, if we see them arising and so I feel like resiliency is one of those universal lessons to share. And we hear this stuff all the time, but it's really a matter of hearing it, taking it in processing it and embodying it. And so you know that resiliency allows us to bounce back and keep trying after we've rested and reframed our mindsets and allow that enthusiasm to kind of just bubble back up and us again, and so those would be my top two, if I had to think of something else. I would say adaptability is key. So I know that as an entrepreneur and in life period, we need to be flexible, and be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Because as we all know, life is just, you know, up and down, we have to be able to go with the flow. Right? Yeah. So embrace, change, pivot pivot pivot when necessary. I know in the military connected community, sometimes that's scary. And that's okay, that it's scary. But just take that small step. Whether it's, you know, meditating daily, or setting up a task list for things that you need to do so that your business can change directions, whatever it is, pivot when necessary, and it can be the catalyst for your success. It's crucial for growth, both personally and professionally.

You know, I think the, the one takeaway that I get from what you shared just now is to breathe, like, I feel like when you breathe, everything that you listed, could come up, it could be like, Oh, I've made maybe I should, like, you know, look at this with more clarity, maybe I should be more present, maybe I should, maybe I should adapt to the situation. You know, I think the breathing part is incredibly important. And I definitely had to, I definitely learned that a couple of years ago, when I had crazy anxiety, and I almost had a heart attack, whole story for another time. And for me, the only way to get out of that was to literally breathe. And since then, every moment that I can get every moment where I start to feel like my chest tightening, or whatever I just remember to, you know, just breathe, you know, just breathe and give you give ourselves a minute, like, there's plenty of time to breathe, and more importantly, to breathe intentionally, because I think breathing helps you I mean, we're gonna break them out of what you know, but being rational about it, and to allow ourselves to just, you know, recenter, and come back to that place of calm and to lower. And I think even just from a health standpoint, it's just good for you to calm yourself down, you know, because anxiety could lead to, you know, anxiety attacks, heart attacks, it could actually lead to health issues. So, you know, for me, that's, that's kind of the biggest takeaway is like to just to just breathe, you know, just start with that. And even if it's weird, I mean, do it when no one's looking? Somewhere.

Right? I tell people that all the time. You people don't can't tell if you're breathing intentionally, why but like, because like he said, we're breathing anyway. And then leaving, like you said, leads to those other things. Adaptability, embracing failure, and then it also creates the space for us to find creative solutions to overcome challenges so that we don't feel stuck and stagnant in that way.

Yeah, I love that it really opens up an opportunity for you to kind of step outside of your situation and have that self awareness and say, Okay, what can I do instead? Like, rather than make like an impulsive decision, I can do this more thoughtfully. And I think breathing really helps with that. So awesome, Latoya. Wow, what an amazing, amazing conversation today. I do want to give you an opportunity to ask me a question. If you had any. It's okay, if you don't, but I figured I just put that out there if you had any, before we go.

Okay, so my question for you would be related to sound healing? And that is have you ever experienced a sound bath, either in person or virtual? And if not, would you be interested in having a sound bath with the light healing?

Oh, my goodness. Yeah. I mean, first question. First answer is no, I have never done it. I have seen it. I've seen it on. I've seen it on shows and stuff like that. And I, but I've never experienced it myself. And I also like, knowing that it's virtual. So I'm, I'm very intrigued. And I think it would be really interesting to test out myself and have as bonus material for our show here. Right? witnessed firsthand like, what it's like for Jen to get a sound bath. I think that'd be a ton of fun. So I appreciate you asking.

Absolutely. Well, I'd like to extend that offer for you. And we can talk more offline about that.

Wonderful. Well, Latoya, this was great. Thank you so much for taking time to share your story. And thank you for you know, thank yourself for putting in the work, you know, to be where you are today to be able to offer this to other people. I could definitely tell that you enjoy what you do. And there's a calm again, I can't even picture you as a drill sergeant, like at all like that is like I can't even imagine it. So I mean, I guess I could if I try hard enough, but like you're, you know, you're you're who you are today. Your demeanor today, I think is a testament again, for you having put in the work to you know, be where we are today to have this conversation. So thank you. Thank you so much for that and that our journeys were you know, met in in our conversation today.

Right, right. Thank you for acknowledging me and all that I've done to get to where I am. That's very important for me it means a lot to me. And I appreciate being a special guest here on your esteem show holding down the fort and I look forward to talking more with you in the future.

Awesome. Thanks so much, Latoya. You're welcome. All right, and give me one second here.