Community Spotlight: Brianda Vargas
IMAGE ID: Portrait Image of You Belong Here Yoga Instructor, Brianda Vargas. A white background with a palm tree out of focus on the right side of the image. In focus is Brianda, an Afro Latina woman, with her hair up and a white t-shirt. Photo by You Belong Here Studio
Community Spotlight: Brianda Vargas
You Belong Here is fueled by the creatives within our own communities, and today we’re highlighting one impactful member, Brianda Vargas. Brianda is an Afro-Latina Self-Love activist, Certified Yoga Instructor with a certification in Trauma-Informed Yoga for youth and adults, and the Executive Director of cOMmunity Yoga and Mindfulness, a nonprofit organization devoted to increasing accessibility of yoga & mindfulness. We caught up with Brianda to talk about self-care and self-compassion.
“It has allowed me to see myself, who I am, and accept and love myself the way that I am. And by giving myself what I need, I am able to share with my community and feel like I am living a meaningful and purposeful life. ”
What do self-care and self-compassion mean to you?
It means to give myself everything that I needed, including what I wanted when I was a child, as an adult. It means to take care of my emotional and physical well-being, so I can take control of my life and direct it to places that I really want to be within–where I feel like I belong.
What do you think people often misunderstand about self-care and self-compassion?
That you have to spend money to practice it. Many people believe there has to be a monetary investment, but it’s also about dedicating your time to spaces. Also some people believe we are weak and don’t deserve it. We are raised in a society where overdoing everything and being an overachiever is celebrated and encouraged. This makes us feel like if we are resting, then we are lazy. People might think they don’t have time to practice self-care and self-compassion.
How has yoga and mindfulness impacted your view of self-care and self-compassion?
It has allowed me to see self-care and self-compassion from a way that if I don’t take care of myself, then I cannot fully be there for others. It has allowed me to see myself, who I am, and accept and love myself the way that I am. And by giving myself what I need, I am able to share with my community and feel like I am living a meaningful and purposeful life.
To connect with Brianda, you can follow her Instagram, subscribe to her email list, or join her and the You Belong Here community for donation-based yoga on February, 27th, 20220 @9am at You Belong Here; 3619 El Cajon Blvd. 92104.
The You Belong cOMmunity Yoga is a donation based program. Your support helps us keep programming as such and our community healers funded and thriving. Please send donations here to help with the costs to run these necessary programs.
Are you or someone you know a community member you’d like to see in this spotlight? Reply to this email to let us know!
For weekly meditations, visit cOMmunity Yoga and Mindfulness’ Mindfulness Monday.