First, a little background about me… I have the good fortune to have traveled around the world since I was a child. I was raised as a third-culture kid, sometimes referred to as a TCK.

TCK’s are part of the expat community and have the unique experience of being raised outside the culture of either parent. In my case, that meant that while both my parents are Ecuadorian and I was born there, I was primarily raised in Venezuela, Mexico and Singapore, and I attended an American international school, so I was technically raised with two cultures at once. My four years in Singapore, where I completed high school, were especially impactful. As a Latina living in a highly pluralistic Asian society, attending an American school and being part of the rather diverse Singaporean expat community, my worldview shifted dramatically. I started to associate my identity with whatever my surroundings happened to be at that time. I was highly adaptable, but also became hesitant to put down roots. We traveled a lot as a family and I got very used to a travel lifestyle. I felt transient, like I had no one “place” so, the world became my “place”.

For a long time, I dreaded the seemingly simple question, “where are you from”? I had no straight answer and felt like any answer I did give would require too long of an explanation. Filling out government forms was tedious. Without a static place to call home, I came to associate the concept of “home” with wherever it was that my parents happened to be.

Nowadays I associate “home” with sunny Los Angeles, where I’ve been primarily based — with a month here, a year there — for the better part of two decades. My immediate family all ended up here as well, luckily. When people ask me now where home is, I tend to say LA, but there is still a part of me that feels like I have no “place”.

As a result of my upbringing, travel became a part of my identity and I really consider myself a citizen of the world.

I think, in part because of my background, and because I happen to be a multi-potentialite (something I didn’t discover until fairly recently, but suddenly my life made so much more sense!), I’ve always felt a little bit lost, somewhat uncertain of my identity and my purpose.

After years of unsuccessfully trying to figure it all out, I started a yoga practice that incorporated study of mindfulness…and suddenly, a world of possibilities opened up before me! This revelation eventually resulted in me completing a Yoga Teacher Training, followed by certifications as a Yoga Breathing Coach and in Yoga Nidra. Now, I am completing my training to become an ICF-accredited Travel Coach.

Practicing mindfulness has changed my life. It is seriously the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to do. It can be a constant struggle, sometimes I have a lot of resistance towards it, and there are days when I feel like I’ve failed miserably… But, there are days when I achieve a level of awareness of the present moment, a loving awareness and connection, that can just be magical! I think we could all benefit tremendously from incorporating some mindful moments into our daily lives…especially those of us that live in high-stress, time-starved, distraction-laden Western societies driven by a very limited idea of “success” and what it means to have a “successful” life. I believe that learning how to embrace a mindfulness practice will help you to obtain greater clarity around what “success” means to you and how you can design a lifestyle that embodies it, so you can live your best, most fulfilling and impactful life!

Why Mindful Travel?

You may be wondering, why mindful travel? Part of it is that mindfulness has played such a crucial role in my journey towards a more authentic, purposeful and meaningful life, and I strongly believe that applying mindfulness to travel has the power to change the way we all travel for the better. I truly do believe that mindful travel can lead to deeper connection and more enriching experiences. Part of it too, though, is that I think mindfulness and travel have a lot in common. Both, in my view, are “lifestyles” that empower you to connect. By pushing you outside your comfort zone and causing you to pay attention, both encourage you to become aware and embrace the present moment.