Andrés González
on how Yoga and Mindfulness can Heal Children’s Trauma
“I’m not a teacher, I’m a reminder. I’m not teaching you a damn thing, but just reminding you what you forgot.”
A spiritual mentor is a compass pointing towards your long-lost self, guiding you back to inner knowingness. Uncle Will is the wayfinding light who turned Andres Gonzalez, Ali Smith and Atman Smith into loving, resilient and empathetic men capable of navigating a difficult and often dangerous world.
If the Smith brothers got their spiritual kick-start from their parents and the Uncle’s yogic beliefs, Andres got his trust in the all-powerful force of the Universe from his mother who opened the magic door of Puerto Rican “espiritismo”. The trio’s story began during university. Sharing the same love for reading, they devoured philosophy, history, astronomy, and religion, when, one day, Andres posed a question that changed their trajectory: "So, what are we going to do about all this knowledge?"
Relocating to Baltimore, they were struck by the absence of the sense of community that had been so integral to their childhood. They felt the need to bring back the breath of life and hope into their homeland destroyed by drugs, poverty, and racism: “Many of us think we need a revolution to spur change, but that is often a violent and painful process. We prefer to follow the peaceful path of evolution. It’s something deeper: the inner change that allows us not just to survive, but to thrive!”
But to change the outside world you must go within and change yourself first. A philosophy they call “Involution” is the root of the Holistic Life Foundation Inc. they co-founded to help underserved children through yoga, mindfulness, and trauma-informed training. Their work has been featured on CNN, CBS and O, The Oprah Magazine telling the stories of schools that “replaced detention with meditation.” They helped thousands of children, as Andres believes trauma is a greedy monster ready to come after us all, young and old: “It’s not just the oppressed who are traumatized. It’s everyone resisting change, retreating in fear to some old vision, holding on tightly to the past or finding any way to justify unjustifiable belief systems.”
“Let Your Light Shine”, their book, offers the tools to reclaim your power, find serenity, and remind you of the unshakeable truth: "that love can heal any heart, even your own.”
Andres is now a “peaceful warrior”. A health coach, teacher, author, and hip-hop musician whose teaching revolves around liberation through empowerment and healing, as he believes “love is the most powerful force in the universe!” Read Andres Gonzalez’s answers for Inspirators and remember: the real mentor is always inside us. The real learning lies in going deeper into yourself and breaking through “to experience the expansive, unending, infinite self within.”
Thank you, Andres, for being a Peaceful Warrior!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Andrés González
Company / Institution: Holistic Life Foundation, Inc.
Title: Co-Founder
Website: www.hlfinc.org
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andres-anirt-gonzalez/
Country of origin: US
Country you currently live in: US
Your definition of Regeneration: Regeneration is a process of regrowth, of re-creation.
Main business challenge you face: Fundraising.
Main driver that keeps you going: Our Holistic Life Foundation's mission.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Love.
The trait you most value in others: Authenticity.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Music, Nature, Reading, Writing, Meditation.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
Rumi
Hafiz
Hazrat Inyat Khan
Uncle Will
Meredith Smith
Lydia Santiago
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Believe in yourself!
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: "All-Natural".
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope:
Within there is no without!
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Kybalion by William Walker Atkinson
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Believe in yourself!
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: "All-Natural".
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope:
Within there is no without!
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Kybalion by William Walker Atkinson
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: Princess Bride.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Everything, but mainly Hip Hop!
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Bora Bora, Amsterdam, Iceland, S. Korea, Puerto Rico.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Every day is a new day!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Pollution.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Unity.
The quotes that inspire you:
“Divisions are imaginary lines drawn by small minds.” (Paramahansa Yogananda)
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.”
Your own quote that will inspire us:
