Info

Practice You with Elena Brower

Content and conversations for times of transition and change. Join me in discussion with renowned luminaries and dear friends to explore life's myriad transitions, our understandings and our responses. What does it mean to be present, to shift our perceptions, to engage with the world meaningfully, with dignity and care? With respect for the ancient practices and the modern wisdom that continue to inform and elevate our exchanges, each episode is an invitation to Practice You.
RSS Feed
Practice You with Elena Brower
2025
May
April
March
February
January


2024
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2023
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2022
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2021
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February


All Episodes
Archives
Now displaying: August, 2023
Aug 19, 2023

On creating strong communities, pivoting out of productivity and shifting toward ease.

  • 3:00 – Las Founders, founded in 2022, is a Los Angeles held event for entrepreneurs focused on hearing from Latina Entrepreneurs. Meeting the expectations for attendees while sustaining event and production costs.
  • 6:10 – Women with an entrepreneurial spirit. Disentangling the growth and rebalancing of growth through the pandemic through focused objectives and offerings.
  • 8:10 – 2-Day event in October 2023; serving the different identities within the community. 3 Pillars – Heal, Commune, Grow. Addressing ancestral and systematic wounds through healing in community, and growing from that space.
  • 10:25 – ‘Heal’ Track and Wellness Day; Keynote this year from Yung Pueblo. Day 1 – Thrive With Ease; Day 2 – “Connect With Your Innermost Self.”
  • 12:55 – Transitioning from massive elaborate summits to something smaller, and more true. Prioritizing ease, and creating time and space rather than being controlled by the time and space. What comes in naturally?
  • 14:55 – We find validation when we can ‘do it all,’ but find a tipping point when our priorities begin to need filling and we have to manage what cups get filled. How can I position myself in creation and attraction mode?
  • 17:10 – Exploring ways to edit and make things half as long, and simpler. What does prayer mean to you? Connection. Humility to ask for help.
  • 19:55 – Break The Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma by Dr Mariel Buqué; Breaking the cycle of abandonment – The ultimate support is the support we get from within ourselves.
  • 21:55 – It is ok to take it slow, say no, create loving boundaries, find soft spaces. How do we slow things down? Proactively incorporating a meditation practice.
  • 24:00 – Making weekends/time off sacred for the team collectively. Respecting your rest, space and time.

Ana Flores is Houston-born, El Salvador-raised. She's worked in television production for Univision, MTV Latin America and other Spanish-language networks for 15 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom.

When her husband was out of work and the cost of childcare became too expensive in 2009, she and a friend launched SpanglishBaby, a blog for parents raising bilingual and bicultural kids. Within a year, Flores was able to monetize blog posts for about $40 and found herself building “a small community” with fellow ambitious Latina bloggers. Soon she was actively pitching ideas to brands, connecting them with the 25-30 Latina bloggers and influencers from her online community.

“And that’s what became Latina Bloggers Connect in 2010, with no money, with no resources,” Flores told TODAY. “I saw a path — a support system of people that were willing to open doors for each other.”

Six years later, Flores rebranded Latina Blogger Connect as #WeAllGrow Latina, a Latina-owned, self-funded website that elevates the voices of Latinas and provides them with the resources — and inspiration — they need to succeed.

“We really make it a point to hire within our community, because that is how we build socio and economic power,” Vanessa Santos — who joined #WeAllGrow as a partner and co-CEO in December 2021 — told TODAY. Flores and Santos believe that to see one woman grow doesn’t mean that it’s going to take away an opportunity for another. Championing “amigahood,” or sisterhood, their website has exceeded 20,000 subscribers, or “amiga members." The free online community is available for English or Spanish-speaking Latinas and offers original content, mentorship, wellness sessions, resources, connections, access to virtual and in-person events like the annual #WeAllGrow Summit, plus exclusive perks created to support entrepreneurs, creatives and professionals. Through their digital platform and in-person events, #WeAllGrow is helping Latinas turn their ideas into realities.

Las Founders was founded in 2022 is the Los Angeles-held event for entrepreneurs sold out and had over 400 attendees taking in panels and conversations with Latina entrepreneurs about how they got their start.

In September 2022, the organization hosted the sixth annual #WeAllGrow Summit. The first summit was held in 2015 and focused on content creation and networking. As the years went by, it's become bigger and more interactive, with Forbes including it as one of 19 Conferences Every Creative Should Attend in 2018 and 2019. This year's sold-out event, held in Palm Desert, California, welcomed over 600 attendees ready to “heal, commune and grow” — which also happen to be the organization’s three pillars.

In 2023, Las Founders will be a two-day event in October. 

Aug 5, 2023

Micah Salaberrios, an expert in the field of Nonviolent Communication, has been teaching the practice since 2016. With his passion for improving the lives of others, he hosts "The Art of NVC" Podcast, and wrote one of the top-selling books in relationship conflict resolution entitled "The Art of Nonviolent Communication." His website is https://artofnvc.com.

Micah’s belief in the transformative power of NVC has been the driving force behind his work, helping people to resolve conflicts peacefully and fostering deeper understanding in their relationships. Micah is dedicated to spreading the teachings of Nonviolent Communication to as many people as possible, empowering them to live more fulfilling and harmonious lives.

  • 3:00 – Finding NVC and doing this work as a profession. NVC style appreciation – acknowledging someone’s need for appreciation, encouragement, recognition and acknowledgement. “Would you like to be recognized for the unique talents you bring to this project?”
  • 5:40 – Using NVC to get to a place of understanding that both parties in a conflict probably have the same need – to feel safe, protected, future for the children, etc.
  • 7:20 – We mistake strategies and needs. The four steps of Non violent communication – 1) Identify the issue using observable facts, unbiased. Do not imply that someone is bad or wrong. 2) Express how you are feeling in this moment.
  • 10:05 – 3) Explain why you feel this way – your values. 4) Make specific requests. Do not be vague.
  • 12:55 – The observation moment (step 1) is not about the judgment of what is happening. Explore the feelings and needs inventory.
  • 15:00 – You must have empathy for yourself. Take a moment to give yourself empathy and acknowledge the feeling to yourself when it is happening.
  • 17:15 – When NVC is not available, do emergency self empathy – guess how you feel and why. Empathy releases the obligatory tension around parenting.
  • 19:20 – When you notice you, or someone else, is upset, guess how they feel and why. You don’t have to be correct, but that person will feel the full force of your attention without feeling judged.
  • 21:50 – NVC is not a thing you do, it is a shift in consciousness, a way of being. Opinions and judgments have a frequency that stimulates our ego and is not beneficial. Instead of opinions, have preferences.
  • 24:00 – Opinions and judgments are draining. They keep us busy and steal our life force. Empathy as a first instinct is like carrying a love gun.
  • 27:00 – https://www.artofnvc.com/; The Art of Nonviolent Communication: Turning Conflict into Connection; https://www.patreon.com/artofnvc
  • 29:30 – Practicing the principles of NVC is an important part of learning. NVC is a technology of intimacy, compassion and closeness.
  • 31:40 – Transforming triggers using emergency empathy.
  • 33:40 – We are water. If we can be shaped by our environments, then we can be reshaped. Transformation happens in the moment, not the future.


Visit Micah's Patreon Page for the NVC Practice group, as well as access to his masterful Art of NVC Online Course.  https://patreon.com/artofnvc

1