Episode #57: Menna Olvera
As an Urban Zen Integrative Therapist, yoga teacher, media producer, and family woman, Menna’s approach to life is one that involves a daily practice of self-care. Menna’s training has been under the guidance of UZIT co-directors Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee. As a teacher, of both Yoga and UZIT, she continues to share these practices with a variety of people.
As media producer Menna has worked with companies like NBC to hospitals such as Anne Arundel Medical Center. Menna continues to grow her personal wellness influence by working with private clients, patients both in/out of the hospital, prenatal yoga clients and supports corporate wellness initiatives.
Menna strives to be an authentic support to students, clients and patients. She continues to expand her studies and realizes the value of integrating life experience and study to find deeper understanding of wellness.
Recently, Menna Olvera was out to dinner with a friend when she saw a stranger that needed help. Menna is a practitioner of Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT), and she quickly snapped into practitioner mode when she saw a man tending to his partner, who had fainted. When she ran over, she asked the man, “What do you need?” The man shared that his partner gets severe migraines, and that everything was fine--she would regain consciousness. Instead of leaving, however, Menna stood with the man so that he wouldn’t be bombarded by other people who came over to help, and instead he could focus on his wife. This moment is a good encapsulation of how Menna operates as a UZIT practitioner: she provides clients and patients with support to help their bodies come back to a state of rest, and she meets people where they are. On today’s episode, Menna and I talk about how UZIT was developed, why she chose to study and practice UZIT in particular, and the tools she’s gained from her training. We also discuss about the value of understanding yourself, and why it’s not selfish to be kind to yourself.
“With our training, we’re taught to meet you where you’re at. To not make false promises that we do not know about, but just to support you.”
Here are some of the things Menna and I chatted about:
How her interest in healing began, and at what point she decided it was the path for her
Her moment of “who am I, why am I here, what am I doing” that happened in her mid 20s
The experience from her teenage years that resulted in being afraid of anything spiritual
What led Donna Karan to found the Urban Zen Integrative Therapy program, or UZIT
The five modalities that UZIT practitioners use to support patients and help them find healing
What it’s like to lose a patient, and what the grieving process can be like for a UZIT practitioner
How UZIT provides a foundation so she can layer on additional practices that interest her
Supporting her mom with UZIT practices, and how nurses react when they enter her room
The importance of being grounded when she works with clients, not in “flight, fight, or freeze”
What self care means to her, and how self-care rituals have become second reflexes for her
The value in being able to recognize a “burnout situation,” and how she remedies burnout
Adding functional health coaching to her repertoire, and how it will round out her skill set
Her desire to give quick tips to care for themselves and others, and a rundown of those tips
The fact that it took her a while to appreciate oils, but now they’re a part of her routine
How she shares UZIT practices with her son, and how UZIT can benefit kids and adults alike
“It’s just about really understanding yourself. At the end of the day, if you’re good with yourself, you can be good with others.”
Support for this episode comes from Ouchie. Ouchie is a free app for iOS and Android that provides solutions for chronic pain management. It uses evidence-backed tools like cognitive behavioral therapy, pain tracking, community support, access to resources, and integration with clinicians to help people feel better, faster. Check out ouchie.com and download the Ouchie app to see for yourself. Make sure to share with them that you found the app through Made Visible!