On Friday night, something quietly miraculous happened.

In my 5½ week of training with my running coach, Amelia, I ran my first full mile—without stopping.

No rush.
No competition.
No proving.

Just me, my breath, and the steady rhythm of my body remembering something ancient.

It took me about 25 minutes.
My average heart rate was 125 bpm—a number that once felt impossible.
And the wildest part?

I could have kept going.

I Forest Gumped it. 🌲🏃🏽‍♀️
And I cried a little afterward—because this mile wasn’t about fitness.

It was about breathing.

🌬️ A Life Marked by Breath

I had childhood asthma—rough enough to leave an imprint so deep that I believed I had limitations around the very thing I needed to live.

I remember lying in an oxygen tent, breathing in borrowed air.

Some of my only quiet moments with Papi were simple and sacred:

• Watching National Geographic

• Or coming home from school while he was taking his siesta

I would place my head on his chest or belly and listen to him breathe.
I’d try to match his rhythm—learning regulation before I had words for it.

That imprint stayed with me so deeply that I named my studio y Respira.

Which means…
“and breathe.”

🌿 Learning My Lungs, One Choice at a Time

At 15, visiting my prima/cousin Liza in Puerto Rico, I learned about aromatherapy from an iridologist. I bought my first book and became determined to understand my lungs.

I steamed eucalyptus and peppermint under a towel over the stove.
I bought the Cindy Crawford workout video (iconic, by the way 😌).

At first, I’d make it ¼ of the way through—then asthma.
Stop.
Eat something.
Inhaler.

Little by little:

• ½ way

• then ⅔

• then one day… the whole video.

No asthma.

I remember thinking:
“Hell yes. I can do this.”

From 15–18, I studied my lungs like sacred terrain—my own bronchial trees.

🌳 A Long Season of Freedom… and Then the Return

From 18–34, I had no asthma at all.

I explored:

• Tae Bo with Billy Blanks

• Fencing

• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

• Hapkido

• Yoga

Movement was joy.

Then, during my first year with Victoria, while traveling to Virginia at Christmas, everything changed. That day, I used my inhaler at least 10 times.

When I told Mami, she said:

“Call the doctor immediately. That can stop your heart.”

It was terrifying.

I wasn’t nourishing myself properly.
I was breastfeeding.
Running a business.
Holding grief.
Experiencing betrayals.
Malnourished in ways I didn’t yet understand.

Asthma came back—and this time, it stayed.

The journey became about learning triggers:
Smells.
Foods.
Environments.

What was safe.
What wasn’t.

🔥 Rebuilding Capacity, Gently

In 2019, I joined OrangeTheory to rebuild my heart and lungs.
It was intense—but it helped.

Yoga taught me how to breathe deeply and regulate my nervous system.

I live my yoga.

And regulation matters—because while I love quiet, grounding, and stillness…
If there were a tiger (or toxic ice 😉), I need the option to run.

We were born with that capacity.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Enter Amelia & the Season of “It’s Time”

Then one of my students arrived.

Her name is Amelia.
She’s a running coach.

My running coach.

Tomorrow marks week 6 of training, and we’ve approached it the same way I once did with Cindy Crawford—moderation, patience, respect for the body.

This time?
No asthma attacks.

At 47, I set one simple goal:

Run one mile straight.

I didn’t care about speed.
Or time.

And on Friday night…
I did it.

🌳 My Heart Is Another Tree

I’ve always known my lungs.

But my heart?
I only knew it through fear—racing from inhalers or panic from not being able to breathe.

Now I’m meeting it differently.

Unwound.
Steady.
Strong.

My heart is my engine—and when given ease, it too becomes another tree.

✨ The Work We Do at Casita Magia

I share this because moderation in learning is at the core of what we do here at Casita Magia.

We don’t rush.
We return.
We listen.

We come home to our cells—again and again.

Because the truth is:

• We either do the work

• Or we talk about how we will do the work

And only one of those creates change.

From my perspective, most dis-ease begins with stress—especially the unaddressed, subconscious layers we carry quietly.

Maybe not everything can be “cured.”
But we can create more ease and less dis-ease through intentional, moderated care.

🌿 How I Support You as a Duke Health & Wellbeing Coach

As a Duke-trained Health & Wellbeing Coach, I get to:

• Collaborate with your medical team

• Help you advocate for your life

• Support choices that resonate with you

I combine:
✨ Duke Health & Wellbeing Coaching
✨ Yoga
✨ Lifestyle & habit coaching
✨ Stress reduction
✨ Nutrition education
✨ Goal setting & accountability

Often through:

• Forest walks

• Micro-sessions

• Attainable, embodied practices

We begin with a SPINE Coaching 1-hour session to learn you as medicine—and to identify your venoms. From there, we walk, talk, move, and listen alongside Mother Nature, unless the studio is what your body needs.

🎁 A Season of Gifting

We are in the season of gifting—and there are many ways to work together to:

• Invigorate your spirit

• Conquer obstacles

• Care for yourself with love and moderation

• Support healing on a cellular level

All year, we’ve been asking:
How is Ease showing up for you?

And if you’re not sure…
Let me ask you this:

✨ Do you feel rested when you wake up? ✨

With breath, devotion, and perseverance,