Meet Maricelia Sanchez

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maricelia Sanchez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maricelia , we sincerely appreciate you joining us today and agreeing to talk about some very personal topics. So, to kick things off, let’s talk about a tough one – divorce. Can you talk to us about how you overcame divorce?

Initially I had difficulty with the reality that I was divorced. Since I was a child of divorced parents and raised by a single mom it hit me especially hard to find myself in similar circumstances. I never expected to be in such a predicament, I found myself abandoned at nine months pregnant with the knowledge that I would soon be raising a small child on my own. I was scared of what our future looked like and the challenges that lay before me. Thankfully I had a good support system of family, friends and amazing doctors. With the stress of the situation, my doctor was concerned for my mental health and I was prescribed an anti-depressant. I had never been one to battle with depression so this increased my anxiety level. I can honestly say a lot of therapy, a lot of God and a little bit of Zoloft helped me to overcome my divorce and of course time.

After the first year I didn’t need the medication anymore. Through therapy I learned how to work through the trauma, find myself and was able to grow in ways that had been previously stunted. I also discovered that I had essentially married my mother. My ex husband and my mom shared the same birthday. They had similar ways about them including the way they showed love. Abandonment had been part of my youth as well. We are always drawn to what feels comfortable whether its good or bad.

Part of overcoming the divorce and to be able to fully embrace love again, I had to rectify things with my mom, forgive her and start anew. So I did.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I have spent the last twenty eight years in law enforcement and will retire in the next 2.5 years. I live a blessed life and raised my son who is now in his Sophomore year of college. Being his mom is my greatest achievement. Him being away at school has allowed me to devote more time to the things I am passionate about, Laughter Yoga being one of them. I began practicing Laughter Yoga when I was a young officer working in the schools. At the time I could not afford the Laughter Yoga training so I did a little research and came up with my own way of doing it. After a time I promoted to the rank of detective and shared Laughter Yoga with my peers in the detective office. We worked in the Special Victims Unit which can be quite stressful so it was a way to destress. Later I promoted to the rank of Sergeant and after seeing a need to promote positivity within my team I began implementing Laughter Yoga into my roll calls. I have to admit it was a hard sell at first but once my officers tried it they were able to see the value in it. I am not certain they didn’t think I was crazy but they obliged me which in turn raised their spirits and they reaped the health benefits that come with laughter. I continued to share Laughter with my team periodically and officers on other sides of town as well as citizen groups and other agencies. As my passion for Laughter Yoga grows I continue to hone my craft. In 2019 I attended a Laughter Yoga leader training workshop and became a certified Laughter Yoga leader. In 2024 I became a certified Laughter Yoga Teacher and began my own business. I am the official owner/operator of Laughter Yoga with Mari LLC. located in Roanoke, Texas.

Laughter Yoga has really brought me full circle. I was not in a good place when I began this journey of self love back in 2005. My divorce was the catalyst for my growth. I lived scared for a majority of my life. I was scared to take chances, scared to speak up and I was scared to go after my dreams. I know it may seem odd that someone in law enforcement can feel scared about these things but I am a person first and a police officer second. I am grateful beyond measure to get to cultivate a life where I am truly living. I have done things that I never could have achieved if I had stayed in that marriage. Through all of this I have learned to love myself and in that there is freedom. I have the freedom to be who I truly am and who I am called to be.

Laughter Yoga is an outlet to not only manage stress but helps build resiliency and encourages people to actively maintain a playful, curious and open minded-perspective on life. It promotes positivity ang brings joy which propels me to keep honing, learning and sharing my craft. I am currently creating a lesson plan to present Laughter Yoga to first responders that may be beneficial for their overall health and wellness as well as will give them a vital tool to use with their families and friends to further enrich those relationships. Although it may be unconventional, Laughter Yoga is literally for everyone if they are open to it. Plans for a laughter bus and tour are in the works too! Lots to come. I hold a graduate certification in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut so don’t be surprised if you don’t see a puppet or two! Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

This is such a great question! The three qualities that have been most impactful on my journey are Resilience, Openness to change and Empathy.

Resilience is our ability to overcome challenges and obstacles that come our way. Without resilience I would never have been able to become the person that I am or the person I am striving to be. Resilience does not mean we don’t endure hardships or painful circumstances but rather that we forge through the fire and come out on the other side. We won’t be unscathed however we will still be alive and breathing. And as long as we have that we have the ability to thrive. Resilience does not mean you push through events and situations as though you are unaffected. It means we focus on the good, ask for help when we need it and reframe the negative thoughts into positive ones. Resilience is a call to action for our spirit to continue to grow.

With resilience comes an openness to change out of necessity. I have never have been one to embrace change. I value consistency and relish in the security it brings. Life is not always consistent nor are people so I have found having conversations with myself, journaling or talking with a friend or therapist about my reluctance to change helps tremendously. I have discovered the more I reframe and speak positivity over the change in my life the easier it is to accept what is happening and receive the benefits of it.

Empathy is a huge one for me. Empathy has to be cultivated. Especially when it does not come naturally. When I say cultivated I mean we have to be mindful to not allow the cynicism, skepticism and the negativity of the world to overtake us. It is the ability to see others and ourselves in our frailty and not recoil or retreat but to envelope and embrace. It is the power to not judge or humiliate but be able to see ourselves in similar situations and feel what another may be going through. It is this feeling that enables us to be sympathetic to the needs of others and helps us to see those that do us wrong or hurt us are hurt themselves. Empathy calls us to forgive which in turn gives us freedom.

All of these qualities come together as an expression of love. Love of ourselves and love for others.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

I come from a single parent household and the most impactful thing my mom did for me was to introduce me to reading. I can remember from an early age my mom took my sister and I to the public library weekly. We each had a canvas tote. Mine was a natural color with a bright blue turtle on the front, Attached to the turtle was a coin purse that slid into the turtle’s shell. The perfect place to keep my library card. At first I only checked out picture books with no words. As many books as I could fit in my bag. My mom had a rule, if you misplaced or lost a book you would not be able to check any out the following week. Time passed and somehow I began reading. I can’t pinpoint the exact day or time this happened. It just did. Once I could read my world opened up. I read anything and everything. I loved reading my grandmother’s subscription to National Geographic. I got to experience the world from the small bedroom I shared with my sister on Eucalyptus Ave. It was the beginning of a life long love for me. Reading gave me knowledge and empowered me with stories and fantastical dreams. Reading is my super power right after my laughter!

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @laughteryogawithmari
• Facebook: Laughter Yoga with Mari
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maricelia-maldonado-5b9438324

Image Credits

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