Meet Alyssa Johns

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alyssa Johns. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alyssa, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Resilience is present in all of humanity when they have adequate support around them. For me, being anything but resilient hasn’t felt like an option in life. I lost my husband 4 years ago after a lengthy journey through leukemia treatment. I witnessed his resilience- his spirit of determination and his absolute refusal to fold or break. I watched him forge ahead and show up regardless of how he felt or what the prognosis was. And during that time, I had two young children to care for while I supported him all while growing my business to a point that it could provide for our family. When he passed, I poured myself into work and staying on my feet for my kids, and I was supported by my community as I did that. In my mind, there was no other option. I truly believe that resilience is one of the deepest innate qualities of humans. I always looked to the people who had survived harder things than me and I knew if they could, I could too.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Eight years ago I founded Aurora Midwifery, initially as a solo home birth practice, but it has grown now into a cohesive team of independent midwives that work together to provide care to families in Phoenix and the East Valley. We have recently brought an amazing Naturopathic Doctor onto our team which is a huge asset to our clients and to us as she can support in ways beyond our scope as midwives and can provide primary care to our clients and their newborns. We truly love supporting families as they grow, helping them to find their power and voices as they make decisions that truly align with their deepest beliefs and wishes. We constantly look for ways to extend support to them beyond the window of their pregnancy and early postpartum, so adding a doctor is a huge piece of that. We also are starting up a postpartum circle next month that is free and open to the community to help build roots and a village for these families.

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?

Those close to me might say stubborn determination is the biggest. I choose to just call it determination, but I do think the will power to find a way forward despite the twists and turns that come our way has been a huge asset. Giving up is not something that crosses my mind when things get tough. I think that clear communication skills are extremely necessary in leadership, and a commitment to communicating with kindness, respect, and curiosity is key. My best advice for those leading or building a team is always to enter a difficult conversation with curiosity instead of judgment or anger- when I do, I’m usually surprised by what I learn and am able to hold those on my team in compassion and understanding instead of judgment or anger. Probably my third skill is just the ability to stay grounded during chaos and find creative solutions in those moments.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I have spent a lot of time in the last few years recovering my body from the challenges of my husband’s cancer battle and loss. Somatic processing has become one of the things that has supported me the most, because in our society we spend a lot of time talking things through, but not a lot of time noticing how our body is affected. When I feel overwhelmed, I turn to those tools that I have learned and easily the most accessible one is tuning in to the breath. In a moment of overwhelm, scanning the body head to toe, noticing tension, and then noticing if I’m breathing deeply into my belly or if the breath is stuck and stopping in my chest. Then I can slow the breath, focus on the feeling of my feet on the ground, breathe deeply and let out a few big sighs. That quick process usually gets me grounded again!

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Image Credits

-Levi Mannon
-Tori Poulin
-Allie Machiche

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