Story & Lesson Highlights with Gina M. Barrett of Western Mass

Gina M. Barrett shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Gina M., so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I have a few things that put me in this state of mind: a yoga and qigong practice, working with my horses and playing my piano and singing.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My work is now a combination of all my life long loves. I always loved horses and learned to ride in my teens. In college, I worked in the Umass Amherst horse stable, then worked in my riding instructors dressage facility after I graduated and until I became pregnant. I was grateful to be able to purchase horses when I moved to remote south central Colorado in 2016. I have always had an interest in animals and nature. I received my undergraduate degree in Natural Resource Studies and I was certified to teach Biology. After a full career in the environmental field, I recognized the need for humans to heal in order to care for the planet, so I began working in the holistic mental health field as a yoga therapist. That part of my career took off while in my prime, running my own retreat centers, facilitating workshops and trainings internationally, and finally founding a nonprofit for holistic trauma support for new immigrants. That work led to me writing three books. Now, I continue my private practice as a yoga therapist, I’m on book tour and I’ve opened Western Mass Equine Therapy here in Conway, Massachusetts. We are a small farm in Western Mass, just a few hours from New York City, Boston, and even closer to major cities in Connecticut.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Founding the nonprofit, Immigrant Peace, (formerly casa de Paz SLV), was something I was guided to do while I was in a work transition. It has been a labor of love and it is very hard to release. After seven years, I can not continue to volunteer as much as is required. We are currently seeking many volunteers to take over and run our holistic trauma support programs, which are very much needed as new immigrants shelter in place in the U.S.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
In my experience running Immigrant Peace, there were many many times I almost gave up. However, working with new immigrants has taught me to not give up. Giving up is a privilege that we get to experience in the U.S. When it comes to basic survival, there is no giving up. I was able to witness this many many times in my work serving new immigrants. This was the greatest lesson they have taught me.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Smart people are getting it totally wrong today when they blindly go along with the tech use that is required of us since the Trump administration. We are being asked to put all our personal information into a computer system that could at anytime be hacked. We are also being forced to do facial recognition, which I have so far avoided. If you travel on an airplane, I have heard it is required, or people just go along with it like sheep in a herd. I have been asked to do it when crossing the border of Texas and Mexico. I refused, and in an intimidating way, asked additional questions. I was glad I enacted my rights to that privacy. I also refuse to be on line as much as possible. Sometimes it’s just easier to go along, like using the portal for my doctors. I use it for some and not for others.
In addition to potentially invading our privacy and security, technology is pulling us further and further away from nature, which helps us to be who we are. We are living beings that very much rely on nature for our survival. If we do not maintain our natural rhythm, anxiety and angry emotions are generated. The bodies’ natural response to being out of synch and under stress. This is why so many of us experience anxiety and need for more rest now. People also have less bandwidth for communication and conflict resolution. The radiation and electromagnetic fields from our devices and WiFi cause this, as well as the unnatural faster pacing of technology use. It has it’s benefits for sure and I trust that we will find out way to balance with it’s use.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Due to a personal transition, I have relocated to Western Mass. For this reason, I am starting up a new private practice. Often building a private practice can take 7 – 10 years.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Building Blocks of Success: Resilience

In our building blocks of success series, we tackle the various foundational blocks we believe

Leadership Development
Perspectives on Where and How to Foster Generosity

Core to our mission is building a more compassionate and generous world and so we

Resilience
From Setback to Success: Overcoming a Layoff or Firing

One of the most beautiful characteristics about America is the ability we have to fall,