Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Algeciras.
Hi Christina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have had a long-standing interest in philosophy, psychology, and healing practices. After over ten years in the completely different field of airline logistics, I decided to pursue my interests more deeply and trained to be a yoga teacher for adults and children, as well as a holistic health coach. Through my business, Benestar Wellness, I have provided wellness services in the form of yoga, meditation, creativity, and healthy eating and cooking since 2008 – working with people as young as three and as old as 93. In 2020, I added psychotherapy to my services and am now focused on working with youth and adults as a therapist utilizing a holistic approach that incorporates my experience and training in all these other modalities. It has been a long road to get to this point in my career but I believe my path in my personal growth and development has informed much of my professional evolution.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have definitely been struggles along the way, my first career change came during the 2008 recession. I had been living and working in New York and while the job was no longer satisfying, I did not have any plans to move back to South Florida. As luck would have it, I was working in the financial sector while I was trying to figure out the next direction, when the markets crashed I had to make the decision to either go back into the airline industry or move back to Miami. Fortunately, I was able to move back in with my family in Miami, where I had the opportunity to regroup and pivot into the wellness industry. It definitely took some time to get on my feet again and when I did, I decided to go back to school to get my master’s degree in mental health counseling, so it has been quite a long road to get to this point.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
After 15 years in the corporate business world, I found that I wanted to discover work that was more meaningful and aligned with my own sense of purpose. I did a 180 and started a wellness business focused on working with children and adults from a holistic perspective, incorporating yoga, creativity, mindfulness, and other healing modalities. In the process, I found myself in my own therapy and discovered I wanted to expand upon my skills and become a therapist so I could help people on a deeper level.
With my personal experience and journey in mind, I have created a practice that is geared towards working with high-performing girls and women who struggle with knowing where they fit and are looking to heal and grow in their lives. With extensive studies in the areas of yoga, mindfulness-based practices, health coaching, and psychology, I focus on providing an integrative and holistic approach to mental well-being and healing that is bespoke to each individual client.
How do you think about luck?
I think luck, good or bad is in the eye of the beholder, was it bad luck that I left my first job just before a global recession? Maybe, but the hardships I faced also made me more resilient and grateful – they also made me more determined to create a career and a life that is rewarding and fulfilling. To a degree, I think that luck is there for the taking – when things are not going our way when we have “bad” luck, I feel that we are presented with an opportunity for learning and growth. What changes can one make to our behavior or mindset? Even in difficult times like this when the world is going through a pandemic, we can view it as an opportunity to choose how we want to live, how we want to engage in the world, and how we want to show up in our relationships with others. Difficulties and challenges happen in my own life, I try to reflect and orient to my personal values. I think that holding my values central also helps me be open and see opportunities or “good luck” more frequently. I really believe in doing your inner work and my ongoing personal therapy has helped me grow in ways I never imagined.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@christinaalgeciras.com
- Website: www.christinaalgeciras.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinatherapy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinatherapy/
