Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariana Gonzalez & Paula Vasco Velez.
Hi Mariana & Paula, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Back in 2021, we used to meet every week to practice yoga at the park. Those gatherings quickly became more than just movement, they turned into deep conversations about purpose, fulfillment, and whether we were truly aligned with our paths.
At the time, Mariana was teaching at an elementary school, and Paula was building a career in the fintech industry while pursuing her MBA. We both realized that, although we appreciated our careers, something essential was missing, that spark of purpose that gives life true meaning.
During one of those honest conversations, we discovered that we shared the same dream: to create something meaningful around wellbeing education, especially for children. This soon turned into the seed of an idea, and that seed became Blum.
Mariana’s path was deeply shaped by her own life experiences, growing up navigating anxiety and later walking alongside her father through his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. These experiences taught her invaluable lessons about presence, compassion, and emotional balance. Her introduction to meditation came early, during high school, but it wasn’t until college that the practice truly took root. Amidst academic pressures and high levels of anxiety, meditation became her anchor, a quiet refuge that brought calm and clarity to her days.
As her connection to mindfulness deepened, Mariana felt called to share these practices with others. This led her to become a Certified Yoga Instructor, where she explored how movement, breath, and awareness could work together to support both mind and body. Through yoga, she discovered another layer of healing, one that allowed her to integrate mindfulness into everyday life and cultivate a greater sense of balance, both for herself and those she guides.
While Mariana’s journey unfolded through her search for balance and emotional awareness, Paula’s path was shaped by loss, resilience, and transformation. During her teenage years, she faced some of the most difficult moments of her life: the loss of her father and her mother’s health struggles, which led her to become her mother’s main caregiver. For sometime, she carried deep grief and a sense of victimhood, questioning why life had unfolded that way. Reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and attending Dr. Joe Dispenza’s retreats became powerful catalysts for transformation, helping her shift from pain to purpose and recognize those experiences as opportunities to grow stronger, more independent, and more compassionate. Through this journey, Paula began to integrate conscious breathing, meditation, and yoga into her daily life which have been the foundation of her inner balance, resilience, and sense of purpose.
In 2022, we began hosting monthly events for children and quickly discovered a genuine interest in our approach. By 2024, we both took a leap of faith, leaving behind the stability of our 9-to-5 jobs to prioritize our shared dream leading us to where we are.
From the moment Blum was just a dream, we’ve loved it deeply, and now, seeing it bloom and expand into new spaces fills us with even more gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been exactly a smooth road, but we believe every challenge has shaped our path and brought us to where we are today. Since starting Blum, we’ve explored different directions, some that worked and others that didn’t go as planned. The biggest lesson has been learning to stay flexible, trust the process, and let go when something isn’t the right fit for our vision.
Mariana: One of my biggest personal struggles has been learning to be kinder to myself. I’ve always had really high expectations, and sometimes I set goals that just aren’t realistic. I can be pretty hard on myself, always pushing to do more or be better, and I forget that I’m only human. Over time, I’ve realized that growth isn’t just about achieving things. It’s also about slowing down, giving myself grace, and appreciating the effort I put in along the way. I’m learning to celebrate what I do accomplish instead of focusing on what’s missing, to respect my limits, and to remind myself that I deserve the same kindness I try to give others.
Paula: In the beginning, my biggest challenge with Blum was learning to trust the process by overcoming the fear of investing the best years of my career in something that might take time to grow. Looking back, Blum has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. It taught me patience, presence, and what truly matters. It allowed me to be there for my daughter’s early years and to share precious time with my mom in her final months.Today, the challenge has shifted. Now I’m focused on figuring out how to reach more families beyond our local community without losing the human and personal connection that defines our work.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Blum?
Blum was born from a deep realization, that most of us were never taught the life tools we truly need to live a more balanced and fulfilling life. We go to school to learn math, grammar, and history, but no one teaches us how to manage our emotions, connect with ourselves, or navigate pain. These are things every human being inevitably experiences.
There’s one truth we all share: at some point, life will challenge us. While we can’t control what happens, we can choose how we respond. For us, that choice comes down to two paths:
One leads to growth by learning who you truly are: your thoughts, emotions, values, motivations, strengths, limitations and behavioural patterns. This knowledge without judgement helps you understand how you relate to yourself and others and gives you the ability to reconnect with your inner peace.
The other leads to disconnection by living on autopilot, criticizing ourselves and others, becoming victims of our reality or numbing discomfort through habits that hurt more than they help.
At Blum, we chose the first path and our mission is to guide others to do the same. We believe that wellbeing begins within, and when we nurture our inner world, it naturally ripples out to our families, workplaces, and communities.
Our work unfolds through two main initiatives that reflect this vision:
Blum Within focuses on children and families. Through our Kids Mindfulness Classes, little ones learn emotional regulation, empathy, and self-awareness through playful practices that include yoga, meditation, breathing, and creative expression.
And through our Monthly Family Workshops, we invite parents and kids to slow down together, share presence, and reconnect. It’s beautiful to see families putting their phones away, breathing together, and playing outdoors again.
Blum Thrive brings wellbeing into the workplace.We realized that the biggest pain point for many parents and professionals lies in their jobs, where stress and burnout have become almost normalized. So we partner with organizations to create in-person and virtual experiences that help teams reconnect with balance, focus, and creativity. We share simple, science-backed practices that reduce stress, boost productivity, and foster healthier work cultures. According to Harvard Business Review, companies that invest in wellbeing programs see a 28% reduction in stress levels among their employees, proof that mindfulness isn’t just a “nice to have,” it’s transformative.
At the heart of everything we do is one belief: “When people feel grounded and connected to themselves, they show up differently: as parents, leaders, colleagues, and friends”.
We’re known for creating experiences that feel authentic, warm, and transformative. We open a safe space where people can pause, breathe, and remember who they really are.
What are you most proud brand wise?
We’re most proud that Blum has become so much more than a business, it’s a living reflection of our values and purpose. It’s a community. Every message from a parent, a child, or a professional who has felt a shift through our programs is a reminder that what we do truly matters.
Hearing someone say, “This is exactly what I wish I had learned as a kid,” never fails to touch us. It reaffirms why we started: to make emotional education accessible to everyone, especially to families and communities who need it most.
One of the moments that filled our hearts the most happened this past August, when we hosted a mindfulness workshop for 67 children from an NGO in Bogotá, Colombia. These children are no longer connected to their biological parents and each one carries a story of resilience and courage that deeply moved us. During the workshop, we explored themes like self-love, the power of our inner dialogue, and how to calm our emotions. Watching these kids open up, connect, and find moments of peace, even if just for an hour, was profoundly humbling. It reminded us that what we do plants small but powerful seeds of hope, strength, and healing.
That experience is a reflection of what we’re most proud of and is the possibility of creating spaces where people, no matter their circumstances, can reconnect with themselves and remember their own light. Every workshop has the potential to touch a life, to help someone breathe a little deeper, pause a little longer, and reconnect with what truly matters. Our dream is to continue multiplying this impact one person, one family, and one community at a time.
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
At Blum, we’re passionate about helping people bring mindfulness into their everyday lives at home, at work, and within themselves. Everything we do is rooted in the belief that inner wellbeing is the foundation for a more peaceful, connected world.
Through our two initiatives, Blum Within and Blum Thrive, we’re creating spaces for both individuals and organizations to pause, reconnect, and grow.
Blum Within (www.blumwithin.com): Our family and children’s programs are designed to nurture emotional intelligence, empathy, and self-awareness from an early age.
We recently partnered with the City of Weston, where we offer Kids Mindfulness Classes (6 to 12 years old) every Wednesday at 6:00 PM at the Weston Community Center. In addition, we’re thrilled to soon be launching our Teens Mindfulness Class (13 to 17 years old) on Thursdays at 6:30 PM.
We also offer Kids Mindfulness classes at Naya Flow Yoga in Cooper City every Tuesday at 4:00 PM, and once a month we host our Family Mindfulness Workshops, a heart-centered gathering for kids and parents to connect and slow down together. Our next workshop will be taking place on November 16th at 11:30am in Naya Flow Yoga at Cooper City.
Blum Thrive (www.blumthrive.com): We collaborate with organizations to design wellness experiences that foster balance, focus, and healthier work cultures. Our sessions explore topics such as stress relief, focus and productivity, leadership, and self-care. We also create personalized wellbeing programs tailored to each company’s culture, goals, and challenges.
Some of the organizations we’ve partnered with include Smurfit Westrock, AMP, and Vital Health & Wellness Group, among others. Our corporate programs are available both in-person across Miami-Dade and Broward County and virtually, in English or Spanish, with flexible weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly formats.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
We would definitely say we’re risk-takers. Starting Blum itself was one of the biggest risks we’ve ever taken. When we began this journey, both of us were on completely different professional paths, each in full-time jobs that felt stable and familiar. Blum started as a passion project, something we did on the side because it felt meaningful. But the more we poured our hearts into it, the more we realized that if we truly wanted it to grow, we needed to give it our full commitment.
Little by little, we started letting go of those jobs and dedicating more time and energy to Blum. At different moments, each of us made the leap to leave behind financial and professional security and step fully into the unknown. It was scary! There’s no other word for it…but it was also liberating.
Walking away from certainty is never easy, but we’ve never regretted it for a second. This journey has been full of learning, growth, and purpose. We trusted our idea, nurtured it, and worked tirelessly to bring it to life. And even now, we continue to take risks every day by putting ourselves out there, expanding into new spaces, and following our intuition even when the path isn’t perfectly clear.
We’ve learned that risk is an essential part of creation. Without it, there’s no evolution. When you combine courage with trust, risk becomes less about fear and more about faith.
Pricing:
- Blum Within – Kids & Family Mindfulness Classes Individual sessions range between $30–$70. We also offer monthly packages that provide savings compared to single-class rates.
- Blum Thrive — Corporate WellBeing Experiences Programs start from $750. Each experience is custom-designed in collaboration with HR teams to address each organization’s unique culture, goals, and current wellbeing challenges.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blumthrive.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blum.within/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blum.within
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blumthrive/
- Other: https://www.blumwithin.com/
Image Credits
Michael Blacker
