Often times, we consider burnout as a part of “the hustle”, as if it’s baked in and unavoidable. Sandy Vo is here to tell you, that’s simply not true. In fact, as a meditation teacher, she shows us that slowing down and reflecting on our habits is a mode of productivity that can help us move forward. In addition to teaching, Sandy is also the Host of SuperConscious Soul Podcast
and Co-Founder of women's empowerment company, Ladies Aligned, with her “business bestie” Melissa Martin. With so many avenues to offer guidance, it’s clear that Sandy is very invested in bringing people to a new level of functionality. Learn to level up by slowing down in this insightful interview with Sandy Vo!
Give us a brief description of your business.
I work intimately with female entrepreneurs and executives to help them live a fully expressed and joyful life undefined by the outside world. Through the ascending power of meditation and the tools of self-care, I help executives and entrepreneurs not only become conscious leaders, but tap into their unique gifts and create their own abundant reality without burnout.
Through sacred, playful self-care retreats, podcasts, private mentorship programs, & online programs, my gift is guiding conscious leaders to a place where doing less is more. My philosophy is that slowing down is the new speeding up. Through this work, my mission is to help elevate the planet to its highest expression of beingness & freedom.
How did you get started?
I got started with meditation through my own experiences of healing through burnout and depression. I learned that there were alternatives to healing that we already have innately within. I was connected to a meditation teacher through an Ayurvedic practitioner and have learned, studied and devoted myself to a practice that has helped me to grow multiple businesses and a six-figure brand. Through this experience, I found that we don't have to hustle or do more to be successful. We get to slow down and enjoy our lives.
What inspires you?
Life and nature inspire me. There are so many lessons striking through us like a lightning bolt that we miss when we rush through life. When I immerse myself in nature, it reminds me to let nature take its course and that there's no reason to rush.
How do you think meditation can help fellow business owners?
Meditation comes with many benefits, especially for business owners! The best part is, it only requires ONE MINUTE of your time to begin. Meditation is a process of re-engineering the programming of our minds. You can relate it to a computer hard drive that stores information. When the hard drive is operating at it's fullest capacity through old systems, it crashes. Just like a hard drive, our mind is stored with unconscious patterns that keep us stuck with the same habits and stories. Meditation helps us to rewire or reboot our hard drive full of old stories so we can write new ones. This is especially beneficial for business owners who come up against money beliefs, self-doubt, and habits that aren't serving them. Meditation is also a productivity tool. It has helped my clients who are business owners be able to slow down to reflect and enjoy their lives versus rushing through them. It has also helped them to be productive, efficient and create more mental space which means countless new creative ideas surface. Those who consistently practice meditation feel as though time has expanded and that they have more energy.
How can business owners prevent burnout?
Self-care is being self-aware. Business owners can prevent burn out by learning to be more aware of what their body and inner wisdom is communicating to them. The body is always giving us feedback, but most times we are rushing too quickly through our lives to even notice them. Learning a self-sufficient meditation practice and committing to it on a daily basis helps you to increase self-awareness so you can respond to what your mind/body/spirit needs when it needs it.
Financial matters can often be a source of anxiety for entrepreneurs. What can Babes do to adjust their money mindset?
The best way to adjust your money mindset is to understand your money wounds and where they are coming from. Sit down and write a conscious letter to money where you allow yourself to express how you feel without filter. There will be a lot that comes to the surface and you will come to find the root of your money beliefs. Once you bring the root wounds to your awareness, that is when you can gain your power back and DO something about it! Money is energy and so are you.
Why is it helpful to have a “business bestie”?
Business besties help you get your sh*t straight. Point blank. They act as your mirror and reflect back to you the gifts you have when you are feeling insecure in yourself. They are your cheerleaders and root for you when you come up with an idea. They encourage you to take that idea and turn it into something amazing. Having a business bestie is essential to business success.
As the co-founder of Ladies Aligned, how does the support of a community help empower entrepreneurs individually?
The support of a community makes you feel like ANYTHING is possible. In our Ladies Aligned company, we facilitated a tribe where women unconditionally support each other and cheer each other on to go after their wildest dreams. There is no hiding, no holding back. Each woman understands they have a unique gift and that it's their individual responsibility to share that gift with the world.
What are some of your favorite Instagram accounts to follow?
@shannanmonson for building sustainable businesses
@drjoedispenza for neuroscience & epigenetic
@jennakutcher for branding
As we’re heading back into fall, what are some self-care tips for transitioning from the summertime?
1) Begin to create more white space in your schedule. Make fewer commitments to others and more to yourself. Block off time on the calendar for dates with yourself to do soul-nourishing activities that you maybe didn't get to do over the busy summer. For instance, I'm going to be finding a nice overlook on a mountain and set up a canvas where I can paint the view. So excited for that!
2) Fall is a season of transformation and change. Set up a meditation space in the corner of a room where you can commit to a daily meditation practice that will help you navigate through the change.
3) Drink hot water. It is, as my teacher calls it, a million-dollar prescription. I drink hot water because it is a practice of slowing down, but also for health benefits. Just like you use hot water to clean gunk off the dishes, hot water helps to clean gunk inside of our systems and detoxes what our body is ready to let go of.
Learn more about this Babe’s practice and podcast on her website, www.sandyvo.com/.
Grab a glass of hot water and visit her on Instagram, @isandyvo, and definitely check out her women's empowerment company, Ladies Aligned at www.ladiesaligned.com and @ladiesaligned on Instagram.