1. Introduce yourself: your name and where are you from?
My name is Ava Johanna and I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.
2. Where in California do you live?
I currently live in San Diego, CA and plan to spend a few months living in different cities across the United States and abroad!
3. In a nutshell, can you explain what it is that you do, and how you help people?
I am a business coach and founder of The Academy of Breath, which is a six week online breathwork and meditation certification program created to support coaches and healers in expanding their core offering while deepening their own daily practice.
4. Tell us about your podcast.
The Alchemized Life is a top-rated wellness + spirituality podcast created to support women in claiming and stepping into their power and worth. Through raw conversation with thought leaders, listeners are awakened to their own potential and ability for soul-expansive success in career, relationships, and personal growth. Each episode teaches women how to write their own permission slip for a passionate and purposeful life and that going against the grain is something to be celebrated - not shied away from.
5. What would you say are the top 3 benefits of meditation and breathwork?
Both of these practices support you in shifting out of sympathetic response (fight or flight) into parasympathetic response (rest and digest) which is incredibly important in our world right now especially as we become more digitally connected. In addition to that, being in a space of rest + digest allows you to deepen your relationship with your intuition, creativity and own inner power. When we are moving so fast and are constantly surrounded by external noise, there is no way to hear our inner voice and make decisions or create from the heart, so these practices support you in quieting down the mind and turning away from the outside world!
6. What is your favorite place (in the world) to meditate?
On the beach in Western Australia - any of those beaches will do! :)
7. Other than yoga, what’s your go-to workout?
I’m actually one of those yogis that doesn’t practice asana much! My yoga is meditation and breathwork and for a physical practice I love reformer Pilates and lifting weights at home.
8. What’s your number one wellness tip?
Question everything! Don’t just take all the wellness tips at face value. Instead, notice how each thing feels for you. If it doesn’t feel good to drink celery juice every morning or if you don’t enjoy a certain wellness lifestyle, don’t do it! Find what works for you and know that in doing so, you’ll make sustainable, lasting changes.
9. What does your typical breakfast, lunch and dinner look like?
I have to say, I make a killer breakfast! I usually eat a piece of toast with avocado, a fried egg and maybe a piece of breakfast meat like sausage or bacon. This fills me up for most of the day so lunch is usually something small like a Perfect Bar or a light salad. My husband and I usually eat fresh fish or red meat for dinner with lots of veggies. I definitely am not one to look to for nutrition advice though - I come from a big foodie family so food is a major avenue of pleasure for us.
10. Where are you dreaming of travelling to once lockdown is over?
We’ll be on the first flight to Bali! I’d like to spend some time on that side of the world when the borders open back up.
11. What is your most guilty pleasure?
I love a good piece of carrot cake...often! It’s been getting in the way of my fitness goals actually, but it’s my guilty pleasure!
12. Any advice you can leave us with?
Remember that you have all the tools you need inside of you - as cheesy and overused as that is - it’s an opportunity to empower yourself to create whatever life you want to create. Not because someone told you that you “should,” but because you truly designed your lifestyle from your heart and your desires!
