Tonya is the wife of one of the Dream Chasers already featured in my blog – Deyan. If you need some motivation – you will find it in this interview. Enjoy!

Tell me a bit more about yourself and the dream you are chasing.

My name is Tonya Blagoeva. I am a mom of 3 wonderful kids. I am a female entrepreneur.  Professionally I am a Bowen therapist, constellator, and artist. I love all kinds of arts, but my favorite ones are photography, painting, and healthy cooking.

I am the owner of Casa Vita ( www.therapybowen.com)  center where I work as a Bowen therapist and family constellator.  Bowen is a manual therapy that helps the body to recover itself. I’ve been doing this for the last 10 years and had to study for a new bachelor’s degree in medicine college. 

I am passionate about healthy food and photography. That is why I published a book called “Nature in a Plate”. Inside I have created 97 recipes and all photos are my projects. I am happy to share that I was one of the TOP 24 finalists in a TV show dedicated to hobby cooking.  😉 You can read more about it in my food blog: www.blagini.eu 

Ten years ago, I used to be a mathematician, working in a bank. My first bachelor’s degree was in Applied mathematics and a master’s degree in mathematical modeling in economics. I didn’t fit in this world and at the age of 30 I made this huge change in my professional life. And people thought I was crazy.

I am living my dreams now. Every step I take is a step to better me. I have so many dreams.  And hope I will manage to make all of them come true! My main dream is to become the best person I can ever be. I try to be better than yesterday and to appreciate all the small and the big things in my life. 

How was the idea for your dream born and how it developed over time?

It was during my second maternity leave.  I realized that I hate my job. I was wondering what to do. I was aged 29 and there was enough time to reconsider my life. I had a lovely family and two great kids, but I was not happy at work. I didn’t see the point of my work in the bank. It didn’t help me or my clients to be better human beings. So, I’ve started to go to different personal development seminars. And then one day a Bowen brochure came to me and without knowing what exactly Bowen was, I signed up for the next seminar. I was attracted to the fact that I would help people to feel better. Ever since I was a child, I have been dreaming of healing with my hands. And Bowen therapy came to help me make my dream come true.

Together with studying the Bowen technique, I’ve started studying for a family constellation facilitator. This is another method of helping people – to rearrange the family ecosystem. It is a very interesting technique. We work on a system level, using people as representatives. It is hard to explain. You must experience it. And it is giving great results.

The best work that we can do is to balance ourselves and solve our problems so that we don’t transfer them onto our kids.

Now I make constellation workshops in my center Casa Vita, along with private Bowen sessions. But in my free time, I love to create different types of art – paintings, photographs, culinary, handcrafted cards, albums, ragdolls, and so on. To have a hobby is the best I can do for my soul. To cook healthy food for me and my family and to make beautiful photographs of it has been my main hobby for the last 3 years. It was the time when we were raising our third child and I decided to document and photograph all the healthy food I was making for us and the baby. That’s when my cooking blog blagini.eu was born.

My other passion is sports. Movement and daily exercise are very important for me. I like very much the motto – “Strong spirit in a strong body” My body is my temple. So, I take care of it daily.

What are your plans for the future? What do you wish to achieve in the next 5 years?

My dream is to grow a community of self-aware people, who care about themselves, nature, and their food.

My plans are to continue to become a better person than I was yesterday. I plan to make a lot more dreams come true and to help other people to achieve the same. I hope that the good example I make will help a lot more people to take care of themselves and the environment.

I’ve just published my first cookbook this month and I’m so excited about it! It’s called “Nature in a plate” and it contains 97 vegan and vegetarian recipes, arranged by season. I plan to publish a few more books in the coming 5 years.

Another dream that I have is to live in a house with a big yard and to grow our own food.

What are the most important lessons you learned along the way so far?

The most important lessons I’ve learned so far are to believe in myself, to be persistent, and to be thankful for every moment in my life. Sometimes when something bad happens to us we tend to complain, but I’ve learned to be thankful for everything – good or bad. Everything comes with a reason in our lives. And yes – it is not easy, we have our downs, but as fast as we get out of emotion, the faster we learn our lessons.

How do you find work and life balance and prevent burnout?

Balance in everyday life is the most challenging thing for me. It’s not easy, and sometimes I lose it too. But I think this is normal. When we want to achieve something big, it cannot happen without effort and sacrifice. Sometimes the balance is hard. But daily what I do is to plan my steps. And in my plans, there is also room for sport, healthy food, and time for myself every day. I need time to be alone so that I am balanced. Never mind if it’s a yoga class, salt room visit, meditation, or just a walk in nature.

How do you take care of yourself – physically, emotionally, and mentally?

I take care of myself daily. I go to sports (conditional training, yoga) 4-5 days a week. I walk every day at least 8000 steps. I believe that we are what we eat, so my food is mostly fresh, seasonal, and local. I believe that the middle way is the best for me. I don’t like extremes. If I eat sometimes junk food, it’s not the end of the world. But over time I mostly choose good food.

Sport helps not only for physical health but also for emotional and mental ones. I go to sports on foot and when I pass through the forest of Borisova Garden this helps me balance my body, soul, and mind.

I also meditate for 5-10 minutes every day, listen to inspiring music and podcasts, and mainly – I read books every single day – 30-60 minutes before bedtime. This helps me calm my brain and thoughts and to have a better sleep.

No screens 1 hour before sleep and at least 1 hour after waking up in the morning.

What are your daily routines/habits that you believe contribute to your success?

My daily routines that I believe are helping me are a few. In the morning the first thing that I do is to drink 2 cups of hot water, brush my teeth (sometimes in reverse order), make a short meditation, and thank for everything I have in my life. The next thing is a contrast shower and a workout. After that, I am ready to work and take care of every other aspect of my daily life.

My evening routine is to make dinner for my family, play with the kids, and/or watch some series of our favorite shows. One hour before bedtime we turn off all the screens, brush our teeth, read books, play some calm games, and get to bed.

What would you say are the three principles or qualities that can help a person make their dreams come true?

The three principles that can help a person to make his wish come true according to me are to choose a goal, to make a strategy with small steps, and to be persistent in executing them.

When I choose a dream, it takes time to make it a goal. When I make my dream a goal, then it has a deadline and a list of small steps on how to get there. Then comes the hardest part – to be persistent and to get all the way to the end. There are always obstacles in the way. Some of them are to test us if we really want to do this. And some of them are just difficulties, which are part of life.

What inspires and motivates you when times are difficult?

When I have such difficulties, I ask myself my big WHY. Why do I want to achieve this dream? This helps me to continue when it’s hard.

Another inspiration is to read stories of successful people and their hard times. To watch videos of similar products/projects and how they made them come true.

And the biggest inspiration of all – nature. When I have a hard time, I turn to nature – walks, hiking, swimming. I have a tree I speak to. It helps me when it’s hard to say all the difficulties in front of it. To rest my head on the trunk of the tree and just breathe.

What would you say to the people who are still hesitant to chase their dreams?

I want to shout to the world that life is wonderful! That we can make whatever we want and it’s worth it. Believe in yourselves and then someone else will believe in you. It may be hard but give your best and try to achieve it. Otherwise, you will regret it one day. Life is too short not to follow your dreams!