157: From Juvenile Delinquent to Radically Loved: A Meditative Journey - with Rosie Acosta

Her childhood was filled with danger, confusion, and angst.

Picture East LA in the 1990s - neighborhoods filled with gang violence. Police were overstepping their authority, creating fear and mistrust. Drive-by shootings. Riots. Burning buildings. All the media portrayals from that era were very real for Rosie Acosta in those days.

Growing up in such a harsh environment took a toll on this episode's guest. By the age of fifteen, Rosie found herself standing before a judge, facing severe penalties for a surprisingly bold and brash crime.

Her youth had plenty of anxiety and confusion. Because she witnessed people getting stabbed, shot, and beat up on the street, Rosie had PTSD. She also knew nothing about health and nutrition in her young life. Living on the "McDonald's Diet," Rosie was over two hundred pounds at one point, living a life of quiet desperation.

Confusion followed Rosie around like a dark cloud, mainly due to the spiritual mixed messages and failures she witnessed happening inside her community growing up. (Rosie shares her childhood in detail with Wade during the first part of the episode. Wade's attention is riveted to her compelling story. Don't miss it.)

But then, one day, her mother left some brochures on her bed, and that's when Rosie's journey took a spiritual turn that changed everything. (You will hear her powerful story about how meditation and yoga transformed her soul to a place of Radical Love.)

Today, Rosie is a yoga and meditation teacher and a holistic health coach who works with a wide range of students. Her clients range from East LA residents to Olympic athletes, NFL champions, NBA All-Stars, and military veterans who have seen combat.

Rosie is on a mission to help others overcome adversity, anxiety, and low self-worth and replace those negatives with radical love. She has been featured in Yoga Journal, Well + Good, Forbes, and the New York Post.

If you want to feel radically loved, hit that play button.

In this podcast, we cover:

• What was a typical day like in Rosie's childhood and how she navigated all the dangerous traps
• Her recounting of the day she skipped school to seek enlightenment
• The exact moment when Rosie's spiritual awakening took place
• Why do people need to get past their "Amazon Expectations"
• Why does the law of attraction kick in when you get your fitness on track
• Why and when things turned in a positive direction for Rosie
• When a person exudes electromagnetic attraction and becomes what they seek
• How yoga led her out of teen crimes to teaching yoga to star athletes
• How Rosie mentally pushes through those lazy, apathetic moments we all experience

The Power of Intention

At one point, Rosie says, "I do believe in the power of intention and the power of belief. Also, the right people are coming in at the right time."

"The moment that I started to bring my awareness to feeling good and focusing on my body and my health, everything else started to fall into place."

"I started getting different job opportunities. I ended up working as a hair salon manager for this celebrity hairstylist. Here I was 19 years old and an ex-criminal - yet I got asked to run a million dollar business."

"Now, he didn't need to know my colorful past. At the time he offered me the job, I was working at another salon, and he recruited me because he heard that I was doing a great job."

"So that's all it took - one opportunity. One person believed in me and gave me that sort of positive feedback. At the time, I was still learning more. I got more into nutrition and health. I got off the McDonald's diet. I started eating organic foods. I read the China Study. I went deep into wellness. I made a new set of friends."

"My world started to expand. I started to see the difference in putting your energy into things that were making you better. I felt better. I started attracting people in my life that were also doing the same type of work that wanted to be better as well."

One thing Rosie loves about yoga is THIS

Another snippet of Rosie's wisdom: "One of the main things I like about yoga is cultivating discernment."

Wade asks, "What does that mean to you?"

Rosie: "For me, it means knowing what to do when you're off of the safety of your cushion. Because I know what to do when I'm on my mat. I know what to do when I'm on my cushion. That's easy for me. I've been doing it for years now, almost two decades. That's easy."

"But taking that and actually going out into the world and being a kind, compassionate, present human, that's a different story. There are so many variables thrown into that, which are happening simultaneously. Discernment means to know the difference between knowing what's going to serve the highest good."

"Sometimes things that you may not think are going to serve your highest good serve do serve your highest good."

"It's difficult to navigate a world that's full of impermanence. It's difficult to navigate a world that's constantly changing."

Wade and Rosie then go into more conversation about impermanence and our mortality. Death is a topic that is kept tidy and tucked away in western culture. But Wade brings up the eastern view of death, and Rosie expands on our impermanence and how we struggle by clinging to this material world.

This turns out to be one of Wade's most in-depth interviews - a conversation that goes deep into the spiritual realm of our existence. Rosie's clients see firsthand how physical transformation leads to spiritual transformation. Or, at least it should. The person must be mindful to include spirituality into their life for a complete sense of wholeness.

Can you feel the radical love? Tune into this episode and tap in!

Episode Resources:
Check out more about Rosie Acosta & Radically Loved
Rosie Acosta on Facebook
Rosie Acosta YouTube Channel
Rosie Acosta on Instagram
Rosie Acosta on Twitter
Rosie Acosta on LinkedIn
Radically Loved Podcast on Apple Podcasts