The Courage in Finding Your Calling | Live interview with Trica Patrice from Matcha Mantra Mondays

Q & A with Trica Patrice

Welcome everybody to Oui Talk Raw. I’m already dancing this morning, it’s only 10:30 in the morning. I am here with some delicious matcha tea. And my guest today is Trica Patrice. Did I say right?

Yes. 

Welcome, welcome, welcome. We are here to talk about the courage and finding your calling. So let’s get to it. So let’s just start with how I met you. How did we meet? 

Definitely, yeah. 

Probably in the summer like this, doing some great yoga.

Yeah, doing some yoga where you live, right? 

Exactly, and I heard you playing a Taylor Swift song and I walked up to you after class and I was like, I loved your entire playlist.

Oh my God, two minutes in, we already brought up Taylor Swift, yes! I’m done. 

And yeah, we just got connected that way. 

Yeah, well I think it’s very appropriate that we met through yoga because this whole episode is gonna sort of surround around your journey with yoga, and where you are now and what you’re doing. So let’s talk about where you were. Let’s talk about your past. 

Oh, that’s always a fun journey. 

How old were you when— I’m just kidding.

I know, I know. So I don’t know if you know this, but I am from Charlotte, born and raised. I am, I am. Believe it or not, a lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them I’m from Charlotte. They’re like, “No, you’re from the valley.” And I’m like, “No, I’m from Charlotte, east side.” But I was from here, I was raised in foster care and I was adopted at the age of six. 

Wow. 

And so I had over the span of being in foster care and being adopted.

I had over 11 brothers and sisters. I know my mom’s an angel. Shout out to Jill Johnson, Cindy Scruggs. And so I was always involved in being around people, different types of people, different backgrounds, races, genders. 

You must be very versatile in a lot of environments. 

I think that’s like my greatest strength honestly, because especially now being an adult, you can know how to talk to so many different types of people. Not realizing that at such a young age, already like getting that skill set.

Is it a struggle though sometimes to not be a chameleon in a way because you’re like you know that you don’t want to just blend in you also want to maintain that independence? 

Yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m a chameleon, but I would say I’ve never had a clique because I come from such a diverse background. So I have never had like, I’m only with this type of people. I always have like floated and hung out with so many different types of people, which again is a blessing as well. Maybe like an adolescent or a teenager, especially in high school, not really knowing my calling yet and like where I belong. That was a struggle but now like now that I know who I am and I’m confident in who I am, I like that I don’t have cliques. I am to be able to express myself to so many different types of people. So, when I was young I was put into dance.  That was my first love, dance. So I was a competitive dancer for 18 years, went to school and danced at UNC Charlotte for four years.

Stayed in Charlotte, the unicorn stays. 

Go Niners! And then outside, or after college, I taught dance for like five years on top of working many, many jobs. So I’ve always been a grinder. When I went to school, I thought I was going to be like a news anchor or radio host. I went to school for communications, mass media, and I got a job at WCCB and was a news editor. And that was really, really depressing. The news is sad, right? Reporting on, you know, car crashes and deaths and fires, shootings. Like it was a very sad job for me. And I quickly realized this is not it. Then moved into an administrative job. I’ve always been like a very organized type A, happy to help type of person. So I became an administrator, an executive assistant, which led me into HR because I was an assistant to the VP of HR and I was like this seems like right at my alley this is like a people -oriented type of role. I like people, again, I like to help and I wanted to move off of this rock of being a administrator or an executive assistant. So that’s how I found my way into the HR world. Did that for a little bit until I didn’t anymore. 

‘Til you didn’t anymore and that’s why you’re here, baby. Let’s get to the fun stuff.

That’s like the brief version of my background. 

So let me ask you, like, what were the signs that you weren’t really super fulfilled in your HR role?

I wouldn’t say I wasn’t fulfilled in the role. I would say the space I did it in. 

Like the environment? 

Yes, exactly. I’ve always wanted to champion and live by love, what you do and people who you do it with. And if you’re not doing that, it becomes really sickening. 

So you just know when it’s time to move on. 

Right, right, so, and if you don’t know, sometimes the universe does. 

Exactly, and they’ll do it for you. 

Literally, right away, will pluck you out, and pop you like a zit. (laughing) Sorry, that was– 

So eloquent. 

Yeah. 

I love it, no, it’s true though. 

But yeah, so if you’re not paying attention to those signs that you’re happy in a space, sometimes something will remove you. 

100%. 

So, May of last year, I was laid off and then I was able to bounce back or find a position pretty quickly, like two weeks later, like that’s really, really quick. Especially like in this recession era that we’re in, it usually takes people after getting laid off anywhere from like six months to a year to find another job. And so I was able to find one pretty quickly. So two weeks later, I was in another new HR position. And– – 

And then what? 

The same thing happens again.

The universe is like, girl! We’re trying to show you. 

You’re not supposed to be here. So I decided I was going to take the rest of the year off last year and to really sit and think about what it is that I want to do with my life. Like I don’t want to just fill out applications every night and just like send them in and not really be intentional with like my purpose, my talents, my gifts. Like I always wanted to own my own business, but I didn’t know exactly what it was I wanted to do. Like, did I want to have a dance studio? Did I want to have a restaurant? Did I want to do something with yoga or meditation? Like, I had so many ideas that it was becoming almost paralyzing ’cause I couldn’t concentrate on one. So I was like, all right, time out. Let’s just take the rest of the year off, so like October through December to really sit and like try and figure out the future of your life.

Nothing came. (laughing) 

The universe doesn’t care about time, I’ve realized that. The universe isn’t like, oh well you’re this age, this should be happening. 

Yeah, no, nothing came. January got here and I had nothing. Like so, yeah, I’m Starting to freak out like money starting to run low. I’m like, maybe I should go back. Maybe I should get the applications going again and right when I had that thought something really special happened.

Love it. 

And that’s where I really was able to write the business plan for my new baby.

Which is, drum roll…

Cheers. Matcha Mantra Mondays, “pop up bar edition”, because Macho Macho Mondays was just a series online, initially to spread light and love. I don’t know if you caught onto it or ever saw. 

I definitely followed you, yes. 

Or saw my post, but it was something that I did for about two and a half years.

So on social media, you would drop mantras on Mondays that were inspiring and powering. 

Yeah, two years to hold myself accountable. 

Easter eggs, were you Easter egging? 

No, I wasn’t even intentionally Easter egging back then. 

‘Cause you didn’t know that what it was gonna turn into. 

No, no idea. 

Okay, got it. 

I am Easter egging now. 

Got it. 

So in my in my, like, things that I wear. Yeah, I am dropping hidden gems. Even in my logo, I don’t know if they can put up my– 

Oh, it’s up there. 

Oh, it is. 

Yeah, it’s up there. 

What do you see in the logo, like in the heart of it, what else do you see? 

Like a leaf. 

But what else? 

A tea leaf.

Yeah. 

A V? 

Not a V.

Oh my God, I feel like I’m being tested. 

What is it? 

I don’t know, you tell me.

Do you see any other letters? 

A letter in the logo. I do not, so share it with us. 

Stacked up. 

Y’s? 

M’s. 

Oh, M’s, I can see that. 

Matcha Mantra Monday.

I love that. 

Yeah, so. 

Gosh, I failed that test. 

It’s okay, it’s okay. You get an A for effort, she was sweating. 

A for effort. (laughing) 

Yeah, so like putting like little gems and being intentional. 

So the two years that you were posting, you weren’t sure what it was going to lead into. 

Yeah, and so sometimes like you’re doing something, you’re probably doing something right now that you don’t even know. 

Right, that’s what it’s gonna lead to. 

Yeah. 

But that’s like almost where the intuition part comes in. It’s like you go where you’re feeling pulled and trust that it might turn into something bigger. So why don’t you let’s backtrack and talk about exactly what it is, what you do, and then how you got into that, like the other piece. 

So the series starting from there?

Well, the Matcha Mantra Monday, yeah.  

Yes. When I was working in corporate America, I meditated a lot, like– – 

You got to, probably, right? 

At minimum five times a day and I was just doing it off of my phone, guided meditation through like Peloton. Really amazing, they’re great. And like I loved it, like I like wanted to be them. I wanted to be a meditation instructor. I wanted to be a yoga instructor. Like, they like gave me so much peace of mind and calming. They were helping so many people like throughout people’s workdays that are having like panic attacks at their desk. So I loved mantras. Okay. That’s one piece. I did not necessarily love Mondays at all because I was in panic mode constantly. 

You get the Sunday blues? 

Yeah, Sunday, what is it, the Sunday scaries? 

Sunday scaries, yeah. 

So I needed to turn my Sunday scaries into magical Mondays. I needed to do something that was going to help me get through not just my Monday, but my entire week because I was in a very unhealthy work environment. And again, I loved what I did. It was the space that it was in. So all of this to say, I also loved matchas. And matchas were kind of expensive to get all the time. So I was like, all right, I’m going to limit myself to one matcha a week. I’m going to treat myself on a Monday. And I’m going to post a mantra as well. This was also during the time social media was very toxic and I think social media is still pretty toxic and I have tried to really eliminate those accounts that push for that negative energy and try and only follow like what fills my cup. So I was really done with Instagram and social media and I was getting ready to delete all of my social media accounts and I’m like why do I have to leave a space that I like like? I love posting pictures I like seeing other people take pictures. I like liking and commenting and giving people positive love on another their stuff and content so why do I have to leave like saying for jobs? I loved my job, but it was so unhealthy. I needed to leave. Right. So change the narrative, right? So let’s get online and spread some light and positivity. So that’s where that series came from was just spread light and love, champion your Mondays, and post a mantra and treat yourself to a matcha. So I did that. Fast forward to January 2024. I was asleep, mid January, sleeping my bed. I, side note, suffer from severe nightmares, like night terrors like that. Really bad, I’ve always had them. So I’m always like nine times out of 10, going to have a nightmare at night.

That’s horrible. 

I know, I know, but this night, I wasn’t dreaming at all. And I woke up out of my sleep, just like asleep, awake. I woke up and walked to my desk and started writing. Just turned on my computer, but didn’t even type anything, but wrote. I wrote out a list of all the things that I love, some meditation, matcha, all the things I don’t like. I don’t like this. I don’t like that. All the things that I wish I had, okay, and I combined the list, okay, start circling, started scratching, and came up, oh, another background, I don’t know if you know this. So for a lot of the jobs I used to do, I would plan events, I love event planning, I love hosting, it’s that admin piece of me. Being the hostess with the mostest. And I really love hosting intimate events, dinner parties, birthday parties.  

So everything just started to sort of blend together in what you were formulating. 

Right, and so we came up with the Matcha Mantra Monday pop-up bar.

And so what does that, so you go to spaces, explain from brass tacks, pop -up bar, so you announce where you’re going to be, a yoga studio, a dance studio, and then you go for a period of time.

Right, so we just launched this month, June 3rd. 

Congratulations, by the way. 

Thank you, the first Monday of the month. And so we’re starting small, right? So I am targeting yoga studios, wellness studios, dance studios, spaces that promote healthy lifestyles. I actually have a meeting after this interview for a private event. So like bridal showers— 

Nice. 

You can request like a bridal shower, a birthday party, a baby shower. So I’m catering to a very small audience right now, but maybe in a month or two, you could see me in a larger space. 

And maybe with employees and multiple pop -ups.

A team for sure, I definitely need a team ’cause you can’t do it all alone. You really can’t, you gotta have support, so. 

100%. So what I love, because I’ve led many yoga teacher trainings and taught the philosophy and the history and the Sanskrit and all that stuff of yoga, is a mantra is ultimately meditation, right? So if you go back to the philosophy, it’s like you take a mala bead and you say the same thing in Sanskrit back then, right? Over and over and over again. And it’s ultimately, you know, a mantra is the buzzword you’re manifesting, right? So I really like what you’re doing because by putting the mantra out there and if someone looks at it and says it to themselves, you’re actually putting that energy out into the universe, right? And so I think that’s a really cool part that you’re almost putting a deep history of yoga into a modern day business.

Yeah, and like turning off of that negative thoughts, ’cause we all have them, even myself having to constantly switch my brain.

Oh, I catch myself all day, every day. I’m like, I am a healer, I’m a yogi, and I’m still shaming myself, like what is going on? Help me. I need some more matcha. 

We’re trying. This is us trying. 

Oh, by the way, this is delicious. 

Thank you. Yeah, that lavender honey is like– 

So good. Lavender Haze. 

I just want to say.

We love Taylor.

And that lavender haze. Okay. What was the question? 

We love Taylor Swift, that’s the question. 

Oh, you were just saying like–

The mantra, like the energy of the mantra, yeah, it’s You’re saying the words or the vibrations going out into the universe. And so that’s what you’re asking for and calling in. So if you want to get deep, right? You’re a mantra, something simple of like, what’s an example of a mantra? Like what would you say on your cup? What would you say today? 

So the mantra of the week is stand in your strength.

Stand in your strength. 

And I have a mantra of the month, which is, are you on my newsletter?  

No, I need 

Yeah, you add it to it. But the mantra at the month is do what you can. So right before I launched the business, obviously I’m panicking, I’m spiraling, I’m like, is this the right time? Is this like really happening? And there’s never gonna be a right time. There really isn’t. 

And let’s talk about that because we’re talking about the courage, right? So like, tell us briefly like that step where it was the thought it was an idea and then that the action that you took like that’s where the courage piece is like can you tell us that little that space right there.

Yeah, that was the hardest for me the hardest for me when I am scared you know you can flee, run the other way you can fight it or you can freeze I’m a freezer I just don’t move.

I would too if I had all those nightmares, girl. 

Right, I know. Nightmare, just in a, what is it? 

The Taylor Swift song? 

Yeah. 

I don’t know, unless he’s older. 

Daydream, Nightmare, just in a dream, something like that. Yeah, that’s me. So yeah, just, the scariest part was– 

Taking the action.

Doing the action, ’cause I can be creative in my mind all day long. I can create and craft and write stories and choreograph dances in my head all day long. And then when it comes time to do it, I freeze. So getting over and defrosting myself to actually– 

I love that, defrosting myself, that’s great. 

Literally, I had to and I couldn’t do it alone. So I was constantly talking to other female business owners like weekly, sometimes twice a week. Katie.

From the Coterie. 

From the Coterie, I love her. She literally is a big part of where I am today with this business. The words that she told me the– 

She’s done it. She moved to Charlotte and started this bad ass yoga studio. 

The encouragement that she gave me when I, the next day I went straight to the yoga studio and I told her about the business plan I just wrote at 3 a .m. in the morning. And she was like, “You’re on your way.” And that like changed my life.

Seriously, it’s like one of my slogans. 

Well, let’s talk about how the yoga piece really, like you said you’re a newer to the yoga journey and how that how that really changed your life. 

Yeah. So I didn’t really do yoga in college. Like I was a dancer, but I was never really doing yoga. I was just kind of running on the treadmill or running outside. And that was like my form of exercise, exercise outside of dance. And so during COVID, you know, you’re in lockdown, you’re in quarantine. I was trying to find ways to still stay active. And I, I’m sorry if this offends anyone. I actually had a really good time during COVID in isolation. It gave me– 

I don’t disagree. 

A lot of peace. I know a lot of other people were upset that their favorite bar was closed and they can get their Jack and Coke at the local bar, but actually really enjoyed that time of isolation and slowing down because I was again working multiple jobs, you know, just running from this job to that job and it gave me time again to really figure out what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. So anyway, so I would do this, this, that’s my country coming out, online yoga with Danielle Terrell called “Dancers for Yoga” and she would do yoga poses and then at the end, mix all the poses and make it into a dance. 

Ooh, that’s cool. 

I loved it. Danielle, if you’re listening, please bring that back. That’s who’s dance studio I was just at this morning at the pop -up bar.

Oh, nice. 

So, again, still connected. 

All comes together, yes. 

Literally, the community is so good. we don’t stay gone for long. Like we still find ways to pour into people’s cups. So anyway, so fast forward to like maybe 20, 22, end of 2022. My family and one of my sisters ended up moving away and there was a reason behind that, but I didn’t realize how much it affected me until it did and I actually went through a really bad panic attack. Again, just sitting, I was fine, getting ready to watch that show called “White Lotus.” 

That song, I love that song. 

So good, dancing in the living room, just spinning. But right before I, you know, went to watch it, like, I had one of the biggest panic attacks of my life to the point where it lasted like two weeks. I couldn’t stop shaking. I couldn’t stop feeling fearful. And yoga was the only thing that got me to— 

Do you mean physical yoga?

Yeah. Like, not just meditation. 

Probably got you back on your body. 

Yeah. is the only thing that helped me feel grounded ’cause I didn’t feel like I felt what’s the word, like literally out of my body. So yoga is the only thing that made me feel back alive again, stable, grounded, centered, balanced. And so I started these living room yoga sessions and I would post it online and I had a friend say, “Hey, there’s this new yoga opening I see you do yoga like almost every night and you’re posting it you should come check out this new yoga studio The Coterie.” and I went and I was like I’m home.

That really sparked like your whole community your yoga journey.

It became a part of my routine you know and I wanted to invite and tell everybody about it because it’s such a beautiful space. That’s what Charlotte and every community wants and needs; a space where people feel welcome, that they feel like they’re loved. Like, I walk into the doors and the owner is literally reaching out to hug me as soon as, but she doesn’t just do that to me. She does it to everybody. 

I think community is so important. 

Yes. 

Yeah, like the gym I go to, I’m not necessarily there for the gym. I’m there because the same thing when I walk in, it’s like,  I’ve done this jab cross hook a million times, but I’m here with my people. You know, I love that. 

It makes a big difference, like those small little things. 

Connections, yeah. 

Yeah, so that’s kind of where I’m at with yoga. I’m there, almost every day. 

Killing it. 

Can’t get enough sometimes twice a day.

Yes, I love it, and that’s really, and that was your first pop -up, right? Your first matchup, matchup Monday pop -up. 

Yeah, so Katie has been one of my biggest cheerleaders and immediately was like, “You should serve here.” And so I’ve been there every Monday and maybe more to come. 

More to come. Well, speaking of more to come, we’re gonna take a quick break and we’ll be right back after a word from our sponsors. 

*break*

And we are back. I’m here with Trica. We’re talking about matchas, mantras, Mondays, yoga, and maybe a little bit of Taylor Swift. Have you seen Taylor Swift? 

I have. 

Oh my gosh.

Have you seen her once? 

I have not.

Oh my gosh. 

I’m so sad. I know, I’m not living. I’m not human. 

I might have something for you. 

A ticket? Oh my God, are you pulling a ticket out of your purse? 

I might. (laughing) 

Best day of my life.

But I saw Taylor opening weekend in Arizona. I flew across the country. 

The first Eras show. 

The very first, or night two, but the first. 

Right, first weekend. 

The weekend. And that was really special because I thought that was just really cool to be able to fly across the country to go see one of my favorite artists. I started listening to her in college and she played at the PNC and I lived right next to there and I couldn’t even afford her back then, I was so broke. And so I thought it was so cool to be able to fly across the country to go see her live like the journey. 

Yes, like it’s an experience, yes. What I think is amazing about Taylor Swift and what we’re talking about is if you look at her songs, her songs are mantras, right? Like she has those one -liners that you get the chills and you’re like, yes, that really just empower people, right? They send out that good energy. Don’t you agree? 

I find her music to be very therapeutic and I think that’s why one of the many reasons why I love her so much are her lyrics, and I didn’t even think about her lyrics being mantra. 

It just came to me, I know. Those one -liners, you know, the one -liners that get stuck in your head. It’s just like, I wake up, I wake up at three in the morning with a Taylor Swift song on my head. Not a business plan. (laughing) 

Hey, it could come. Well, when I was making the business plan at three a .m., I was also singing in my head, I miss you, but I miss sparkling. Kind of meaning, as much as I am exiting out of a corporate America world, the comfortability, yes, I miss, but I miss sparkling and shining my lights. I’m a little too colorful, sometimes for those spaces. 

Yeah, and everybody has their own path. Some people are meant to do that sort of work. We’ve talked about that a bunch on this show, but I just had a healer tell me the other day, she’s like, you need to not do things that don’t bring you joy, like you are not serving the collective, but some people might be totally content with just not finding joy in everything they do. So it’s just, everybody’s different. 

That’s not me though, and so yeah. 

So you’re sparkling baby. 

We’re gonna have a sparkling summer. 

You’re bejeweled, bejeweled. 

We’re gonna have a very sparkling summer, I just got back from Paris to see her.

Again, jealous. 

It was so good. 

So speaking of sparkling, how can people find the sparkling you? Follow you on IG, your newsletter.”  

Yeah, so, Matcha Mantra Mondays on Instagram will list literally the week before where our pop -ups will be available to the public.

And how far are you booked out if I owned a business and I was watching this and I wanted to have you come into my place of establishment? 

So, we’re just getting started. 

So you have availability. 

I do have availability right now, but literally as soon as I walk out of here, I’m on business calls to book events. 

And for the record, it’s not just Mondays. 

It’s not just Mondays. That’s why we have the S on the end. Like, we want Mondays to be every day. I think even on my bio, on my page, it says can every day be Macho Macho Monday? 

Right. ‘Cause you’re making people like Mondays in a while.

It’s the new Friday. 

Got it, love it. 

Or Thursday, whatever. Yeah, it’s every day. 

Okay, so you Matcha Mantra Monday on Instagram and then your newsletter.

The newsletter, so if you want to get added to our newsletter, literally just send me your email address and I’ll pop you in. We have a monthly mantra of the month and it kind of just elaborates on more in depth, ’cause on Instagram, I post the weekly one where it’s just like a mantra, but the newsletter, I get to kind of go more in depth. 

Like you explain it more, have like a personal story. Got it. 

Yes, exactly. 

So two closing questions. What’s your favorite yoga pose? 

Okay, I have two. No, three. I give me three. I love Warrior II. I could literally hold Warrior II the whole hour class. It just makes me feel so powerful and strong. Also like the way my legs look in that pose.

Yes girl. 

I like dancer pose. 

‘Cause you’re a dancer. 

Right. Typical Trica. And then happy baby. 

Wow, wow. I thought you were gonna say half moon. Oh wow, happy baby. 

Half moon’s fun too. I love half moon. Half moon and 

Triangle, or my pose. 

Yeah, that’s nice. You feel so like open and heart up to the wall.

Love it. And what would be your favorite mantra right now? 

My favorite mantra right now? Ooh. So, this has all been very new and it feels like it’s happening all really fast, which has caused a lot of panic. Like I know we’re talking about courage and finding our calling, and I do stand on that, but I would be lying if I didn’t say this as like completely scared me in a way and caused a lot of panic. One of my favorite mantras that I’ve been like telling myself is to turn your panic into pride because if you’re panicking about something it probably means you really care about it or you’re really trying. So instead of focusing on like the fear and the scared feelings, focus on the pride of it. Focus on like how much you like love it, like how hard you’ve put in or how much hard work you’ve put in. 

That’s beautiful. 

Turning your panic into pride has been my favorite mantra so far. And brought me back like I love it. I can do this. I love what you’re saying. It must mean something to you if you’re panicking That’s such a great. Yeah, it means you care. 

What a great way to close this episode everybody watching turn your panic into pride give yourself grace. Happy pride month and come see Trica at Mantra Mantra Mondays, check her out, follow her on Instagram and go get some matcha.  

Cheers. 

Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Oui Talk Raw.