Episode 419 David Romero Mastering Emotions with Mindfulness Transcript

This transcript is from episode 419 with guest David Romero.

Scott DeLuzio: [00:00:00] Thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast where we are focused on giving hope and strength to the entire military community. Whether you’re a veteran, active duty, guard, reserve, or a family member, this podcast will share inspirational stories and resources that are useful to you. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio, and now let’s get on with the show.

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Drive On. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio. And today my guest is David Romero. David is an Air Force veteran and yoga instructor who specializes in working with veterans and mental health through meditation. He conducts sound baths for over 400 people and focuses on self mastery of emotions and the healing benefits of slow physical movements.

And today we’ll explore how practices like yoga and meditation can complement traditional workouts and different [00:01:00] therapies for full healing and mental well being. So before we get into. All of that. Uh, David, uh, welcome to the show. I’m really glad to have you here.

David Romero: Yeah, thank you so much for having me on your show. I really appreciate it. Thank

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, you bet. Yeah. Um, so before we, um, kind of dive into all of this, can you tell us a little bit about your, your journey? Um, kind of what got you into the military, kind of, uh, how yoga came to be in your life and, and all that kind of stuff. And like, take us through a little bit of that journey.

David Romero: Yeah, sure. Um, well, first off, uh, thank you also for your service and thank you to all the veterans out there and, uh, um, a big special thank you to Bay Club for linking us up together. So thank you. But, uh, as far as my journey, I came from a military family. Um, my biological father was a, um, Navy diver. My mom was a drug and alcohol psychologist.

My stepfather was a Data [00:02:00] analyst, uh, my brother was a Navy SEAL and, uh, all Navy and then I’m the Air Force guy. Uh, I grew up, you know, in that lifestyle and traveled around quite a bit with my family and lived all across the United States. And we finally settled back in and, uh, San Diego, Oceanside, California, and my mom being a drug and alcohol psychologist, uh, was very big into mindfulness and we had a whole library of books, uh, you know, on our bookshelves that discuss these topics.

Um, I ended up going to the Air Force Academy, um, and. I did four years there and got out, spent about a year trying to get onto the Olympic team. I stayed back a year after I graduated and I was a fairly competitive track and field athlete, cross country runner, so I was trying to get on the all air force team.

Unfortunately, I just kept having reoccurring [00:03:00] injuries to my knees and hips, IT bands. So Um, had to shelf that and got into, um, acquisitions program management, built rockets and satellites, uh, for the Air Force. Now, I guess it’s considered to be the Space Force, but, uh, um, did that and, you know, there was a, you know, There was a colonel that came into our office one day and he said to the whole group, he wasn’t specifically talking to me, but he said, you know, if you’re not waking up thinking about launching rockets and satellites into space, you should really consider a shift in career because that’s the kind of people that we want.

And with all due respect, like I’ve said, yeah, I don’t think about that. I’m a biochemistry guy, an engineering guy. I love all that. And I actually got out of the military in 2008, uh, started working for, um, a medical device company, um, sold medical devices for nearly six years. [00:04:00] And then after having. Had enough time looking at the allopathic model or the western model of medicine.

I felt this strong calling towards, um, more eastern practices, holistic practices. That’s not to discount the western style of medicine and it’s all, but it’s also to understand and have a full scope. And also at that time too, if we’re being honest, I was struggling with some things. I was struggling with some addiction and alcohol and depression and anxiety and, um, um.

Going from a whole military life moving into a civilian chapter, uh, was a bit of a challenge and was not fully ready for that. So, um, in 2014, took my first yoga teacher training. I loved it so much, uh, ended up taking another training and then another training. And, um, You know, I’ve been teaching since 2010, I’m sorry, 2014 yoga and teaching mindfulness meditation.

At one [00:05:00] point I was teaching at USC, uh, teaching stress management as well too. And, you know, ever since I leaned in, uh, to more of the holistic practices, all these new and beautiful opportunities started unfolding for me. And I feel the Best thing that I can do is to continue giving back to the community and service, even though I’m not wearing the, uh, uh, uniform anymore.

Scott DeLuzio: Right. And I, I think, you know, everyone has a time when they hang up the uniform. Um, you know, some people do, you know, enlisted, they, they do one enlistment and they get out or they may re enlist, uh, several times and, and get out. Some people stay, you know, full 20 plus years in the military, but eventually everybody gets out.

David Romero: Mm

Scott DeLuzio: one way or another, you’re, you’re getting out of the military. Um, you know, there is going to be some other chapter at some point. Post military life. Um, and you know, what does that look like for everybody? And, and some people, um, you know, they [00:06:00] go on, they find fulfilling careers. Some people struggle and they, they have trouble figuring out how to navigate life post military.

Um, and they need a little bit of help. And so incomes. People like you and who have, you know, maybe I don’t want to say you figured it out, like you figured out life and everything is smooth sailing because everybody, everybody has their challenges. Right. Um, and so, um, but you found things that are different maybe than what, uh, people traditionally think of.

Um, you know, like the, you were talking about like the Western medicine and, and things like that, which, you know, uh, like you said, the, the Not, you don’t want to throw all of that away. You know, it’s not that it’s all bad. It’s just, it may not all work for all people in all situations. And there may be other things out there.

If we can combine these things together, um, and, and find [00:07:00] some sort of, um, you know, balance between all of it, then, you know, that might help, but you got to have people, To who can kind of instruct people and, and guide people through, um, you know, the types of stuff that you do, you know, yoga, for example, like if, if I don’t know how to do yoga, I’m not going to do yoga, you know, I need somebody to help me with that.

Um, and so, you know, that’s another way to kind of serve and, and, and help folks who are dealing with these types of issues. Um, Now, a little bit about, uh, you know, your, your mother, your upbringing, where, you know, there was, there’s all these books around and it was, was that like the, the thing that you kind of went back to, um, where, you know, getting out of the military and it’s like, how do I figure this stuff out?

Did you like go back to some of those, those books and the things that you read earlier, um, to kind of help guide you through to where you are now?

David Romero: Um, [00:08:00] a little bit, yeah, so there’s, there’s some story to this. Um, you know, my mother, when I was 18 years old, uh, transitioned due to cancer. And, uh, you know, that, uh, I was, it was my freshman year at the academy, and, um, it was a shock to the system, obviously, um, you know, I, having done a lot of self reflection about this, have recognized just how much that that That incident affected the rest of my life, um, and more than anything, what it helped me do was reconnect and understand and look at my history and look at why certain things were showing up in my life.

And, um, her work begged me, uh, in some essence to be curious about. Okay, I’m having these quote unquote issues going on in my life. What [00:09:00] is it that I can do, and how can I take my own personal power back, whether it’s through emotional resolve, or if it has to do with my physiological body, what can I do to start treating this body with more respect?

Um, and there is certainly an amount of, uh, uh, spiritual side associated with it too. You know due to the advent of social media I believe and I feel that a lot of people have a strong misunderstanding of what yoga is they see these people dressed up in Lululemon and not that there’s anything wrong with that, but they you know, you kind of see like the Sunday brunch crew, uh, dressed up and all these high glossy photos when that’s the western interpretation of it.

But in truth, uh, it’s a much, much deeper practice. It’s about being fully connected to our bodies and being less inside of our heads and being more present and [00:10:00] having that, not just situational awareness as an operator, but having that But situational awareness is just what you do every day and how your thoughts, words, and actions impact people in your life, in your communities, and in the, you know, individuals that we choose to work with.

Right.

Scott DeLuzio: I, as you’re talking, uh, there, and you, you mentioned the word situational awareness and I think from a military perspective, we’re all familiar with situational awareness, looking out or, you know, around your surroundings, making sure, you know, there’s, there’s not a, you know, an IED buried over there, or there’s not a sniper coming out of that window or, you know, it’s something, you know, along those lines, you get, you have to be aware Surroundings.

And I think in the military context, it’s Very outward facing. It’s what’s going on around me. Like I’m the center of attention. What’s going on [00:11:00] out there and what, what, what’s, what’s revolving around me. Um, but in the context that you just use it in and correct me if I’m wrong, but this is just my interpretation of what you just said is that.

It’s more than that. Yeah, sure. You have to be aware of the things around you, but also the things kind of inside of you too. Um, you know, if you have this negative thought in your head, how is that affecting you? And, and it, are you feeling that in other parts of your body? Or, or if you say something to somebody else, how is that affecting them?

Um, you know, in, in those types of things, kind of more on a, Emotional level, kind of, uh, you know, internalizing how these things affect you and, and how they affect other people. It’s, it’s more than just, you know, look out for that sniper, uh, you know, who might be in that window or, or that type of thing.

Right. Is that kind of what you’re saying? Yeah.[00:12:00]

David Romero: Uh, there, there’s what you were talking about, the situational awareness of what’s going on around us, and that usually has to do with, like, safety, um, and you also typically have teams with you too, so it’s like, The safety of the team, and these are external things that we are trying to protect against now because the focus is so outwards, there has oftentimes been this disregard for what’s going inside.

And so in situational awareness. Also including, well, what’s going on inside of me? Um, when you’re in theater and in employment, or, uh, even if you’re doing exercises and operations, it’s always outward facing. And then you are facing some of that mental chatter, but when I’m referring to situational awareness, it’s about what’s the situation with my heart.

Is what I’m saying, uh, coming from a place of acceptance, reason, understanding, and love, and peace, as I give direction? Or [00:13:00] is it coming from a place of shame, guilt, apathy, fear, remorse, uh, desire, pride, you know, all of these things? Situational awareness in the context I’m talking about is having an understanding of that internal narrative.

And is that internal narrative that I’m having creating separation, or is it creating a connection? And, um, learning to teach people, or teaching people how to work with that, and learning how to work with that.

Scott DeLuzio: Yoga then is, you know, we, like you said before, we’re, we’re all familiar with kind of the, the Western view of what yoga is with, you know, the, the, the flashy Instagram photos and those types of things. Right.

David Romero: And by the way, I’ve been there, done that. I’ve done

Scott DeLuzio: yeah,

David Romero: of that.

Scott DeLuzio: I’m not trying to shame anybody who posts those pictures, those pictures, I’m just saying that’s, that’s a piece of it.

That [00:14:00] that’s, that’s maybe part of what yoga is, but it’s not the full picture. Um, and some of it might not be very easy to capture. in a photo either, uh, if that makes sense. So, um, you know, so how does yoga help with this kind of mastery of the whole being of, of who you are? Like, you know, the, the, the emotions and the physical and the every, everything else that kind of goes along with that.

How does it, how does yoga help out in that scenario?

David Romero: Sure. So, like, let’s go to just a, so for the audience out there, we’ll just talk about just a very brief and easy definition of yoga. The word yoga means union. Um, the Sanskrit word would be yuk, Y U K, but, or yolk. So you have essentially the horse and the cart, and you have the thing that unionizes them together, that brings them together.

Um, So, in the [00:15:00] context of yoga meaning union, it is the union to the present moment, and so then that begs us to ask the question, well, what exists in this present moment? You have the physical body, you have that which is taking place externally from the body, then you have that which is taking place internally, which includes things like the breath, the heart rate, uh, bodily, um, functionality, and then we’re also, um, I don’t want to say competing against, but we’re also becoming more aware of our thoughts and what’s on our minds and, uh, how that internal narrative is either, um, benefiting us, or maybe it’s actually holding us back because there’s some belief systems there that are no longer of service, um, in the more modern systems of yoga, there’s, there’s, there’s.

Generally speaking, there’s four basic systems. Um, the one that, uh, I’ve studied the most and focused on the most is what is called Raja yoga. Um, Raja [00:16:00] is the, the youngest of the yoga practices. There’s other ones, but I don’t want to get too lost on syntax here. The actual yoga practices encompasses.

That’s the mental, the physiological, the breath, and then more of that meditative piece. And just briefly, if we were just to focus on the physical practice, that would be just one eighth of the entire practice. So, you know, what we see here in the West is really just one eighth of its totality. The bigger piece of the practice focuses on things like practicing non harming, practicing truthfulness, practicing non stealing.

Practicing conservation of energy, practicing non attachment and letting go. It also encourages people to practice, uh, contentment. It encourages people to practice learning how to cleanse and clean the body, uh, both physiologically as well as mentally. Uh, it teaches us how to have self [00:17:00] discipline. It teaches us self study.

And one of the ultimate pieces is it teaches us how to surrender and let go. Uh, then there’s. There’s the other portions of it, which would be learning to connect to your breath, because that’s what’s taking place in the present moment. And then there’s also the, you know, learning to detach from our senses, because our senses can sometimes lie to us or, you know, may convolute the actual experience taking place.

And then there’s actual meditation, contemplation, concentration, things like that. So yoga is actually a very loaded word. And when we break it down like that, it’s like, oh wow, I didn’t really realize yoga was that much. I just thought it was stretching. It is stretching. It’s physiological stretching, but it’s also mentally stretching.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah. Yeah. Um, it’s, it’s kind of like saying I, I studied science,

David Romero: Mm hmm.

Scott DeLuzio: or, or something, right. Okay. Well, did you study geology? Did you study [00:18:00] biology or chemistry or like physics? Like what, what was it that you were studying? Science is kind of a broad general topic. Um, yoga, is similar in that respect.

It sounds like, uh, in that there’s a lot of components that, that go into it. Yes, there’s the, the physical stretching that, that most of us are familiar with that you see those, those pictures on Instagram and that type of thing. But you know, the, the, the meditation and, and other things that go along with it, the things that you mentioned, um, and one, one thing that you did.

Uh, bring up and I, I kind of want to circle back to is, um, the, the concept of, uh, surrendering and letting go. Um, you know, like letting go of, uh, you know, thoughts and beliefs. Is that, that kind of what you’re talking about? Or, or is there, there more to it than that? And, and, uh, kind of what, what does that mean?

Because it, to me, I started, the reason why I want to bring that back up is because I feel like there’s a lot of things that, [00:19:00] People are dealing with that maybe if they were able to figure out a way to come to peace with them and let those things go, things might just start getting better for them, you know?

And so I kind of wanted to circle back to that one and see what your thoughts were on that.

David Romero: Uh, great question, too. Uh, when I refer that word letting go, um, one, it is, you know, in spiritual communities, it’s used a lot, and sometimes I feel like, um, It can, I don’t know if that’s the right word for this, uh, it can sometimes con, not convolute, it’s just a very loaded word. It’s a very nebulous, that’s the word, it’s a very nebulous phrase.

And so letting go in the context I’m referring to has to do with You know, letting go of shame, letting go of guilt, letting go of apathy, letting go of anger, letting go of fear, letting [00:20:00] go of pride, letting go of, uh, resentment and frustration, letting go of that self critic, letting go of self judgment, letting go of a belief system that I’m not enough or I’m not worthy, um, letting go of emotions, you know, a lot of, you know, Uh, military members that I know, we drank a lot, uh, we suppressed emotions all the time.

Um, we would self medicate. And so it’s about letting go of some of that stuff that’s been suppressed. Uh, you know, it’s, it doesn’t look tough or it doesn’t look strong. to, you know, have an eye full of tears. And I’ve, I recognize that, but at the same time too, constantly compartmentalizing emotions can actually do more harm than good because there is a psychosomatic reaction that starts to take place.

And then once we start to develop these habits that are harmful to the body, [00:21:00] It begins this slow cascade of dis ease that begins to set in. And I say dis ease that way because, uh, unhealthy habits are a form of dis ease. We have this dis ease towards life or towards a trigger. And so we lean on these coping mechanisms as habits in order to be able to temporarily deal with it.

But the truth is, we haven’t fully let it go yet. Right?

Scott DeLuzio: letting go, letting go of things is, is tricky because like you said, uh, you know, we, we get really good at compartmentalizing things. That’s not a great skill to have, you know, for long term things. Sometimes it’s, it’s necessary in a moment you may need to compartmentalize something, um, to get through that moment, um, because you need all your focus and attention on Whatever the task at hand might be, um, you know, I’m just [00:22:00] combat wise, you’re, you know, your, your best friend, uh, you know, something happens to your best friend.

Well, you can’t sit there sobbing and crying while the enemy is still attacking you. You have to kind of compartmentalize that and put that away and be like, okay, I’ll come back to you later and go. Continue doing what you need to do, uh, so you stay alive. You know, that’s just a survival thing, but there needs to be a time very shortly thereafter where you can go back and unpack that and, and figure out how to process that and, uh, ultimately let go of that.

Um, you know, if there’s, uh, you know, guilt or shame or something along those lines that you might be, uh, hanging on to because of the situation, um, You have to figure out a way to let go of that. And I know all of this is easier said than done. Um, and in the course of a roughly hour long podcast episode, it’s, it’s probably not, [00:23:00] we can just unpack and be like, Oh yeah, if you just do this, it’ll be fine.

Everything would be great. You know, that’s,

David Romero: it’s not.

Scott DeLuzio: no. Uh, and I know it’s not, so I’m not going to ask the loaded question, like, well, how do you do that? You know, because that answer may vary person to person, um, or it may be one of those things that takes. It takes time. Um, you know, that might be the answer too.

Um, and I’m sure that is part of it. That it will take time, because if it didn’t take time, everyone would just do it. And, uh, you know, it would be like, oh cool, I just, I just let go of it this afternoon, it was no big deal, you know. But we have to, I think with anything, we have to practice maybe with, with smaller things and work our way up to those bigger things, if that makes sense, right?

David Romero: Oh, yeah, 100%. And that’s why, um, you know, it is easier to start with a physical practice because that’s something that’s tangible. [00:24:00] Uh, you know, in just slowly but surely working through the discomfort in the physiological body because there is most likely also a lot of discomfort in the mental body, so to speak as well.

But I feel with good cueing and healthy instruction and patience being the number one thing, which isn’t always taught in the military, you know, um, um, um, But patience is the number one thing, uh, because if we’re not patient with ourselves, we’re going to get hurt and we’re going to get injured. The only other, one of the other things I might add to that too is learning vulnerability.

And that’s something that also takes a lot of time, uh, because no one likes to show their weak spots. Uh, people are often afraid that they’re going to be. used against them, or it’s going to be weaponized in some way because most likely it’s happened in the [00:25:00] past. So, uh, you know, learning to be vulnerable over time is one of the beautiful benefits I find of yoga, you know,

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, being, being vulnerable is also one of those things they don’t teach in the military.

David Romero: right.

Scott DeLuzio: That, that’s a kind of a big no no, I think, as far as military context is concerned. Um, we We don’t want people to be vulnerable. And so, um, you know, that might even contribute to the fact that people aren’t willing to go even talk to a therapist about the issues that they may be dealing with because I don’t want to be vulnerable.

That’s, that’s just not a thing. I’m going to do, but there’s other, there’s other ways of processing and working through these things. And which is, you know, honestly, part of this show, um, you know, I’m just taking a little segue [00:26:00] here for the listeners. Part of this show, the whole reason behind this show is to help folks who are struggling with, with things who may have tried a dozen different things.

To help out with whatever issue they’re having. Maybe they’re struggling with alcohol or drugs or, um, you know, they have mental health issues or whatever the case may be. Um, they tried a bunch of different things and those things don’t seem to be working. Well, the whole point is keep. Keep trying. Keep trying something new.

Um, if you haven’t tried yoga yet, for example, go try it. Try to, and not, not just the, um, you know, the, the stretching, the physical movements and, and things like that, which, uh, Are good, but, but incorporate the whole, um, whole practice and, and see how that helps, uh, you know, your, your, your mental state in the long run, your physical state as [00:27:00] well, but your mental state, especially.

Um, and. And keep trying different things. Maybe yoga doesn’t work for you for some reason that, you know, maybe it doesn’t. Well, okay, great. Try something else. And that’s why, you know, this is over 400 episodes now I’ve had, uh, of this show. Um, we keep putting out different, practices, different things that people can do.

Sometimes we come back and repeat some things. Um, you know, we’ve talked about yoga before, but it maybe reaches that person to just trigger that thing in their head that says, you know what? Yeah, I’m going to give this a try now. You know, you might need to hear kind of like a commercial on television.

You might need to hear it a couple of times before you’re like, you know what? Yeah, I’m going to go buy a Coke now, you know? Um, but so, all right, going back to, um, What you, you teach and what you practice, um, so you talked about the, the physical side of yoga, you know, the, the stretching and that type of stuff.

Um, [00:28:00] I know a lot of military folks, especially, um, like to do the more traditional kind of, uh, lifting weight, grunting kind of workouts, that, that type of stuff, or, or going for a run, that type of thing. Um, yeah. Are there benefits of incorporating them kind of side by side or, or do you suggest kind of going one, one route or the other?

David Romero: You know, I, I think it always comes down to, uh, the why, and when I’m working one on one with clients, I like to really get down to the root of their why. Um, why if, for instance, uh, I did a lot of bodybuilding once I got out of the military and um, you know, and, and my why was because I wanted a bigger body.

I wanted to be, I wanted to be stronger. I wanted my body to be admired. But there wasn’t necessarily, it was a strong body, but it wasn’t a flexible body. It was a body that could lift things in, you know, linear type motions. But, [00:29:00] um, it was not a body that could be able to function in a full range of motion and have a power band and all of that.

So, um, My, what I like to understand with people is why, why are you doing the workouts and are your workouts causing more harm than good? Are they, um, preventing injury or because of the way that you’re working them, is it actually causing more overuse injury because it’s a repetitive movement? Um, You know, a lot of folks will say to me, uh, I’m too, my body’s too tight to do yoga or my body’s too tense to do yoga.

And my retort always to that is like, that’s like saying you’re too dirty to take a bath. Okay. Um, like if you know that you’re tight, then common sense should dictate that maybe we should stretch. And if the word yoga kind of bugs you or, you know, I know sometimes the word yoga brushes up against certain religious beliefs too and there’s a misunderstanding of that.

[00:30:00] So people look at yoga as like, oh, that’s yoga. You know, that’s, uh, you know, the devil’s work or whatever. And, and I think it’s important to make correction around like, listen, you can have faith and you can do this too. You can have the best of both worlds if you’d like. Um, and so, uh, we have to first get over the belief system of what yoga is.

On the pure stretching side, you’re teaching the body how to open back up again, because where you have a contraction in your body, you’re going to have shunted blood flow. And vascular, um, you’re going to have lower lymphatic flow. Your limbic system’s not going to work properly. Your nerves are going to be constrained.

Depending on the type of weight lifting and also where you carry weight on your body, you’re going to have compression, which is going to put more intensity on joints. Um, their digestive tract wise, you know, if you’re not working out properly or if, you know, you may be taking a bunch of like, Just these [00:31:00] supplements, which I used to take, by the way, um, to, to get big.

Well, a lot of these things are not good for the gut biome. Um, outside of yoga, my specialty is actually in the gut biome, and I focus on, uh, helping understand the gut biome. But keeping this to yoga, It really is taking some of that pretense off what people’s idea of yoga is and help them understand that it’s more of a mental health practice than anything.

So that way you can function in your life without some of the same narratives. You know, if your body’s tight, And that’s a narrative that you’re saying to yourself, Oh, my back. Oh, my shoulder. Oh, my arms. How many times are you saying that during the day? How many times are you thinking about that pain that’s there?

How many hours are you waiting in a doctor’s office or a commute to a doctor’s office or waiting in line at a, at a pharmacy in order to get your meds? There are other [00:32:00] ways around it, and, um, uh, I know that when we choose to lean into it, uh, that, that the answers are there.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, and I think the last thing you said there is, is kind of a key point, um, that you have to, you have to kind of make that choice to lean into that, um, and going back to another thing you said about the, uh, kind of religious or spiritual aspect of it, you know, I, I don’t, I, I, you know, maybe I’m not a biblical scholar, but I don’t know anywhere in the Bible that it says don’t do yoga.

You know, that type of thing. Um, so, uh, you know, it’s generally, like you said, it’s a lot of, especially the physical aspect. If you’re stretching, you’re, you’re, you’re stretching, call it whatever you want. I don’t, I don’t really care. Um, you You’re stretching that part of your body that’s tense. Like you said, that just makes sense.

Why wouldn’t [00:33:00] you do that? You know, but before or after you go on a run, you, you stretch your legs. Um, because. You’re going to need them to be flexible and moving and, and all that. Otherwise that run is going to be miserable. You know, as if your legs start cramping up or whatever, like that’s awful. So why wouldn’t you, uh, go and do something like that?

But, um, you know, there’s, there’s other parts of your body. Um, I, I actually had a doctor’s appointment not, not too long ago. And, um, I, I had, you know, some problems with my neck and the doctor was like, kind of feeling like around my, my shoulders. And they said, I can’t believe how tense your shoulders are.

And I was like, I don’t know. It didn’t even, didn’t even occur to me that they, they were tense. Like it just felt like they were normal, but I’m walking around with tense shoulders all the time because I just didn’t even realize it. Um, but if I can start opening that up and stretching it and everything, um, it will, I [00:34:00] mean, it’ll probably help my neck too, you know, it’ll probably help other things.

You know, and so it’s, it’s like the, the silly song that you’d sing when you’re a kid, like the head bones connected to the neck, it’s connected to the shoulder, you know, everything’s connected. And if we’re just ignoring parts of it, well, that one piece is gonna maybe affect something else. So, you know, we, we have to pay attention to all of those things.

Right.

David Romero: absolutely. Yeah, it’s all it’s all interconnected. Uh, the body is a self encapsulated system. The only thing external is the breath and and and the foods that we input and uh, you know But overall the body’s encapsulated everything affects everything and if we’re not aware of that It’s a good time to start becoming more aware of that

Scott DeLuzio: Um, I briefly mentioned, uh, sound baths in the beginning, uh, the, the intro here. Um, tell me a little bit about those and, and like, tell, tell the audience a little bit about, [00:35:00] um, you know, kind of what that’s all about and, um, you know, how, how it works, what kind of benefits that it, it, it, uh, has to offer that type of thing.

David Romero: Sure, um, you know, soundbats, they have a very ritualistic aspect to them. Uh, ritualistic in the context of, um, The one language that all human beings share is music and sound. Um, you’ve, you’ve probably, you know, just been in your car and all of a sudden a song comes on and it just changes your mood just like that.

Or, you know, there’s a, there’s just a beat going on in an office you’re in and all of a sudden your foot just starts tapping and you don’t know why. It’s just all of a sudden there’s a syncing of that. And. Um, the body just naturally begins to sync up to it. Uh, there’s been studies on nature and waterfalls and, uh, how the power of that white noise helps to reset the body.

Basically, what [00:36:00] sound bath is, is, uh, you’re in a room. You’re lying on your back, your eyes are closed, you’re brought into a meditative space through long, slow, deep breathing, and then you have a whole orchestra of sound. And it’s not sound like pop radio sound. It is meditative. Generally speaking, it can be very calming sounds and soothing sounds and sounds with specific pitches and frequencies, which through science, we recognize has specific resonance to it.

Um, There is a, um, there is a physics experiment using these shaker boards, and what they’ll do is they’ll put sand on these, it’s called semantics, semantics, um, they’ll take shaker boards and they’ll run frequencies through it, and what’s interesting is it’ll take particles and it’ll move these particles into beautiful particles.

Uh, designs, and there [00:37:00] is a natural law and order that begins to take place once we start to have repeated ongoing tones. And so the goal of a sound bath is to have a repeated ongoing tone. It means 70 percent of your body is made out of water. It’s going to have a propulsion effect on cellular matter.

It’s going to affect the organelles. It’s going to affect tissue matter. Uh, there are certain things that. Sound and vibration can get into that not even water can get into, and that’s just because it’s percussion. It’s a waveform. It’s just straight physics. Now, the sort of woo part about this is that you take someone who’s generally used to some of the Western model.

And, uh, it’s like, what is all this sound stuff? I’m not used to it. But, you know, you put them into a room, you have them close their eyes and start to breathe, and already just by breathing and oxygenating the body, you’re starting to feel a [00:38:00] little bit more relaxed. And then when you start to add soothing tones over it, and create a safe environment.

It just continues to build on top of it. So, you know, ultimately, a sound bath practice or a sound healing practice is using sounds as tools and resonant frequencies to help bring the body to a healthier state of entropy and balance.

Scott DeLuzio: That’s, uh, makes sense because as you were talking about, you know, driving in the car and a song comes on and it, you know, triggers some sort of memory or, you know, some emotion, some reaction in you, I, there’s this one song, anytime it comes on, it, it’s, it brings me back to, uh, uh, I’m sitting in my, uh, my parents house when I was a kid, uh, playing video games with my brother, like, cause we just, we got a CD and a video game.

It was probably like Christmas time or something like that. And we, we put it in the [00:39:00] machine and we started playing this new video game. And that’s what we were doing. Uh, you know, sitting there, listening to music and playing video games. And so anytime that song comes on, I, it brings me right back to

David Romero: Mm

Scott DeLuzio: that time.

Um, you know, similarly, uh, people might’ve experienced things like sense where you smell something and it brings you back to that time. Uh, there’s a, you know, anytime I smell like fresh peppers, uh, like bell peppers or whatever brings me back to my grandfather’s garden that he had in his backyard. He grew peppers all the time.

And so similar to that in my mind is, is kind of like what, um, what you described there, but there’s other things too with, with these sounds that, um, like you said, I, with, with the, uh, the shaker boards, uh, with, with the, all the particles kind of arranging in, uh, different ways. Patterns and everything based on the sound frequency.

I’ve seen them, uh, that when they do this, uh, it’s so amazing to see these, these [00:40:00] intricate patterns just forming from the sound waves that are going through that. Um, now that’s not to say that you’re getting these. Geometric patterns or whatever, like in your body as you’re listening to the music. But like you said, the sound waves do flow through you.

Um, and there’s, there’s gotta be some, uh, you know, effect on you when, when they, they go through you. Um, and I know personally, I’ve, I’ve listened to some of these, um, some of this, the sounds and you start to feel It’s, I don’t know how to describe it, you just feel, sometimes you just feel more relaxed, um, you know, it’s hard to really put your finger on it, but, but I think it’s one of those things, like you said, you have to do these things Over and over again order to start really seeing the benefits of it.

It’s not like a [00:41:00] one and done. Let me just go listen to this one track and I’ll be, I’ll be good to go. You need to kind of have it kind of repeatedly over time. Um, you know, In your experience, is this something that, um, you know, is like a, a life, lifelong ongoing type thing, or is this something where, where people can, um, do it intermittently kind of on a, as needed basis, like, you know, as, Going through, like, I’m not like, how does that kind of work?

David Romero: You know, um, There’s a couple different areas in this I’ll discuss. The one would be with, you know, frequency, uh, no pun intended, but, you know, working with sound. I, I feel like it’s one of those things where you don’t need like a public sound bath all the time. You can just put on some calming tunes inside of your house and let that fill the environment.

Just being in that environment alone and also with the [00:42:00] intention because it’s also about living life with intention. If I want to create an intentional environment around me and peace and calmness as part of it, then I’m going to create a, uh, atmosphere that supports that. Uh, as far as in person, there is something beautiful about, you know, my wife and I at Bay Club, we, we teach a sound bath class every Wednesday night and it’s a packed class.

I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s mat to mat. And, uh, what we enjoy about it is just the community. Uh, you know, we have everybody. We have doctors and attorneys. We have, you know, nurses. We have mothers. We have fathers. We have, you know, um, social workers and therapists. We have a whole array of people. It’s not meant for just one type of person.

Uh, you know, uh, when we lead our lessons too, we always try to have a topic at hand. For instance, this week’s topic is purging and letting [00:43:00] go and. Uh, because we’re going through that with our move right now. And, um, there’s something about working in, in, in doing this work in community that’s also beneficial.

In fact, you may have heard of the name Dr. Joseph, uh, Joe Dispenza. Uh, maybe, maybe not. That’s, uh, he is a medical doctor, but he has really learned to bridge, uh, the science, biologics, as into mental health and spirituality. And he did, Test after test on individuals that meditated with sounds and meditated with prayer and in a number of different ways and his, his, um, blood test demonstrated that the immune systems of individuals that practice in community and meditated were significantly, significantly higher than those that didn’t practice at all.

And, um, I find that fascinating. But again, the community aspect is important, I feel, um, but you can do it, you know, on and off as [00:44:00] much as you need to. Most people will usually, you know, they start to get stressed out and they’re like, yeah, you know what? I’ll go to a sound bath. I think I’ll just go relax and breathe for a little while.

Scott DeLuzio: Yeah, I think that, and that’s a good point, you know, that, that a lot of people will do that, that way where, um, you know, Hey, I’m starting to get stressed out. Oh yeah, let’s, let’s go do that thing. It’s almost like, uh, you know, I’m, oh, I have a headache. Let me go take some. Yeah, you know, some ibuprofen or something, you know, to, for that headache.

I’ll, I’ll go take that right now because of that. Um, my, my thought though was, you know, could it, and, and what you’re saying is, is yes to this, I believe. Um, you know, could it also be one of those things that’s just ongoing, kind of a, almost a preventative maintenance kind of thing, uh, you know,

David Romero: Yeah. A hundred percent. Um, I think it is one of those preventative, it’s one of those things that you just add to your tool belt. Uh, it’s there and it’s available and you can do local searches, searches in your community for something [00:45:00] like that. If that’s something that. You know, but ultimately, too, I think it comes down to, um, the person that’s leading it, uh, as well, um, the message that’s behind it, and, um, you know, feeling safe, uh, for a lot of people, the idea of laying down on their back, uh, and closing their eyes is not safe.

Scott DeLuzio: especially, especially in a room with other people, uh, there, you know, that,

David Romero: Yeah, it’s

Scott DeLuzio: I can understand that. Yeah,

David Romero: very, it can be very awkward at first. I remember how my first one was. So, uh, I was like, what are all these weirdos doing? And then

Scott DeLuzio: Right.

David Romero: I’m doing

Scott DeLuzio: And then you realize you’re one of the weirdos, too,

David Romero: Yeah. And then I’m like, we’re all weird.

Scott DeLuzio: You know, and it does make sense, too, I think. There’s gonna be some resistance to this type of thing. It’s different. Uh, it’s not something that we do all the time. We don’t go lay in a room full of strangers. Well, actually I could, I should [00:46:00] take that back because most people who’ve been in the military has probably laid down in a room full of strangers.

Uh, you know, whether it’s basic training or, you know, some other, you know, you’re out in the field or whatever. You’ve, you’ve laid down next to strangers and closed your eyes. Um, you know, eventually those people are not strangers, but, um, you know, you, you’ve laid down in a room full of people and closed your eyes and, um, you, you went to sleep, you know, um, you figured that out.

You, you’re able to do that. So if you think that’s weird, or if you think the, uh, you know, the sound bath is weird, laying down next to other people and closing your eyes. Well, you’ve done it before, so it’s not that weird.

David Romero: Yeah. Yeah. Maybe it’s not weird enough.

Scott DeLuzio: know, maybe, maybe we can make it weird, you know, we, we can get, we can get real close up close and personal and make it weird.

But I think, I think that might be a bit of a stretch, but, um, you know, I guess my, my point is that, um, You know, anything that you try is going to be weird at first. You know, [00:47:00] going, I remember the first time I went to like a traditional therapy session. Um, that was weird. Uh, I never, never talked about these feelings.

Like what, what are feelings like? Those are the things that I don’t talk about. That, that’s what they are. And that was weird to me too. Um, you know, a lot of things you’re going to try are going to be weird the first time that you try them. They’re going to be uncomfortable. They’re going to be awkward.

They’re going to be, um, you know, there’s going to be a lot of. You know, uncertainty, maybe even with like, am I wasting my time? Is this thing even going to work for me? You know, that type of thing. Um, but eventually you got to get over that, uh, that, that awkwardness and just say, you know what, screw it. I’m, I’m just gonna, I’m going to go do it.

And. Yeah, the first time is going to be weird, but guess what? The next time is going to be a little less weird. And the time after that, a little, little less than the time before. And, and eventually you’re going to kind of just get comfortable with it. And, um, you’ll be able to experience those benefits, but if you don’t give it a [00:48:00] try and if you don’t like give it a good try, like, like, Multiple sessions and trying it over, over and over again.

Um, you, you’re never gonna get used to it and yeah, you’re, you’re probably right. It’s gonna be a self fulfilling prophecy where it, it’s not gonna, it’s not gonna work for you because you don’t let it work. Um, so, so yeah, definitely give it a try, you know? Um, now I, I know. There, there are, there are folks out there.

We’re just talking about how, you know, there’s some maybe resistance and hesitation to, uh, yoga and sound baths and, and all of these types of things. Um, do you have any advice for folks who might be new to all of this and might be hesitant to get out there and try it?

David Romero: Sure. Um, one, uh, it begins with leaning in, um, just softening, uh, looking at what the resistance really is all about. Um, you [00:49:00] know, there is a piece of it that always begs, for me anyways, it begs the questioning is what’s the conditioning? What is the conditioning that’s getting in the way from allowing me to open up and be vulnerable?

Or what is the conditioning that’s in place that prevents me from wanting to perhaps seek help or really receive? And, um, because of a lot of the work that I do and my wife does around enoughness of being enough and being worthy, Uh, questions like, you know, do you feel like you’re enough? Do you feel like you’re worthy enough?

Like, let’s, let’s maybe unpack that a little bit. You know, what’s getting in the way? If, if there’s a narrative or belief that, oh, that’s a waste of time, then maybe let’s explore that a little bit and see what that narrative’s about. Because if you’re telling me that you’re having reoccurring chronic issues, then we need to make the time in order to understand this.

We have to stop saying that I’m too busy or there’s not enough time or Lying on my [00:50:00] back is a waste of time, when actually lying on your back could be that break that is necessary because what you’re really doing is just sitting on the couch and, you know, watching TV and drinking or, you know, short cutting your life in some way, shape, or form.

Not that that’s the case for everyone, but I feel like that’s the kind of dialogue that needs to take place. Um,

Scott DeLuzio: And just to that point, uh, you know, I, I can see there, there’s going to be some people it’s like, well, what if someone finds out I’m doing yoga? You know, that, that type of, you know, like, like it’s a, uh, taboo thing almost to say, like, oh, I’m doing it, like, oh, they’re not going to think I’m, I’m manly enough or, you know, whatever.

It’s like, who freaking cares what, what they think? Like, if it’s going to help you go do it, you know?

David Romero: and I think that’s a huge piece too, is the misunderstanding that’s there and breaking through cultural conditioning around it. Um, um, you know, that’s going to take time. [00:51:00] I feel it takes, one is, there are certain areas of yoga that use what I would just refer to and no knock against it, that’s just what it is, but more like woo, flowerly, flowery language and I feel that the instruction has to come sometimes from an individual that Uh, can understand, that can relate, and is similar.

Uh, for instance, my classes, generally speaking, lack a lot of woo. There’s more science that are involved with them. I love reading research papers. So, I like to bring in research papers in medical studies and help people understand from a peer reviewed space that it’s not just David that’s making these things up.

There’s science here that clearly demonstrates that this is beneficial, and if you can help people make the link between that, or for instance, especially since the main audience is veterans, you know, looking at, you know, asking questions like, how has war [00:52:00] really affected you? How has it made you more tense?

How has it made you look over your shoulder? How has it? I feel like we have prevented a break, um, in creating a connection between your husband or your wife or your children. If there is dysfunction showing up in some way in your life, then maybe we need to look at that and see how either that’s showing up physiologically, or perhaps how that’s showing up mentally in your relationship with the rest of the world.

And I feel that if we can get down to that, Uh, we can make some very strong headway, but again, it comes down to relatability, and if we can make yoga something more relatable rather than this sort of woo culture that is sometimes, uh, appropriated to, uh, you know, kind of given to it, it makes a lot more sense.

Scott DeLuzio: all that, the woo, uh, stuff that you’re, you’re [00:53:00] talking about, you know, if, if you kind of put that aside and, and think of it from strictly a, uh, kind of a fact based, uh, you know, take all that, the flowery stuff out and, and all that. Um, you know, like you’re saying, you’re, you’re kind of more science based and, uh, you know, you, you look at things and, and try to apply, you know, the logic and reasoning and, and all that, that you were just kind of discussing.

Um, when you, when you do it that way, it kind of doesn’t seem so. Uh, you know, woo and flowery anymore. It’s kind of like, Oh, well, uh, this makes sense now. You know, you can wrap your head around that type of thing. So, you know, maybe that’s, that’s what it is. Maybe, maybe it’s just really getting folks to, uh, you know, understand. The science behind some of this, the, uh, the factual type things and, and not, not make the, you know, again, not knocking folks who do this, but not making the, the Instagram [00:54:00] kind of, uh, you know, famous type things, uh, be. center of attention because that isn’t the whole picture. You know, there’s a lot to it that doesn’t even show up when you go to look at that kind of stuff on, on Instagram.

And so when you, when you get, uh, when you get the details and the science and the full picture too, because like you said, uh, yoga is more than just stretching. Um, you know, there’s a lot more to it. Um, and when you, when you, um, kind of bring in. All of those extra, those not extra, but all of those pieces that people don’t typically think about, um, they start to fit together in a way that, um, can be really beneficial in people’s lives.

And I, I really do, uh, think that, that more people should, uh, you know, check it out, at least give it a try. Um, you know, Maybe it’s not for you. Okay, cool. [00:55:00] Check the box. You tried it. Move on. Um, but give it a try at least. Um, you know, especially if you’re, you’re struggling with physical, uh, you know, issues, mental, uh, health issues, um, those types of things, uh, could, could really be, uh, beneficial to using, uh, yoga.

Um, before we wrap up, um, can you Tell folks a little bit more about, uh, you know, where they can go to find out more about you and the type of, uh, you know, the, the work that you do, uh, in, in that type of stuff.

David Romero: Sure, um, you know, uh, of course there’s my Facebook page, social media, uh, under David Romero, and uh, um, there’s my Instagram page, which is The Yogi, Y O G I D R, that’s my initials. It’s David Romero, so it looks like the yogi doctor, but it’s not, um, uh, there’s David Romero yoga online on YouTube, where there’s literally hundreds of videos, um, filmed a lot of [00:56:00] them during the pandemic, uh, but you can check that out online there.

And then, um, I do work with a, a wonderful nonprofit organization called the Coming Home Project. And, uh, it’s, it’s a lot of special forces guys, pilots, uh, and individuals that have really seen combat action. And, you know, uh, we really try to provide emergency grant money for, uh, individuals that, um, are working more on alternative therapies and practices.

So, uh, just know that that’s out there too for, uh, individuals that are struggling. And, of course, you can find me at Bay Club, uh, where I still teach, and, um, you know, uh, we are, my wife and I are developing a website, uh, Luminosity, uh, is the name of our company, and we’re, uh, we’re building on that whole app too, to, for coaching of individuals and helping folks, uh, work through some of the stress and trauma that comes with life.

Thanks.[00:57:00]

Scott DeLuzio: Excellent. And I’ll have links to, uh, you know, all your social media and all the stuff that you just, uh, talked about there in the show notes for folks to check out. Uh, so that they, they can get in touch with you if they’re, they’re looking for, uh, you know, anything specific or they can, they can watch some of the videos that you put together.

I, you know, obviously, uh, like you said, during the pandemic, um, you know, just doing these things in person, uh, wasn’t a possibility, you know, a lot of places were closed down and that certainly had an impact on, on folks, uh, on their, their mental health. Um, but, Having videos like the ones that you did, uh, certainly can help people, uh, do stuff in the privacy of their home and the safety security of their home.

Right. But going forward, people are maybe hesitant to go out to a place to do this type of stuff. And if they can do it from home, well, all the better. And at least that, that gets the [00:58:00] initial awkwardness out. Like, I don’t, I don’t know what I’m doing. So, well, at least you can figure it out and make a fool of yourself to, you know, your dog or something, you know, and not, not a room full of people.

Um, you know, and, and that’s, that’s maybe a little less, uh, stressful. And then once you kind of start to figure out some of it, um, you can maybe, uh, Take it out into public and show, show people what you’ve learned from all these videos. So I’ll have links to all that in the show notes. Um, before we wrap up though, um, I always do like to end the episodes with a little bit of humor.

Um, and whenever I have another, uh, veteran on the show, um, I, I like to do a segment that I call, is it service connected? Um, just real quick segment, um, where we watch a video, um, of. People kind of America’s funniest home videos style, uh, type thing, um, where people do something stupid or whatever. And, and, uh, we kind of laugh and joke about them the way only, I think [00:59:00] only veterans can.

Um, and we, we laughed about it a little bit and, uh, uh, you know, so I’m going to share my screen with you real, real quick here. So you can take a look at. Uh, what we’re, we’re looking at here for the audio only, uh, listeners here, check it out on YouTube or X, uh, Twitter, whatever. Um, uh, so you can, you can watch the full, uh, video here.

I’ll try to describe it as best I can right now. Uh, I can kind of guess what’s about to happen because there’s a helicopter. It looks like

David Romero: Uh,

Scott DeLuzio: over a bunch of tents, uh, in a field. And, uh, You know what, I’m just going to say, I’m calling it right now, one of these tents is going flying, uh, I don’t

David Romero: going. Maybe even a porter potty. Well, those look

Scott DeLuzio: oh my gosh,

David Romero: yeah, something’s going.

Scott DeLuzio: something is going flying through the air, uh, in addition to the helicopter that’s already there, I don’t think anything’s, Happening with that helicopter.

I think, I think one of these tents is going flying. That’s my bet. So let’s see what happens. Um, yeah. Okay. Well, I mean, [01:00:00] in the first second or two, at least two tents took off, uh, in the air and there’s a bunch of people inside of a tent right now, everything’s blowing around, there’s something on the ground there.

Oh yeah. There’s a tent in the trees. Um, oh my gosh. So. Yeah, uh, I would say, um, you know, it didn’t look like anyone got like seriously injured, although I couldn’t see where that tent came from, you know, who got dragged along with it. But, um, that was, uh, they probably should have had that tent staked down a little bit better than whatever that was.

But, um, the helicopter is also really close to those tents. So that, that’s kind of like maybe an unfair thing to say too, because I don’t know those tents are rated for that kind of wind condition, you know. Um,

David Romero: I think that, uh, some, someone’s going to be getting a letter of reprimand over that.

Scott DeLuzio: somebody, yeah. And I’m guessing it’s maybe the pilot, uh, for, for being that close.

David Romero: talk about situational [01:01:00] awareness.

Scott DeLuzio: Right. Yeah. You’re 50 feet off the ground and there’s a bunch of tents there. Um, likely there’s other people there. You probably shouldn’t be landing there. Um,

David Romero: was that, uh, Blackhawk, or what was it? It was an Apache. It was

Scott DeLuzio: Uh, looks like an Apache. It doesn’t look like a Blackhawk. It looks, yeah, it looks like an Apache. So, um, they probably shouldn’t be landing there. Uh, I guess regardless, um, you know, there’s definitely troops there and there’s definitely tents there, uh, that those blades are probably going to be hitting the top of a tent if they were to land there, so, yeah, find another place to land, dude.

Um, that’s not it. Um, Anyways, uh, David, thank you again for taking the time to come on, uh, sharing, uh, you know, a little bit. I know it’s a complex topic and there’s a lot of, uh, moving parts to it, um, but, uh, you know, sharing what you can, uh, you know, in the short amount of time that we had here to, uh, hopefully encourage some folks to go, uh, Check out yoga, [01:02:00] um, and, and the full practice, not, not just, you know, the, the highlights that you see on, uh, Instagram.

Not that there’s anything wrong with those pieces of it, um, but, but there’s, there’s a lot more to it. And so, you know, check it out, um, see what it does for you. Um, hopefully it’s something that is helpful and if you need help along the way, uh, again, all of David’s links will be in the show notes. So you can reach out to David, um, who can, um, you know, if you can’t.

personally help you because you maybe are not in that geographic location. He might be able to point you in the right direction to get you the help that you need, uh, to get you started on, on this journey. So, uh, thank you again, David. I really do appreciate it.

David Romero: Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it

Scott DeLuzio: Thanks for listening to the Drive On Podcast. If you want to support the show, please check out Scott’s book, Surviving Son on Amazon. All of the sales from that book go directly back into this podcast and work to help veterans in need. You can also follow the Drive On Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, [01:03:00] YouTube, and wherever you listen to podcasts.