Today we’d like to introduce you to Amina Kargbo.
Amina, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Thank you for having me. I am a Certified Meditation Instructor and Sound Healer here in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m from Sierra Leone, West Africa,and was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Growing up, my mother would always talk about what a serious and inquisitive child I was. By age five, I needed to know exactly where God was in the sky and how the sun knew to rise and set each day (laughs). I remember having so many questions about life and being frustrated by the confusion those unanswered questions caused. Over the years, I developed social anxiety and depression and some of those debilitating traits carried over into adulthood, which held me back from a lot of opportunities. I’ve always been a creative person, from singing, to dance, to art, to literature, to rap battles (laughs), but getting out of my comfort zone to cultivate any of those gifts seemed almost impossible to me. For years, I was content in corporate jobs, doing just enough to get by. Eventually, I found myself kind of just floating through life. I’d say my story truly began after the passing of my son Amir in 2015. I moved to Atlanta shortly after. At that time, I had no idea where my life was heading, I just knew I needed to move…physically, spiritually, and mentally. I didn’t really tell anyone I was leaving Florida, I just left. Not quite sure what I was looking for, I ended up finding myself. I always knew I possessed healing characteristics, but it wasn’t until I moved to Atlanta and started spending more time learning myself, that those charateristics took on a new meaning. I found meditation during a dark time on my journey, while trying to find holistic alternatives to medications and unhealthy addictions. Over time, I began to notice my mental health and outlook on life starting to change for the better and I slowly overcame the obstacles of doubt, depression and negative self-talk. I aquired cerification as a Meditation Instructor originally as a way to learn how to deepen my own personal understanding of self, but the more I learned about managing my own mindset through prayer, patience and different forms of meditation, the more I felt called to share it with my community.
Thank you for having me. I am a Certified Meditation Instructor and Sound Healer here in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m from Sierra Leone, West Africa,and was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. Growing up, my mother would always talk about what a serious and inquisitive child I was. By age five, I needed to know exactly where God was in the sky and how the sun knew to rise and set each day (laughs). I remember having so many questions about life and being frustrated by the confusion those unanswered questions caused. Over the years, I developed social anxiety and depression and some of those debilitating traits carried over into adulthood, which held me back from a lot of opportunities. I’ve always been a creative person, from singing, to dance, to art, to literature, to rap battles (laughs), but getting out of my comfort zone to cultivate any of those gifts seemed almost impossible to me. For years, I was content in corporate jobs, doing just enough to get by. Eventually, I found myself kind of just floating through life. I’d say my story truly began after the passing of my son Amir in 2015. I moved to Atlanta shortly after. At that time, I had no idea where my life was heading, I just knew I needed to move…physically, spiritually, and mentally. I didn’t really tell anyone I was leaving Florida, I just left. Not quite sure what I was looking for, I ended up finding myself. I always knew I possessed healing characteristics, but it wasn’t until I moved to Atlanta and started spending more time learning myself, that those charateristics took on a new meaning. I found meditation during a dark time on my journey, while trying to find holistic alternatives to medications and unhealthy addictions. Over time, I began to notice my mental health and outlook on life starting to change for the better and I slowly overcame the obstacles of doubt, depression and negative self-talk. I aquired cerification as a Meditation Instructor originally as a way to learn how to deepen my own personal understanding of self, but the more I learned about managing my own mindset through prayer, patience and different forms of meditation, the more I felt called to share it with my community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?When I sit and think about where and who I am today in comparison to who I was just a few years ago, I am extremely proud of my progress. I’d have to say the road has been more like an emotional rollercoaster…but you grow through what you go through. I believe that if I had never experienced hard times or misfortunes, I wouldn’t be as grateful for all that I am and have in this present moment. I learned to take my “L’s” with grace and view them as lessons instead of losses. I feel as though my biggest challenge was getting out of my comfort zone in order to share my gifts with others. I’ve often been told that I have a warm, calming energy about me. and I have been able to sit and talk to complete strangers about how they feel, genuinely empathize with them, and share modalities of meditation that have helped me overcome some of my obstacles… but when it came to turning that into a profession, I was terrified. Getting over the hump of self doubt and trusting in my craft was one of my biggest challenges. I am appreciative of those challenges i’ve had to face, because they have made me the woman I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I moved to Georgia, I found employment at Grady Hospital. In the six years that I have called Atlanta home, I have grown tremendously at that organization. Through the patients and members of the community I have been able to connect with, I developed a true sense of purpose at Grady and cannot tell my story without mentioning the impact that establishment has had on me. Its truly changed my life. Around the start of the pandemic, working at the hospital, I remember feeling so helpless at the site of how thinly stretched the employees were. I didn’t know how else to help but to step out of my comfort zone and offer up free meditation to the nurses. I’m forever grateful to the health system’s leadership for caring about their employees enough to see the value in allowing me to offer my services. I collected reviews from six different sessions of ten nurses per class and what I read not only warmed my heart but brought me to tears. I’m most proud of that day because up until that point, I had only offered meditation to close friends or family due to my social anxiety and fear of public speaking. Seeing how I was able to make such a positive impact gave me the push I needed to expand and keep going. Today, I am the owner of
When I moved to Georgia, I found employment at Grady Hospital. In the six years that I have called Atlanta home, I have grown tremendously at that organization. Through the patients and members of the community I have been able to connect with, I developed a true sense of purpose at Grady and cannot tell my story without mentioning the impact that establishment has had on me. Its truly changed my life. Around the start of the pandemic, working at the hospital, I remember feeling so helpless at the site of how thinly stretched the employees were. I didn’t know how else to help but to step out of my comfort zone and offer up free meditation to the nurses. I’m forever grateful to the health system’s leadership for caring about their employees enough to see the value in allowing me to offer my services. I collected reviews from six different sessions of ten nurses per class and what I read not only warmed my heart but brought me to tears. I’m most proud of that day because up until that point, I had only offered meditation to close friends or family due to my social anxiety and fear of public speaking. Seeing how I was able to make such a positive impact gave me the push I needed to expand and keep going. Today, I am the owner of
Manage Your Mindset, a small meditation practice working with children, executives, front-line workers, and members of my community in an effort to hold safe spaces for individuals to comfortably tap into themselves. As a certified Meditation Instructor and Sound Healer, I guide those who seek mental clarity through a meditative experience. I practice in various modalities of meditation, including breath work, mindfullness, and the use of crystal and tibetan sound bowls, to aid in rebalancing of the mind, body and spirit. I’m like a cheerleader for spiritual well-being, but much calmer, (laughs). There are so many benefits to meditation and sound therapy, such as reduced stress, lower blood pressure, improved sleep, and fewer mood swings. Over time, it also leads to a renewed sense of calm, happiness and well- being. It has truly been a blessing to be of this type of service to my community and I look forward to expanding in this field.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?To be honest, I don’t really believe in luck. I always felt like for something to be labeled as “good luck” implies that it’s going to run out at some point. I’ve never been the right caller on the radio station, had anything handed to me, or won random prizes, which some may say only happens to “lucky” people. I have learned a lot of tough lessons and shed a lot of tears, but overall life has still been good, so I’d never call it bad luck. I’ve been low before, but still found things to be grateful for and in turn, good things continue to come. The role of patience has played a significant part in my life and budding meditation practice but luck, not so much. I believe in surrendering to the process, and knowing that everything will align in God’s timing.
Contact Info:
- Website: manageyourmindset.net
- Instagram: Minas_Vibe
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCCxgoIaO0BVDeG1RuhDamMQ
Image Credits
Photographer: Aferg Media
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