Latina entrepreneur Eugenia Altamira a Mexican-American has a unique back-story.

Editor’s note: This is part one of a three part series.

The company is called Respiremos, born from Eugenia Altamira’s vision to bring Transformational Breath® to Mexico and Latin America. The first seeds were planted years ago and now Respiremos offers Transformational Breath® Sessions, Workshops and Professional Trainings in Latin America, USA, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

As of 2017 there are three main areas where Respiremos is currently focused: furthering education related to Breathwork, research and continuing to do pro bono work with different groups, including a women’s prison.

Where it all started

I grew up in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and I was lucky enough to be there at the time where it was just a small town, where everyone knew each other and we were free to roam in the city, explore the desert and dive into the sea.

I love sahring this, because the way I see it I have many backgrounds, when my mother was pregnant she got sick and died shortly after I was born. I was raised by my dad, my grandmother, my aunts, the mothers of my friends and my dad’s wives. He married four times and every one of his wives was so different that we changed everything; our diets, clothing, schools, relationships, friends, often city or houses, a completely new life style.

I have a collection of experiences. Growing up some of these aspects were very hard, there was a lot of changes, instability, the need to blend in, to fit in, to create the less amount of problems and to please everyone around me.

And in the long run it also gave me a lot of flexibility, adaptability and wider perspective of life.

My second step mom was abusive physically and mentally and those seven years really destroyed my self-confidence. I lost the sense of who I was. It was a long journey to find myself and my identity. To heal and forgive.

The constant in my life

The constant in my life, even in the worst times, was a loving family.

My sister has been my companion my guardian and my protector, she will defend me with her life and I would do the same for her. I see so many siblings that are constantly fighting and every day I feel so grateful for this connection. My father has always been there, ready with a loving word, always with unconditional acceptance and trust.

He always made me feel appreciated. And in my extended family I have always felt a strong love and support, my aunts and my grandma were amazing mothers, loving, caring, supportive. I believe deeply in the strength of family, the nurturing that comes with it and even the challenges it can represent.

My family has kept me sane and motivated, it’s one of the biggest engines in my life. It is my turn now to be there for the younger generations and pass along this beautiful gift.

I believe this is one of the largest gifts the Latin community has to offer. The love and solidarity that comes from this kind of upbringing.

I can see now, how every single moment of my life forged my character and the person I am today. And I can honestly say that right now I really like this person, so I wouldn’t change any of this moments.

My family is filled with strong self-sufficient women

My family is filled with strong self-sufficient women, my grandmother was always the rock in her family and that tradition has carried on to my generation.

We are problem solvers, what I have learned in my upbringing, from all my “mothers”, is that every problem has a solution, we just have to keep trying and then we can make it happen. And oh boy we do!

This has been a very helpful mind frame to have. My father is a Dentist, the same as my grandfather and at heart he’s always been an artist, he paints, he plays the guitar, he sings, he even creates little sculptures that he carves in wood and stone with the tools of his dentistry office. I think it’s so beautiful that he can combine these two aspects.

I believe the biggest imprint my father left in me, is that we have the possibility to accept life as it comes and we can always find happiness in it, if we look for it.

I’m the second person from my family to move to the US, one other cousin has been here for many years, but we’re not in touch. I didn’t really see myself living in USA, because in my head my home will always be Mexico. Through my life, I have left Mexico for one or two years, and then I have always returned.

It was my work and love that brought me here in a permanent fashion.

10 years ago, the Co-Creator of the Transformational Breath® technique, Dr. Judith Kravitz hired me to be her personal assistant in an internship program and I moved to live with her in New Hampshire. During that time, I got to travel all over the world teaching beside her. And I also met the man who is now my husband.

He is also a Transformational Breath® Facilitator and we fell in love while doing this work together. We have now been married for 7 years and I consider this relationship one of the biggest gifts Breathwork has given me.

Following an unsteady childhood and a history of abandonment, I was incapable of creating healthy relationships and was completely afraid of commitment. After years of working with Psycho-therapy, it was finally in the Breath that I found resolution and answers.

And I love this man so much that I decided to move to USA, so we could be together.

Truth be told, after my internship ended he followed me to Mexico, convinced me to marry him and to move to the USA. It was so romantic. How could I say no to the big gesture? And then a whole new adventure unfolded. How to create a life for myself, in a permanent way, outside of Mexico?

Next- Factors that shaped my career or business aspirations.