REfashiond Icon | Patricia Petralba

I literally cannot believe we are about to roll into October! This year has been a bit of a whirlwind for us. We are going through some growing pains, and while that is always fantastic news, it has put this small team quite behind on so many things! You will have quite the number of icons coming to you as we round out this year and this edition!

Today though, I am so excited to bring to Patricia as one of this year's Success REfashiond Icons! She is a doctor and wellness professional and coach, she works to bring together eastern and western medicines to help women feel their absolute best. Her mission is to support women in their journey of changing the world, starting with them. She is working hard to create a community of women who are taking back that part of their power! Please read more about her below!

Interview with Patricia Petralba

Jessica: What does RED symbolize for you?

Patricia: Red is foundation. The first chakra or first energy body system. It signifies stability and safety. The board to where we can leap. Red is flow, like our blood, it is the river of energy and fuels our every cell. Red is magnetic, is allows us to magnetize and attract what we desire.

Jessica: What does Success REfashiond Mean to you?

Patricia: Success is a moving target of reclamation, renovation, repair and reinventing as we move forward to the goal. We need to be able to put on and off what feels fashionably powerful, authentic and impactful to our mission and to our joy as we move towards what success means to us. Fashion is such a powerful indicator of what we feel inside and we can use it to express and communicate ourselves. So to refashiond to me is to be able to be detached, let go an "re". Being open to multiple layers of our expression as we do our best for fashion to match our internal progress and state.

Jessica: Tell us about you

Patricia: I am a Filipina, wife and mother of two beautiful children. I love being in nature and observe the truth it unfolds. I love playing and being silly with my children. It's such a healing experience every time to laugh and see the world through their perspective, which to me feels like pure joy and wonder. I love traveling and seeing the world. It connects me to my culture and heritage even more as I see the world.

Jessica: Tells us about what you do.

Patricia: I am medical doctor and women's wellness coach. I love supporting women go beyond the overwhelm of health and wellness information and help them have clarity in their healing journey with joy and purpose. I help them go beyond survival mode and thrive in all areas of their lives as a woman, in their relationships and career.

Jessica: Why is the work you do so important?

Patricia: As the saying goes, the future is female. And I am a firm believer of that. When we claim this future is now, through our own health as women, we can change the world. In our homes, in our corporate jobs and in our community. I see how women feel burdened by their divine women biology such as menstrual health, fertility and menopause. We mold our time and energy management like we have male biology and it diminishes our power as a creator and leader in our homes and work and ultimately affects our health. When women are ready to be helped by me, I see them own their feminine energy and see more trust and peace. I see how this also reflects their passion, their energy, their purpose and it also reflects in their blood work and bank account!

Jessica: What’s a common myth about your industry or business? and can you debunk it? 

Patricia: In the health and wellness industry, people perceive it as hard journey. How people think living a healthy lifestyle is boring, strict and isolating. It cannot be further from the truth.

As for being a medical doctor, doctors think that serving patients and making and impact means being the the insurance system. I have found that insurance based medical care is a good start, but I wish doctors could have more courage if they think they want to get to the root case of disease, to step our of corporate insurance based model and practice how they want.

Jessica: Do you feel like your industry is male dominant? If so, has there been improvement in this area in recent years? why?

Patricia: Where do I start?! Absolutely, and it's not in the numbers but the seat on the table of boards and leadership. The medical system, specially the training and hospital system in the United States ( and a lot of other places) still does not have a model or has not adapted to what women's needs are. For example the simple health break for menstrual cycles, maternity leave and post partum. So women before they get to leadership roles, drop out because it's not sustainable for their season of womanhood.

Jessica: Who are 2-3 women who made huge influences on your life?

Patricia: Lea Salonga, a filipina Tony Awardee broadway singer and actress. She said "why not the world"? She was also the singing voice of Disney movies Jazmine and Mulan. It helped me dream big and seeing another Filipina as a child go global and be excellent in their craft. Angeles Arrien- An american anthropologist. Her Four Fold Way book helped me really activate deeper the healing and warrior inside of me. Ann of Green Gables - a fictional child turned woman who grew up in Prince Edward Island, she has given me the gift of imagination.

Jessica: What was a struggle you remember facing when you began?

Patricia: So many! Majority of it was mindset. I was afraid of losing the community I had with my previous job. I love my patients. I was afraid to leave my patients and my practice. It felt stable and I didn't know anything much about running a business. I was also a very private person and marketing meant I needed to get out there more. Being a mom of a newborn, I also navigating the new season of my life.

Jessica: What was a moment where you felt like you had to be brave? Something that was scary for you, but you got through it anyway? 

Patricia: Two things always solicit my courage: 1. Honesty and communicating what I felt. 2. Leaving what was familiar and all of family to train and study here in the US. 

Jessica: What is your biggest accomplishment?

Patricia: Ooh, a tough one. I feel I have so many. One is, knowing who I am even as I evolve. I have always been clear that I need to connect to who I really am even before I get out there and serve.

Jessica: What do you wish you had known when starting out?

Patricia: I think this is still hold truth. To relax and enjoy. The frequency of joy is the fuel to having a lubricated path of whatever you want to achieve. I tend to be hard on myself being a natural perfectionist and virgo.

Jessica: If you lost everything and had to start over with your business, right now in a new place, what are the first things you would do to build your business?

Patricia: Serve, give value, get in front of a person who I truly enjoy talking to and helping.

Jessica: What is your favorite quote?

Patricia: "The Power that made the body, Heals the body"

Jessica: Do you have a favorite local restaurant?

Patricia: Tumerico! I love how Wendy created delicious authentic Mexican meals but still plant based and healthy.

Jessica: If your best friend was visiting Tucson for the first time, what other favorite local places or hidden gems would you take them to?

Patricia: My favorite sunset spot in Tucson is Signal Hill, I always take my visitors there.

Jessica: What's your hype song?

Patricia: Doin it right by Daft punk. . . "if you lose you're way tonight, that's how you know the magic's right" From a little control and order oriented person, I love it when I get lost in the moment and feel in a state of bliss.

 Jessica: Where would you like people to go to find you or find out more about what you do?

 Patricia: For local medical consultation in Tucson, www.thrivelifecenter.com. For my global women coaching and corporate wellness programs, www.thrivewithdoctorpatricia.com

Creative Credits:

REfashiond Icon: Patricia Petralba

Photography by Jessica Korff Studios

Makeup by: Renee Lanz | ReneeJ Makeup & Hair