The Washington, DC area is full of amazing moms: working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, moms of multiples, foster moms, adoptive moms, etc. We want to highlight some of those moms! Each month we will feature one special mom as the mom of the month. Know a fellow amazing local mom here? Nominate them here!
Denesia Dalia Rodgers: October Mom of the Month
Denesia Dalia Rodgers is a management consultant, yoga and meditation teacher, and a mom of two. Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and Tobago, Denesia lived most of her early years in Northern New Jersey. Denesia found her home in Washington, DC, when she met her husband, who is a DC native. She is married to Lionel Rodgers, a teacher, head football coach, and community leader. She is mom to Logan (5) and Lexi (2) and an owner of a 5-year-old American Akita name Lucas. Denesia received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a minor in Africana Studies from Johns Hopkins University. She furthered her educational studies by obtaining a Master of Public Health Degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Health Services, Management, and Policy.
Professionally, Denesia is a passionate health care project management consultant with over six years of supporting federal and state-level clients and over nine years managing projects within the health care space. She is currently a manager at a federal and commercial consulting firm that helps commercial and public clients address their most critical challenges. Recently, Denesia completed her Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) through Yoga District. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) at the 200-hour level through Yoga Alliance. Denesia founded and created Healing Power Yoga DC, and her yoga brand focuses on bringing yoga to various communities and understanding how to make yoga more accessible. She specializes in Prenatal, Postnatal, and Vinyasa Yoga and creates meditations for individuals interested in tapping into their breath while finding calmness and peace. She teaches several classes virtually through yoga studios.
Here is our Q&A with Denesia:
What is it like being a mom and having a full-time career and teaching yoga?
Challenging is the word I would use to describe being a mom, having a full-time career, and teaching yoga. Each day is a balancing act and understanding the priorities of that day helps me stay on task and focused. I started shying away from the idea of “work-life balance” and more so tapping into understanding my current priorities. If I know what is critical right now, then it helps me not overload, overthink, and overwork. I can instead hone in on what is needed presently and what needs to take a backseat for a moment.
What has helped me manage all of the things going on in my life is being organized, creating schedules, and implementing a calendar system in our home. We have a very large calendar in our kitchen. It lists appointments, kids’ activities, meetings, yoga teaching schedules, trips, and all of the essential things for our family to remember. This has helped me keep everything in order. Also, giving myself grace during this busy time has helped me preserve positive energy and a positive attitude when things get tough.
What is one thing you want your children to learn from you?
I want my children to learn from me the importance of having a strong work ethic. I genuinely believe I am able to accomplish so many things in my life because I work hard and go after the things I want. Though sometimes the road gets a little bumpy, I want my children to remember that their mom worked and accomplished the things she wanted because she stayed focus and gave things her best shot.
A quote that was shared with me by my manager speaks to the work ethic I want my kids to learn from me. The quote says “There’s always another level up. There’s always another ascension. More grace, more light, more generosity, more compassion, more to shed, more to grow.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
What are three fun facts about yourself?
Three fun facts about myself are I love dancing, I am adventurous, and I love food!
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- Dancing – Being a Caribbean woman, you can definitely catch me on any dance floor if I get the opportunity. I love a good song, a good beat, and a good time. I always play music during my yoga classes.
- Adventurous – Finding activities, new experiences, and trying out different things is definitely who I am at the core. I love an opportunity to take my family somewhere different to explore.
- Foodie – While I enjoy cooking for my family, I also enjoy trying new foods and exploring different foods from different cultures. I remember trying frog legs in Hong Kong and alligator in Costa Rica!
Do you know an amazing mom that would be a great mom of the month?Nominate them here!
