Dilyana: 0:00

The feta cheese is Bulgarian. It's not Greek. Many people think that it's Greek. A lot of things that people don't know about Bulgaria. The accent was a challenge Also. Many people don't Right away they see that I have an accent. Sometimes I felt that it's kind of maybe weakness. Many times I felt that I don't have equal start with Canadian.

Gurasis: 0:20

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Dilyana: 0:22

I can tell myself.

Gurasis: 0:42

In the intricate journey of immigrants, rediscovery becomes an essential theme. The often disheartening experience of having one's international professional expertise invalidated can propel individuals into a profound journey of self-reinvention. Many find themselves navigating the challenging terrain of career change, seeking new avenues to express their talents and redefine their purpose. Today, we delve into this transformative narrative, exploring the resilience and adaptability required to thrive amidst such pivotal life shifts. Amidst the exploration, we have the privilege of welcoming someone who is an international speaker, author and specialist in sleep, menopause and holistic wellness. For immigrants, a professional landscape can be particularly challenging, with credentials often needing validation in a new context. Our guest's story is a testament to the resilience needed to not just overcome these hurdles, but to emerge stronger and more purposeful. Her dedication to helping women find their power, passion and purpose amid the complexities of menopause reflects a broader theme of empowerment and self-discovery. Join us in this enriching conversation as we explore the intersection of immigrant experiences, career transformations and holistic well-being. Please welcome Dilyana.

Dilyana: 2:01

Thank you. Thank you for having me Thank you.

Gurasis: 2:03

So, Dilyana, in this season, which is the second season of my podcast, I'm trying to turn up the fun factor a little bit. So I'm going to start by asking you some fun questions that I have so ready Ready. So the first question is tell me what is your go-to breakfast?

Dilyana: 2:18

Recently. Funny enough, I skip the breakfast. I just take hot water with lemon and ginger and then I have my coffee. But usually if I have a breakfast it's more salty, like toast or some oatmeal or cereals, but most of the times it's the toast with avocado tomato. You know this stuff.

Gurasis: 2:45

Okay, okay, and I suppose you are also vegan, is that correct?

Dilyana: 2:50

Yeah, yeah, I'm vegan, yeah.

Gurasis: 2:52

And is that something you adopted like recently, or were you like vegan for a long time?

Dilyana: 2:58

I first was vegetarian. I became vegetarian in 1999. I was 26 years old. Become vegetarian in 1999. I was 26 years old.

Gurasis: 3:09

Then, after seven, eight years, in 2000, actually after nine years, in 2007, I decided to switch to vegan. And my second question is share a favorite song or a dialogue or a movie and tell us why it's significant to you. And tell us why it's significant to you.

Dilyana: 3:23

I cannot specify because I like so much variety of genre and I don't have just one, I just have a team. And then I have recently, my favorite for this year, let's say it's Flowers of Milly Sears and the movie. I love Matrix, I love Avatar and I love Star.

Dilyana: 3:47

Wars.

Gurasis: 3:48

So if you had to teach like one phrase or something in your native language to all of us, what would it be?

Dilyana: 4:03

Good day.

Gurasis: 4:04

Okay, sure, yeah. How do we say that dober? Then, dober, then yeah, you say say it very well, very, very well okay, oh, dober, then I like that yeah and the last is if you could teleport back to a particular place from your home country for a day, where would you go and what would you do?

Dilyana: 4:27

place from your home country for a day. Where would you go and what would you do? Oh, um, it's difficult to choose really. Uh, we have a very nice seaside resort and they have mountains also, so I will be really difficult to choose mountain or seaside, but most of maybe the beaches. Yeah, maybe I went to the some of the seaside resorts.

Gurasis: 4:46

Okay, perfect. So, speaking of going back to home country, I would like to take you back to the time you spent in Bulgaria. Tell us a little bit about your formative years and how was it like just growing up there?

Dilyana: 4:58

Yeah, I grew up in the communist years until I was 16. The regime changed from communist to democracy and it changed so many times from there going on. So we went through a big recession. You went through changes of different governments and then we changed. You entered in the European Union in 2007. That's changed a lot. Also for Bulgarians to travel in Europe just with ID card and become part of the European Union. It was helpful for economic, also for the infrastructure and so many things. Many Bulgarians start to study in Europe, abroad. There was this tendency before, but after the change really Bulgarians start to travel a lot because they were restricted during the communist time to travel. So they start to travel a lot, immigrate, study abroad also and work abroad.

Gurasis: 6:06

they just, uh, spread everywhere if you can tell me something about, maybe, the family dynamic and how it is like just growing up within the such sort of a culture that you had, or maybe you can educate us how the bulgarian traditional culture is uh, so bulian, during the communist time everybody has a job.

Dilyana: 6:28

My parents is kind of middle class, my mom is nurse and my father is electrician. But my father was very, very smart. He was able to learn everything technically. He was able to repair everything from oven, computers to even the bus he was the biggest thing Also the washing machine, everything electronic he was able to repair and he was kind of many people ask him to help him in their home when they have a problem electrical or whatever. That was a side of his job. He used to work in the bank as an electrician. So I can say that he knew more than an engineer, even probably sometimes. And he was a regular family.

Dilyana: 7:37

You know everybody in a communist country in Bulgaria until you change the regime, went two times per year on holidays. Most of the people owned their own apartment. They have also a cottage. They have a car. That's changed a lot after the change and become democracy. So we split a lot. It become very poor, very rich, become very poor and very rich. The middle class kind of disappeared. The education was very important for Bulgarian regular family. So most of the family wanted their children to study either engineer, either doctors or warriors or at least become a teacher. That was kind of they pushed the children to really have a good education. You used to have a really, really prestigious, good education during the communist time. After that it's changed. Even foreigners came to study for medicine in Bulgaria because it was good really good.

Gurasis: 8:47

Okay, and what city are you in from?

Dilyana: 8:50

I was born and grow in the capital, Sofia.

Gurasis: 8:54

Okay, sofia, and, if I'm not wrong, it's also a pretty collectivist society, right Like just like India, like we guys are very close-knit families, our neighborhoods are very connected. Is that same in bulgaria, I believe?

Dilyana: 9:09

yes, when you, uh, when you live in the like a block apartment, you used to have always the old people sitting in front of the block and they just uh, chatting, make up friends, uh, so I, when I grow up, you always, with other children, play outside in front of the block all day long when you wasn't in school. So it was kind of more really, and you used to have to go to the camps a lot from school and then from university and it was kind of Bulgarian in general is very friendly, very hospitable people. You love to go, and they was kind of really Bulgarian in general is very friendly, very hospital people. You love to go to be a guest to somebody else or invite the guests in our houses. Young people love parties a lot, so it's kind of yeah, it was very community oriented also.

Gurasis: 10:04

Yes, yeah you know, this reminds me of something, uh like in my class, when I moved to montreal for the first time, to canada, I had a classmate. She was from bulgaria and she, I think she was in her mid-30s, and one day we all went to an indian restaurant to eat, and you know how, in india we have naans, like the breads. You know, our breads are called naans and you have to like tear them apart and dip them in the curry and you eat it. Right, I was eating it with my hand and she saw me and she said oh, you are eating with your hands. I said yeah, that's how we eat. She said, oh, like, in our culture, we were like scolded by our parents. If we start eating with our hands, so is. Do you have any similar story or something that you can share?

Dilyana: 10:49

yeah, yeah, you, you used to do that, but it's it's considered unpolite when you, if you, you do it in home, okay, but if you go somewhere else in a public place, you don't do that. It's for us, it was kind of in our culture, it wasn't unpolite to do that in a public place.

Gurasis: 11:06

Okay, okay, that's interesting. And is there something, Dilyana, that people might not know about Bulgaria that you would like to share, or just educate people about anything particular?

Dilyana: 11:21

There's actually a lot of things that people don't know about Bulgaria. First of all, bulgaria is one of the oldest European countries. It's dated from 1,300 years, so she was founded 681 before Christ. And Bulgarian yogurt is very famous. It's one of the best. You have also Bulgarian rose. We can make cosmetics in very famous rose, for rose oils or rose water. It's very famous too, bulgaria, not from yes, they shake the head for no. So it's opposite of the normal that people do right. Instead, when you say like that, it's not, yes, it's no. When you say like that, it's yes, it's opposite. Okay, then also, bulgaria never was the flag in the battle. Also, bulgaria preserved her name all during the history. Also, the Cyrillic alphabet because you have Cyrillic alphabet became the third official alphabet in the European Union after Bulgaria joined in 2007.

Gurasis: 12:38

Okay.

Dilyana: 12:39

So, yeah, we have a Cyrillic, then you're Orthodox. But you can see in the capital in Sofia, catholic Church, mosque and Christian. Also In the downtown you can see three, four different churches, but in general we are Orthodox. The food is very, very particular. We have Bulgarians in general eat meat a lot, but we have specific dishes that are really traditional. It's really traditional. It's very tasty. We have a famous salad, which is tomato, cucumber and feta cheese and, by the way, the feta cheese is Bulgarian. It's not Greek. Many people think that it's Greek, but actually the origin is Bulgarian. You have four or five type feta cheese. That's our cheese. The other is we have other word for this orange one. So that's interesting. I can think about many things, but maybe this is enough for now.

Gurasis: 14:01

Wow, I mean a lot of information, and definitely I didn't know about many of these facts. My classmate didn't tell me about all these things. Um, and would it be like correct to say, or or not, that a lot of the, the, the food choices or the culture, is sort of influenced by the greeks? Is that so?

Dilyana: 14:21

um little bit greeks, mostly because it was five cycles until Ottoman Empire. So Turkey had a big influence in our culture.

Gurasis: 14:31

Yeah, and you also talked about you know, the Cyrillic alphabet. That's basically the script that you write and that's also very similar to the Greek script, I believe. No very different.

Dilyana: 14:42

It's like alphabet, it's like Russian. We have only very different. It's like alphabet, it's like Russian. We have only one word different. They have one word more that you don't exist in Bulgarian, but so the alphabet is like Russian. You think about Russian. It's almost the same.

Gurasis: 14:58

Okay, so Russian and Bulgarian is very similar.

Dilyana: 15:01

you're saying yes, and Macedonian. Actually, macedonia was part of Bulgaria and it was kind of. For us it's almost the same language. It's kind of different dialect and Serb also. We can very easily understand Serbian and Macedonian. They understand us yeah.

Gurasis: 15:20

Okay, and is this also one of the countries which was divided and was part of the Yugoslavia? I believe.

Dilyana: 15:28

No, never we were part of Yugoslavia. It wasn't, it was never. But it was battle we battled between. But most of the battle was with the Romans or Byzantium before that, and then with turkey, and then you form all the country around us. But bulgaria was divided many times after first world war. After second world war they cut us and they give us a little bit in greece, a little bit in um serbia. So it's it become from bigger little bit more smaller.

Gurasis: 16:04

Okay, okay, very, very, very interesting. I love that, love this conversation. Now let's talk a little bit about your career choices. You end up studying law and you pursued law and you even practiced law in Bulgaria. Tell us, like, why did you decide to get into that?

Dilyana: 16:22

As I say, when it was the time to choose, when I was in high school, because I was in a specialized class which is more focused on literature, bulgarian language, history, and I was supposed to choose after to go with journalism or WoW, and I don't know why mom decided my character actually is good for the WoW and I just decided that because I'm very I love study. It's just my personality. I love study and I study. I was fascinated, I love it. It was fascinating, I love it, and because I want to defend the weak, the unprivileged and all this. It was my idea and I really did that.

Dilyana: 17:13

I used to work a lot of pro bono. When I start, I work different cases. I didn't specialize yet but I have inside code that I wanted to expand my learning beyond Bulgaria. I started to feel Bulgaria too small for me and I wanted to explore the world. And then one day I just remember one of my colleagues met me me in front of the court. I wanted to defend some case and she asked me how I'm doing and what I'm up to. I said you know, I start to feel fed up. I want to go abroad and just expand and learn. She was so shocked that I can throw away everything and just leave the country, because if I pursue this I can have a really good career development, really well established Nowadays, my colleagues have their own office and they're really prosperous. But I just decided that's not me. I want to travel and learn from experience when I travel yeah, I think, uh, that's what further led you to france.

Gurasis: 18:31

I believe, right, you moved to france yes, first time.

Dilyana: 18:34

Yeah, one of my friends just offered me do you know that there's one company that offer a job in france just for babysitting? You can learn the language and I always learned French many, many years, but I wasn't able to speak and I decided, okay, at least I can practice French and improve my French at least. And so, yeah, you make a contract for nine months for babysitting and learning French. And that's really helped me then, because going to France and this family helping with their children one of the men actually was Canadian and this time I get inspired from other friends to apply for Canada to immigrate. So it was kind of there was nothing by chance. I think the journey whenever everybody have have, whatever you went, there's some sense to go there. Maybe you're going to discover something or you have something to do there to to it's not just by chance yeah, absolutely.

Gurasis: 19:35

I think there's always a reason why you are put in certain situations, in certain places. It just, it just sometimes is difficult to realize that in that moment. But when you reflect back and you see that maybe I was meant to go to in your case you were meant to go to france and meant to meet that you know the people, the children you were babysitting and their parents, that, okay, the guy is from canada and I got to learn more about that. So I think all these things unfold.

Dilyana: 20:02

Life actually unfolds in a very mysterious way and we don't realize it in the moment, but eventually you see how, when you actually connect the dots, and you see how beautiful it is, you know an interesting fact was that I returned in france every 10 years, kind of without calculate, without plan, it just happened and I felt when I was there I felt really connection with this country and something that I probably was there in my previous life or something. But the language, the culture, everything was very familiar to me and whenever I went back it's kind of, yeah, I'm kind of my second home, so it's very, very interesting.

Gurasis: 20:43

So, when you went there for the first time in 2003, Dilyana, of course, like you, were doing the babysitting job. But what is something that? Was it like any sort of like a cultural shock, or was it like any sort of a certain barrier that you faced just by living there? Or or there's anything that you would like to share or educate us about your experience that you had within those nine months living in france?

Dilyana: 21:08

in france, the, the, the food is different and the people enjoy the food in different way. Uh, so, um, in general, how they live in everyday life is different than the way bulgarian live. Yeah, um, and it was an interesting experience really. I was in a small city in, I think, northwest Konant, konant. Okay, that's the west.

Dilyana: 21:40

Yes, then the lucky thing is that when they travel on vacation they took me with them. I went to visit the Alps, I went in their cottage in some other places, so I kind of travel a little bit to see different places. I have difficulties in the beginning to understand and speak with the family and with the children. But going every day to school, learning a lot, I start slowly, slowly to start to express myself and to speak. School learning a lot, I start slowly, slowly to start express myself, to speak, and it was very kind of patient with me because I didn't know many things like um, I study all the time and I wasn't able to learn a lot about how to take care of children. So it was very challenging for me learning how to take care of four children from university going to take care of children right away I'm actually amazed that.

Gurasis: 22:26

How did they hire you, like without any prior experience? Or even you, you said you didn't even speak the same language. So how did they end up hiring you?

Dilyana: 22:33

I don't know, really, I don't know how they they choose me. I, I probably was destiny or something, but they was very patient to uh, learn the language, to learn the culture, to, and, uh, it was very confident to leave me the children. But my, my job was actually so they have. They used to have very big house and the women used to. She was architect but she worked in another city from monday to friday and only the man at home. But my job was in the morning to bring the children in school. Then I was free for my study until 3 o'clock afternoon. When I pick up the children from the school, I have one or two hours to play with them, then I can start preparing the dinner, then the men come and you eat together. Saturday, sunday, when the woman was back, I was free, so I want to. I ride my bike, I just go around. I have friends by chance there, bulgarians, so we would get together. It was fun time. It was fun time.

Gurasis: 23:38

Yeah, it definitely sounds like a fun experience and like an adventure. You know, you all said it was like a first time moving out, so then you came back like immediately after nine months.

Dilyana: 23:49

Yeah, I decided to go back, not to decide to apply to another family. Then I have to adapt to Bulgaria, to living there again, looking for a job again. I kind of was disconnected with what I already did, but I have this idea in my mind. I already applied for Canada, but it took me one year and a half. So I used to work something different than law until I'm waiting for the process to go to Canada until I'm waiting for the process to go to Canada.

Gurasis: 24:23

So, in all this, how did you get exposed to yoga? Like, how did that happen? Tell us about that.

Dilyana: 24:30

Well, that was in 2012,. Still in Bulgaria, because I actually, when I immigrated, I was five years in Canada until 2008,. Then go back to Bulgaria five years During this time, when I was five years in Canada until 2008,. Then go back to Bulgaria five years During this time, when I was back, I already meditate a lot and I have active life. But a friend of mine introduced me to yoga and I started doing yoga at home. And then when I go back to Canada in 2013 again, I don't know. I was with friends and one friend just suggested why don't you try to do the yoga teacher training? I say, okay, maybe this can be interesting for me until I'm looking for another job again and I find a school and I, like the teacher and I start studying. And the more I study, I felt that it's actually my thing, my passion. I want to share this knowledge with others and I want to help them with doing the yoga and teaching the yoga.

Gurasis: 25:29

I just saw myself in this then you finally, you know, came to Canada in in 2013, I believe, when you finally finally moved right second time.

Dilyana: 25:38

Yeah, second immigration, second immigration, second immigration 2013,. They set it all down, yeah.

Gurasis: 25:45

So tell us a little bit about the process. How was the process for you? Was it an easy process for you to move? Was it a lot of? For example, we coming from India, we had to go through a lot of processes and applications and multiple forms you have to fill. Was it something similar for you?

Dilyana: 26:02

No, for me it was very easy. I went through Quebec system, which is different than the other side, other part of Canada, so I already speak language. That was my preparation in France for immigration. So immigration when I come in Canada wasn't really shocked for me because I was prepared also with France. The living in Canada and France wasn't so different. So for me I was already prepared with language, with living abroad by myself and all this.

Dilyana: 26:33

The challenge was that they want a certain amount of money to show them that I can in the beginning have to invest, but you find this money. It's just a matter of time to gather this money and show them that I can sustain my wife. So I went through the medical exam and then I went through the interview. Luckily, for the first time they opened an office in Sofia. Also. Many people before that traveled to go to Austria or Bucharest for the interview, but for me they come to Sofia and I have the interview there.

Dilyana: 27:10

The French was, of course, perfect. I understand them very well. They understand me. I have all the points. I was young, I was with high education, I knew the language. I covered most of the points that they were looking for, so it wasn't so so difficult and in a matter of fact, then I have a period of time to prepare for travel. But the process was really easy. But I hear from other people going through second interview, third interview, have difficulty for the documents. Um, you know, you know the app for application also and all this, but uh, I, I just for the application. I was found people to help me and then everything was very easy wow, like it's.

Dilyana: 27:53

It sounds like canada wanted you to come, you know it sounds like it was kind of yeah, you have to go there, that's all. When. When I went to Bulgaria five years after, when I took my passport okay first year was okay second, and then I started to have difficulties and I saw again that it wasn't by chance it kind of called me back again you have to go back. That's your place, not Bulgaria.

Gurasis: 28:21

And so tell us about your first day. Then, when you landed for the first time, how was that like? What was your initial thoughts or emotions?

Dilyana: 28:28

I was just excited. I was very excited to start a new life. I remember luckily again, I have a friend from Bulgaria to greet me and to accept me to live in his house. Until I got through the process of the social insurance number, medical card, open the bank account and all this, and then I went to see somebody for immigration officer to orientate me what to do and what it's for me. It's right away was clear that if I want to progress, I need to study again, because it doesn't matter what kind of education I have, what kind of degree I have, what equivalence they give me eventually Canada doesn't care. You need to adapt and took, from where you are, another education to claim this Canadian experience that they want. Because if either you have some specific skills that you have to go to work right away or you have to go back to school and learn again to adapt with what the system is here for education, for work, for everything.

Gurasis: 29:43

I mean, that's canada. For you, most of the professional experience is discarded. In your case, you were a lawyer. Did you actually even try at any moment to get into the industry? Or you knew that it's not going to happen?

Dilyana: 29:58

to tell us about that experience I try, I try Actually.

Dilyana: 30:02

So first thing that I went it's kind of college for lawyer assistant, but it was Finnish application and I should wait until next May. It was October I think, and they told me we finish the application or late September or something like that and you need to wait until next May. Then I tried to find the kind of internship to some company to start working for free, just to see how is that. How is that. But they told me no, you cannot accept either for internship because you're not familiar with our system, with how the system works. You need to have some kind of education here for that. So for me it was two choices I have to go back and study the bachelor again for years and then I have to specialize either a lawyer or a notarius. And I really wasn't sure that I want to go back and repeat all these years by myself.

Dilyana: 31:16

And I went to university in a bachelor but kind of mixed program with economics, because I have also another economics education and it doesn't work well because system in Canada specifically, what I find out is if you need to start from college to be well prepared to go to university with their system, in the way they study and I was kind of nowhere. I didn't understand also the academic language so well. They wanted to have a really perfect English and French together and that was a challenge for me. And then I have some classes to improve my French, improve my English, but still wasn't enough to make analysis of the books because you write a lot. Still.

Dilyana: 32:15

I think I try Master of International Law, but because of this that I have to write a lot in both languages, it was again challenges. I wasn't prepared. Well, so I say, okay, I need to find something more simple, more easy. And my mistake was that I didn't want to wait until May next year. Didn't want to wait until May next year for this administrative legal assistant. So I went to private school for administrative assistant in general, as I said, maybe I can specialize later, and I did that one year. And then I decided, okay, now I can start doing secretary reception. I did that. I changed the jobs, but it was easy when they saw that I graduated from a private college or whatever.

Dilyana: 33:16

It helped me to get started, actually, but it took me almost one year and a half and two years to find jobs similar to what I used to have, either with their education, with the experience that I have international experience already and canadian experience I wasn't able to find any any job. So that was tough. Why do you think? Is that? I think that in quebec in this time was in recession and there was a lot of many people doesn't have a work, uh, and then they I have a lot of competition. I went to many uh kind of government exam also. It doesn't work. It just doesn't work.

Dilyana: 33:55

In this time I find the yoga and this time I find the passion I wanted to teach and I did one year teacher training, still looking and hoping to find a good job. Just one day, one friend from Vancouver called me and said why don't you come here? I can help you with the job. I did that. I just gathered everything that I had, borrowed a little bit of money and just moved to the provinces. It's another immigration, by the way, yeah absolutely.

Dilyana: 34:23

But luckily this friend really helped me in my first weeks to get the job as security. They give me the training, they give me the first certificate and I started right away to work. I never stopped teaching yoga, I worked as security I think it's pretty, uh, encouraging you like.

Gurasis: 34:41

You have really rediscovered yourself and your careers multiple times, starting from being a lawyer. That didn't work out. You tried your best. That didn't work out. You got into yoga, you also got into administration and now you end up doing the security job. And you didn't stop there. You end up studying yourself, teaching yourself you know, researching, educating yourself about various other subjects, and then you end up starting your business.

Gurasis: 35:07

I won't talk more about that, but before I get into that, I want to ask you about your daily life as an immigrant in Canada, like you have. Like you said, you have immigrated like twice, went back, came back again. How was that shift for you? You like, because you were getting into a new world and this time you were not traveling, you were moving. You moved to an absolutely new place. That's going to be your new life. So did you at any point prepare yourself, or was there something that you were not prepared for that happened with you or did? And just to add to that, any any other point since that podcast is you know my thick accent at any point the accent acted as a hindrance in any way during your time in canada yeah, the accent was challenged also.

Dilyana: 35:54

Many people don't right away they see that I have accent and I I sometimes I felt that it's kind of maybe weakness, maybe that's something that prevent me to get a good job when they saw my accent. And also many times I felt that I don't have equal start with Canadian and I have to compete in a different level with them, even my knowledge and language and everything. Most of my friends were immigrants from all over the world but not Canadian-Canadian. In the beginning I was also in the Bulgarian community a little bit. That helped me, but it was a challenge to find really my place, my place in my kind of feel good where I am, and I always felt kind of I miss something, I have to do something more, I'm not enough, I have to learn more, I have to study more, I have to work hard to be able to reach this level that I felt that I deserve and that I want.

Gurasis: 37:16

And, yeah, and then I, until I end, okay, I say if I'm not accepted fully, I will create my thing, I will create my business and I will be my own boss and I'm not going back anymore for any job yeah, and you know that's that's very encouraging, very, very powerful again, you know, being able to going through all that and questioning and I think it's common it happens with many immigrants we do question our skills and our abilities just, and we just try to change ourselves, just to adjust in somehow, you know, which is eventually you realize that that wasn't the best thing to do it. It's very important to be your authentic self and believe in your skills and abilities that you have brought with yourself. But tell me about a time where maybe you were at your lowest and how did you pull yourself out of that imposter syndrome pit? How did you do?

Dilyana: 38:11

that Many times I was in my worst and how, this feeling, that inferior and imposter syndrome, and all this Many times, specifically in Quebec, many times I was in welfare, not so much in British Columbia but there I was many times and I felt kind of not valued enough and undervalued in the kind of my really my confidence struggle a lot within self-esteem also and I sometimes I say how is possible to just don't find really my place, my space? And it was many times in my world, many, many, specifically in the second time, when I start from zero again building, I have a knowledge, experience already. I knew where to go, what to do, but still it was tough. It was many times it was tough. It was many times it was tough. And then in British Columbia I was not bad, I was kind of better than in Quebec.

Dilyana: 39:22

But recently I experienced again kind of insecurity when I was in a medical leave. I was injured actually a few months ago and I was afraid if they didn't take me back to work or I didn't have enough clients or my business isn't going well, what I'm going to do. It was a very scared period of my time. Yeah, I had a lot of things but I think, always find the hope and believe that I can find a way. I can find a way to do what I love, to prove that I'm good enough to do the work and to just improve.

Dilyana: 40:06

Because for me it wasn't just to find any job and just survive, wasn't just to find any job and just survive. I was to really move forward and um kind of contribute with my knowledge and experience to the society, help people and expand. I just I felt inside that I need to move forward, I need to develop everything that I already have. Just I don't want to stay in one place with one skills, with one job all my life. I just feel inside that I need to improve and there's something more out there. I just feel all the time that there's something more for me out there.

Gurasis: 40:46

Absolutely. I think you already answered my next question. It was going to be my next question that what advice would you give to somebody who is kind of in the similar situation, and I think you said it all. You know making the best use of your current resources and believing in yourself and always chasing for the next thing and not getting stuck. Anything else that you would like to add to that?

Dilyana: 41:04

Yeah, never stop believing in yourself. Believe in your knowledge, in your skills and ask for help. Actually, there's a lot of people can help you Ask for help. Yeah, just the good things in Canada is that you cannot be left really to be miserable. You're always going to have a minimum, that you need to have a wife, but that's the good thing in canada. We know not many countries that have that, uh. But uh, yeah, there's. There's a lot of resources.

Gurasis: 41:40

You just need to find the right one okay, let's just pivot towards your business that you have. Please tell us all about it, that that people should know about it and how they can connect with you so I love to help women with their health going through these symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

Dilyana: 42:02

I support them how they can alleviate these symptoms in natural way.

Dilyana: 42:06

I use different relaxation techniques of breathing because I I'm coming, as you discussed, from a yoga background, so I use my knowledge in yoga and everything else with the health to set up the right mindset for women going through these challenges, how they can approach this challenge and what they can do to gain again their confidence, can do to gain again their confidence.

Dilyana: 42:36

Don't feel isolated and alone, feel the, the community support and um, and also feel that they're understood, uh, so that they can express themselves more free, become more resilient, more more um, empowered and more um in balance. I teach how to balance the daily life with the, with the demanding of a career or job or business, with the challenges of mental, physical and emotional. So I it's a combination of movement, of mindset, of relaxation technique is some little bit of healthy habits how to eat, what to eat, what you need to change in your diet so that you become really a better version of yourself during this period yeah, absolutely, and I think I'll definitely encourage if anybody would like to seek your help and I'll put the links to that in the show notes as well.

Gurasis: 43:25

you're linked in your website, um but also, like you know, for my listeners, who might not be all women in a certain category that you deal with, but there were a couple of things which really stood out to me and that I think can help my listeners, and the first thing is that you also call yourself a sleep specialist, and if you can give us we immigrants are always lack of sleep, running from one place to the other all the time, you know, just to earn a living here as an immigrant. So, like, what advice would you give to those people or immigrants, in this case, our listeners that can help them have a better sleep?

Dilyana: 44:04

so if you cannot sleep, it's happened often because of the stress you come back to again to stress management techniques. I teach how to breathe properly, how the breath is related with the brain and how actually you have to prepare the brain to relax and to be able to sleep better. Of course, it's not the only things that can help you. I add some also again the food, the lifestyle that you need, the routine that you need to create, the habits that you need to have to implement so that you train your brain to relax and get this deep, restful sleep.

Dilyana: 44:41

Yeah, if you don't have good night's sleep, you're prone to have accidents. You can get easily distracted that affect your memory, your concentration, how you perform at work, your relationship, because you can be very irritable and anxious when you don't get this restful sleep. So it's very related to the nervous system and brain functioning, because when you sleep, all the cells is renovated and actually work, their work and the blood circulation and everything. So if you don't sleep well, you open to different disease like obesity, heart disease and so much more. So it's so vital for our health to really sleep well.

Gurasis: 45:25

And the thing that we hear a lot about. You know like you have to have a minimum of seven hours of sleep. Do you think, like, is it really important to have seven or less than seven also works? Because I think majority of the time we again coming back to the immigrant life. You know it's been five years I'm here and I could not get more than like five or six hours sometimes, you know. So I don't think that's the best thing, is that so?

Dilyana: 45:50

Yeah, most of you it's like that, but not for everybody works exactly. So it's slightly different for different people because some people can even need more, like eight or nine hours to really get rest. The other I also sometimes need just six. Most of the entrepreneurs I know they're mostly in this six, rarely seven, but what I can say, the sign that you get restful sleep. And when you wake up it doesn't matter how many hours, you feel really rested and rejuvenated, it's not feel still tired, you don't feel that you want to sleep, but because of the work or study, whatever, you need to get up. And if that's happened because of the lack of time, your schedule and everything, you can actually get this missing hours or time for sleep with meditation.

Dilyana: 46:48

If you want to meditate, it's very so. Sometimes one hour meditation is kind of four hour sleep. So if you want to meditate, it's very so. Sometimes one hour meditation is kind of four hours sleep. So if you want to meditate to relax the brain, it's the same. You can recharge as you have this enough time sleep, because many times, just because of the night shift or some other shift, you're not able to get this enough time restful sleep during the night shift or some other shift you can. You're not able to get this enough time restful sleep during the night, so you have to adapt and adjust accordingly, using different tools and techniques very, very fascinating, like one hour can help you compensate four hours of sleep.

Gurasis: 47:29

That's, that's. That's very interesting. What, what are like the other things one can do just to gain that time back? Um apart from meditation, if you have.

Dilyana: 47:38

You are able to have this nap afternoon. Um, don't use it. Use it as much as you can. If you work at home or you, you still feel that you can have this time for 40 minutes, one hour, to have this nap. It's helpful. Not much, not too much. Also, avoid the coffee in late afternoon, or tea, green tea or black tea later afternoon. Avoid the alcohol that can affect your sleep also. Sometimes people think that I can have one glass of wine or something just to relax, to make me release the stress from the day. That can help me to sleep. It's actually opposite, because there's sugar in alcohol and that sugar also, sugar level can also prevent, uh, you to sleep well. So you have to be careful. So, not too much spicy food late in the night, not too much sugar. Uh, be careful with alcohol and caffeine. I don't say that you don't, you have to avoid all the time, but just be careful. And um, also, what kind of exercise you do. Sometimes, when people move during the day, they, they sleep better also.

Gurasis: 48:47

So everything is important, everything yeah, and you also talked about briefly about the breathing you know and you know when. So last summer I was doing this like a speech performance enhancement program. I was like a part of like a whole summer. I attended a couple of classes and one of the things that they taught us was how to basically channel your anxiety into excitement just by breathing, and, and it was basically about keeping your one hand on your heart and one on your belly and you know, sitting straight and then breathing slowly and slowly. Is that something that would you also like encourage people to do, just to like manage your anxiety?

Dilyana: 49:28

for anxiety, for sleep in general, I suggest that you breathe through the nose most of the time, not through the mouth, because when you breathe through the mouth, actually you create this habit during the night that create this um, sleep apnea that you call this, because you don't oxygenate enough the brain. When you breathe through the mouth the the breathing is not so full. You don't oxygenate enough the brain. When you breathe through the mouth the the breathing is not so full, you don't use the full capacity of the lungs. So learn and train yourself to breathe during the day, when you wake up, or a little bit in the evening, through the nose. So you just do this deep breathing, with diaphragm, with with the belly and not so much with the chest, and breathe through the nose as much as possible.

Dilyana: 50:14

So there's a different type of breathing, more vigorous, more slow. Uh depends of anxiety, you emphasize, of long, slow exhalation. Yeah, for the wall energy. You want to be more, uh, to circulate the boat, uh, circulation a little bit more. Yeah, you, you just breathe more fast and uh like not too much space between the inhale and exhale. But if you want really to relax and take care of anxiety, slow, long exhalation and all the time through the nose. All the time through the nose, if it's possible, yeah no, thank you.

Gurasis: 50:52

Thank you for sharing these. It does shows that how passionate you are about your subjects and I highly encourage. If anybody would like to reach out to you, I'll put the links to that in the show notes. So before we get into the final segment, I have introduced this new segment to the second season of the podcast and I call it know your host, where I give my guests an opportunity to ask me any question they might have yeah, I'm curious now to know your experience in with immigration and how you come in the canada and what bring you here and what your story.

Dilyana: 51:28

What is your story?

Gurasis: 51:29

wow that that that might take another episode briefly, okay, the main, the main point, yeah no, I'll tell you very briefly, of course.

Gurasis: 51:38

So I came to canada in 2018 as a national student. I came to study this amazing program called media strategies and advertising and that was like a one year program I came to do. And one of the questions you might be thinking that why Canada? Sometimes I think about it. Even I don't know. Again, I think it was just destined to come here. But I think, if I really think about that, I think it was because there's a lot of familiarity being an Indian in Canada have certain relatives and certain friends and family to look up to in case of any downfalls that you might have throughout your journey. So I think that's what made my parents a little more comfortable to send me to Canada rather than any other country. So I would say that's why it was Canada.

Gurasis: 52:27

But once I finished my program, I was also just like many of our listeners and national students or immigrants. I was starting to find a job. I also tried everywhere. I tried multiple interviews. It took me, I think, two years to finally get the job which I'm doing right now, because the pandemic was also the added pressure and since I studied for just one year, I got my postgraduate work permit for just one year. I got my postgraduate work permit for just one year and because of that I had very less time to figure my things out, getting the maximum points that's possible for my PR, the best permanent residency, and I think for that I even had to go to a different province because in Quebec I could not get a job, being just an Anglophone. I had to be bilingual and I wasn't. So I ended up going to Halifax, scotia, for some time. I stayed there and I tried to just navigate the life here because I was all just like you said, moving to vancouver was like a second immigration. It was for me as well. I was just starting from scratch again, with no friends, no, no acquaintances, nobody. I didn't know anybody at all and that's how I think I um, somehow find the jobs and the new policies came in. Uh, life did work out somehow, the other things just work out, and I think I was very positive throughout.

Gurasis: 53:44

Not always I have had my downfalls as well. I've questioned myself, I have questioned my skills and my abilities. I have also fallen into that imposter syndrome pit, which took me some time to get out of it, but I think LinkedIn community was really helpful for me. I took on this like a 30 day challenge to post at least like a 30 second video for 30 days, and that gave me a lot of traction and that helped me connect with a lot of people people and that gave me the courage and I'm not alone in this journey.

Gurasis: 54:14

There are a lot of people who are kind of going through the same struggles as an immigrant, which how the same way I am going through it and yeah, I think that's how further things work out.

Gurasis: 54:25

Eventually, after a couple of years and I got my permanent residency and I was like I think it's time for me to lend a helping hand to the people who have, who are sort of in the same boat as I was and I'm sure those guys I needed help at that time and I'm sure there are many more current immigrants or aspiring immigrants who would need that help as well. So I was like I think it's time and I think podcasting I felt like would be the right medium for me, because it required less resources than a YouTube channel and that's why I took on this journey to also break is a medium will be a go-to resource for anybody who's trying to navigate a life as an immigrant here, and that's why I bring on people just like yourself to unfold their personal journeys of struggle, resilience and the whole process of finding home away from home process of finding home away from home.

Dilyana: 55:36

So, yeah, I actually want to congratulate you and I admire you for the willing to help others, to show them what is possible for them, because not many people are going to do that, and when that's really demand a lot of courage and also strength to to be able, when you struggle, to help others who struggle too. Yeah, that's I admire you for, then. Congratulation for, uh, what you're doing no, thank you.

Gurasis: 56:02

Thank you for asking this question as well, and thank you for your kind words. I never knew I could summarize my five years in in such a small in just like few minutes. I don't know how did I do that, but I think I did a good job it was all right, but I'm sure there are a lot of details that I would love to uh share, you know, maybe in the eventually in the upcoming episodes. But yeah, thank you for that question.

Gurasis: 56:24

Thanks a lot we are very welcome okay, so they are now being in the final segment of the podcast. I call it beneath the accent. I'm gonna ask a couple of questions. You can answer them in one word or a sentence or howsoever you feel like. The idea is just to know more about Dilyana, so ready ready so first question is what advice would you give to your younger self, and at what age?

Dilyana: 56:53

Actually, I can tell myself, like six years old or 10 years old let's say a little bit in this range that never stop to be curious as you are. Explore new things, learn new things. Never stop learning from life, from people, not only from school and from books, but in general. Maintain this curious and learning because it's helpful. The more you know about the world, the more you know about the people that can help you in your life in general.

Gurasis: 57:33

Tell us about a time when you experienced a significant cultural difference that surprised you a lot in Canada.

Dilyana: 57:40

When I was in France. It's just the same, the only one culture Mostly. Mostly they have other immigrants there also, but not so much like here. So my first encounter was with Latin American people and I find them very. I always find something that it's similar to Bulgarian as a culture, as a character, as a you know psychology, and I love this. Their desire for life and everything. And I love this, their desire for life and everything, maybe the more different and difficult to understand for me.

Dilyana: 58:19

Even I'm curious and accepting and everything is maybe Chinese culture. It's kind of for me it's very, very different and like they were to think they were to live their way to everyday life. Um, like psychology even it's kind of. For me it's, it's also chinese, it's a bigger, bigger, um, how to say, like ethnos. But they have also difference. I start after a while, I start to find the difference between the Japanese and Singapore and Hong Kong and China, china. I started to see slightly difference, but still for me it's very kind of like extraterrestrial and I don't know. Yeah, that's for me it's very kind of unfamiliar.

Gurasis: 59:09

Yeah, okay, great answer okay. And are there any funny stories related to your Kind of unfamiliar? Yeah, okay, great answer Okay, and are there any funny stories?

Dilyana: 59:20

related to your misunderstanding around the accent or the English. Yeah, many times people don't understand me, even in French. I don't know why my teacher in yoga doubt that I want to. I'm going to be good teacher because of my accent. But what I found maybe in English is not so pronounced, not so, not so how to say difficult to understand, because English in general it's not so difficult In France. In French a little bit more, you need to have a little bit specific pronunciation, especially with the R's, you know yeah, it's very different with the R's yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, sometimes the nuance it's yeah

Gurasis: 1:00:37

they can think about something else, not what I mean yeah, I think, I think it happens with uh many of us, because I think for me, for example, people come from india, they speak like multiple languages and our ways of pronunciating and pronunciating see, but right now I just messed it up.

Gurasis: 1:00:56

pronunciating pronunciations, or uh, you know, how we enunciate words is very different. How we do that in our language, like, for example, in Punjabi or Hindi and like which is, which are languages which I speak along apart from English, we have a very specific way of emphasizing on certain characters, but here it's something else in English, yeah, yeah, yeah, if they are not so familiar, for them it's strange, but after that they get familiar with the accent.

Gurasis: 1:01:25

Absolutely. I always say it gives a little bit of time to get accustomed to each other's accents. Be a little patient and everything will get better.

Dilyana: 1:01:32

Yeah, yeah, get accustomed to each other's accents, be a little patient and everything will get better. Yeah, yeah, don't uh don't frustrate about this and don't uh kind of think inferiority or something.

Gurasis: 1:01:39

That's something wrong with you? No, tell us about the first friend that you made in canada and how did you meet them?

Dilyana: 1:01:47

oh, it was in my um. Because I didn't know what to do until I'm waiting to start the school or university or find a job. I went again to improve my French. So the first friend was, I think, colombian, and then Peruvian, and then I think Mexican, and then, but yeah, definitely Latin American, one Colombian, one Peruvian.

Gurasis: 1:02:18

Are you still in contact with them?

Dilyana: 1:02:21

No, it was contact, unfortunately, but when I was in Quebec the first five years, yeah, we were very much in contact.

Gurasis: 1:02:28

What's something that you ate for the first time in Canada. And did you like it? Quebec? You have this pudding. What's something that you ate for the first time in Canada?

Dilyana: 1:02:32

And did you like it, quebec? You have this pudding Pudding. And then the other thing was the maple syrup from the tree, and then they put in the snow and they make it like ice cream with the maple syrup Ice candies yes. Yes, candies, yes, that was very, very interesting for me.

Gurasis: 1:02:52

And did you like the poutine. Would you try it again?

Dilyana: 1:02:54

not much.

Gurasis: 1:02:55

The sauce, not much, not really, it's too heavy okay if you had to describe yourself as an animal or any creature, what would it be and why?

Dilyana: 1:03:06

I like horses because of the freedom that they represent. Sometimes ego, because when they, I feel that it's freedom also.

Gurasis: 1:03:13

So you would describe yourself as a horse or eagle.

Dilyana: 1:03:16

Yeah, there's something forceful. A horse, when the horse runs, is beautiful. They have strength. Also, they're very friendly at the same time.

Gurasis: 1:03:26

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Dilyana: 1:03:29

To be able to move with the speed of light in different parts of the world, so not be reliable of other transportation. But superpower would be to be able to really help people who struggle in a way that sustain their life. I also would be very helpful.

Gurasis: 1:03:50

If you had to create this one law that everybody has to follow, what would also be very helpful? If you had to create this one law that everybody has to follow, what would it be?

Dilyana: 1:03:55

Maybe fair exchange in everything, so you trust everybody without doubt and you know that you will be paid somehow, some way. Don't be afraid that somebody is going to lie, just be. You trust each other more and exchange in in a fair way I love that beautiful answer.

Gurasis: 1:04:20

Okay, so describe canada in one word or a sentence diversity, freedom, independence and lastly, if you could leave me with one piece of advice, Dilyana, what would it be?

Dilyana: 1:04:36

um, keep the inspiration that you have for the work that you do. Uh, it's so educational and good and uh, yeah, I think you're you what you're doing, as I say, I I like very much and yeah, you want to help people. That's more important. So keep the good work, thank you.

Gurasis: 1:04:56

And finally, how would you describe your experience of being on the podcast?

Dilyana: 1:05:01

I like very much this kind of curiosity and learning from other people, right From their experience, from their knowledge, what they have to say and what advice they can do for others. I like this educational part of podcast.

Gurasis: 1:05:21

Perfect. Thank you, Dharana, for being on the podcast, sharing your story and adding value to my listeners. Thank you.

Dilyana: 1:05:27

Thank you so much to invite me.