Alumna Spotlight: Brianna Wohner ’06 — Beyond the Mat
Written by Andrea Zorbas
for the Wisconsin Alumni Association Latinx Affinity Group
Several studies have found yoga to have a positive effect on the body. But to Brianna Wohner ’06, there’s more to it than just downward dog and meditation. She has lived the roller-coaster challenges of life to find her inner sanctuary with yoga and wants to be a cheerleader for others putting in the work. When Brianna transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Madison from Edgewood College, she yearned for a larger challenge and was already used to the lifestyle that the Madison vibe offered. Although she grew up in Milwaukee — just a stone’s throw away from Madison — she was ready to find her true community that she could call home. She felt the need to fit in with her fellow people of color and started joining different organizations to help build up that community. Growing up in a multiracial family, she says that something always seemed to feel like it was missing or out of place until she got to UW–Madison. “There was always that dichotomy of ‘How do I fit in?,’ ” she says, “and navigating the societal pressures of fitting in as a teen was really tough.” She hung out and studied at the Multicultural Student Center with her peers, and even breathed new life into the then-defunct student organization SLICE (Students Living in Inter-Cultural Experiences).
She felt included in, and comfortable around, the Latino community while still straddling her multiracial roots. She was still finding her way in that when she discovered and joined Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., in spring 2005. The newfound passion for her sorority helped make her feel comfortable in that community because it allowed her to be herself. “As a person of mixed descent, sometimes it’s hard to be recognized as a Black person in the Black community,” she says. “But everyone needs a community, and if you don’t have your people around … you gotta find it.” Despite dabbling in interior and fashion design courses, Brianna graduated in December 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in visual arts with all the support of her friends and family by her side. After graduation, she moved to New York City to be able to experience the glamorous big city life and perfect her art in photography. But she never really felt fulfilled in her chosen career path — changing jobs and trying her hand at different adventures, even earning a master’s degree in advertising and branding media along the way. When she became a mother, she still really didn’t know what her career path would be, but being a single parent helped shift her perspective and forced her to focus on what she enjoyed. Finally, she stumbled upon a career working with people and their nutrition. She says this was the eye-opening experience she needed in order to see the impact she could have in helping other people in their health journey. She realized that she could work with people to find their passion for loving themselves.
Since then, Brianna has worked through her own mental health and weight challenges, and this has helped her become a mental health and nutrition advocate for others. Her experiences have helped her battle it out and find ways to cope and come into her own and turn it around into a business. “People know they need to eat well and exercise and take care of their mental health,” she says. “But there’s too much information overload. I’m grateful I can reach out and share the knowledge that I have for long-lasting effects and to reverse some of these diseases that are manufactured by the food that we eat.” She has worked hard to center her brand as a mental health advocate and an experienced certified yoga instructor and nutrition expert, doing drop-in sessions and periodic pop-ups in different locations. She is on a mission now to support people (women, specifically) over 35 years old to go from tired and overwhelmed to thriving and crushing their goals with more body confidence, more energy, and more happiness in their lives through holistic nutrition, mind-set coaching and movement — and do it all at an affordable cost. “I love affecting change with my clients, all while giving them the positivity and encouragement that they needed to succeed. And I get to do it my way,” she says. “It’s an energy exchange, and you don’t know what someone is going through. You first have to have that belief, and then work for it. Wishing on the outcome keeps us motivated.”
Although she doesn’t visit Madison or campus as often as she would like, she has managed to stay in touch through the connections that she made as an undergrad with her peers. Now that she is married and her kids are nearing high school age, she is thinking more about what her legacy at the UW means to her and would love if her children chose to attend college at UW–Madison. As for her advice for current undergraduates at the UW, she says to do what you love but be educated about how that would affect your future.
“Follow your heart and get a good head around business and money, and take a class or two in college so you’re making good financial decisions,” she says. “And choose something that will make you happy and so that you can find your tribe and allow you to be your authentic self.” If you’re looking for in-person on virtual yoga classes or nutrition coaching, you can contact Brianna via her LinkedIn page.
