Thoughtful Wellness Revolution

S1 E5: Sophia Ellis — Art as a form of resistance and wellness

In this week’s episode we welcome Sophia Ellis, an artist, educator, curator, and cultural critic. She is a current Public Humanities Master’s student at Brown University and friend of Zahra from undergrad, so we get into a familiar yet insightful conversation about the reflections from our first experiences in the wellness world and Sophia explains how art serves as a form of resistance and wellness.

Sophia also shares with us a bit of her personal story and what drew her, and like many others, to mainstream wellness practices in the first place. We discuss the binary that exists between mainstream wellness culture and its counterculture. Sophia and Hien point out the ways mainstream wellness culture benefits us by providing some relief but is also potentially dangerous by promoting utopic ideals while upholding oppressive or dehumanizing systems.

Sophia tells us about her experiences living abroad, specifically about the division she saw between wellness practices held in communities for locals versus wellness opportunities marketed to travelers. Sophia and Zahra get into their experiences with wellness travel in Southeast Asia and reflect upon the industry’s ties to imperialist and dehumanizing values. As an English teacher in Vietnam, Sophia tells us about the Western influence on these schools' curriculum and we get into a conversation on the “banking model of education.”

As an artist and educator, Sophia talks to us about art as a facet of wellness. She educates us on the concept of “community art” with beautiful examples of how folks use it to resist colonial or oppressive structures. She also reminds us that art is the way we tell and process our stories, and collective art projects do so on a community scale. We all discuss our perspectives on how art and education play into our wellness.

During this conversation, Sophia mentions an article by Shreena Gandhi and Lillie Wolff that is linked here:

Yoga and the Roots of Cultural Appropriation article

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Theme song: Katy Pearson

S1 E4: Zel Amanzi — Energy healing and ancestral practices

In today’s episode, we’re joined by Zel Amanzi (he/they) who is a Sacred Energy Educator located in Los Angeles. He shares about his experiences with yoga and how it brought them awareness of energetic space. We learn how Reiki came into their life and the session that sparked a desire for a deeper study of the practice.

Zel shares how their first Reiki training left them with questions about cultural appropriation and the Reiki certification model in the United States. We get a detailed history of Reiki, when it came to the United States, and how the current model of training came into being. Zel also gives us their take on why we so often see Reiki and yoga interwoven in Western yoga studios.

We hear about the teachers who inspire Zel’s work, and he touches on what it means to practice cultural or sacred practices responsibly. He discusses his decolonization process around his work as a Sacred Energy Educator and how BIPOC folks with barriers to their own ancestral practices can approach Reiki or other energy work as a way to bring them back into their own relationship with divine energy and honor their own lineage.

We finish out our conversation by discussing the transphobia present in the yoga community. Zel tells us about how he and others at the Trans Yoga Project work to make spaces for trans and non-binary folks to practice yoga while also educating cisgender folks on how how they can show up more effectively for trans folks in yoga spaces. Zel also kindly educates us on ways we can support the trans community and reminds us that includes getting uncomfortable by looking at and educating ourselves.

Zel's website: https://www.transgressivemedicine.co/

Zel's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/transgressivemedicine/

https://transyogaproject.com/ 

Marika Clymer https://instagram.com/MoonHouseNW

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Episode transcript

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and review on Apple or Podchaser

Theme song: Katy Pearson

S1 E3: Brittini Carter — What is in you, is gonna come out

In this week’s episode we’re joined by Brittini Carter, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, trauma-informed yoga teacher, and owner of Carter Therapy. With a wealth of knowledge about wellness and parenting, Brittini talks about her experiences and shares advice for parenting fatigue. Especially in light of the pandemic.

She shares with us how she sets boundaries as a mother and the conversations she has with her kids that help support her identity outside of being a mother. We also discuss community support in raising children and how parents can build external networks of support, especially why it’s a MUST for moms to develop relationships with other parents.

Brittini goes into detail about how the pandemic threw her self-care practices out of balance and how she’s worked to get them back in order. We touch on the BIPOC support groups Brittini leads and what inspired her to start them. Plus, we hear about Brittini’s views on activism and how it relates to community support. Brittini shares with us her approach to therapy with her clients and her work with making therapy accessible to the Black community and other marginalized folks.

We touch on the importance of decolonizing therapy and wellness to make it more accessible for marginalized folks. And of course, we dive into the self-criticism so many marginalized folks and mothers experience, how we can develop more self-compassion, and how to practice ahimsa (non-violence).

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Brittini's Website: https://cartertherapyllc.com/

Brittini's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cartertherapy/

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Instagram: @ThoughtfulWellnessRevolution

Episode transcript

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Theme song: Katy Pearson

S1 E2: Milton Stewart — Doing the inner work and outer work

In this episode, Milton Stewart shares about his experience with the Enneagram both in his personal life and as an Enneagram coach and consultant. We talk about the Enneagram as a tool to become healthier and how to go deeper beyond the memes (Hint: it’s about head, heart, body integration). Milton tells us how to identify good teachers and what it means to do the work, especially with the rising popularity of the Enneagram on social media.

We discuss the limitations of learning the Enneagram on social media. In particular, how there may be misinformation. Milton emphasizes that the language we use matters when working with the Enneagram because it touches on our fragileness and impacts how we perceive our types. We also talk about how BIPOC facilitators try to move beyond Instagram culture and what it looks like to go deeper, including feelings of dissatisfaction with social media.

Milton talks about his work with the International Enneagram Association (IEA) and how they’re attempting to integrate anti-racism and DEI work into the Enneagram. He reveals to us the potential of the Enneagram as a way to help us build an authentic community by allowing us space to be seen fully as ourselves with people who are fully themselves. Milton shares about the need for more somatics understanding in the Enneagram, and how it supports us in our bodies so we can do the outerwork -- a key piece of the Enneagram.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a 5 star rating and review!

Milton's Website: https://www.kaizencareers.com/

Milton's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaizencareers/

Do It For The Gram Podcast https://www.instagram.com/doitforthegrampodcast/

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Twitter: @ThoughtfulWRPod

Instagram: @ThoughtfulWellnessRevolution

Episode transcript

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Theme song: Katy Pearson

S1 E1: Meesha Sharma — I started decolonizing myself, and it was a painful process

You can’t decolonize a system without first decolonizing yourself. On today’s episode, we talk to Meesha Sharma about the uncomfortable process of decolonizing our minds. We touch on her experiences as an Indian woman growing up in America and how education can “radicalize” us with a more intersectional perspective. Meesha reminds us that to change systems we first need to look at our role in the systems around us, and of the dangers in co-opting Indigenous practices without understanding their lineage.

She shares her thoughts on social media as a tool for activism, as well as the potential limitations. We get insight on the vision behind her business, Alchemystic Studio, and the non-linear process of decolonizing one’s mind. Meesha also educates us on the struggles of the Dalit people and the farmer’s strike in India, as well the fight for [land back/independence/state recognition] currently going on Taino land, also known as Puerto Rico. We wrap up by asking Meesha to share what it can look like to stand up for your mission while avoiding burnout.

Meesha's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alchemystic_studio/

www.AlchemysticStudio.com

Twitter: @ThoughtfulWRPod

Instagram: @ThoughtfulWellnessRevolution

Episode transcript

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Theme song: Katy Pearson

S1 E0: Wellness isn‘t wellness if it‘s just for you

In this episode, you are introduced to the co-hosts Zahra and Hien. We talk about our wellness journeys and how we got here. We touch briefly on the topics for season 1 and our brilliant guests. Find out more about us and the purpose of this podcast.

Twitter: @ThoughtfulWRPod

Instagram: @ThoughtfulWellnessRevolution

Instagram: @HienHongYoga

Instagram: @WithZahra_

Episode transcript

For bonus content, subscribe to our Substack.

Theme song: Katy Pearson