Black Women in Wellness

Isah Kushma is a disabled combat veteran from the United States Army with 25 years of service.  She is a disciplined Wellness Coach and Yoga Instructor whose passion for total fitness encourages others to practice healthy lifestyles.  She established IsahMaazing Fitness and Wellness to provide knowledge, insight and inspiration to anyone that is struggling to meet their fitness goals. An experienced athlete; Isah’s journey consists of training in Crossfit, body building, nutrition coaching, TRX suspension training, competitive kettle belling and yoga. She instructs a myriad of fitness classes in person and online. 

Olivia F. Scott is a respected Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga & Mindfulness Teacher trained in New York City. Freedom At The Mat is an online and offline wellness platform to provide a sacred space for people to pause for self-care with pre-recorded affirmations, intentions, wellness interviews, meditations, and yoga flows. In addition to the Freedom At The Mat YouTube Channel, classes are offered for private groups & workplaces, virtually and in-person. Olivia F. Scott is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Omerge Alliances, an integrated marketing communications consultancy serving such media & beauty clients such as ESSENCE, Media Storm, Game Show Network, New York Theological Seminary, among others, since 2009. 

A Mizzou & Gonzaga Graduate, Olivia is presently the Assistant Professor of Advertising at Loyola University New Orleans, and Adjunct Marketing Professor at New York University. NYC & NOLA-based Olivia has served in marketing leadership roles at Carol's Daughter, VIBE Magazine, Live Nation, iN DEMAND TV, DDB, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy, Draft and Frankel in New York City & Chicago for over 25 years.

Dr. Varnado left her traditional career of almost 20 years in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 2021 to address the broken healthcare system, which currently puts the most resources in treating symptoms, when it really needs to address the root cause of diseases.  Through her years of practice, she has realized that many know what it takes to be healthy but outside of a support system their efforts rarely yield the desired outcome because their environments often reinforce poor habits.  She is particularly interested in helping physicians with Burnout, as she is recovering from Burnout. This shift was born from starting her podcast in November 2020, Office Visits with Dr. V, where she not only educates women about their gynecologic health and how their bodies function but also about their overall health and wellness.  Being a mother of two, having a marriage of 17 years, a supportive family, and a strong relationship with God are keys to her success.

Since 2004, Tosha Bailey has coached busy women on how to become happier, healthier and hotter by creating balance between the foods they love and the foods their bodies need, short effective workouts, and shifting their mindset to create more confidence, balance, higher energy, and less stress. Tosha’s coaching style is straightforward, effective and fun, meeting her clients where they currently are in their health journey and getting them where they want to be. Tosha does this work through her business, The MIX EduKitchen & Fitness, also know as The MIX.

Connect with Tosha

Email: tosha@mixkitchenfitness.com

A creative, innovator and critical thinker, in 2020 Venice Williams made the decision to leave her career in Education to explore various avenues that can bridge the many desires she has. She is now living in Costa Rica and is enjoying her experience living abroad. Venice desires to advocate for and expose young people to education through travel, expanding resources and dismantling stereotypes while replacing it with knowledge, understanding and the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Her altruistic energy and outgoing personality has proven to inspire everyone she meets, fueling authentic, intentional relationships. Venice strongly believes traveling is not only a quick getaway from the bustle of everyday living - it can be a gateway to transformative healing. As a Black woman, Venice regards exposure as a key element in the process of unlearning. She is excited to engage and connect with others and to share her lessons along the way. In Venice’s spare time, you will find her taking pictures, exploring Costa Rica and other Latin American countries, creating playlists, writing, and curating experiences.

IG: sheisvenice_

Alicia D. Bonaparte, PhD.

Dr. Alicia D. Bonaparte is currently a Full Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College and trained as a medical sociologist with a specialization in reproductive health, health disparities, and female crime and deviance. She earned her MA and PhD from Vanderbilt University in Sociology and her BA in Sociology (cum laude) from Spelman College. Her research interests include the gendered social hierarchy within American medicine, the intersection of race and gender in healthcare practices, and racial disparities. She is co-editor of the anthology Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth, contributor to
Routledge’s Motherhood Companion examining the collusion of race, class, and gender regarding choices about midwife-attended births as well as Routledge’s Black Feminist Sociology examining non-U.S. based global health researchers utilizes a Black feminist sociology and identifies how and why this model foments further advocacy-oriented evolution within research and interventionist approaches geared towards Black women within the African diaspora. She has been an invited speaker on birthing justice and reproductive justice for Doula Training International, University of California-Los Angeles, University of Southern California, and University of California-San Francisco; and led a collaborative talk about disparities at LaGrange College. Dr. Bonaparte has also provided commentary to various documentaries focused on Black maternal health.

Tricia Gray is a Los Angeles based community worker with over 15 years of experience in juvenile carceral system, foster care, suicide education and awareness, and county public health. Currently, Tricia is the Volunteer Engagement Coordinator at ACCESS REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE, the only abortion fund in the state of California providing free and unbiased funding and logistical support for abortion care seekers. Tricia and ACCESS are working to shift the "pro-choice" narrative of equitable abortion access, as this narrative has highlighted access for primarily higher earning white women in the country while critically limiting equitable access to reproductive healthcare for lower income, rural and most often, Black communities. Tricia believes in centering the most-affected community members as stakeholders for developing policies that will enhance quality of life for their communities; and the necessary push-back communities must collectively exercise when policies and public officials with vague and/or contradictory values are adopted. Tricia is an advocate for community connection and reconnection to indigenous Black practices as a means of transcending unjust American administrations, social service systems and policies.

Perle Noire is THE Black Burlesque Queen. Known as Mama Perle in the burlesque community, she's been blessed with the unique gift of embodying Josephine Baker and healing an audience in a theatre or in the classroom. A paragon of glitz and glamour, Perle is an intuitive healer, creative director, transformative coach, and the creator of The Healing Through Seduction program. She specializes in guided sensual touch, empowerment workshops, and burlesque-inspired healing rituals. As a visionary, she is also an advocate for people searching for a community to reclaim their bodies and reclaim control over their sensuality.

Talya Peters was born and raised in Atlanta Georgia.  She has worked in the aviation industry for over 20 years.  She tried hypnosis in 2016 but it wasn’t until she used Hypnobirthing in 2019 that she really began to see the benefits of hypnosis.  After taking Mindvalley courses with Marissa Peer and observing her methodology, she became a Certified Hypnotherapist in August of 2021 specializing in Rapid Transformational Therapy also known as RTT.  When she’s not in the air or in session you can find her in Costa Rica with her husband and three children.

IG: @talya_schronda   and    @greatpetersescape

Content warning: In this episode, we discuss postpartum depression and thoughts of harm.

For women who feel stuck and stagnant in life, Sasha Nicole teaches how to feel more confident and courageous through various courses, motivational videos, coaching, and keynote speeches. As a mental health advocate in the wellness industry for over ten years, who not only survived severe postpartum depression and thrives with a mental health condition, it is her mission to assist others in living a healed and whole life while honing in on what truly makes you happy.

Organization: Fearless Nfluence

Rae Muhammad was born and raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She went to Auburn University and earned her bachelor's in Pre-Veterinary Sciences, and continued on through Veterinary Medicine. After a fulfilling career working with animals, she decided it was time to give love to her other passion, the arts. She spent a year apprenticing at Boston Tattoo Company, and went on to take a break a focus on family. In 2020 as the pandemic began, she began tattooing professionally in Florida, and has worked to focus on giving her community vibrant beautiful pieces to cherish forever ever since.

Business: Rae Ink Collective (Permanent Skin Design)

Whatsapp: +1.850.280.4032

IG: @raeinkcollective

FB: @raeinkcollective

Hi good people,

This month's episode is a little different. I don't have an interview for you. Instead, I will be sitting down for a story time to let you in on what has been happening behind the scenes and what will be happening with the podcast going forward.

Dahiana Green is your Green Carbon Queen. She is a firm believer that it is the ultimate goal of life to yoke or unify your spiritual form with your mind, and your physical body through conscious breathing and all forms of spiritual nutrition and will power. It is then naturally that life brought her to the practices of different types of holistic and spiritual practices such as yoga, from Hatha, to Ashtanga and Kemetic; culinary ventures and certifications, becoming a plant based chef, a certified nutritionist , currently undertaking her Sunfired culinary certification at the Land of Life in Panama.

It is with the blended knowledge of all those specialties that she is proposing her services as a facilitator, helping you reach at your own pace the ultimate goal of Self.

Ahoi hoi good people! Ginette Rhodes is back to do another wellness chat with me. For this chat, we'll be talking about daily routines and back to school. Check out our conversation to pick up some tips and tricks to keep you motivated throughout the day.

Carine Camara is an urban medicine woman. She is a Spiritual Wellness Coach, Acupuncturist, Energy Healer, Host of the Infinite Love Podcast and a Holistic Health Care Provider. She is a firm believer that Love is Medicine, and her podcast illustrates how people can overcome life’s challenges with love. As a holistic practitioner she looks at all angles of a client’s health, life, mindset, movement and nutrition to find their path of deep healing and transformation. She has devoted the last 20 years to the study of physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. She began by studying plant based nutrition, to heal her own physical issues, and later obtained her Masters in Chinese Medicine. Her practice and knowledge continued to expand, as she trained in Energy Medicine, and worked closely with spiritual coaches, teachers and more. For those who are suffering from chronic illness, who are highly sensitive and/or who are looking for support in their lives, she has a wealth of knowledge to guide you back to wellness.

Get in touch with Carine:

Business: Acupuncture & Healing Arts

We're trying something new this month! In the spirit of "Friday Inspiration", we're doing a new segment called "Wellness Chat". For these chats, I'll be sitting down with the lovely Ginette Rhodes (from MannaHerbalCare.com) to talk shop about a wellness topic. And for this episode, we'll be talking all things summer skin care. 

Kyoko Rorie-Bruton was born and raised in a small town named New London, NC. When she was 18, she graduated high-school and began college to pursue a career in Healthcare. She worked as an Executive Director for a series of nursing homes and retirement facilities. Then at the age of 30, she had a mid-life crisis, quit her job, and decided to explore an education in Art School. She can say that this was the best choice she could have ever made.

She currently works as the Creative Arts Director for a local non- profit organization that supports children and adults who are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She is also married to her wife Jennifer, and they have two sons.

Her current projects include hosting a Black Lives Matter Trap and Paint Party for a local Juneteenth Festival, painting Culture and Diversity murals at the local library, a series of paintings celebrating black women and working on completing her poetry book entitled “AFRO-CENTRICS”.

Her passion truly lies in creating mixed media art, turtles, poetry, African studies, and traveling. Her Life Motto is : My life is Simple, all I require is: LOVE PEACE ART TURTLES.

Email: LovePeaceArtTurtles@gmail.com

IG: PurpleAquarianTortoise

FB: LovePeaceArtTurtles

Ginette Rhodes graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019. After graduation she founded Mannaherbalcare.com which is an online wellness store that ships natural personal care items, vitamins, superfoods, candles, incense and household supplies. She is a nature enthusiast and active podcaster. Her current podcast “Empowered Life Lessons” details her different life lessons in a monologue format to document her maturation into womanhood as well as her awakening to “self”.

Website: www.mannaherbalcare.com

IG: @mannaherbalcare 

FB: Mannaherbalcare  

Podcast: Empowered Life Lessons on Spotify

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

D. Colin is a poet and dreamchaser holding degrees in English and  Africana Studies. She is the author of Dreaming in Kreyol and Said the Swing to the Hoop . One of NY Capital Region's Creatives under 40 in The Collaborative, she is also an NYS Writers Institute, VONA and Cave Canem Fellow. D. Colin uses poetry, performance and paint to inspire, empower and educate communities through creative writing workshops, theater and visual art. She also runs, Empress Bohemia, her own line of wearable art which mainly showcases handpainted wood earrings.

Lauren Pope Forbes is a Holistic Wellness Guide and certified Institute of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach. She is also the Creator and Founder of Love Yourself Healthy and the Hair & Body Positivity Experience. Her business is based on 4 basic pillars of a healthy and sustainable lifestyle: knowing, nourishing, loving and giving yourself. Her mission is to infuse into the lives of women over 40 the same unconditional love, compassion, and support that they give to everyone else. By focusing on a holistic approach and ancient self-care practices including meditation, yoga, plant-based eating and mindfulness techniques, each client will develop a more loving and healthy relationship with the most important person in her life: Herself! This love that will radiate from inside her will help her better serve those she loves, and serve the planet with her unique gifts and talents.

Today's show is our season 2 finale and my first double interview. Today I had the pleasure to talk all things cannabis with Khadisha Thornhill and Natalie Cox of Afro Cannada Budsistas.

Alexis Motley is contagiously positive and passionate about nutrition and creating healthy lifestyles for everyone in her community. She is known for her comprehensive approach that encompasses a positive relationship with food and physical activity.  She takes her professional expertise and practical ideas to make nutrition fun and easy. 

Alexis received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Southern University A&M College. This is where she commissioned in the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant within the Engineer Corps. After serving her country proudly, Alexis attended McNeese State University where she received her graduate degree in Health and Human Performance, as well as completed the dietetic internship program which resulted in Lake Charles Memorial Hospital recruiting her as a Clinical Dietitian. 

As a Military spouse, Alexis moved to Colorado Springs which is where she became a Consulting Dietitian for 5 Star Senior Living Cooperation. While working with patients at this location, Alexis took her love for food to help create nutritious menus with fun activities to enhance the living experience for senior citizens. 

After Colorado, Alexis returned to Louisiana, taking a consulting position as the Senior Registered Dietitian at Fort Polk to serve the soldiers and families at Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital. As her involvement grew, she collaborated with healthcare teams to create a comprehensive treatment program focused on healthy weight and body image for children, adolescents and families who desired prevention and treatment for weight management, diabetes and other metabolic concerns.

Currently, Alexis is enrolled in the Nutrition PhD program at Louisiana State University (LSU) while also teaching multiple nutrition courses at there. She is also a devoted wife, mother of two amazing little boys, and community outreach organizer.  She has a down-to-earth approach to nutritional guidance oriented to her clients’ goals of “Making Healthy the New Normal.”

Here are a few ways you can connect with Alexis:

Instagram: themommydietitian

Facebook Group: The Mommy Dietitian

Facebook Business Page: Red River Medical Nutirtion

Sheryl Jackson is a Savvy Entrepreneur, Business and Private Yoga Wellness Coach. She specializes in helping Yoga Teachers & Wellness Entrepreneurs to create financial well-being through coaching and online courses. She also helps women struggling with hormone imbalance. This is done through The Conscious Woman Midlife Detox program. A holistic 90 Days step by step optimal online, private well-being coaching method to transform your life, build a sustainable diet and wellness habits.

In this interview, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Licensed Psychotherapist, Wellness Coach and Certified Life Coach Aisha Antoinette Picott. She has over a decade of experience in the field of social work and mental health in the healthcare setting and is passionate about empowering women to find their passion, live their purpose and fulfill their dreams.  She helps navigate them to a place of power by identifying what holds them back – self-limiting beliefs, negative self-talk, low self-esteem and commonly – low to no self-confidence. Her goal as a coach is to provide all the support, information and motivation people need to achieve and maintain their goals. She is committed to helping her clients realize and unlock their full potential. One size does not fit all! She creates customized programs and goal setting to support optimal health and well-being along with necessary life changes that will enable them to achieve and maintain their health and life goals.

For this interview, I sit down with friend and Black Girl Social Club -- Costa Rica Chapter President Celesté Lawson. We have a chit chat about a recent volunteer project we did at the Pro-Huerta Guanacaste Community Garden.

Born in Queens, NY and bred in Columbia, South Carolina, Celesté is from the best of both worlds. Celesté served in the US Army for 4 years including a 1 year deployment in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She is a proud mother of one 17 year daughter who is a National High School Scholar, Varsity Volleyball player, and is currently being scouted by multiple college track and field teams. A born traveler and expat at heart, Celesté relocated to Costa Rica during the pandemic to focus on veteran and mental health advocacy. Inspired by the BLM movement in Costa Rica, Celesté strives to provide access to resources, community, and a safe space for Black and Brown girls to live unapologetically and with purpose.

Tasha Whitaker is a speaker, author, educator, trainer and owner of TWhitaker Enterprises, a consulting agency that provides professional development training, health and wellness workshops for healthcare professionals that build capacity. A passionate health and wellness advocate for communities she empowers communities to take charge of their wellness. She is the Founder and Host of The CHW Crew, a community that highlights the work of community health workers through empowerment, education and service.

IG @iamtashawhitaker

Marsha Hoffmann is a NYC based Registered Dietitian. She is a first-generation Haitian American. Marsha graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelors's in Hispanic Language and Literature. After completing her bachelor's she discovered food as a career and went back to school to study dietetics at Queens College in NYC. She then went on to do her dietetic internship at Lehman College where she completed her Masters in Health Education and Promotion. She an avid traveler, aesthetic bullet journaler, foodie, and media lover. She's the creator behind Do You Salut. A brand that encourages people to celebrate everyday life through traveling, exploring different cultures, eating good food, and practicing self-care. She recently received her personal trainer certification and is currently in the process of becoming a certified yoga teacher. She hopes to one day combine what she learns from her yoga studies with her nutrition background to help people feel empowered to practice self-care.

The lovely Sufia Giza returns to kick off season 2 of the interview series and talk about her journey to veganism, her vegan cookbook, and her new venture of growing her own food. Sufia Giza is a yoga teacher, filmmaker, and writer who has released a vegan cookbook called Vegan SOULfood: Food for the SOUL. She has been vegan since 1992, and has 30+ years of vegetarian food prep. She also has a Certificate in Nutrition from the University of California, Riverside.

For our season 1 finale episode, I'm bringing you an interview with me! I sat down with my dear friend Rev Saundra Porter Thomas to talk about my journey as a wellness provider.  I have been a yoga teacher for some time now, and am also a meditation teacher. To say the journey has been interesting is an understatement, but it has definitely been worthwhile.  And it has brought me to the time and place of working on Black Women in Wellness, which has definitely been a gift.

In this episode, we have our final interview in our reproductive health conversation. I'll be talking to another doula who has her own unique experience to share about birthing wellness.

Teaisha Whittingham is very passionate about birth and all things babies. She is a certified Birth and Bereavement Doula, trained through Doula Training Canada and stillbirthday academy.  She is also a mother of three and surrogate mother of two. As a doula, she wants to make sure each of her clients are knowledgeable and empowered when it comes to making decisions regarding their birth and their bodies. One of her favorite quotes is by Ina May Gaskin where she says, “Wherever and however you give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body and your spirit for the rest of your life."

For today's Friday inspiration, I have a bonus interview for you with business coach Tam Luc

Tam Luc is a #1 International bestselling author, and founder of Women with Vision International who shares the triumphs, stress, and struggles of balancing her life to help women grow their business. After 20 years as a business entrepreneur, she helps women leverage their message and create the lifestyle they want through her own unique book messaging strategies.

We are continuing our conversation on reproductive health this episode with birth doula Shawna Morant.

Shawna Morant graduated from Winthrop University in 2008 with a Masters of Social Work, emphasis on Health and Mental Health. She has worked as a professional social worker for the past 12 years, serving some of the most vulnerable in Mecklenburg County. During her own pregnancy and motherhood journey, she felt a strong pull towards helping other expectant parents. She finally took the leap and completed Birth Doula training in January 2020, establishing her doula practice and beginning to serve clients shortly after. As a Birth Doula, Shawna is committed to providing guidance, education, and empowerment on a client's birth journey.

This episode is the first of three episodes that we'll be doing discussing reproductive wellness. 

Dr. Alicia D. Bonaparte is currently Associate Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College and trained as a medical sociologist with a specialization in reproductive health, health disparities, and female crime and deviance. Her publications and research interests examine the gendered social hierarchy within American medicine as well as the intersection of race and gender in healthcare practices and racial disparities. She is also co-editor of the anthology Birthing Justice: Black Women, Pregnancy, and Childbirth, contributed to Routledge’s Motherhood Companion (2019) examining the collusion of race, class, and gender regarding choices about midwife-attended births, and has forthcoming chapter in Routledge’s Black Feminist Sociology (2020). Lastly, she has served as a keynote speaker for various organizations and institutions such as Doula Trainings, International, UCLA's Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services, and LaGrange College.

email: alicia_bonaparte@pitzer.edu                                            twitter: @adbphd

V. Ophelia Rigault whole-heartedly believes that grief is our greatest teacher, and there comes a time that the griever has to choose to get through their grief or become mired in it. Ophelia knows that grief is not meant to be fixed - it is meant to be witnessed and healed. After the death of her mother, Ophelia tried to "fix" her grief, and was waiting to "get over it". Her grief became an unwanted dinner guest that wouldn't go away. She learned how to turn her wounds into wisdom and reconnect to joy.

Ophelia is known as The Grief Transformation Coach and has been featured on Grief Dreams Podcast with Dr. Josuha Black, Grief Healing Corner with Sharon Ehlers of Grief Reiki, and Boob Talk with Cynthia Rogers

In this minisode, I talk about making big habits small so that they are more sustainable. This Friday's inspiration comes from:

Rev. Saundra Porter Thomas is a SynErgy Wellness Practitioner, Interfaith-Interspiritual Minister, Next Level UP! Life Coach, Intuitive Messenger, Singer/Songwriter, and StoryWeaver currently based in Costa Rica. She has 30 years of experience working with clients.

In her SynErgy Wellness practice, which includes her Next Level UP! Life Coaching, she draws on knowledge of Energy Medicine, music, counseling, spirituality, and intuition to assess and address the whole person -mind, body, heart, emotions, and spirit. Through breathwork and meditation, she teaches clients how to center, calm, and clear energy breaches and restore balance within their bodies and bio-systems. She incorporates music and sound frequencies to help support shifts on the surface and at the client’s core DNA. She also uses StoryWeaving and Intuitive Messaging to help clients re-envision a situation or challenge in their life through the lens of story reframing.

As an Interfaith~Interspiritual Minister, Saundra offers people a safe place to express and explore personal beliefs through the lens of Love, non-judgment, and the wisdom to agree to disagree. She facilitates traditional and non-traditional celebrations, rituals, and ceremonies. She recognizes and acknowledges that there are many religious and spiritual paths and beliefs, including no belief. She believes that the one thing that connects everyone and everything around us is the Breath.

Venecia Runningwolf is medicinal musician out of South Carolina Practicing who has been practicing in the realm of music and sound therapy for over 12 years. Some of the tools she uses to work with clients are medicinal songs, gongs, flutes, and  the Chinese Guzgeng harp. She also works with Cannabis ceremonially as a medicinal aid to deepen the processes of discovery and healing for her clients.

During our chat we talked about her work as a sound therapist, her time in China, and she even shares some music with us.

You can find Venecia on IG @veneciarunningwolf

In this episode, I sit down with the beautiful spirit that is Sufia Giza. We talk about what it was like for her as black woman going through yoga training. She also schools us about yoga's African origins and the importance of intention in our yoga practice.

Here's an introduction to the Black Women in Wellness Interview series and a preview of what you can expect from season 1.