The Together Thriving Podcast

“If you remember nothing else about what I said about community recognizing that when some when you're in a community that doesn't meet your need, or you're in a relationship that doesn't meet your need, marking for yourself, not that community doesn't work or like being in relationship you can't have your needs fulfilled, but that that just wasn't the right kind of person”- Gieselle Allen

In this episode we chatted about...

“How do we first do the inner work [and spend] time getting to know yourself? So that when you're forming these connections with other people, you're able to form just such better relationships when you know yourself better? Because a lot of times, if someone is annoying you, are they really annoying you or you have some sort of trigger that needs to be healed? And that's the thing that's actually speaking up, and it has nothing to do with that person at all.”- Harpinder Mann 

In this episode we chatted about... 

• How Harpinder & Irene met and why the started Womxn of Color Summit 
• Fighting binary thinking with intersectionality 
• The Anti-Perfectionism Manifesto 
• Honoring the seasons in our businesses & lives 

About our guests... 

WOC Summit: @womxnofcolorsummit || Harpinder Mann @harpindermannyoga || Irene Lo @ireneyogaflow 

The Womxn of Color Summit® is an equitable community organization focused on creating safe and inclusionary spaces for womxn and non-binary people of color to share stories and knowledge as well as make impactful change. Our work is rooted in our commitment to dismantle oppressive systems that provide access to knowledge and tools for the few at the expense of the majority. This summit redefines what wellness and healing can look like when it is accessible to all. The Womxn of Color Summit was founded by Co-Creators Harpinder Mann and Irene Lo. 

Harpinder Mann (she/her) is a Sikh-Buddhist Punjabi-American yoga and meditation teacher currently living on Tongva Land. She is actively working to decolonize wellness by creating community and providing real accessibility to her ancestral practices for BI&POC. She has over 800 hours of yogic training within the traditions of Raja, Vinyasa, Kundalini, and Prenatal Yoga from the Ananda Sangha Center in New Delhi, India, Stretch Yoga in Brisbane, Australia, Swaha Yoga in New Orleans, and Living Now Yoga in New York. Harpinder is also an entrepreneur, storyteller, and community builder with 7+ years of experience in marketing, communications, and business development committed to making our world a better place by enabling people and organizations to reach their fullest potential. 

Irene Lo (she/her) is a Taiwanese-Canadian Asana Facilitator and Tarot Reader who lives on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish People. Irene helps students connect to their spiritual self care practice so that they can be in an empowering relationship with the soul. Irene quit her career in public relations and communications to work full-time on her two wellness projects, the Womxn of Color Summit and Irene Yoga Flow. Irene trained under Clara Roberts-Oss and Carolyn Anne-Budgell for vinyasa yoga, Bernie Clark for yin yoga, and Kristin Campbell for hot hatha yoga. Irene is currently studying the Yoga Sutras with Luvena Rangel and has taken courses on Ayurveda and Sanskritam. Her interests in yoga include asana, pranayama, philosophy and mythology. Irene is a TCM enthusiast and a student of Evolutionary Astrology. 

Let’s thrive together ;) Connect with us via.. 

“There are things that I can do for myself to try and set myself up for ‘success’. But at the end of the day, there are things that happen with the weather, like we talked about, there are systems of oppression that get in our way. And I have to remind myself that like, I can't always have control over that. So what can I do to react in a way that makes me feel supported?”- Jolie Chan

About Jolie (she/her): Jolie Chan, MEd, is a Life & Leadership Coach who guides women and femmes of color to embrace life's seasons, and let their values take the lead. With seven years of marketing and higher education experience, she's worked with hundreds of students on confidence-building and self-advocacy. She resides in Boston, MA (unceded Pawtucket/Wampanoag/Massachusett land) with her partner and her pup, Basil. She likes to spend her free time making matcha foam art, brewing kombucha, tending to her growing collection of plants, and rearranging her apartment (so, a true home body).

In this episode we chatted about...

1. The story behind why Jolie started out as a wellness blogger and left her 9-5
2. How to navigate change and the cycles of life
3. Reclaiming productivity, “What did I do for myself? What did I do to remind myself, I'm enough or to feel whole for that day?”
4. How to navigate pivots in our business

Connect with our guest, Jolie Chan!

Have you ever felt called to live the expat life and move to a tropical destination? Has your intuition pulled you to move your geographic location? You’re gonna want to listen to this episode with Coach Mel where she vulnerably shares the who, what, when, and why on her recent move to Costa Rica!

In this episode we chatted about...

1. Why she started studying and practicing Yoga Nidra and what it is
2. Why Mel decided to make her Blaxit (Black Exit) and why she chose Costa Rica
3. Surprising ways things started clicking when Mel landed in CR
4. How Mel uses Hebrew Numerology to help her clients find their Life Purpose

Connect with our guest, Melinda (Mel) Rhoden!

When you think of “plant-based” does the image of mainstream white veganism come to mind? If so, you’ll want to tune into this episode with Cleodia Martinez, a 1st-gen Filipina-American, Plant-based cookbook writer, and Health Coach. 

In this episode we cover…

• Why Cleodia went plant-based and the health benefits she experienced
• The difference between plant-based and vegan
• How to get started with plant-based eating as a beginner
• How Filipino culture & cuisine features a diversity of plant foods
• Behind the Scenes of her NEW cookbook, “Ay Sus!” Plant Based Filipino Cuisine

Connect with our guest, Cleodia Martinez!

Ever been a part of a group or community, either online or in person, where you felt like you didn’t belong? In this episode, Abbiola talks all about the importance of intentional inclusivity in education and how it relates to our emotional wellness.

Abbiola Ballah is an Inclusion Trainer as well as the Founder & CEO of Phern Education Studios. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, she has been an educator for the past 16 years, teaching and designing programs for high schools, universities and social impact organizations in the US, Japan, Belize and Trinidad. She founded Phern Education Studios in 2020 as a vehicle for empowering & guiding coaches and hosts through building inclusive online group experiences.

In this episode we discuss:

• Abbiola’s experience being location independent (helloo, #digitalnomad!)
• The importance of honoring people’s names
• Creating a truly international and globally diverse space
• How to foster the sense of belonging in your group programs
• Preventing burnout as an educator/ coach/ entrepreneur by putting the right systems in place
  

Connect with our guest, Abbiola!

DO NOT miss this episode y’all!! Dalia brings the heat in this conversation talking about the bullsh*t surrounding fad diets, white wellness, and demonizing foods. As BIPOC we often get told that our bodies/ intuition are wrong. So much of diet culture and modern food system is steeped in w*yte supr3macy in this episode we peel all that back and expose the BS.

• The intersection of listening to your body and decolonizing your wellness
  
• Why fatphobia is racist
  
• Why we hang on to body hierarchy and centering thinness
  
• How you can liberate yourself when validating your body experience as a W&FOC
  

Connect with our guest, Dalia Kinsey!

Zenit Giveaway Show Notes

We are so excited to launch our podcast today and to celebrate, we have partnered with Zenit to do a giveaway for a chance to win a beautiful journal.

Zenit is a radical wellness company with the mission to make wellness accessible to everyone. Founder Alina Liao brings to this work her belief that wellness is a human right, her background in mental health coaching, and her vision for a world where everyone has equal opportunity to be healthy and happy.

Ever felt like you were meant for MORE? Listen in on our juicy conversation with Alexa Martinez, a Business and Mindset Coach for women leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers. Alexa is all about helping folks create a mindset that gives them MORE and to stop waiting to create the life, business and impact that they want NOW!

Intrigued? Tune into this episode and learn...

• What is mindset work when you take away the fluff?
  
• Why it’s actually hard to be authentic
  
• Keeping it real and sharing stories that include the messiness of The process
  
• How it's completely normal to want more 

Connect with our guest, Alexa!

Ever wonder what it would take to organize a wellness summit from scratch? Tune into listen to our decolonized, intentional approach of building the Together Thriving Summit of 2020 and how our community stepped into this creation process as well!

In this episode we cover alllll the details of creating, executing, and learning from Together Thriving’s 2020 Summit including:

• How Sarah & Valeria met and followed their intuition with the idea of Together Thriving
  
• The importance of leaning on community and asking for help
  
• Keeping the vision and purpose at the forefront of every decision
  
• Deciding to question “business as usual” tactics when it comes to summits
  
• Highlights from last year and improvements for our next summit**
  
• How we've kept the spirit of the summit going

**note** in the podcast we mention doing our next summit in October 2021. This has now been postponed until Q1 2022.

Resources/ Amazing Humans mentioned:

Ready to reclaim your wellness and center the experiences of women and femmes of color in the health & wellness space? We’re breaking up with the black and white “here to fix you” way of doing wellness. Together Thriving is a wellness podcast that rejects the one size fits all. We’re created BY women and femmes of color FOR women and femmes of color!

In this episode we cover:

• Valeria’s health story and what led her to Nutrition & Health Coaching.
• Sarah’s wellness story and her journey into Burnout & Wellness coaching
• The power of listening to your own intuition and being your best health advocate
• How Sarah & Valeria met and came up with the idea behind Together Thriving Summit

Resources & Links:

The Together Thriving Podcast was born out of the immense joy, validation, and connection that the first ever Together Thriving Summit brought this community of women & femmes of color. 

Join wellness coaches Sarah Osman and Valeria Hernandez each Thursday as they discuss and interview women and femmes of color wellness experts on topics such as mindset, decolonization, nutrition, finances, spirituality and more!