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.

SalutNutrition.com

https://www.doyousalut.com/

https://www.instagram.com/doyousalut/

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.

You can find Sufia's cookbook on Amazon here.

And check out her website here.

For more information about Farmasis, check out this article here.

And for some gardening inspiration, check out these Instagram accounts: blackgirlswithgardens, gardeningunderinfluence, greenthumbsistas

We're still looking for black women to interview for season 2. If you are a black woman who works with food and wellness (gardener, farmer, dietitian, health coach/educator, chef, food activist, etc) and you want to be on the show, drop us a line at [email protected]

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.

If you want to know more about my wellness services, check out my website theraychelleheath.com

This is the final episode of season 1, but season 2 will be back and in full swing on October 18. For season 2, we'll be focusing food and wellness. I've got some great interviews lined up for you, but still have space to chat with a few more wellness women. If you're interested in being on the podcast, click here. 

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."

The National Association to Advance Black Birth (NAABB) Resource page 

National Black Doulas Association Directory

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

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.

Check out her new book series, “Women Who BossUp; Strategies of Successful Women Who have Leveled Up In Life, Health And Business” available now on Amazon. 

Core Message Blueprint

Follow Women With Vision International on Facebook 

1000 True Fans YT Video

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.

The National Association to Advance Black Birth (NAABB) Resource page 

National Black Doulas Association Directory

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

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: [email protected]                                            twitter: @adbphd

Midwife and Health Advocate Jennie Joseph: https://jenniejoseph.com/

Angel Shannon's Seva Health : https://sevahealthgroup.com/wellness1/

Olaomi Amoloku (Priestess of Oshun): www.got2boshun.org

Aura Meditation app: https://www.aurahealth.io/

Connect with Black Women in Wellness

IG: @bwiw_interviews  

FB: facebook.com/blackwomeninwellness

Website: blackwomeninwellness.com

Email: [email protected]

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

Ophelia is the radio host of Thank The Grief it's Friday and TV Host of Conversations with Ophelia. She is also the founder and spiritual director of Meet Me By the River Spiritual Centre.

She is an inspirational speaker, and has logged over 2000 hours as a speaker. She is a lover of peppermint tea, restorative yoga, and is a self-proclaimed scarf-aholic. She loves being silly with her beloved niece.

Her website is www.vopheliarigault.com

To learn more about Black Women in Wellness you can go to blackwomeninwellness.com

Follow us on IG @bwiw_interviews

Like our FB page Black Women In Wellness

I had the great pleasure of attending The Black Love Experience last week, and in this minisode I talk about my take-aways from the Black Joy Matters panel discussion.  The Moderator for the discussion was Jessica Solomon, and the panelists were Alex Hardy, Christine Platt, Derrick Weston Brown, and Zoë Pulley. 

You can find the black joy archive here.

To learn more about Black Women in Wellness, you can go to blackwomeninwellness.com

Follow us on IG @bwiw_interviews

Like our FB page Black Women In Wellness

Janna Zinzi is a traveling storyteller documenting cultural changemakers in arts, spirituality and social justice. When she saw that most travel guides are written by and for heteronormative white folks, she worked to cofound WanderWomxnTravels which is a collective of womxn of color and femme travelers. Wanderwomxn seeks to create a space that provides travel and safety information because the way we experience the world is naturally different. Through the stories shared by its contributors, Wanderwomxn wants to show the diversity of travel experiences you can have around the world. But Wanderwomxn also works to lift up local stories and businesses in the hopes that you will learn about the people on your block.

Janna is also an international burlesque teacher who has reached students in the UK, Canada, and Costa Rica. She has performed at the Burlesque Hall of Fame/Miss Exotic World competition in Las Vegas and is currently based in Los Angeles. Her dream is to be able to perform internationally some day.

Find out more about Janna on her website www.jannazinzi.com/

And follow WanderWomxnTravels on IG @wanderwomxntravels

You can find Black Women in Wellness on IG also @bwiw_interviews and on the web at blackwomeninwellness.com