Conscious Anti-Racism

What is cultural appropriation? What are some of the pitfalls of white people teaching or practicing yoga and meditation? How is appropation different from respect or admiration?

In this series on healthcare and social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Priya Verma, a yoga therapist, physician’s assistant, and expert in cultural appropriation. Priya explains how cultural appropriation harms everyone, because it whitewashes powerful practices such as yoga and meditation of their culture and true philosophy, thus stripping away many of the benefits and purpose of these practices. Cultural appropriation causes further harm because it enables someone else to portray themselves as the expert in another culture’s lived experience and wisdom, thus marginalizing the culture and people of origin (and often making them strangers in their own culture as it is portrayed in the west). To avoid the pitfalls of cultural appropriation, Priya encourages all yoga and meditation teachers and practitioners to avoid toxic positivity, hold themselves accountable for deep-rooted prejudices, and call out misuse of sacred texts or symbols.

Priya Verma is a yoga therapist and physician’s assistant with a South Asian cultural and spiritual background. She is the owner of Sandalwood Yoga, a dedicated yoga therapy practice in 2017 where she offers complementary non-pharmacologic solutions to pain management and surgery, meditation classes and trauma-informed management of chronic conditions.

Visit Priya at https://sandalwoodyoga.com

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandalwoodyogatherapy/

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on:

Instagram at www.instagram.com/jillwenerMD

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jillwenerMD

Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillwenerMDmeditation

LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jill-wener-md-682746125/

Have you ever gotten defensive when someone called you out for having privilege? Are you ready to start speaking out when friends or family make racist or sexist comments? Do you find yourself shutting down emotionally when it comes to *really* examining how you may be unknowingly contributing to systemic racism? 

In this series on recognizing and learning about systemic racism (with the hopes of helping to dismantle it) Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice, as well as 'non-experts' who have joined the fight to dismantle systemic racism. In this video, Jill interviews Greg Schisla, a white man living in rural North Carolina who focuses on fighting racism and deconstructing the idea of whiteness. Greg discusses, with inspiring honesty and humility, the difference between fighting racism and fighting the construct of whiteness, his advice to white people interacting in anti-racism spaces on social media, his favorite resources to learn more about how to recognize and fight systemic racism, and the challenges of standing up to friends and family about whiteness.

Join Greg's Facebook group 'Can We Talk About Race?': https://www.facebook.com/groups/998437296979002/

Additional resources about systemic racism recommended by Greg: 

"The Blood of Emmett Till" by Timothy B. Tyson, Rhett Samuel Price, et al.

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on: 

Instagram at www.instagram.com/jillwenerMD

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jillwenerMD

Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillwenerMDmeditation

LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jill-wener-md-682746125/

What is it really like to be both a physician and a mom of someone diagnosed with sickle cell? Why are patients with sickle cell often undertreated and their pain dismissed as drug addiction? How can the experience on both sides of a racially-charged disease help healthcare professionals learn more about the challenges of navigating the American healthcare system as a Black person? 

In this series on healthcare and social disparities,, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Dr. Nicole Peoples, a physician and mom, who describes her journey battling her daughter’s sickle cell diagnosis and systemic racism within the healthcare system. Systematic racism is ingrained within physician training, and this is particularly evident in the care of patients with sickle cell. Dr. Peoples explains how important it is for physicians of all backgrounds to check their preconceived notions at the door and acknowledge that, most often, their patients with sickle cell can help contribute to their own care in a positive way. 

In addition to race-related bias associated with sickle cell, doctors are also taught to be biased against sickle cell patients the same way they are taught to be biased against people with substance abuse issues. Dr. Peoples explains that healthcare professionals must understand that these patients are in pain. The goal is to get that pain under control as well as accepting they may be defensive from their previous trauma. She lists several important ways that healthcare professionals can improve care and minimize the effects of bias in their care of patients with sickle cell.

Read more about sickle cell anemia: https://www.msm.edu/blog/2019/facts-and-factors-sickle-cell-anemia.php

Learn more about Dr. Peoples on her website: www.drnicolepeoples.com

Follow Dr. Peoples on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/drnicolepeoples

And https://www.facebook.com/peoplesfuntionalmedicine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnicolepeoples and https://www.instagram.com/peoplesfunctionalmedicine/

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on: 

Instagram at www.instagram.com/jillwenerMD

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jillwenerMD

Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillwenerMDmeditation

LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jill-wener-md-682746125/  

How can both Black people and white people get through the discomfort around racism? What are some strategies to see through the immediate struggle to find inspiration and motivation? What will it take for our country's values to shift enough to allow for real change?

In this series on healthcare and social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, author, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, a family practitioner, Integrative Medicine specialist, hypnotherapist, NLP expert, physician coach and the co-creator and Chief Operating Officer of Jill's Conscious Anti-Racism movement. Dr. Maiysha shares her own personal struggles with burnout early in her medical career and how she learned early on that her path was going to be different. She tells the 'behind the scenes' story of how she connected with Jill and joined the Conscious Anti-Racism movement, even though she never saw herself as an activist. Dr. Maiysha's explains how she copes with the daily stresses and discomforts of systemic racism and what motivates her beyond the fear. 

As a female physician, Maiysha had spent most of her career putting work first. However, when she became pregnant with her son, one of the first things to come to mind “how will I balance my profession as a physician with my commitment as a mother?”  That question informed the way she next moved in her career. She designed her second career specifically so that she could be available for her son. With that in mind she started Stress free Mom MD in 2016, coaching physician moms to create balanced lives that they design. Not long after that she began helping burned out Dr. Mommies transition into better jobs and career paths giving them more time and freedom to be with their families. It wasn’t long before she became known for what she does, and for having made a successful transition from clinical medicine and was asked to coach in the area of entrepreneurship. That is when she decided to create the Next Level Physician Entrepreneurs Institute. She wanted to show doctors that it was possible to leverage what they already know and create a profitable business that more than paid the bills while having freedom, fulfillment and a life they truly loved by their design. Maiysha joined Conscious Anti-Racism in 2020.

Connect with Dr. Maiysha:

Website: https://www.drmaiysha.com and https://www.mindremappingacademy.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/drmaiysha 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/drmaiysha

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmaiysha

LinkedIN: http://www.Linkedin.com/in/drmaiysha

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her and Dr. Maiysha's online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on: 

Instagram at www.instagram.com/jillwenerMD

Twitter at www.twitter.com/jillwenerMD

Facebook at www.facebook.com/jillwenerMDmeditation

LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/jill-wener-md-682746125/&a

What does it take to navigate the world as a Black man? What do white people miss out on - emotionally, culturally, and otherwise- when they continue to see whiteness as the standard? How can international travel serve as an antidote to racism? What is the importance of seeing yourself in other people who aren't like you?

In this series on anti-racism and social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, and author interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Nicholas Landers, a career teacher who has taught on 3 continents who is now a motivational speaker, author and podcaster. Nick shares his own personal experience of systemic racism and bias in a world where white people are the standard, including the energetic, physical and emotional toll of always being 'on'. With incredible candor and vulnerability, he shares what it's like to go through everyday life as a Black man, and how white people miss out from truly getting to know the 'full person' inside the Black people they interact with each day. A world traveler, Nick shares his perspectives on how travel can help white people find themselves in people who are different from them, as long as they give it a chance.

Nicholas Landers is an award-winning teacher & coach, diversity speaker, author, blogger, and occasional television extra. He's dined in one of the world's top 10 restaurants, ascended the world's tallest building--by elevator, and taught on three continents, traveling to more than 30 countries in the process.

Connect with Nick: YouTube: Teacher In Your Pocket Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teacherinyourpocketWebsite: https://www.nicklanders.squarespace.com

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on:

Instagram at www.instagram.com/jillwenerMD

What is spiritual bypassing? What are the dangers of using spirituality as an escape from the messiness of life? What happens if we use spirituality as the SALVE rather than the SOLVE? How can we use spirituality to dismantle systemic racism, within ourselves and society?

In this series on recognizing and learning about systemic racism (with the hopes of helping to dismantle it) Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Faviana, a Brooklyn-based Vedic meditation expert (and eternal optimist). In our western spiritual culture, idolizing unity over justice results in silence and complicity in systemic racism. Faviana discusses the value of inquiry and the dangers of spiritual bypassing, and why it is essential for all of us to deal with our systemic racism demons to achieve true liberation. Don't miss the 3 things Faviana wishes all white people did or knew in terms of anti-racism!

Faviana is a Brooklyn-based Vedic Meditation teacher, community builder, and unshakeable optimist dedicated to helping people live richer, happier lives. She discovered her passion for teaching while using the Vedic Meditation technique to manage her own professional stress. She trained in the technique for two years before becoming one of a select few teachers to complete the highest-level qualification as a master teacher of Vedic Meditation. Faviana is passionate about creating spaces where people are inspired to care for their mental and physical well-being while feeling empowered to make a positive impact on the world.

As an advertising executive who embodied the ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality for years, she understands the stress and anxiety that comes with working in high pressure environments all too well. Within a few weeks of learning Vedic Meditation, she was less stressed, more productive, and more well rested. Now, Faviana is committed to helping people integrate the same simple, transformative technique that changed her life into their own.

Connect with Faviana, and learn more about her weekly group meditations, at [email protected]. 

Read about the 1619 Project: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

Faviana's recommended reading: Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/....

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408

Follow her on:

What is the definition of peace in a world filled with systemic racism and oppression? Is it possible to hold struggle and triumph at the same time, and if so, how do we get there? 

In this series on social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Adria Kitchens, anti-racism activist, program manager of Equitable Dinners, and senior certified Feminine Power coach. 

Adria shares her personal and professional journey from working as a neuroscience researcher at Yerkes Primate Center to becoming an antiracism educator and activist. She discusses the importance of art and story-telling in anti-racism spaces, and how cultivating the feminine power in each of us can help us to navigate life's challenges and opportunities, including internalized racism and oppression. She talked about one of her recent blog posts about Congressman John Lewis, whose 'Good Trouble' inspired her to write about the paradox of peace.

Adria Kitchens has supported women in transforming their lives for over a decade. She specializes in working with self actualizing women; executives, experienced coaches, therapists, local and global leaders. Adria is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, a Certified Cultural Competency Facilitator, and a Certified Feminine Power Coach and Facilitator specializing in women’s Transformational Leadership. Adria is currently the Equitable Dinners Atlanta Program Manager, leading a network of impassioned leaders to connect our communities, bring awareness to inequities, and activate anti-racist action. Adria has many years’ experience supporting the growth and development of new and emerging organizations. Ms. Kitchens began her career in Neuroscience at Yerkes Primate Center at Emory University. She holds a Senior Certified Coach appointment within the Feminine Power Program, a global women’s leadership community. She holds master’s degrees in accounting & financial management and business administration and a BA in Natural Sciences. Her passion is supporting women in catalyzing their leadership.

Connect with Adria: 

https://www.instituteforequityactivism.com

https://www.coachadria.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/adriakitchens

Read Adria's blog post on Good Trouble and the paradox of peace: https://shoutout.wix.com/so/d8NFF4Wvq#/main

Follow Equitable Dinners on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/equitabledinners

**

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on: 

What is a 'safe space' and who gets to decide whether or not it's safe? How is systemic racism perpetuated by trauma and also the cause of trauma - not only for Black people but also white people? 

In this series on social disparities, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Bianca Wilson, anti-racism activist and co-founder of Say Space, a Diversity and Inclusion consultancy. 

Bianca shares her personal and professional journey from working at a well-known advertising agency to leaving corporate America and co-founding a Diversity and Inclusion consultancy. She discusses terms such as 'safe space' and 'unconscious bias' and how they can be fraught (and cause more racial trauma) for Black people when not applied in a trauma-sensitive way. Bianca talked about the inter-generational trauma that white people have experienced (the "dirty pain" of white trauma), which has both led to and perpetuated systemic racism, and the need to truly heal the trauma from systemic racism for both Black and white people in order to end systemic racism. 

Bianca Wilson (she/ her/ hers) supports individuals and organizations to get to the core of what is needed so effective communication, impactful leadership and authentic relationships can thrive.

With her background in Race Relations at Villanova University, advanced training in Emotional Freedom Technique (‘Tapping’) and Cross Cultural Facilitation Training with the renowned Diversity Trainer, Lee Mun Wah, Bianca has been immersed in the world of Coaching, Holistic healing and Diversity and Inclusion for 10 years. 

Her education, extensive training and experience has led her to work with companies such as Media Arts Lab (Advertising Agency for Apple), Sony Music, PMC/Variety Magazine, Trailer Park, Giant Spoon, Outdoor Voices, Johannes Leonardo, Inspire, AT&T and countless others.

Connect with Bianca:

There Is No Such Thing As A White Ally article by Catherine Pugh: https://humanparts.medium.com/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-white-ally-469bb82799f2

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on:

Did you know that Black women face worse pregnancy outcomes across ALL educational and income categories? And that Black women have a 2-3 fold increase in the risk of maternal death and a 5-fold increase in the risk of complications relating to childbirth?

In this series on healthcare and social disparities and COVID, Dr. Jill Wener, a board-certified Internal Medicine specialist, meditation expert, and tapping practitioner, interviews experts in multiple fields relating to social justice and anti-racism. In this video, Jill interviews Jamila Pleas, RN, a labor and delivery nurse and founder of Her Birth Right, an national nursing initiative that bridges the gaps in maternal health outcomes for women of color. Jamila shares her knowledge and insights about the impacts of systemic racism in healthcare; in particular, in the labor and delivery unit. She speaks about the importance of truly listening to patients and empowering them to actively participate in their healthcare decisions. Jamila shares how "walking into purpose" has brought her from the bedside to a more policy-oriented approach to improving pregnancy-related outcomes for women of color.

Jamila Pleas, RN, is a registered nurse who has blossomed into a maternal health advocate specializing in child birth education, positive birth outcomes, labor support, research, and policy implementation. She estimates that since 2012, she has assisted over 800 women and couples in their birthing journey while working as a labor and delivery nurse. Jamila

has worked at some the world’s top leading health care systems. Jamila believes that her five years of training at the University of Chicago prepared her to care and manage high-risk pregnancy complications.

Jamila was recently awarded the Abstract of Excellence Award for her contributing work on Systemic Treatment and Management of Postpartum Hypertension at the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative. She was also awarded the Coin of Excellence by the President and CEO of Holy Cross Health for her commitment to providing quality care.

Jamila is the founder of Her Birth Right, a national nursing initiative that is actively working to bridge the gap in maternal health disparities for women of color. She is the proud mother of the A-Team: Amaris, Anif, and Amir.

Learn more about Jamila on her website: https://www.herbirthright.com

**

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change at https://theresttechnique.com/courses/conscious-anti-racism.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/307196473283408/

Follow her on:

Paige Ingram is the real deal. An activist with a capital 'A'. Paige shares her experiences organizing and supporting the ongoing protests in Minneapolis that began with the murder of George Floyd in May, 2020. She discusses the community of organizers that continue to come together to fight for real change, and what it takes to prioritize self-care in such emotionally and physically intense times. Paige talked about the importance of knowing what you are *for*, not just what you are against, and the need to use a multitude of tactics to make real change.

In her work, Paige addresses anti-blackness, policing, gentrification, anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies, and violence against womxn and non-binary people locally and nationally, connecting them to broader global liberation struggles. She ultimately desires to build a world that acknowledges how deeply we are connected to each other and believes her calling to be nurturing spaces where people can connect in ways that heal, encourage the reimagining of their communities, and make tenable changes that are an outgrowth of spiritual practice, authentic relationships, and intentional engagement in community.

Connect with Paige:

***

You can learn more about Dr. Wener and her online meditation and tapping courses at www.jillwener.com, and you can learn more about her online social justice course, Conscious Anti Racism: Tools for Self-Discovery, Accountability, and Meaningful Change HERE.

Join her Conscious Anti-Racism facebook group

Follow Jill on: