Conversations With Your Chinese Auntie

In this episode, Kimen and I share how we met and the challenges we have encountered in our 18-year relationship. 

As always, advice from Your Chinese Auntie, Yiyi, is at the end of the episode. 

Give up everything you think you know about relationships, and listen to your partner.

Patricia's website

Kimen's podcast

My guest today is my dear friend, Lara Therrien Boulos. I met Lara through our dear friend Carmen Spagnola, as we were both Questers and Carmen's students.

At the end of the episode, I discuss self-initiation and, yes, as always, advice from your Chinese Auntie. 

For those of you who are curious, The Numinious Quest was a self-guided solo wilderness retreat. 

Bio:

My guest is Roxanne Francis, the award-winning CEO of Francis psychotherapy and consulting services. She runs a busy group practice and is a keynote speaker, leadership coach, and corporate consultant who addresses topics related to women's issues, such as race and equity, mental health, parenting, and wellness at work. She is also the founder of The Therapist's Lounge, which helps private practice social workers and psychotherapists meet their needs for community wellness and business support. 

In this episode, Roxanne and I discuss how to navigate life as a person of colour, how accent affects how we are viewed, and how we scan for safety. We also talk about how to navigate social media, especially for youths. 

Bio:

I am thrilled to welcome Taraneh Erfan to the show. In this episode, Taraneh talks about growing up in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, recognizing our privilege, how to decolonize our practice, and how to show up human with one another. Of course, we talk about our puppies.

I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.

Bio:

Taraneh Erfan is a Registered Clinical Counsellor, Certified Expressive Arts Therapist, published author, passionate poet and yoga and meditation teacher. 

Her book Conscious Grieving: The Path of Awakening Through Loss helped me immensely to process my grief after my mother died. I recommend her book to friends and clients when they are in the grieving process.

Follow her on Instagram for insightful posts and beautiful poetry. 

Learn more about Taraneh's offerings on her Website 

I am so excited for you to meet Henry M. Pittman. Henry is a licensed therapist and counsellor. Henry assisted in my Somatic Experiencing (SE) three-year training. The training was all online except for the last level, so we met in person last year in Atlanta. Henry is passionate about his work; he is wise, knowledgeable and a great storyteller. Oh, and funny!

Bio:

My guest today is the founder of Feeding Mama - Mona En Ting Stilwell. I first heard about Mona from my Chinese Medicine colleagues and friends who know Mona.

Feeding Mama is dedicated to nourishing new postpartum parents with premium quality essential foods carefully cultivated through the centuries-long sciences of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

If you know anyone expecting in Vancouver, BC, I highly recommend gifting them Mona's nourishing and nutritious meals.

Menopause? Estrogen? Progesterone? Who's in perimenopause? Me!

My guest today is Shirley Weir, the founder of Menopause Chicks. Although this podcast mainly features BIPOC folks, I invited Shirley as I have admired her work since we met in 2017. She has done so much to educate the world about menopause. Shirley is a fierce advocate for women’s health. 

In this (mini) master class, we talk about hormones, the healthcare system, how it affects folks who identify as BIPOC, and what we can do to be more proactive about our journey. 

Shirley launched Menopause Chicks 12 years ago onto the world stage to empower women to talk openly about perimenopause and menopause, navigate midlife health information, and connect to women’s health professionals.

Shirley always begins by reminding women they deserve to feel amazing. She teaches hormone health and supports women eager to invest in their health and learn to be their best advocate. 

Based in Vancouver, Menopause Chicks reaches over 300K women in 10 countries. She hosts a popular private community with over 54K members.

Links:

Article:

My guest today is Dr. Debbie Lee. Debbie is a Registered Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is a mama to two adorable little humans and is one of my close friends with whom I can talk about my feelings and emotions. 

In this episode, we talk about our Chinese mothers who used to make us drink herbal decoctions, and we might or might not have poured the decoctions down the sink when our mothers were not paying attention. My mother never found out, but Debbie got caught. :)

We also discuss herbal medicine, how COVID affected the businesses in Chinatown, especially herbal stores, how to strengthen your body with the upcoming allergy season, and what one can do as one enters menopause.

Dr. Debbie Lee is a Registered Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Her studies include completing a two-month practicum at Taiwan’s China Medical University Hospital, the leading teaching hospital in the country. Debbie has a special interest in treating auto-immune disorders. Incorporating her Kinesiology background, she effectively treats any pain issues, including sciatica, shoulders, neck and back pain, headaches and migraines, to name a few.

Debbie's website

Referenced in this episode

Book: The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Dr. Jen Gunter

Instagram account AlterEgo Health

What do we give up as immigrants and refugees?

In this episode, Luna and I talk about the Kampung spirit, the concept of Gaginang, and the importance of red eggs in Chinese culture. 

A kampong (kampung in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village.

Gaginang means (my/our) own people.

Luna's Bio:

Luna's website

Article: Keeping the kampung spirit alive in modern Singapore

Happy Lunar New Year! 新年好!

This episode is part two of my Lunar New Year series. If you missed part one, please listen to episode 8. 

In this episode, I imagine that Luna and I are sitting at a hawker center, eating foods we desperately miss, and talking about everything from our experiences growing up in Singapore, Lunar New Year traditions, including going to the Kuan Yin temple, red packets, Buddhism, and much more. 

Luna 月愛心 (They/them/their) is a multiracial, non-binary, neurodivergent, disabled settler, community planner, facilitator and artist with ties to Southeast Asia, specifically Nusantara cultures and Pacific Islanders. As someone who was born into a colonized society, Luna has been researching through imagination, learning and understanding ways of being that are decolonial and “kampong-like" - accepting, caring, inclusive, celebratory and supportive of each other. As a neurodivergent person, Luna loves multimodal ways of creative expression and experiencing the joy of witnessing others “play with imagination” on “very serious matters”. They work with local governments, non-profits, community organizations and personal projects through GaGiNang Productions (自己人创作) on ways to create equitable, just and safe systems and practises that can better serve our communities. They currently reside on the stolen and unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Luna's website