Everyday Endorphins

This week, I spoke with Katara McCarty to discuss antiracism and mental health. In the Black community, mental health issues are often compounded by the psychological stress of systemic racism. As a result, Black adults are 20% more likely to report serious psychological distress than white adults (because of oppression, systematic racism and other factors at work). What’s more, seeking mental health care is stigmatized, and just one in three Black Americans who struggle with mental health issues will ever receive appropriate treatment – despite being affected at the same rate as their white counterparts.

Katara is a sought-after coach, author, and podcast host dedicated to cultivating brave spaces where all Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC) belong. As a Black woman, she is committed to amplifying the richness of BIWOC and their stories, while also advocating for and providing emotional well-being resources for BIWOC, through her app EXHALE. During this episode, Katara and I spoke about the importance of creating more accessibility in the wellness space,  how to dismantle the system of racism in our society, and how white people can be better advocates for those in the black community.

Jenna is an entrepreneur, founder, and women's empowerment coach. Through her coaching program, she guides women back to themselves and into their worth. While running her fashion agency, Kindly Coveted,  she began building a blueprint for how to become the woman and founder of her dreams, which led her to discover her true mission of guiding women to do the same.

Lara Benusis is a yoga instructor, researcher, and mental health advocate. As the Founder and Creative Director of Namasteens, Lara has worked to develop an experiential and informed curriculum of children’s yoga with an emphasis on developmentally appropriate educational creative programs. Lara previously taught at Equinox, Pure Yoga, and House of Jai in New York City, and was certified to teach since 1996, being one of the youngest certified yoga teachers in the world. Lara's work has led her to teach and conduct research all over the world, from New York City to Tokyo. She was also the Manager of Yoga & Exercise Programs at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. where she conduced yoga interventions for research. Currently, Lara is studying at the Department of Biobehavioral Sciences at Columbia University, conducting research in Applied Physiology and Behavioural Sciences.

When Patrick was a senior in high school, he studied to become a Buddhist monk. This week, I sat down with my friend to chat about the unique experience of studying at the Temple so that he could become ordained and practice Buddhism as a monk during his senior year Spring Break. Hear about his experience as a monk, and how that year transformed his perspective on mindfulness meditation.

Hear from Arielle Calem to learn more about her love for the practice of yoga, and how being stuck at home during quarantine inspired her creation of "Ari's Yoga Journey," an Instagram account documenting her daily yoga practices. We chatted about the physical and mental benefits of yoga, and how yoga and meditation can help students overcome the daily stresses and challenges of life in college.

Welcome back! This week I had the pleasure to speak with a friend of mine, Brenna O'Malley. Brenna is a registered dietician and founder of the mindful health brand and virtual private practice, The Wellful. Brenna specializes in helping people move away from dieting and disordered eating patterns to develop a healthy relationship with food and their body. She is passionate about changing the language we use to talk about nutrition & health in the media, online and in food marketing.

Welcome to the first episode of my podcast!! 

This week, I spoke with a friend and mentor of mine, Keziah Beall. We originally met through Row New York while I was an athlete at the time, and were paired together through a mentorship program. During this episode, Keziah spoke about her journey as a competitive athlete, from winning the Team Title stroking the Varisty eight at University of Virgina, to training for three years to join the US National Rowing Team.

Welcome to Everyday Endorphins! Listen to hear why I started a podcast, and what “everyday endorphins” means to me.