"We only have one home to live in: our body," says today's guest, Jovanka Ciares who carries over a decade of personal wisdom as an integrative herbalist and nutrition expert with the life mission of "helping people reclaim natural states of wellness through practices of our lineage, our ancestry, and our birthright." I instantly graviated to her work because it highlights how we can take our power back and heal ourselves. 

She writes about this in her book, "Reclaiming Wellness: Ancient Wisdom for Your Healthy, Happy, and Beautiful Life." And has so much wisdom to offer us today as the founder of Solana Wellness and creator of the #ReclaimingWellness, which carries the initiative of educating BIPOC communities about the power of herbal medicine and plant-based living.

In this conversation, we go DEEP and get to hear her share powerful practices to build new habits, change our taste buds, and experience a new conversation between our mind and body. We explore how her upbringing in Puerto Rico and connection to African philosophies brought her to discover a level of true wellness & connectivity we all deeply crave and deserve access to.

WORKS:
- author, Reclaiming Wellness: Ancient Wisdom for Your Healthy, Happy, and Beautiful Life
- founder, Solana Wellness 

TOOLS:
- Thought processes to support systems change in privileged spaces
- Practices to decolonize your mind
- African philosophies for reconciliation & healing
- How music serves as a gift and doorway into healing
- Advice for those moments when you feel the call to do more and give back
- Wisdom for honoring the only home we have to live in: our body  
- "Lazy-proof" self-love, self-care practices to create nutritional routines that give you joy and uplift your lifestyle
- Why we're depleted, and tools to reclaim time and space
- Practices that help us replenish our needs rather than self-abandon
- Permission to honor your emotions and cry
- Powerful practices to build new habits, change your taste buds, and experience a new conversation between your mind and body
- Tips to turn your desire to see the world be a BETTER place into ACTION

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

BETTER is recorded on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.
 

BETTER with Mark Brand is produced by Pamela Rothenberg of I HEAR YOU STUDIOS and Adam Karch with Orbyt Media