Practice Dirty: Using Mindfulness to Develop Unshakeable Inner Calm

In this episode, I speak with my colleague Dr. Chelsea Williams, a psychotherapist who specializes in using nature in therapeutic settings to work with her patients. 

Chelsea works with clients struggling with anxiety, depression, relationships and workplace issues.  Her specialization areas include intergenerational trauma, attachment, social justice, and somatics.  

Passionate about providing trauma informed care within our larger social context, Chelsea welcomes clients who are craving a space to address the harmful impact of white supremacy culture as an inextricable element of personal healing. 

This includes white identified folks seeking accountability and growth, as well as bodies of culture, mixed-race, multi-heritage and those walking in the borderlands - those who know all too well the perils of denying the impact of white supremacy as we try to heal our wounds. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Disconnection has led us to live in disassociated, disregulated states within our mind and body; it’s why we seek other things to fill out the voids in our souls. 
• Systems of oppression thrive on dissociation. As people, if we reconnect to land and ourselves, systems of oppression would have a hard time working. 
• We no longer have collective practices that help men and women process loss, grief and pain - this is we need community. 
• We can’t metabolize all that happening in the world.  In order to function in the world today, we have to shut down parts of soul,  humanity, and critical thinking in order to put one foot in front of the other each day. 
• Connection to nature and the land helps us reconnect to ourselves and co-regulate with the environment, and learn to not feel so lonely. 
• Ecotherapy is an extractive process that helps teaches the soul and body to release, reconnect, and allow for the flow of emotion. 
• To build a tolerance for discomfort; learning to sit with it and process the emotions associated with discomfort helps us heal.  
• When the world radicalizes women, there’s already a requirement for discomfort. It’s exhausting and we didn’t sign up for it. It’s will take generations to collectively heal from it. 
• In this lifetime, our own body healing is giving permissions to those in our lives to heal as well. 
• One  of the key factors of trauma is lack of choice. We need to present people with choice, and let their choices guide their healing journey. 
• We need full consent from all the parts of ourselves to move through trauma. 
• As women of color, we need to give ourselves permission to stop bypassing our lived experiences. 
• Sometimes we need people to give us permission because we’ve been indoctrinated to do so. 
• Listen to your intuitive, warrior self; you are more than qualified to do what you’re doing!
• We need to step outside the way we’ve been conditioned. 
• We need to go inward, there’s a reason winter exists. Give yourself permission to rest, and explore your inner world. 
• Give yourself permission to stop believing the urgency. Urgency is a characteristic of white supremacy and capitalism. 
• Set boundaries, “you are not allowed to exact from me anymore.”

Other Links: 

The Alliance for Ecotherapy & Social Justice - https://theaesj.com/

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

In this episode of Practice Dirty, I talk with Abriana Johnson, the Chief Growth Officer at Teaching Horse, and the founder of Cowgirl Camryn and Black Unicorn Creative. We discuss:

• Building a business at the intersection of your interests;
• Building a network to do the work you dream of;
• How leadership development serves as a bridge to having hard conversations;
• Becoming a conduit to translate animal behavior into human language;
• How horses expose a company’s biggest challenges and bring dysfunction into the light; 
• How company leaders want to be influential, and how the perception of power is most leaders’ deep desire;
• The roles of formal and informal power;
• How unconscious bias, microaggressions, and bypassing kill an individual’s ability to function in their role;
• If you can’t find what you’re looking for, become it; 
• Mentorship of younger generations of black girls and teens;
• How our brain crave patterns, it creates feelings of safety;
• Having the audacity of a mediocre white man, or a mediocre stallion - be loud, present and command attention;
• Don’t be afraid to be audacious; it is one of the only road blocks for women of color that prevents them from build legacies and empires;
• Small moments of beliefs bring big mindset shifts.

Follow Abriana Online: 

Instagram: Https://instagram.com/theabrianJ

Website: https://abrianajohnson.com/

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

In the great awakening of my soul, I committed myself to learning a lot about psychospirituality (which to me,  the intersection of the mind and the soul come together). When I first started exploring this concept, I discovered narrative therapy, which is how to use stories to help heal your mind. 

At the time, I was looking to understand my own stories, I discovered Dr. Mehl-Madrona. Dr. Mehl-Madrona has an extensive body of work, but it’s not widely popularized (nor all of it widely available) like the work of other psychologists or indigenous healers may be. One book of Dr. Mehl-Madrona has stuck with me for the past several years. 

The Spirit of Healing, which is an exploration of narrative therapy, is a beautiful book to listen to. One of the exercises is called,  “Dialogue with the Spirit of an Illness” (found in Chapter 10) became a part of my personal toolkit, as well as part of several workshops I ran over the years. 

In it, you visualize a conversation with the spirit of an illness you have. “Illness” is metaphorical. It can represent an actual illness, a negative belief, or thought pattern.  I guide you through a conversation with the spirit behind the illness, belief, or situation. In that conversation, we ask, how it came to you, what it needs you to know, and how it can move on from you. Listen in, and let me know what you think. 

To learn more about our 2024 workshops or 1/2 ranch experiences, visit my website.

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

In this episode of the Practice Dirty podcast, host  I talk to co-facilitator and friend Sonia Jorgensen, a nurse and healthcare leader who owns and runs Spirit2Spirit, an equine-facilitated leadership  development program. We discuss the challenges that companies face in terms HR, managing employee turnover and retention, and how to fix toxic work environments. 

In this conversation, Sonia and I explore the benefits of fostering a positive company culture and the importance of leaders developing essential skills to lead healthy teams. We also talk in-depth about the need for leaders to have empathy, curiosity, and a beginner's mindset, as well as the importance of setting clear expectations and boundaries. 

We also delve into some pretty heavy hitting topics such as when it may be necessary for employees to walk away from a role or for leaders to let go of an employee. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the importance of open communication, understanding, and mutual respect in creating healthy work environments. We also discuss how horses help positive change happen 10 times faster than most traditional methods. 

Learn More About Spirit2Sprit: https://spirit2spirit.org/

Connect With Sonia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonia-jorgensen-spirit2spirit-llc-98555b235/

Learn More About Practice Dirty and How We Help Women of Color Develop Unshakeable Inner Calm at: https://www.macalarose.com. 

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

In this episode of the Practice Dirty podcast, I interview Tiffany Hardin, CEO of Gild Creative Group and Represent, an influencer marketing agency and talent management group that represents BIPOC creators. She’s also the founder of Conscious Hustler. 

Tiffany and I talk about her personal journey and how mindfulness and self-care intersect with her everyday life. We discuss the importance of setting boundaries, being bold, and living inside out. Tiffany shares her experiences in the music and advertising industries, and emphasizes the need to prioritize oneself and one's own needs. 

Tiffany also shares how she finds mindfulness in her everyday life through the power of breathwork in order to maintain a connection to herself, and a higher power. She encourages women of color to stop negative self-talk and to recognize their own worthiness. She also emphasizes the importance of self-compassion and modeling positive behavior for others.

More About Tiffany

Gild Creative Group: https://www.gildcreativegroup.com/

Conscious Hustler: https://www.theconscioushustler.com/

Tiffany on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanymariehardin/

More About Macala & Practice Dirty

Download the Practice Dirty 30-Day Mindfulness Guide: https://www.macalarose.com/store/p/mindfulness-workbook-for-black-women

 Connect with Macala on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/Macala

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

As you get older, food sensitivities you’ve had since you were younger can start to build, making your body more reactionary to something that it’s had a hard time processing. By 40, you can actually become partially intolerant of certain things you could eat when you were younger. Before you believe you’re allergic to something, I think you should understand what a food allergy actually is. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, a food allergy is a reaction that occurs in your immune system after you’ve eaten a certain food. These foods can lead you to break into hives, develop itchiness or swelling in the throat, nose, mouth and airways, or even lead to anaphylaxis. When it comes to a food allergy, almost 90 percent of all food allergies are related to eight foods: milk, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. 

What’s the Difference Between a Food Allergy and a Sensitivity (or Intolerance)? 

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, a food allergy is a reaction to food proteins that your system can’t break down and results in severe reactions like the ones listed above. A food intolerance or sensitivity is related to an enzyme deficiency in your digestive tract that makes it hard to process a certain food, but it doesn’t lead to the severe outcomes that an allergy does. We can be sensitive to foods, but not allergic to them. 

Read The Full Post and Find Detail Graphics: https://practicedirty.substack.com/p/food-allergies-black-women

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

There is a time and place for supplements, but you probably don’t need to take as many as you currently do. There are vitamins and minerals found in the food you eat every day. So if you’ve been wanting to rethink your supplement routine and/or stop taking them altogether. This episode and the full text below is what you need. 

1. Vitamins: Vitamins are organic compounds required by humans in small amounts from the diet. Vitamins are made by living organisms (plants and animals). We need them to stay alive. When we are deficient in them, our bodies aren’t working properly.  
2. Minerals: Minerals are elements that originate in the Earth and cannot be made by living organisms. Plants obtain minerals from the soil, and most of the minerals in our diets come directly from plants or indirectly from animal sources. Minerals may also be present in the water we drink.

Your daily requirements depend on activity, lifestyle, and other health factors. The way to get them is simply by eating real food. Food is nutrient-dense and packed with vitamins and minerals. That means your body is getting most of what it needs from what you’re already eating. 

When you’re first starting to eat better and at the beginning of your health journey, you may use nutritional supplements because you may be overly deficient in them. Also, if you’re vegan and/or vegetarian, you may have to take in order to achieve a sufficient amount of them. In general, women need to make sure they’re getting sufficient Iron and Calcium/Magnesium/Vitamin D for bone health. 

As you start to eat better, you’ll not need to rely on them as much because the food you eat has naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. The vitamins and minerals found in your food is way better than what has been put into a bottle. 

Read the full article at: https://practicedirty.substack.com/p/black-women-vitamins-minerals-supplements

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

Love Food, Love Yourself is a series on nutrition and mindful eating designed to help women of color, over the age of 40, understand how their bodies process food, and the nutrients it needs to function best. 

It’s aimed at debunking food myths, wellness trends and fad diets. It’s a no bullshit approach to making better, more mindful decisions about the food you eat. 

If you're a woman of color, over 40, who works in a mental health or wellness role, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. 

Read the full article at: https://practicedirty.substack.com/

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

Somewhere in our mid-30s, our bodies begin to go through a big set of changes;  your hormones change and our metabolism shifts. These changes are subtle at first; we begin to experience weight gain, loss of lean muscle mass, bone density can decrease, we might sleep less, and strange things begin happening in our menstrual cycles. The list goes on. 

Then, around 40 our bodies start to enter perimenopause, and while this usually begins in your forties, it can begin as early as your mid-30s. Cellular level changes cause you to store more fat and the ability to burn fat diminishes in return. Your estrogen begins to decline as our bodies begin to transition to menopause, somewhat erratically, and it keeps decreasing (along with progesterone).  

So, is it over after 40? Has your body simply betrayed you? Are you doomed to hold unwanted body fat unless you continually diet, cleanse, and deprive yourself? The answer is no. You can become, or continue to be healthy in a way that works for you. No diets, cleanses or deprivation needed. 

By our mid-30’s, (and certainly after 40), we simply have to recognize that our nutritional requirements change.  Our bodies require different macronutrient compositions –– our protein (meat, fish, dairy, beans, and legumes ), carbohydrate (whole grains), and fat (like olive oil) intake has to match our evolving needs; the same goes for our  micronutrients –– that is, our vitamin and mineral intake.  

While it may sound complex, it’s actually not. It comes down to: 

1. Get and eat enough protein; 
2. Balance fat in your caloric intake;
3. Get adequate fiber; 
4. Eat the right carbohydrates;
5. Take stock your vitamin and mineral requirements;
6. Drinking enough water;
7. Be willing to break up with certain foods;
8. And make small, conscious decisions that help  develop healthier, more appropriate eating habits. 

I want to make it very clear that you shouldn’t focus on any  single macro or micronutrient (I’m looking at you carbohydrates); remember, your body needs all of them, in a balanced fashion; that’s what holistic means. 

It’s important to focus on eating foods that nourish your body, rather than harm it. So, put aside the ideas that you have to deprive yourself of certain marco and micronutrients because, in fact, doing so may  actually be contributing to your health issues.

Read my in-depth analysis of macronutrients here: https://practicedirty.substack.com/p/black-womens-nutrition-after-40

Read my in-depth explanation of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) here: 

https://open.substack.com/pub/practicedirty/p/black-women-vitamins-minerals-supplements

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.

Welcome to Love Food, Love Yourself, an written and audio series for Practice Dirty,  designed to help women over  40+ develop better understand of nutrition and a create a more mindful relationship with food.This series will help you better understand the foods that you put in our bodies, and also learn how those foods connect to our mental, physical and spiritual health.

In our last piece, I talked about how our relationship with food became so fragmented and broken, especially for BIPOC women over 40, like myself. In this episode, we’re going to go through a series of questions and exercises that can help begin to heal that relationship. 

So how do you begin to fix your relationship with food? 

The first thing you have to do... is stop. 

Stop reading books, stop reading blogs, unfollow all the so called social media gurus. Just stop. And once you’ve taken a break from it all, and had a chance to breathe, you can then come back and begin to learn anew. 

Now that you’ve taken some time to clear your head, we can go back to the basics.

Find the full article and questions prompts at https://practicedirty.substack.com

Find out more about my work at https://macalarose.com.