In this episode, Imani joins Jenn to share how being an educator led her to becoming a wellness practitioner, how she holds space for women and mothers while continuing her yoga classes, and how discipline in life, her health and body has pushed her to grow in ways she never thought she could ✨

Don’t forget to follow @raregemspodcast to get the latest info about upcoming episodes!

In this episode, we get to explore one of Houston’s well-known CrossFit coaches and your host’s personal coach, Juan Martinez! Juan has over 8 years of coaching experience in CrossFit, group training, personal training, gymnastics, and Olympic weightlifting. He is currently a coach at Urban Athletics and Lagom Fit, both located in Houston. Juan joins the podcast to discuss what discipline means to him, his fitness journey from an athlete to a coach, how important mental toughness is when working out, and tips on how to live a positive, healthier lifestyle 💪🏽

If you would like to connect with Juan and schedule an in-person training session with him, feel free to reach out to him on Instagram at:

Don’t forget to follow us @raregemspodcast on Instagram to get the latest info about upcoming episodes! Lastly, if you enjoyed the show, please give us a 5-star rating or leave a positive review! See you in our next episode! Enjoy! ✨

Mara is a baker, a cook, and a weekend comedian (LOL jk)! But seriously y'all, Mara has such an amazing, hilarious, charismatic personality. Mara joins Jenn to discuss the origin of her self-proclaimed nickname, how her path came to cross Jenn and her family's lives and her story in the LGBTQ+ community. Jenn and Mara connect on relationships stories, struggles, chismes, and much more! Mara opens up about her current relationship, living together and how that's pushed both individuals to grow, how she feels loved and shares love, and where her passion from cooking and baking began! Several small family business where mentioned throughout the episode:

This episode was full of laughs, stories, and just a good ol'hangout. Enjoy!

Alejandra (AKA "The Queen" AKA "Ale") is one of my best friends, a former teacher, and new doggie mum to Charlie boy. Ale joins Jenn to discuss the fears/reservations of podcasting or being recorded in general, reminisce on some fun times, explore the pronunciation of words in Spanish and English and how that impacted life in middle school and even now as grown women. Jenn shares how she struggles with friendships and Ale shares how she's been able to maintain the same friendship circle since middle school, both connecting on what pulled them to become very close friends! Ale opens up about the societal pressure on finding a passion, a career, a hobby, without it turning into a burden or responsibility. Ale and Jenn talk about how COVID impacted their friendship, the dream of living outside of Houston, and how real the fear of holding back in experiences and life can be. Ale shares her dreams of one day living outside of Texas, how the guilt of leaving home affects everyone differently, and how her and Jenn react when facing uncomfortable situations in an unknown place with unknown people. Enjoy!

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Charlie's Corner: @charliescorner__

Ale's Cooking Page: @alelizz.cooks

Dr. Cindy Dafashy is a wife, a mother of two, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and lastly, a Family Medicine physician who recently opened a direct primary care clinic in Pasadena,TX called Archway Family Medicine. She is fiercely passionate about two things, and that is her family and patient care. In this episode, Dr. Dafashy joins Jenn to discuss her time and studies at Rice University (which Jenn tokens it as the Harvard of the South), how at the beginning of her college career she thought she was going to be an English major and her unique passion in the written word along with linguistics. Dr. Dafashy shares how her background in Cognitive Science led her to medical school, her journey in getting rejected then accepted into medical school, and the impact her journey into medical school had on her once she was accepted. Now as a Family Medicine physician, Dr. Dafashy is hoping to shake up the healthcare industry by practicing under this new model of primary care called direct primary care, or DPC. Dr. She hopes to bring medicine back to what it used to be: a true relationship between a patient and their doctor, but with a modern twist, by offering virtual visits, phone calls and even direct texting access. DPC clinics work for the patient, not the insurance company, by using a monthly membership model, rather than billing insurance, so all patients are welcome, whether they are insured or not.

Dr. Dafashy grew up in San Antonio in a family of six, as a first generation Ecuadorian-American. She first came to Houston for college, where she attended Rice University. Thus began her journey around Texas. She went on to obtain a Master's degree in Fort Worth, did some work as a research associate in Galveston for UTMB, before then starting medical school at Texas A&M, where she studied in both Bryan and Temple, TX. She then completed her Family Medicine residency training back at UTMB in Galveston and has planted her roots in Houston for her professional practice. She can't wait to see where this next stage of her journey takes her! 

You can follow Dr. Dafashy and her clinic on instagram @archwayfamilymed or at https://www.archwayfamilymed.com/

If you like/love/enjoy the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!

Ulyssis is the host of Inside the Northside Podcast, a Houston podcast where Ulyssis and his guests talk about everything AND nothing at the same time. Ulyssis joins Jenn to discuss the numerous (some weird) ways to pronounce his name, the evolution of each of their podcasting equipment, and how Ulyssis handled podcasting during the peak of COVID-19. Ulyssis shares what inspired him to start Inside the Northside Podcast and how the music scene contributed to that, how meaningful his podcast episode became to his listeners during the COVID-19 pandemic, and why he LOVES podcasts. Ulyssis and Jenn connect on their love for Houston, especially their like for a local coffee shop - Coral Sword, and Ulyssis shares how the name for his podcast came to be. Ulyssis explains his podcasting process from equipment to how he schedules guests and even the software he uses to record and edit which shows how open he is to sharing all his podcast  knowledge with other fellow first-time podcasters! Enjoy!

Make sure to listen to Inside the Northside Podcast at: www.linktr.ee/ITNS

And if you're in the East End area in Houston, make sure to check out Coral Sword - https://www.coralsword.com/

If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!

A dynamic, consummate and passionate businesswoman across the field of social services for more than a decade, Nicole Mays-Jackson is reengineering the systemic structure of how fostering, adoption, therapeutic services and the social services profession operates. Nicole is a wife, a mother, a philanthropist, and the CEO of 1 Care Premier Services and 1 Care Premier Medical Supply. A proud two-time alum from Grambling State University Nicole earned her bachelors and masters in social work from the prestigious HBCU. As the youngest woman of color to own and successfully manage a business providing home and community-based services, foster care and adoption services, Nicole is a pioneer in her field. Nicole joins Jenn to discuss personal fitness commitments, the importance of an accountability buddy at the gym, and how both love morning workout routines. Jenn and Nicole talk about how children can and are positively impacted by mothers who are also business owners, how their work ethic is correlated to being raised by single-mothers, and they share the love for their mommas. Nicole explains life in college and her beginnings in pageants, where her passion in fashion comes from, and how she met her now husband. Nicole, a self-described woman of faith and prayer, also encourages the women she mentors to never forget their spiritual foundation.

If you would love to connect with Nicole, make sure to follow her at @nicolemaysjackson and @1CarePremier.

Website: https://www.1carepremierservices.com/

Make sure to check out her latest book now available on Amazon, The Power of a Thriving Mindset: Lessons in Life, Leadership & Faith.

If you like the show, give us a 5 star rating and positive review. See you on our next episode!