The Okay Days

In this episode, Adrianna Naomi & Kimberly Marcotte, co-managers of Ananda Shala Healing, a Brooklyn-based yoga studio, join The Okay Days to talk about yoga as more than just a physical practice.

Adrianna is a bilingual yoga teacher who specializes in vinyasa, power vinyasa, yoga sculpt, restorative yoga, and meditation. In June 2018, she graduated from her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training focused on Baptiste-inspired vinyasa. Since then, Adrianna has consistently taught yoga, led numerous yoga teacher trainings and Yoga Alliance continuing education workshops.

Kimberly is a former professional dancer and dance instructor. She specializes in power vinyasa, yoga sculpt, and restorative yoga. Kimberly's incorporation of yoga dates back to 2007 as a natural movement practice that encouraged a deeper connection within herself, and opened reflection of how she may best radiate this energy to others.

In 2021, Adrianna launched and incorporated her yoga school—Ananda Shala Healing. Through in-studio, livestream, rooftop, and private yoga classes, Ananda Shala Healing has become a beacon of support to Adrianna’s student community.

We talk about their bliss (Ananda) home (Shala) where we can cultivate our mind-body's innate capacity to heal.

Follow along at @anandashalahealing.

In this episode, Chris Bullard, Executive Director of Sound Mind Live, a national non-profit focused on ending the stigma around mental health through the power of music, joins The Okay Days to talk about using your voice.

A former touring musician, Chris performed with acts such as Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. Subsequent to receiving his MBA, he oversaw portfolio management at Acumen, a global non-profit investing funds focused on poverty alleviation. Chris founded Sound Mind Live based on personal experiences overcoming mental health stigma after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his mid-twenties. He has also founded a music support program for those affected by mental illness with National Alliance on Mental Illness in New York City. 

We talk about Sound Mind Live's belief that collectively our voices are stronger, how music can help find those voices and why creatives tend to experience their mental health more than others.

Follow along at @soundmind_live.

In this episode, Nirmala Nataraj, a New York-based writer, editor, book midwife, theater artist, and myth-maker, joins The Okay Days to talk about storytelling.

As a South Asian American woman who thrives in liminal spaces, her work lives at the crossroads of creativity, mythology, storytelling, and collective liberation. As a multi-genre collaborator and creative facilitator, Nirmala believes in generative solutions in the midst of chaos, the coexistence of messiness and magic, and breathtaking beauty as a natural consequence of this wild ride.

She is trained in a variety of methods of narrative-based collective healing, including Family Constellations, Psychodrama, Playback Theatre, and Theatre of the Oppressed. Some of the passions she brings to facilitation include movement (especially 5 Rhythms), guided visualization, and creative writing from unexpected prompts. 

Nirmala is also a MNDFL Certified Mindfulness Instructor and a Depth Hypnosis Practitioner who is especially passionate about working with BIPOC womxn and femmes to reclaim their creative autonomy and mythic geographies. Through her Infinite Field work, she has developed a powerful method to lead people through guided meditation and free-writing prompts that help them to unearth deeper truths and step into deep personal and ancestral wisdom.

We talk about Nirmala's Infinite Field, moving through the different spaces we all find ourselves in, how to turn "I" into "we" and what storytelling can do to our mental health.

Follow along at nirmalanataraj.com.

In this episode, Lindsey Hickman, founder of Soul Flower Wellness, a woman-owned wellness village, joins The Okay Days to talk about True Freedom.

Lindsey founded Soul Flower Wellness in 2012. This Boston-based, small practice of amazing women are working to grow and support their community. Her greatest hope is to inspire others to find the the compassion for themselves to take the journey in healing what needs mending. 

Her personal experience around mental health is long and winding. From addiction, trauma, sobriety and even becoming a mother, she has gained a unique perspective on life and what it means to be human. With free monthly Women’s Circles, multiple modalities such as massage, yoga, energy work and mentoring, True Freedom is just on the other side.

We talk about what True Freedom is, what it means to be human and self-compassion.

Follow along at @soul_flower_wellness.

In this two-part episode, Cameron Ahouse & Grant Mosher, join The Okay Days to talk about men's mental health.

Cameron loves a good challenge. After leaving his job in wealth management, he joined the content team of one of the largest running shoe companies in the world, and works as a coach and trainer for EverybodyFights, Row Republic and BronCore Fitness in Boston. He says he has always hid behind an emotional wall that he built since losing his mom when he was 15, but thanks to The Guy Talk Co., he has started to knock that down. 

Currently living in Austin, Texas, Grant is a mental health advocate, liver transplant donor and founder of The Guy Talk Co., a nationwide men’s community bringing guys together to do cool stuff and have meaningful conversations. With meetups and retreats, including an adult summer camp, The Guy Talk Co. is redefining what it means to be a man.

We talk about that definition, making friends as a young adult and how we can all support the humans in our lives who are looking for something more.

Follow along at @guytalk.co.

In this episode, Daisy Sun, a life & wellness coach, joins The Okay Days to talk about collective healing.

Daisy helps people who are feeling lost reconnect with themselves and their purpose through dialogue, movement, and creative expression. She is a healer and a lover of mother natures’ creations — big and small, and believes in healing oneself that we heal collectively. Daisy appreciates the wisdom found in silence, but her deepest love is having soul-balming connections with others — a reminder of our oneness and our individual strengths. You can often find her enjoying a cup of tea, reading a book, or tending to her patio garden or senior cat son, Sir Leopold.

We talk about holding space for ourselves to hold space better for others, what healing can look and feel like, and how you can work with Daisy.

Follow along at daisysun.life.

In this episode, Wes Zhao, co-founder of Therapy Notebooks, an accessible mental health tool backed by psychologists and supported by research, joins The Okay Days to talk about accessibility.

Wes grew up in Seattle, WA, and is now based in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career as a software engineer, but after selling his first business, he became more interested in psychology and mental health. After seeing first hand how difficult it was to find a therapist and navigate the mental health space, he decided to start a business to make mental health solutions more accessible for everyone.

Therapy Notebooks is designed by mental health professionals. The structured and empowering notebook is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which looks at the relationships between our thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

We talk about the creation of Therapy Notebooks, how to use it and what evidence-based research can do to support accessibility.

Follow along at @therapynotebooks.

To kick off season two, David Andrade, a survivor of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, who now works to destigmatize mental health issues amongst men and BIPOC communities, joins The Okay Days to talk about how serving others can also support ourselves.

After dropping out of high school at 15, David went on to earn his associates in criminal justice from Bunker Hill Community College. When he lost a close friend to suicide, he turned to unhealthy behaviors, including drug and alcohol abuse. But once he found therapy, David rededicated his life to serving his community and fighting the negative stigma attached to mental health issues. He currently works as a life coach and group facilitator at Fathers’ UpLift in Dorchester, a non-profit that assists fathers with overcoming barriers that prevent them from remaining engaged in their children's lives.

David graduated from Lesley University in May 2021 and will be pursuing his Master’s in Social Work in the Fall of 2021 at Boston University. He intends to focus on trauma-based care, to help mitigate the impact of violence and trauma on individuals, families, communities, and society.

We talk about therapy, the ripple effect of service & all the magical work David wants to continue to do.

Follow along at @davie_boy_02130.

In this final episode of season one, Annie Hubbard & Hanna Derrig, join The Okay Days to talk about finding comfort in the uncomfortable.

Childhood friends, Annie & Hanna, both recently graduated from college and are now working on their clothing brand, Cozy but Anxious, high-quality loungewear delivering exceptional comfort along with the permission to own and share your anxieties. They hope to create a safe space to encourage open conversations about mental health.

We talk about what it means to be “cozy but anxious,” and how social media can fuel these feelings, too.

Follow along at @cozybutanxious.

In this episode, Micaela de la Cruz, meditation and mindfulness teacher, joins The Okay Days to talk about perfectionism.

Micaela was connecting to a greater space in search of purpose, healing and light. She made a commitment to herself to enhance her mind, body and spirit. There, Gemme Health came into fruition. Her passion grew as she was able to connect deeper to doing what she loves and doing what speaks to her.

We talk about perfectionism - what it is, where it comes up and how to shake it off.

Follow along at @gemme.health.