The Okay Days

In this episode, Tatyana Frost, mental health advocate and writer, joins The Okay Days to talk about developing pride in one's own mental health journey.

Tatyana is currently writing her upcoming memoir, The Madness Effect, which details her learning experiences with mental health, relationships and growing up. At 17, she was diagnosed with bipolar, and since then she's used writing to tell her own story.

We talk about vulnerability, how she's developed pride in her own mental health journey and how we can all do the same.

Follow along at @bipolar_writes.

In this episode, Leandrew Belnavis & Emilia Diamant, join The Okay Days to talk about legacy. 

Leandrew is a people mover. He founded the Unnamed Run Crew in 2015 when he saw a lack of representation in the Boston running scene. Emilia is the Sales & Operations Manager at TRILLFIT, a black-woman owned and operated boutique fitness studio, a teen educator, social worker, reluctant organizer, Beyhive member, Bostonian, and dog mom. She joined the UNMD team this year to support the vision of bringing equity into fitness, wellness, and active spaces.

UNMD centers the leadership and safety of BIPOC runners, while bringing together a diverse cross-section of the running community. Most recently, they hosted a solidarity run with Chinatown Runners, as well as a series of mindful runs.

If Leandrew's not getting people on the road, he’s creating hand crafted cocktails for them at Banyan, where he (pre-and-hopefully-post-COVID) tends bar. He is a freelance voiceover actor, occasional musician, and devoted plant dad. He has lived in Boston since 2014, and is passionate about the mobilization of all people, be it through health and wellness to advocating for the needs of folks who have been historically marginalized.

We talk about community building, their runs for justice and how they leave no runner behind.

Follow along at @unnamedruncrew.

In this episode, Keyon, musician, producer and the magic behind that original beat you hear in this podcast, joins The Okay Days to talk about music.

Keyon is a jazz guitarist and pianist who has been playing music his whole life. He is most fascinated by the evolution of technology, and how it creates a space for anyone to record, produce and release quality music from just about anywhere. He started writing his own music in college and continues to fall in love with it more and more every day.

We talk about how he creates his music, what it means to his mental health and what's next for Keyon Music.

Follow along at @keyonmusic.

In this episode, Alexandria Cordero, mindfulness and self-development coach and creator of The Mindful Method, joins The Okay Days to talk about mindfulness.

The Mindful Method is her soul project that gives people a one-stop-shop platform to begin to make mindfulness a lifestyle rather than just an exercise. As a coach, Alex helps people get re-connected with their most honest and authentic selves. 

She found yoga in the midst of being a professional dancer in Los Angeles when, in this new city, she experienced severe anxiety and body image issues, that eventually manifested in her physical body as high blood pressure and other heart issues. She gave herself three months to heal holistically, and now, six years later, she wants to empower others similarly.

We talk about her new launch, what mindfulness is and how to turn passion into purpose.

Follow along at @themindfulmethod_.

In this episode, Nicole Zizzi, dancer, choreographer, aspiring architect, mental health advocate and co-founder of the dance company, Evolve Dynamicz, joins The Okay Days to talk about authentic movement. 

Through Evolve Dynamicz, Nicole uses dance and choreography as a platform to share and engage with personal stories to end the stigma around mental health. She is a mental health warrior who is learning to live with ADHD, PTSD, OCD, an eating disorder, and generalized anxiety and depression. This fall she learned that she is also autistic, and suddenly the things that she's silently struggled with all her life are starting to make sense for the first time. 

We talk about how movement can support mental health, how her dance company responded to the pandemic and what authentic movement feels like rather than looks like.

Follow along at @evolve_dynamicz.

In this episode, Ashely Mitchell, Boston-based fitness instructor and co-founder of The Courage Campaign, a nonprofit that provides public schools and communities with physical fitness combined with personal development, joins The Okay Days to talk about courage. 

Through her work, she aims to share what she has learned from navigating failure, fear, discrimination and use of adversity to redefine success. 

We talk about the connection of movement, intention and personal empowerment, what it means to be courageous and how we can continue to make both physical and mental health resources more inclusive. 

Follow along @blackgirlmagicmama.

In this episode, Jessica Waldman, artist and actress, joins The Okay Days to share more about her newest short film, "Saucha." Her piece is on the experience of being a yoga teacher throughout the pandemic. 

Jessica graduated from Stanford University, where she studied theatre, French, and creative writing before moving to New York City to pursue her artistic career. 

We talk about how COVID changed the way we connect, how sacred our yoga practices have become since this all started and how creative expression can support one's mental health. 

Follow along @lapetitejessica.

In this pilot episode, Jake Cohen, the creative behind Basic Emotion, a clothing brand that expresses the “spectrum of feeling universally understood," joins The Okay Days to push boundaries to advocate for emotional wellness. 

Jake is currently pursuing his masters in Clinical Social Work as he develops his own brand that challenges us to wear our emotions - literally. 

We talk about his own healing journey, what it means to be understood and the greeting "how are you?" 

Follow along at @wewearouremotions.