Teresa is a mother, performer, yogi, and storyteller. Born in the Philippines, she emigrated to California as a child, but the motherland eventually called Teresa back. She now raises her 3 boys in Manila with her husband. 

We recorded our conversation in September 2024 with hopes of my publishing the episode ahead of the Global Mala Project, which was created with the mantra of uniting the global yoga community together with service and collective action. Aligned with the United Nation’s International Day of Peace, studios, teachers, and organizations across the world come together each year for this event so although I missed this year’s timeline, you can keep an eye out for its return in 2025!

Teresa and I talk about the heyday of LA yoga — the late 90s when we were both fledgling yogis practicing and working at studios in Santa Monica. I have been so grateful (and frankly relieved), that amidst an industry-wide resounding silence when it comes to Palestine, Teresa was calling for a ceasefire in October 2023. We compare our experiences and perspectives navigating the last year from different places in the world, although we ultimately arrive at the same perspective of standing with humanity.

We also question the traditional school system, talk meditation, and come home to compassion and hope. This was the uplifting conversation I didn’t even quite realize I needed until we got to the end; like many of us, I have been riding the waves of despair. A message coming through loud and clear right now is to refuse despair, and Teresa is a great teacher of this lesson in how she lives and expresses all the ever-evolving versions of herself.

Teresa's IG

Leah's IG

photo by Kieran Punay for Lifestyle Asia Magazine

We’re back with the second half of our conversation with Najla. Najla shares her experience navigating her identity in the theater and entertainment industries. We talk about racism, white supremacy, and propaganda and a concept called PEP — Progressive Except Palestine.

The past almost year has been one of shattered illusions, loss, and grief. Najla and I connect on the feeling of not knowing who to trust anymore but that of those we do trust, in Najla’s words: We trust so hard. I believe this is what it means to find your people and to build community.

Najla, with a Palestinian father and a Lebanese mother, is the embodiment of resilience, resistance, and hope for peace. It is an honor to be able to share some of her stories here, and if you’re in NYC, keep an eye on her upcoming performances.

The Mulberry Tree — Oct 10-20, 2024

Imperfect Allies - Sept 30, 2024

Najla’s book - Looking for Palestine

Najla’s IG

Leah’s IG

Najla is an author, actress, playwright, and activist. Her identity cannot be reduced to a checkbox: she is Arab, American, Palestinian, Lebanese, and Christian. She is the daughter of Edward Said, the late Palestinian professor, author, and activist. Today, September 25, 2024, is the 21st anniversary of Professor Said's death, and I am so humbled to share my conversation with Najla. May it be in remembrance of Najla’s father as well as a prayer for both Palestine and Lebanon.
In this first part of our conversation, Najla shares personal stories around her complicated — and inconvenient — identity, from childhood, as her father’s daughter, and more recently over the last 11+ months. Despite differences in religion or ideology, Najla believes that every single human being deserves equal rights. We talk about secular humanism, being tokenized and bullied, and unexpressed pain eventually finding its way out, such as through an eating disorder, as it did for Najla. 

I am so grateful for Najla’s heart and artistry. 
And make sure to come back for the second part of our conversation later this week.
Najla’s IG

Leah’s IG

Janet is a Dance Embodiment and Moving Meditation Guide who explores healing, self-discovery, and re-wilding through the power of dance and somatic movement. Our conversation dives right into a discussion of the wellness world and the burnout that can result as we try to free ourselves from personal and systemic trauma and harm. 

As a non-binary person of color growing up under the weight of expectations from family, society, and self, Janet has fought to understand and be who they really are. We talk about various systems of oppression from racism to capitalism, the resulting burnouts, and how to stay resilient through it all.

We ask questions of how we can reframe the wellness world, what does it mean to seek truth, and how do we receive so we can actually heal?

This was an extra long conversation so the first half will be available on Patreon which you can check out for a free 7-day trial. 

Janet’s website

Janet’s IG

Leah’s IG

Hannah is an unapologetically fat and queer Palestinian American. She is the author of Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine and she works at her Palestinian family-owned publisher, Interlink.

When I was first learning about Palestine in October 2023, I turned to books, which is what I have always done when seeking answers, inspiration, or healing. I came across Homeland and immediately took a copy home to my children. It still brings me to sobbing tears to remember sitting in my daughter’s room, learning alongside these pure, innocent souls, about the unjust loss of Palestinians’ homeland. 
In our conversation, we talk about the complexity of identity, and how both Hannah and I understand marginalization as well as privilege. We share stories about growing up having wanted to lean into whiteness and how our values have evolved to fight for the equality of all. 

Hannah shares her concerns about the censorship happening in schools, which is something I personally think of constantly as the mother of school-age children. She also explains how queer liberation is tied to Palestinian liberation and she calls on us as Americans to use our privilege to fight for humanity.

I love the way our conversation ends…in a shared vision of a liberated Palestine, in our lifetime. Inshallah. 
Hannah’s IG

Leah’s IG

Cassandra is our favorite restie bestie! An autistic Viet-Chinese somatic healer, grief-tender, and community caregiver, Cassandra is a spirit-affirming breath of fresh air. 

Our conversation is a reset that I think many of us desperately need. Cassandra shares her stories of unrest — from a childhood on the margins to chasing dreams that did not bring the wholeness we all seek. In time, they came to experience their disillusionment and discontent as an invitation to liberation. 

We talk about the cultural role of shame for diasporic Asians, the erasure of rest, and learning to sit with chaos. I love her framing of bringing the fractured parts of ourselves — body, mind, heart, and soul — back to center. 

I also love that they were inspired to make this reel about complicity and accountability following our conversation. Cassandra has many upcoming offerings so make sure to follow them on their IG and website.

Leah’s IG

Cera is a Diné (aka Navajo) woman, artist, and creator whose love of her Native identity inspires her labor of social justice and her solidarity with all oppressed people. She is a wealth of indigenous wisdom and a keeper of Native narratives.

This conversation has stayed with me ever since we recorded it. There is so much I did not and do not know when it comes to the history and current events of our indigenous kin here on Turtle Island. I’ve known enough to not celebrate Thanksgiving, but not enough to understand that our Native population continue to be systemically harmed and erased. 

Cera speaks with such love for her nation and clan and reminds us that Native people are not a monolith. She challenges stereotypes and the limited concept of the biological family, and explains the direct connection between Palestinians and Native Americans. She is unapologetic and unwavering in speaking up for the liberation of all. Her love of humanity and community is ever clear. 

I do want to offer a *trigger warning* that we discuss crimes and brutality against Native people, a fact that is too often ignored or denied. I believe these are stories that we, especially those of us who are guests on this land, all need to be aware of. It is only through awareness that we can effect change.

We talk about the horrors of “boarding schools,” the mass harm of Native women, and Hwéeldi — the Long Walk. Cera shares so much on her platforms, and it was incredibly illuminating to have this conversation with her.

P.S. My introduction here is the longest yet, so if you want to get right to the conversation, fast forward about 15 minutes!

Cera’s IG

Cera’s TikTok

Daghma Family GFM

Mohammed’s Family GFM

Leah’s IG

Yejin is the cutest comrade you could ask for in the movement for collective liberation. Through her clarity, honesty, and TikTok dances, she makes anti-oppression work look simply irresistible. They are also an equity and justice coach, consultant, and practitioner in service of community care.

This is such a joyful conversation, which is a testament to Yejin’s expert ability to guide connections and hold space. We laugh a lot, which I feel like I sometimes need to be given permission to do during such painful times for our kin throughout the globe. Yejin talks to us about translating shame into a new way of being, rather than staying stuck in feeling angry or disconnected.

We talk about our respective experiences in re-identifying with Koreanness, defying stereotypes, and arriving to Truth — even if that arrival feels too late. 

Our conversation went long so I’m offering an extra 20 minutes over on Patreon (free 7-day trial), where Yejin talks about going private on Instagram (she’s currently public as she fundraises for Yamen’s family so follow her now!) and unmasking from her neurodivergence. 

Enjoy the cutest and most chaotic — Yejin.

Cami is an author, artist, and embodiment practitioner dedicated to creating networks of care and livable futures. Their book Tending Grief is an embodied guide to being with grief individually and in community through practical exercises, decolonized rituals, and Earth-based medicines for healing.  

Our conversation is a compass for how to move forward in radical honesty and hope as we find ourselves living in, as Cami says, these Babylonian times. We talk about the normalization of numbness and the various flavors of supremacy, and we compare our experiences in the US and the UK. 

Cami talks to us about growing up in a spiritual family and with an early pull to social justice. I love their somatic wisdom, their framing of grief as generative, and their call for us all to be in community.
Cami’s IG

Cami’s Substack

Leah’s IG

Judy is a certified hypnotherapist, mindfulness and meditation practitioner, somatic activated healer, and psych researcher. Our conversation touched upon so many experiences and thoughts, frequently through the lens of our shared Korean roots.

I want to offer a trigger warning for this episode as we talk about mental illness including suicidal ideation and childhood abuse. Although we talk about these topics in the context of our survival and healing, I recognize that it may not be comfortable for everyone.

Judy explains the theory of the orchid child versus the dandelion child, which looks at how siblings raised in the same household can be affected completely differently from each other. We also discuss the idea that western therapies are not designed for eastern minds and the need for cultural competency within any healing path. Judy helps us understand how hypnosis works to heal, and I love that we ultimately land on the thought that individual healing has to happen within communal healing. As ever, we realize that we are all connected.

Over on our Patreon, I’ve included a slightly extended episode where at the very end, Judy leaves us with some regulating exercises that you can try. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial to check it out, and let us know in Apple Podcast Reviews what other bonus content you might enjoy that we can bring you on Patreon!

Judy’s IG

Judy’s website

Book a call with Judy

Leah’s IG