Stepping Into Our Power with Ira Briones: Queer Asian Identities & Mental Health
Happy Pride Month! Vanessa talks to special guest Ira Briones (they/them), a Filipinx business empowerment and energy coach based in New York City. Ira shares their multifaceted journey as a queer nonbinary immigrant leader and activist, their healing journey with PTSD, depression, and anxiety, and how they help marginalized entrepreneurs overcome limiting beliefs to step into their power. We process the collective racial trauma of Anti-Asian hate crimes, and discuss how safety gives us the freedom to take up more space in the world - for queer, transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people, and across the API diaspora. Plus: the best Filipino food in NYC, the irritating yet lovable traits of Asian parents that we inevitably inherit, and the best LGBTQ+ resources for queer/questioning individuals, family members, and allies.
Alyce Chan on Mental Health for Moms: Comedy, Postpartum Depression, and the Glass Ceiling
Mom by day, comedian by night, Alyce Chan (MomComNYC, Scary Mommy) is ready to smash two glass ceilings - the one at home, and the other in the male-dominated world of comedy.
Alyce is a modern-day Marvelous Ms. Maisel who entertains and uplifts thousands of moms with her stand-up comedy while offering parenting insights with deadpan humor, spot-on impersonations of her husband and Chinese-Canadian mom, and hilarious vulnerability that slays on stage and on Instagram. Alyce and Vanessa talk about the many faces of Postpartum Depression based on their lived experiences with PPD, intergenerational Asian mom rage, and how we can look at the everyday #parentingfail as “failing upwards”. Alyce shares how she nurtures her creative process and energy while developing grit as a performer, writer and comedian. We debate what self-care really means for tired moms who are told to "enjoy every moment!" Lastly, inspired by Reshma Saujani (Founder of Girls Who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms), we ask how we can turn our rage into power - for moms, women of color and Asian Americans.
Lillian So on Bossing Up as the CEO of Your Own Life
If you've ever felt the urge to escape your life and "Eat, Pray, Love" your way to a yoga ashram in India or Bali, please listen to this podcast episode instead - it will save you a lot of time, money and heartache. Lillian So, a life coach, fitness entrepreneur, and co-author of the new book FitCEO, gets personal and shares everything: her moment of panic after getting her first tattoos, reclaiming her energy and worth by leaving toxic and emotionally abusive relationships, and what she learned from starting her own business and writing her first book, Fit CEO, in partnership with Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann (the former CEO of Citigroup). We talk about why investing in ourselves is the hardest but most gratifying work, and why we need to deprogram the Model Minority Myth even within ourselves. Lastly, Lillian shares why asking for help - whether it's for work, your mental health or emotional and physical wellbeing - is the ultimate BOSS move in manifesting your best life.
Gregory Cendana on Reclaiming Joy through Dance + Pandemic Self-Care for AAPI and BIPOC Communities
Can leaning into something you were previously ashamed of actually become your superpower? We find out when Vanessa talks to Gregory Cendana, a dancer, political strategist and entrepreneur who has been named one of Washington DC's most influential 40 under 40, about dancing for social justice. Gregory reflects upon his upbringing in a conservative Catholic Filipino family and his own coming-out journey, and why his life mission is to help others bring their full, true selves to any space they are in to engender cultural, social and political change. We discuss why prioritizing mental health creates more sustainable communities, and how the idea of collective self-care for Asian-Americans and BIPOC communities gives us the power to heal and reclaim our stories.
Mayuko Okai on Intuitive Eating, Body Acceptance and Mindful Living
As a Registered Dietitian, yoga teacher and Founder of Food Liberation, Mayuko Okai shares her own journey of self-discovery after uprooting her life in Los Angeles, CA and moving to Japan. We talk about finding freedom, healing and peace in our relationships with food, our bodies and our minds.