In this episode, I talk with Dr. Dana Stachowiak, Director of Women’s Studies and Resource Center and Associate Professor at University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Dr. Stachowiak provides listeners a critical approach to grappling with gender justice, oppression, and liberation. Throughout this episode Dr. Stachowiak invites listeners to consider how the use of mindfulness helps to hold resistance and discomfort in effective ways that lead towards pathways of persistence. If you are intereste...
Aug 01, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Help Dr. Valin S. Jordan, Founder of Yoga4SocialJustice® and the host and producer of this podcast celebrate Yoga4SocialJustice® third birthday by attending to the urgent call of caring for and seeing your neighbor. We are in need of a radical reimagining, listen to this episode to hear the short request. Contact Dr. Jordan with your podcast suggestions or questions at info@yoga4socialjustice.org.
Jul 25, 2021•6 min•Season 3Ep. 2
This episode is about Black freedom! Nothing more, nothing less. Contact me at info@yoga4socialjustice.org or on Instagram at @yoga4socialjustice.
Jun 19, 2021•9 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this episode I talk with Reginald Lemelle, Licensed Professional Counselor about his work as a crisis counselor, historical trauma, impacts of racism on mental health and overall wellbeing, and the power of our ancestors to healing. Reginald Lemelle is a counselor in Southwest Louisiana and can be contacted via email at reginaldwlemelle@gmail.com or Instagram @reginald_w_lemelle.
May 31, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Six Black women will engaged in a thought provoking and critical conversation about radical self-care. They shared their truths about the importance of self-care in their lives as they navigate their intersectional experiences out in the world. This conversation is for everyone. Come learn from these badass women about their radical self-care practices. Dr. Valin S. Jordan, Founder of Yoga4SocialJustice® and host of this podcast moderated this conversation. Darby Baham (she/her) is,a senior mana...
May 25, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Listen in to this candid conversation on mental health from three Licensed Clinical Social Workers and a Post-graduate student. This conversation was moderated by Dr. Valin S. Jordan, Founder of Yoga4SocialJustice®. During this conversation the licensed counselors spoke about concerns of grief, resilience, mental health care and support for children, mental health stigma in Communities of Color and the increased need for mental health support for marginalized communities (Communities of Color, d...
May 20, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 38
The Wellness Well was held via Zoom on Saturday, May 15, 2021. This conversation was moderated by Dr. Valin S. Jordan, Founder of Yoga4SocialJustice®. This was a unique conversation focused about all things wellness, including how to do we create equitable access to wellness resources and opportunities. Each of the panelists can be found on Instagram if you would like to continue the conversation with them. Janae Holmes and Kelly Boudreaux own Free to Be Power Yoga Studios in New Orleans. These ...
May 16, 2021•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 37
This is part of my episode with Dr. Sabrina Strings, Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Irvine. This episode is filled with so much Black woman joy; I invite you to listen to this episode as we discuss change, liberation, and the need for community. Dr. Strings states, "Oftentimes change is felt in the body", this quote along with many other gems dropped throughout this episode are certainly worth taking time to reflect on.
Apr 25, 2021•22 min•Season 2Ep. 36
In this episode I interview Dr. Sabrina Strings, Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Irvine and the author of the award winning book Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia. This episode was recorded May 13, 2020, two weeks before the murder of George Floyd and weeks ahead of America's public reckoning with racism. This interview is everything you need to listen to as we all continue to grapple with racial injustice in America and abroad.
Apr 18, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 35
In this episode listeners are asked to consider the deepest wound all of humanity is carrying around that has prevented us from rising. As you listen to this episode, reflect on what it might take to begin healing this one deep wound we all have. Send you your comments or questions to Dr. Valin S. Jordan at yoga4socialjustice@gmail.com
Apr 04, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Power does not concede to struggle; so be still. Choose to be still. It is in stillness we are able to cultivate power. This episode asks listeners to consider, "What power might there be in getting still with yourself, before working towards change and justice for others?" Listen as Dr. Valin S. Jordan discusses the concept of stillness to cultivate power and how to use stillness for change.
Mar 14, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 33
In this episode you get to hear from just me––Dr. Valin S. Jordan! In this episode I talk about radical love and vulnerability as necessary and crucial elements of the work of social change and justice. Send your questions and comments to yoga4socialjustice@gmail.com or reach out via social media @yoga4socialjustice on Facebook or Instagram or @yoga4justice on Twitter.
Feb 28, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 32
In this episode I talk with Dr. Nina Asher, Professor at University of Minnesota. This episode is filled with an exploration about inter-being and what it means for us to be connected to each other. This episode was recorded on May 6, 2020 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. If you would like to get in touch with Dr. Nina Asher, please send an email to nasher@umn.edu .
Feb 15, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 31
In this episode, I talk with Grace Helms Kotre, lecturer at the University of Michigan Dearborn. Grace is a mindfulness instructor and social justice educator. In this episode we discuss the power of vulnerability and storytelling. Grace also shares the importance of vulnerability in the lives of White people to work towards disrupting systemic Whiteness. If you would like to get in contact with Grace, please visit the website https://www.mindfulpowertobe.com/ .
Jan 18, 2021•49 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Dr. Melissa Jean, Assistant Professor of Mindfulness Studies at Lesley University, shares some ideas about how to engage work in higher education in a more contemplative and holistic way—from mindfulness writing practices to seeing students as whole and complete. Dr. Jean provides all listeners with a starting point for considering creativity and mindfulness as a pathway towards engaging in critical conversations. Dr. Melissa Jean can be reached via Instagram @breathe.outside or at www.breaheout...
Jan 04, 2021•54 min•Season 2Ep. 29
In part two of this interview with Dr. Karen Ragaonaden, Professor of Teaching and the Director of the Center for Mindful Engagement at The University of British Columbia, Dr. Ragoonaden broadens the discussion about contemplative practices to considerations of spirituality for social justice education and the work required to bring about change. If you wish to contact Dr. Ragoonaden, please use the following email address: karen.ragoonaden@ubc.ca ....
Nov 23, 2020•23 min•Season 2Ep. 28
In this episode Dr. Karen Ragaoonaden, Professor of Teaching and the Director of the Center for Mindful Engagement at The University of British Columbia discusses the importance of contemplative practices for teacher education. Dr. Ragoonadeen pushes listeners to consider how working on the self impacts the ways social justice work occurs. Dr. Karen Ragoonaden can be reached at karen.ragoonaden@ubc.ca .
Nov 16, 2020•26 min•Season 2Ep. 26
In this episode, Dr. Ann Gleig Associate Prof of Religion and Cultural Studies at University of Central Florida and author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity, unpacks the meaning of spiritual bypassing as an understanding that spiritual practice on its own cannot address the needs of psychological development. Listen in to part 2 of this interview with Dr. Ann Gleig. If you wish to contact Dr. Gleig, she can be reached at Ann.gleig@ucf.edu.
Oct 26, 2020•42 min•Season 2Ep. 26
In this episode, Dr. Ann Gleig Associate Prof of Religion and Cultural Studies at University of Central Florida and author of American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity discusses how Whiteness and the rise of Buddhism as counterculture in the 60s has informed the way White Buddhists presently ignore issues of racial injustice and delegitimate the need for actual change in American Buddhist spaces. Dr. Gleig pushes listeners to consider how Whiteness is seen and experienced as an unconscious iden...
Oct 19, 2020•33 min•Season 2Ep. 25
In part 2 of this interview with Ajay Rostogi, he provides listeners with a path for nature contemplation or meditation. If you would like to contact Ajay, please visit foundnature.org or send an email to info@foundnature.org .
Oct 12, 2020•25 min•Season 2Ep. 24
In this interview, Ajay Rostogii, ecologist and founding member of the Foundation for contemplation of Nature presents listeners with an ecological and bicultural way of thinking abut inclusivity. Through this lens, inclusivity includes four themes reciprocity, equilibrium, collectiveness and solidarity. To contact Ajay, please visit foundnature.org or send an email to info@foundnature.org .
Oct 05, 2020•36 min•Season 2Ep. 23
In this interview Dr. Ed Sarath professor of music studies at University of Michigan shares how contemplative studies and activism are inherent to the tradition of jazz and social justice. Listen in to part 2 of this interview as we talk about the power of silence. To contact Dr. Ed Sarath please use the email sarahara@umich.edu .
Sep 21, 2020•28 min•Season 2Ep. 22
In this interview, Dr. Ed Sarath Professor of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation at University of Michigan shares how contemplative studies and activism are inherent to the tradition of jazz. He also shares how improvisation is not just for jazz musicians, but improvisation is also central to social justice work. Improvisation like meditation is a contemplative practice inherent to the field of music, social justice work and is necessary for transcendence. To contact Dr. Ed Sarath please use th...
Sep 07, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 21
In Part 2 of this interview Abegunde, scholar at Indiana University Bloomington continues to offer us ways to think about the role of community in healing trauma and how we begin to experience liberation. This interview presents all of us with an opportunity to consider what is our individual and communal part in responding to the suffering of sentient beings. To contact Abegunde, please use the email maehamil@indiana.edu .
Aug 31, 2020•35 min•Season 2Ep. 20
In this interview Abegunde, scholar at Indiana University Bloomington asks us to consider how do our unresolved traumas that are immediate and ancestral shape us? This interview presents all of us with an opportunity to consider what is our individual and communal part in responding to the suffering of sentient beings. To contact Abegunde please use the email maehamil@indiana.edu .
Aug 24, 2020•27 min•Season 2Ep. 1
In part 2 of this interview with Dr. Jeanine Canty, Professor of Environmental Studies at Naropa University, a Buddhist inspired institution in Boulder, Colorado we continue to discuss how the oppression of earth and people go hand in hand. Dr. Canty presents the idea of disorienting dilemmas as way for thinking about how we navigate suffering. Dr. Jeanine Canty can be reached at jcanty@naropa.edu or via Twitter @JeanineCanty.
Jul 25, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 18
In this episode, Dr. Jeanine Canty Professor of Environmental Studies at Naropa University, a Buddhist inspired institution in Boulder, Colorado challenges us to learn how the oppression of earth and people go hand in hand. Dr. Canty presents us with the idea that the Earth is calling for healing and people calling for healing and that the two are not separate phenomenons. Dr. Jeanine Canty can be reached at jcanty@naropa.edu or via Twitter @JeanineCanty....
Jul 18, 2020•31 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In Part 2 of this interview, Dianne Bondy, activist, author, accessible yoga teacher and leader of the Yoga for All movement, discusses notions of race, racism, and calls for action both within and outside of the yoga industry. Throughout the interview Dianne juxtaposes her experience as a yoga instructor and practitioner with that of her experiences as a Black woman and mother. Dianne Bondy can be reached through her website www.diannebondyyoga.com.
Jun 20, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 16
In Part 1 of this interview, Dianne Bondy, activist, author, accessible yoga teacher and leader of the Yoga for All movement, discusses notions of race and racism both within and outside of the yoga industry. Throughout the interview Dianne juxtaposes her experience as a yoga instructor and practitioner with that of her experiences as a Black woman and mother. Dianne Bondy can be reached through her website www.diannebondyyoga.com.
Jun 13, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this episode, Dr. Valin S. Jordan, the host of 824, Founder of Yoga4SocialJustice, and Assistant Professor of Diversity Education at University of Louisiana Lafayette shares her thoughts on race and racism following the murder of George Floyd. Dr. Jordan shares from her perspective as a Black woman how Whiteness, White supremacy, and racism impact her life. If you would like to be in touch with Dr. Jordan you can follow her on Instagram at Yoga4SocialJustice or email her at yoga4socialjustice...
Jun 01, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 14
