It is such an honour to close the first season of Empowered Embodiment and tie off 2020 with this conversation with Kalah Hill, Freedom Doulah, Pleasure Activist and Receptivity Alchemist. A few weeks ago, in a private conversation I had with Kalah, she said to me "Black Feminism will save the world," and at that moment I knew I needed to have Kalah on the podcast. We talk about the necessary role pleasure plays in liberation, the interconnectedness of our liberation and how our individual pleasures/liberation will look/mean/feel different for everyone. Listen closely as Kalah rhymes off a number of her inspirations ranging from Audrey Lorde, Toni Morrison, Adrienne Maree Brown, Sonya Renee Taylor and Kalah's BFF, mutual friend and former guest on this podcast, Dana Regan. We hope you enjoy this listen and find 1-3 simple ways to ritualize pleasure in your life. As this year comes to a close, Kalah wishes you the ability to find gratitude for 2020's gift of 2020 vision and dreams of a 2021 where we all dedicate ourselves to the work of becoming more receptive. inpleasurewetrust.com

I ramble about the urgent need for us to do the personal transformation work of emotional agility so that we can show up better in our relationships and our responsibility to the collective, to the planet, to the vulnerable. I muse about the micro and macro relationships of bodies, personal wellness and interdependence - cells to the body, like individuals to the planet. I reflect on how inspiring the peaceful demonstration by DefundHPS.com has been; camping outside of Hamilton's City Hall for over a week and creating programming that illuminates full-spectrum activism, bridging rage and joy. I invite you to reflect and refine as we close out 2020 and dream into 2021. Let's go. For you. For us. ALSO. Please find your sustainable (and edgy) ways to engage with social/civic justice - especially around the houselessness crisis as we move deeper into winter. Please. (Hot tip: advocate for the reallocation of funds from police budgets toward free housing.)

Clairandean is back with our October Tarotscope. We've got two full moons this month and a bunch of wild dances both in the astro-verse and in society. OUPH. This time is asking us to renew our perspectives so that we can stay HERE - in whatever this is. Overhaul the ego so that you can, with agility and grace, create ease and connection in spite AND in service of the continued challenge.  YOU GOT THIS.

Dana Regan has been such a force in my life. I was enrolled in her Somatic Soul Coach school in 2019. The day I graduated, the pandemic landed. It was like my entire year learning with Dana was equipping me with the tools to ride the waves of this global topsy turvy. This conversation explores the importance of personal somatic work in service of collective liberation, embodied relationships and allowing our radical humanity. This is such a juicy listen. Dana is so generous with her insights. Feel your feelings and experiment with what's possible when you just ALLOW. https://www.somaticsoulcoachschool.com/ https://www.instagram.com/somaticsoulcoachschool/

Clairandean (@clairitytarot) is back to give us a tarotscope for September 2020. The messages are strong and clear in this one - SCHEDULE IN REST. Rest will look different for everyone. Maybe it's one conscious cycle of clearing breaths. Maybe it's a weekend away. Maybe it's 30min a day. Whatever it is, cultivate the practice of prioritizing rest - giving yourself space to process, integrate, grieve, celebrate, acknowledge, grow, FEEL. https://www.clairitytarot.com/

This conversation is near and dear to me because it is so personal to my identity, healing and self-discovery. Growing up, I had so much self-hate and shame around my Filipinx culture of origin. Until I met Caroline Mangosing, as a young adult, and the incredible humxns she was in community with - many of whom remain chosen family to me. They helped me reclaim my culture of origin, be proud of my identity and help me on my journey of healing empowerment. I think this conversation is important because it highlights the insidious impacts of colonization across generations and throughout a diaspora - which isn't unique to Filipinx. We talk about erasure, visibility, cultural appropriation, art+fashion as a vehicle of activism and the role that beauty+aesthetics can play in the revolution. Check out Caroline's work and the blog post that inspired this conversation. https://vintagallery.com/ https://vintagallery.com/blogs/news/a-letter-to-filipinxs-in-the-diaspora

My friend Sarah Barnhart joins me for a conversation about The Middle / The Grey Area / The In-betweens and Intersectionality of identity. Sarah shares her experiences of being mixed race and queer and the anxiety of not-enoughness: not being black enough, not being white enough, not being gay enough, not being straight enough. What once was the source of limiting anxiety, Sarah has been learning to resource this source for empowerment and okay-ness.  https://www.instagram.com/mixedinhamilton/ https://www.instagram.com/sarahbarnhartthings/

Clairandean (@clairitytarot) is back to give us a tarotscope for August 2020. Spoiler alert: it will still be a challenging time full of feelings. Clair nudges us to TAKE TIME to reflect on what our needs are, how we've been misunderstood (inner teen) and aspects of ourselves that have been abandoned (inner child). Give these conflicting or competing energies a voice and direction so we can advocate for what we believe in with confidence. Break open. Feel. Build resilience and emotional agility. It's hard. You can do it. The universe is proud of you.

A quick Robin ramble about looking at your resistance. Our growth requires us to to bravely look at ourselves to unpack unconscious biases. Our collective liberation requires us to recognize what systems have been limiting us. Full spectrum feeling and multi-truths. You can be a good human AND cause harm unintentionally. And spoiler alert, you are.

Join me in my conversation with Nrinder Nann, Ward 3 City Councillor of Hamilton ON - amoung many other things. Nrinder shares her background in community organizing, politics and the necessary role of embodiment to sustain the work of growing inclusive and considerate communities. Nrinder shares the realities of city politics and shines light on how biases govern. She offers tangible tools that any individual can use to help feel empowered in using one's voice, having hard conversations and untangling from systems that cause harm. http://instagram.com/nrinder_ward3 https://twitter.com/nrinderward3