This meditation is led by Brother Kofi, Freedom and Alignment Coach & Reiki Energy Healer. Accompanied by the sounds of ocean waves, listeners are guided through a serene meditation exercise that involves a grounding visualization. Listeners will be encouraged to acknowledge and release any physical, emotional and mental ailments through a kinetic body scan experience. The meditation is accompanied by holistic self-love affirmations to help boost healthy perspectives and reflections.  This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website. Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us. Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.   More about Kofi Morris:      Brother Kofi is a Freedom & Alignment Coach, focused in the areas of Holistic Health & Wellness, and serves as a Reiki Energy Healer and the founder of Cosmic Wellness Holistic Health.   Brother Kofi offers workshops in Qi Qong (‘Chee Kung’), Meditation, Self-Care, Nutrition Corporate Holistic Health and Wellbeing, Proactive fathering and community development for Non-Profit Organizations across Toronto.   Brother Kofi is dedicated to not only building his business but in volunteering his time in youth development, sharing his skills and experiences with community youth groups across the GTA.  Brother Kofi is also the founder of "Lions and Cubs", a small non-profit organization for young men, which focuses on Leadership and Self-Empowerment.  In addition he is the current Executive Director of "Wisdom Green Earth", a non-profit organization committed to using the arts and nature to positively impact the lives of community.  Follow Brother Kofi on Instagram at @koficoach2k.      This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken  Music by: Bill Xu

Led by Brother Kofi, Freedom and Alignment Coach & Reiki Energy Healer, this meditation utilizes the backdrop of low West African drum sounds as it guides listeners through an inner-strength meditation and breathing exercises. This meditation is infused with resiliency affirmations to support personal strength and self-determination. People of African descent regularly manage high-stress experiences which stretch their personal capacity and well being. Meditation can help manage  such realities. This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website.  Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us.  Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.   More about Kofi Morris:      Brother Kofi is a Freedom & Alignment Coach, focused in the areas of Holistic Health & Wellness, and serves as a Reiki Energy Healer and the founder of Cosmic Wellness Holistic Health.   Brother Kofi offers workshops in Qi Qong (‘Chee Kung’), Meditation, Self-Care, Nutrition Corporate Holistic Health and Wellbeing, Proactive fathering and community development for Non-Profit Organizations across Toronto.   Brother Kofi is dedicated to not only building his business but in volunteering his time in youth development, sharing his skills and experiences with community youth groups across the GTA.  Brother Kofi is also the founder of "Lions and Cubs", a small non-profit organization for young men, which focuses on Leadership and Self-Empowerment.  In addition he is the current Executive Director of "Wisdom Green Earth", a non-profit organization committed to using the arts and nature to positively impact the lives of community.  Follow Brother Kofi on Instagram at @koficoach2k.      This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken  Music by: Bill Xu 

Led by Brother Kofi, Freedom and Alignment Coach & Reiki Energy Healer, listeners are guided through a mindfulness meditation. Join Brother Kofi as you move through an exploration of your ideal life. Listeners will explore a safe space using the visualization of a common morning routine in a familiar environment. This exercise encourages listeners to depict their ideal living space and as a result, provides warmth and optimism as they seed and root the image of a future rooted in self-love. This meditation addresses the need to move from survival mechanisms of living, to a visualized state of thriving by associating positive future imagery.  This meditation challenges listeners to address the scarcity mentality faced by the descendants of people of African heritage.  This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website.  Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us.  Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  More about Kofi Morris:    Brother Kofi is a Freedom & Alignment Coach, focused in the areas of Holistic Health & Wellness, and serves as a Reiki Energy Healer and the founder of Cosmic Wellness Holistic Health.  Brother Kofi offers workshops in Qi Qong (‘Chee Kung’), Meditation, Self-Care, Nutrition Corporate Holistic Health and Wellbeing, Proactive fathering and community development for Non-Profit Organizations across Toronto.  Brother Kofi is dedicated to not only building his business but in volunteering his time in youth development, sharing his skills and experiences with community youth groups across the GTA. Brother Kofi is also the founder of "Lions and Cubs", a small non-profit organization for young men, which focuses on Leadership and Self-Empowerment. In addition he is the current Executive Director of "Wisdom Green Earth", a non-profit organization committed to using the arts and nature to positively impact the lives of community.  Follow Brother Kofi on Instagram at @koficoach2k.    This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken Music by: Bill Xu 

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this walking meditation is perfect when you are feeling too restless for a seated meditation or when you simply have the urge to move your body. This practice is designed to help release repetitive thoughts, and connect you into your body and the present moment.  This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website.  Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us.  Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  More about Liz Coucean:  As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.   Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online.  Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com.  This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken Music by: Bill Xu 

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this practice taps into what it means to be resilient. The more we are able to ground into our breath and bodies, the more we create internal resources to help support our nervous system when we experience challenges in life. We can’t control what happens to us, but with practice we can learn to regulate our reactions.  This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website.  Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us.  Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  More about Liz Coucean: As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.  Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online. Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com. Read the episode transcript.  This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken Music by: Bill Xu 

Led by Liz Coucean, multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, this grounding meditation is an ideal practice when experiencing periods of overthinking, stress and/ or anxiety. Through breath regulation and a mindful body scan, this meditation will help move awareness away from thoughts and into the body to encourage a felt sense of calmness and relaxation. This podcast is brought to you by the Well Being Collective @ Hart House. Learn more about how our work supports Indigenous, Black and Racialized U of T students and community members by visiting our website.  Looking for more meditations or fitness and wellness content, see what else we offer! We’d love to hear from you – contact us.  Follow the Well Being Collective on Instagram at @HartHouseFitnessCentre.  More about Liz Coucean: As a multidisciplinary wellness practitioner, Liz is passionate about offering guidance for individuals to experience inner peace, a calmer mind, and the opportunity to connect more deeply to themselves and their environment.  Liz specializes in teaching meditation and yoga, and offers mindset coaching and corporate wellness consulting as part of her practice. She is also a certified reiki master, an ancient eastern healing modality that promotes stress reduction and relaxation. Liz is based in Toronto, Canada and offers her services globally online. Follow Liz on Instagram at @lizcwellness and check out her website at lizcwellness.com. Read episode transcript.This episode is produced by: Shaela McCracken Music by: Bill Xu

In this last episode of Season 1, Ezi bids goodbye to the podcast and shares her thoughts on the question so central to this show and her own work: What does it mean to live and be well?As with all things, Ezi does it her way, with a lovely little bonus as she says bye, for now. 

Description:On Today’s Episode I have the great pleasure of introducing you to someone that I have known, loved, and respected for a very long time. Daeria Lawson is a health researcher and PhD student at McMaster University. On this episode Daeria and I chat about her research, good science, what it is, and its impact on health outcomes. She also offers her perspective on what it means to live and be well. Daeria is brilliant, effervescent in fact, and it’s my pleasure to present this conversation to you.    DAERIA LAWSONTwitter: @_DOLawson | LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daerialawson/?originalSubdomain=ca Daeria Lawson is a health researcher and PhD Candidate in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. Daeria’s primary research interests are research-on-research, clinical research methodology, and biostatistical methods with applications in rheumatic and infectious diseases. As part of her thesis work she is leading the development of a reporting checklist for studies that evaluate methods in health research studies (methodological studies). She has a longstanding interest in mentorship and enjoys sharing tips about graduate school and supporting students navigating science career decisions. STUDY: Reporting of methodological studies in health research: a protocol for the development of the MethodologIcal STudy reportIng Checklist (MISTIC)

NAOMI JOHNSON: Naomi Johnson, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Bear clan from Six Nations, has worked in the arts for nearly fifteen years as a curator, arts administrator, professional artist, and community arts facilitator.  Naomi served as Artistic Director for seven years and then as Co-Executive Director (2018) of the Woodland Cultural Centre, where she curated and programmed annual exhibitions and performance art events. In June 2019 Naomi accepted the position of Associate Director for imagineNATIVE, having the unique and rewarding opportunity to be mentored by then outgoing Executive Director, Jason Ryle. In June 2020 she assumed the role of Executive Director for imagineNATIVE, she very much looks forward to continuing her work supporting Indigenous talent within the film and media arts sector.DORI TUNSTALL: Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall is a design anthropologist, public intellectual, and design advocate who works at the intersections of critical theory, culture, and design. As Dean of Design at Ontario College of Art and Design University, she is the first black and black female dean of a faculty of design. She leads the Cultures-Based Innovation Initiative focused on using old ways of knowing to drive innovation processes that directly benefit communities. With a global career, Dori served as Associate Professor of Design Anthropology and Associate Dean at Swinburne University in Australia. She wrote the biweekly column Un-Design for The Conversation Australia. In the U.S., she taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She organized the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative and served as a director of Design for Democracy. Industry positions included UX strategists for Sapient Corporation and Arc Worldwide. Dori holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Stanford University and a BA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College.ZAHRA EBRAHIM: Zahra is a public interest designer and strategist, focused on shifting power to people who are typically underrepresented in institutions and systems. Her work has focused on deep, community-led approaches to policy, infrastructure, and service design. She is the Co-Founder and CEO of Monumental, an organization focused on supporting an equitable recovery that builds fair and just cities and institutions. She is an Executive Advisor to Deloitte on Cities and Design, and a senior advisor to political and public interest initiatives across the country.  Zahra has taught at OCADU, MoMA, and currently teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She has served on the boards of Jane’s Walk, St. Stephen’s Community House, Toronto Biennial, Canadian Urban Institute, and is the current Chair of the Board for Park People. She serves as an advisor for a range of organizations including Toronto Public Library, Progress Toronto, and Code for Canada. She was recently named Next City’s Vanguard “40 under 40 Civic Leader”, Ascend Canada’s Mentor of the Year, one of “Tomorrow’s Titans” in Toronto Life, and one of WXN’s Top 100 Women in Canadian Business.SY BLAKE: Sy Blake is a 3D Artist with a background in Graphic and Product Design, a Graduate of the Central St Martins School in London, with a BA Honours in Product Design.  For many years Sy has worked to bring to life, unique representations of black identity through his skills in 3D character modeling, focusing on black futures and black joy peppered with hints of futurism, sci fi and fantasy. Sy has collaborated with Toronto Based artists and companies like Adidas Canada to help bring his characters to 3D print. And is currently working on his own line of Art Toys. When not working on his own creative projects and collaborations, Sy works as a 3D Modeller for the award-winning Guru Animation Studio in Toronto on the new ‘Sesame Street’ show coming to HBO ‘Mecha Builders’.for full bios: harthouse.ca/wellbeing

*Special Host*Welcome to episode 6 of In Conversation. This Black History Month, I’m here to remind you that Black beauty is limitless. My name is Rebekah, and on this episode of In Conversation, I was joined by Alica Hall, Brittany Randell, and Matthew Progress who talk to us about Black aesthetics, cultures and creative means of expression and joy, specifically those drawn across the canvas of our bodies and the spaces around us. Brittany Randell IG:@HumbleBeeTattoohttps://www.brittanyrandell.com/brittanyrandellBrittany is a mother of two children and a tattoo artist in Toronto, whose work focuses on presenting tattoos on black and brown skin. Her concepts range from portraits of people, to florals, animals and more. Brittany is a self-taught machine tattoo artist who also provides various art pieces available to purchase. She also attended the University of Toronto and received a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts with honours in Literature and Religious studies. You can visit her portfolio and everyday posts via her Instagram,  @HumbleBeeTattoo . Matthew ProgressIG: @matthewprogressMatthew Progress is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist specializing in music and film. Heavily influenced by surrealism and Black Cultures, he creates content rooted in social commentary, for the purpose of subverting common modes of thinking. His work has been featured on numerous media platforms including Complex, The FADER, VICE/Noisey, and CBC Arts.   Alica Hall:IG: @al_ik_ca @niacentreAlica Hall strongly believes in the transformative potential of the arts to empower and strengthen communities. She has a professional background in strategic communications, having spent 6 years supporting health and non-profit organizations. Alica has a passion for creating spaces for artists to create, learn and connect with new audiences. More recently she served as the Co-chair of Pride Toronto, the largest LGBTQ+ festival in North America. Under her leadership, the festival grew from 10 days to a month, by partnering with cultural institutions to bring queer artists into new venues and spaces. As the executive director of Nia Centre for the Arts, Alica is now heading up the development of Canada’s first professional multi-disciplinary arts facility dedicated to supporting and showcasing Afro-diasporic art. This $7.5 million capital project will transform the Nia Centre’s 14,000 sq. ft. facility to create a 150-seat theatre, artist studios, a digital media lab, a recording studio, event space, co-working space and gallery space.