SA
I am so honored and excited that we found time to have this conversation, thank you so much for your time. Can you describe your energy in three words today? How is your spirit feeling?
N
A heavy question! I’m also very happy to be chatting with you by the way. A nice break from the rest of my meetings. My energy today…restful, content, grounded.
SA
So good to hear. Ethel’s Club is such a radically crucial platform. The need to provide Black, Indigenous and people of color with accessible modes of mindful healing that both hears, sees and caters to their experience is something, I believe, aids the beginning of transformative action and Self awakening. I really see that in how Ethel’s Club is structured. What led to its profound creation and what are some challenges you faced when stepping forward with it’s conception?
N
Thank you for those kind and thoughtful words. A lot of things led up to the moment that Ethel’s Club opened doors to our Brooklyn clubhouse in November 2019. The two biggest forces were: my personal experience looking for a Black female therapist in Brooklyn that established a space where marginalized voices could stand in their power, and be seen and heard for who they are. With that in mind, the first idea was not specifically Ethel’s Club — I just knew whatever I built had to embody that ethos. The frustration fueled my need and desire to find a practitioner which blossomed into creating a place that sees you for you and also heals you with practitioners who look like you. To me a simple idea and, yet, a revolutionary one.
SA
So incredibly revolutionary. At Studio Ānanda, we really believe that wellness for Black, Indigenous and people of color is a political act of claiming autonomy over institutional and technocratic spaces and very racist, sexist and discriminatory medicine and healing modalities that have been sold to us in the west. In America especially, health and mental care is disproportionately inexclusive to Black and Indigenous folks. At the start of the pandemic, and throughout the uprising, Ethel’s Club was moving so quickly to organize and present space for us to heal. Often, as folks whose work centers community health, it is not until crisis mode that our strategy becomes truly activated. What was that like for you and your team? And how did/are you taking care and grounding yourself as you both process and organize?
N
There wasn’t a lot of thinking – mostly action. It was right before the stay in place order happened in NYC and I had to make a decision about closing our doors. It wasn’t very difficult. I wanted to keep our community safe and out of harm’s way. The next hurdle was how do we continue to show up for them? What will they need? We managed to become the one immutable thing in many member’s lives. While the rest of the world was in flux, we were a place you could go online to take workshops, sessions, grieve, heal, laugh, talk. It felt like we were saving people. And I think we were, but at the time it didn’t necessarily feel that way. Taking care of myself is difficult. I am a caretaker. I worry about my team and my members from the time I wake up, until I go to sleep. I’m learning (mid pandemic) how to be a strong founder and what my personal wellness practices are. Each day is a new attempt at figuring out how to be better at both of those things.
SA
A daily choice we make with ourselves is to show up for our own self in order to be better for our community and those around us. It’s remarkable how with the virtual offerings, Ethel’s Club has been able to reach a global audience, stepping out from its original community in Brooklyn to now being a space where folks from around the world can tap into for grounding. What was it like seeing that evolution, maybe unintentionally, happen? And how integral are spaces like Ethel’s Club in allowing folks an arena to regenerate?
N
It was wild to see happen! We were so heads down in creating what we know, we had a member in the online clubhouse reach out and say “I live in Germany – is this event in EST?” and I think it was the first time I saw the enormity of the problem we were solving, especially as the world, all at once, lived through the pandemic. It was a very humbling experience. It has been exciting to connect with and provide space for creators, thought leaders, artists etc from all over the world who host our events – it sometimes feels like an endless treasure chest of talent. I am hard on myself and always feel as if we can be offering more, doing more but we’ve had members publicly state that they could not have “made it through” the pandemic without us. Or that we’ve transformed their lives. When I hear statements like that it’s surreal. But I think there’s power in identity and there’s power in reflection and we offer a place to find all of that in an authentic way. I think people have been searching for it for a long time. I feel very proud to be able to lead a company that is doing so much for folks, especially right now.
SA
I think it’s so beautiful how organic and fluidly this evolution happened throughout the revolution! It really speaks to your original inkling and passion that came from a deeply intentional desire to actively carve out thoughtful and considerate space.
And it truly is phenomenal that as a woman of color, a Black woman, you’ve pioneered such a transformative moment, especially considering that in 2016 the National Alliance on mental illness shared that Black women are 20% more likely than any other demographic to experience mental illness due to the compounding factors of racism, sexism and discrimination. The statistic is heartbreaking and enraging all at once. I was reading the other day about how the wide spread of acupuncture was through the Black Panthers’ integration of it in their clinics. This notion of holistic healing is so integral to the movement – the idea that to be a warrior in the revolution, we must care for our mind, body and spirit – and so much of how this movement has taken shape in the west especially comes from Black leaders. What does Black wellness look like to you? And how can those of us who are non Black but also exist in the wellness space help facilitate?
N
This is a hard question for me, because I think I’m still in the discovery process. I think Black healing can mean so many things – I’m inspired by the work of Tricia Hersey, Nap Bishop of the Nap Ministry who believes rest is a form of resistance. A form of reparations. A way to reclaim what has been stolen since Black people were brought here many years ago. I also believe in joy as a form of resistance – a way to reclaim something that is so often taken away from us. I think both are forms of self-care. For me, personally, it’s education. Learning and reading from our elders who have fought this battle and others like it. Understanding that I’m not alone, and that this is so much bigger. It’s hard for me to say how non Black folks can assist Black people on their wellness paths. I think the easiest way to start is to listen and be available to understand that Black people are not a monolith and will each navigate our wellness journeys in a way that best suits our path.
SA
Thank you, Naj. I think, if the pandemic has shown us anything it is that there is a clear disparity in who gets to be well, who has access to healing and health. Just as Black and brown communities were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the structures of white supremacy are reaffirmed in the capitalist power dynamics that exist within the healing modalities of the western wellness and healing industries. Once healing becomes commodified and attached to capital, there is a type of disconnect that happens where we don’t interrogate why we are feeling unhealthy or the systems that perpetuate this inequity. Self reflection becomes limited and avenues for transformative action becomes narrow – we saw this especially with the performative actions of the ‘black tile’ phase. If and how does your practice with Ethel’s Club navigate these ideas?
N
My focus has always been on Black people and people of color navigating the above spaces and feeling as if it were not meant for them, although as you mentioned, many of the practices are born from Indigenous, South Asian cultures. The first way we navigated “being seen” and making wellness a form of everyday life and not a commodified-instagram version was to create a wellness studio inside the Brooklyn clubhouse. We pointedly did not make it any more special than the rest of the club because we wanted to make it clear that wellness is for us, it’s accessible and it should be part of your everyday life. When we brought everything online we approached it with the same ethos – how do we make people who have been left out of this conversation and rarely reflected feel seen and that this is specifically designed for them. Unapologetically. We do a lot to shake the frameworks that exist, call things what they are (I believe language is critical in ostracizing people out of spaces) and make things feel less performative. We’ve had many members message us and say “I’ve never tried yoga, but I went to that class and I loved it.” I want to create a world where people can always opt in to have practitioners who look like them be the way that they see the world and wellness.
SA
Yes!!! And that is what I love about the work that you’re doing. So much of it is about not seeing ourselves reflected through practitioners which automatically creates a detachment. When I engage with a practitioner who looks like me, it makes it easier for me to imagine that I, too, can become an expert at healing myself – thank you so much for reiterating that.
Before we end, I want to ask you, what are three or four things that you are eating, reading, learning, watching, cooking that are helping you stay grounded and well over the past few weeks?
N
I’m reading All About Love by Bell Hooks, I’m watching I May Destroy You (it grounds me in a much more reflective, philosophical way. I find myself rethinking structures that I thought were solid, specifically around consent and personal boundaries). I’m trying an all-vegan diet so I’ve been trying a lot of new recipes and flavors. I’ve felt very creative, which is nice. 🙂