Let's Talk Community For Our Health with Giana V

This week's episode is a heartfelt conversation about the intertwining paths of self-care and community. I'm joined by internet friend turned real-life friend and sister Giana V, a childbirth educator and public health researcher. We delve into the impacts of maternal health outcomes and the joy of connecting with someone who echoes your passion and drive for a better world.

Reflecting on the meaning of community, we unravel the rich threads of relationships that hold us together. We shine a light on the indispensable role of social support in mental and emotional wellness, challenging the notion that one can thrive in isolation. Setting healthy boundaries emerges as a theme as we navigate the delicate dance of sharing our struggles while respecting each other's capacities.

In an era where technology both connects and divides, Giana and I explore its influence on community health and the quest for body literacy. We advocate for a resurgence of shared knowledge and resources. 

Gianna invites you to her upcoming Birth and Wisdom program, designed to empower individuals through knowledge of their bodies. This episode is steeped in the belief that together, we are stronger and the celebration of community as the bedrock of growth and healing.

Follow Giana on Instagram and subscribe to her podcast, Simply Rise. For all her products and services, check out her website so you can start your journey to becoming the boss of your health.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya, and I have a very special guest that's going to be joining us in the tea tasting room today. But before we get into that, I hope you've done something for yourself that's going to make you proud, or even prioritize yourself For me.

Speaker 1: 0:41

I think I've been saying this for the last several episodes now that sleep and I are going through a divorce where I have not been getting enough sleep and I've had people sending me messages on whatsapp or instagram telling me if you don't get enough sleep now you're opening up yourself to dementia and all these different things. And I'm just like you know, I didn't think about it that way, because usually I'm telling somebody else you know what you need to rest, because rest, because you know X, y, z, and for me, again, I'm not practicing what I preach. So I, for the first time in my entire life, no, I take it back. For the first time in like a month or two, I've gotten a good eight hours of sleep, uninterrupted sleep, so that's progress. I did wake up feeling like a truck hit me because you know, I do take two types of medication at night, one for my anxiety and one for my migraine, and they both, separately, sometimes make you drowsy, but together, child, they will knock you out.

Speaker 2: 1:34

Oh man.

Speaker 1: 1:35

But at first I thought I had a tolerance to the migraine, to both, to both medication, both the anxiety and the migraine, because I was not sleeping. But I think I was just really, really stressed out. But last night, let me tell you, I had eight hours of sleep I mean, it might've been more than eight hours, but I'm going to say eight and I felt so good waking up. But now I think, where I'm in my cycle, my energy is just low, so I can't win. I just can't win. But nevertheless I did decide to prioritize rest last night. So I hope you did something for yourself that you know you can feel good about yourself, or you just did prioritize yourself. Anyway, that is that Today's tea is. I'm still on my chamomile and lavender tea. I think I said that was going to be the tea for the month. So I'm still doing that because, again, I'm trying to be more relaxed in my life because between grad school, you know it's almost the end of the semester, so you know it's like things are haywire Between work, because I'm getting ready to go home on vacation vacation, in quotation mark, because I'm going to be working nevertheless. But I need to make sure that everything is organized at work, because when I go home to Antigua, I don't want anybody calling me, texting me, I don't want to come out to chaos, so I'm definitely making sure that all my eyes are that I'm a teaser across that amartizaclossorg, and then, of course, the podcast is podcasting, and then a nonprofit organization we get ready to have our. We're currently running a menstrual pantry drive. So if you're listening and you want to donate to Squab Life Kids, I'm going to put that link in the bio so you can check our Amazon wishlist out, so you can buy something from there so that we can ensure that our menstrual pantry still stays restocked so we can serve our community as well. But yes, in addition to that, we're planning our third annual health expo, so it's just been a lot going on over here in the tea tasting room. So, like I said, I hope within the last week before we met here, you have done something for yourself. Whether it's drinking tea, whether it's taking your time with your routine, whatever it is, I hope you did something for yourself.

Speaker 1: 3:22

Anyway, let's get into this episode. We're here, we are joined. We have another nosy person here in the Tea Tasting Room. That's my girl. We talk, we talk nonstop every day. I don't know how we do it. I don't know how she do it. Well, we just find the time to be texting, talking, sharing ideas, building empires. I'm just over off at this point in time, but but she's not new to the Tea Tasting Room, but she may be new to some of you, so I'm going to have her tell us about herself. I'm going to get into today's episode. So welcome to the Tea Tasting Room, gianna again.

Speaker 2: 3:50

Thanks for having me. I am so happy to be here. I'm always happy to see your face. But yeah, like you said, we're always texting each other and gassing each other up and coming up with new ideas. Like, we've probably created about five to six new businesses sprinkling the occasional birth center. Listen, I'm so over us. I'm done. I'm so happy that we have you know, like, when those visions and that drive for improvement aligns with somebody, it's so rare. So I'm just happy that someone else like cares about stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 4:29

I feel that, which I mean you need to tell us some more about you, like what do you do? I mean you're missing that part out. Come on now.

Speaker 2: 4:36

I know Okay. So yes, I'm a childhood educator. By way of public health research and maternal health outcomes, I did a lot of that throughout my master's program. That's where I focused all my projects and now that I graduated, 11 years ago now that's kind of dating me I finished that in 11 years ago and then I really focused all of my efforts on maternal health research and we did a little bit of global research and kind of like what that included and birth outcomes in other countries with respect to how they give birth and prenatal care, postpartum care, things of that nature.

Speaker 2: 5:18

And then when I started to realize and see a pattern where the US had the worst outcomes for a developed country and then layer that with how Black women are perpetually lower on that totem pole as far as data is concerned and the outcomes of in which we're dying and suffering the morbidity more than our white counterparts, it's just, it just became very disturbing to me at that time and then I kind of became more focused on well then, how are we giving birth?

Speaker 2: 5:57

What does that look like in the mainstream Western setting, western setting? And I deliberately went into childbirth education because I felt that moms weren't being informed well enough. Families weren't informed on what their options are. They were kind of given this cookie cutter as it applies to how things were done before. This is just how we do it and it's just kind of it's harmful to treat a community of people that way, with varying backgrounds, demographics and all of these factors that go into the way that we should be caring for women on a very individualized, granular level, and I don't believe that that's even happening now. In 2024, six months in, we're still looking at a dairy cookie cutter type pregnancy care, birth care, postpartum care.

Speaker 2: 6:56

Our culture is totally lacking that. So here I am, teaching childbirth education. Then I came into this realization that our birth education is only as good as it is when it's applied, and knowledge is power, but only when we apply that knowledge. But how are we going to relate that to our own bodies if we don't even understand and believe in the capabilities and the power of our own bodies? Like how are we really truly believing that we can give birth, that we do have autonomy over our body? Right? That just sounds intimidating to someone who doesn't understand the way that their bodies function on an individual level. Again. So that's where I'm at right now. Right now I am teaching childbirth education classes. I'm teaching a birth plan workshops and helping people come up with a kind of a pathway and creating an experience out of their birth, and then body literacy classes, more specifically on fertility awareness.

Speaker 1: 7:57

So tell us more about that fertility awareness. Then we'll get into the episode some more. Tell us about that class, because I think those of you listening it's just going to be a life changer, especially the method that Gianna works with. So tell us a little bit about the BOM BOM girlies.

Speaker 2: 8:14

So fertility awareness is the awareness in your fertility right it sounds kind of obvious, but the reality is is the awareness of what your, your fertility and your infertility patterns are throughout the month and following that pattern, and as those patterns ebb and flow, what impacts those patterns.

Speaker 2: 8:34

So I specifically chose the Billings Amulation Method because it is the most accessible and for me, accessibility within all populations is really important. I don't believe that things should cost exuberant amounts of money. I don't believe that people need to jump through hoops to have the most quality care to. The Billings Ovulation Method as a form of fertility awareness places the tools and information in the hands of the person. That way they can yield that information into better conversations with their providers, better decisions when it comes to reproductive health decisions, and then also better decisions as it impacts their pregnancies and childbirth. So the Billings Ovulation Method was chosen by me because of that accessibility factor. It is the most simple to apply and it does not change, like the pieces of information that you need to know do not change. So your cycle might fluctuate, but what you need to know doesn't change.

Speaker 1: 9:40

I love that and I'm happy that we're here talking about community health or having a community for your health, because, gianna and I, we became Instagram friends I don't even know how long now the time is just at this point, what is time but we became internet friends and then we were able to transition and take our friendship essentially off of social media. We're going to still send the memes, we're going to still send things, but, like I said, we talk almost every day as well, and one of the things that we talk about is community, because, like myself, I migrated to this country when I was 19. So that was wow. This will make 15 years. I am telling my age at this point, but I just always remember again thinking about that community that I had back home in Antigua, where, growing up in the villages, you know your neighbor, they were your friends, they became family. Everything was just so close-knit and we saw how vital that was to, I would say, for my upbringing, my childhood. Most of my childhood memories came from the friends that I had growing up in Sweet's Village or even in Austin's Village back home. But now we've all grown up Some of us have, we're not going up in Sweet's Village or even in Austin's village back home. But no, we've all grown up, some of us have. We're not as close as before because that's not how life happens. We are distant or we just stay in contact as best as we can but at the same time, you know, noticing that we're all busy. Then I would have moved to New Jersey and then I have like, at this point, a common nomad, because from New Jersey to Virginia for nursing school.

Speaker 1: 11:03

After I failed out of nursing school, I moved from Virginia to Georgia where I spent, at least I think, six or seven years. Might have I'm going to say six years I spent in Georgia. So, you know, having to rebuild, I want to say, my circuit, because I do have my core friends of the people who I trust with everything about my life, where I can tell them certain things and not be judged. And even if I'm being judged, it's not like I'm from an ill-intent place, it's just like you know what girl you're smarter than this, so you should be better than this. Yeah, so having to rebuild that village when I moved to Virginia nursing school again, one thing about me I would say I'm a shy, like, I'm an introvert, extrovert, because I have my moments. I don't want to talk to nobody.

Speaker 1: 11:39

I don from Virginia to Georgia again, having to rebuild again my village, because it was just always me myself and I, and I feel like I still moved that way to some extent, but it was always me myself and I. But then transitioning to being here in South Carolina for the last two years time is fine again. That's crazy, but I found, in my opinion, I think that moving to South Carolina was the best thing that happened to me across all boards my mental health, my physical health, my emotional. You know just everything about me happened when I moved to South Carolina. I thought, you know, ok, moving, failing nursing school and having to go through that whole depression or that whole thing of acknowledging you know what you fail out, not because you weren't smart enough, you know things happen, life circumstances. So I had to accept that finally, but not. And then I thought, you know what that's when my life became even better again because I was able to use that pain into passion, or I was able to what they call it fail forward.

Speaker 1: 12:36

However, now, living here in the last two years, I realized that I've built a and you probably hear us interchange the word community and village, because that's just what we talk about, even biotech, sometimes thinking about the community from a personal standpoint, but also the professional, but anyway. So I was able to build my village and my community here in South Carolina, as well as incorporate the other members of my community who have been friends with from childhood or we still talk every day, or sometimes we may not talk every day because life is life and we all have careers, but we know, at the core of it all, our values still align and I can call this person and be like hey, I'm going through something, they'll be able to be there for me and vice versa. So, like I said, you'll probably hear us interchange the word community or having a village, and one of the reasons why I wanted Gianna to be a guest to talk about this because she as well is going through a transition as it relates to moving from one state to the next, and in her case, she has children and a husband Me, it's just me, myself and Irene at this point. But she has and that's something that we've spoken about especially working in the maternal health space, and we'll talk about how.

Speaker 1: 13:43

You know, our views have been shifted to some extent, but working in the maternal health space, coming to a new state where you were already building connections, where you were before, and you're here now having to, like the first day of school when you know everybody's shy, we don't know who's going to be our friend and by week two we have 10 best friends, you know. But I think for me, from a personal standpoint, you know, having a community, I think it extended, I'd say, my life expectancy. I don't even know why I'm saying that, because you know I feel like I'm poured into, like I have my long-distance friends who I miss. But you know, that's not the life that we chose for ourselves.

Speaker 1: 14:18

We have different careers, but being able to have a village or community so close to me, I think it has done a lot for me, especially from a mental health standpoint. So for you, gianna, how does you know community? What does a community mean to you? And how does that community, or your community, being as involved in your life, you think, does it impact our individual health outcomes? And you can speak from your experience. But also for those listening as well who didn't, who wouldn't normally think about oh, I have a community, or I have a village, or I have a support system.

Speaker 2: 14:52

Because, again, a community, village or support system looks different for everyone. You know, I think that it's really important for people to define what community is. To someone it might be oh, I have a good neighborhood. What's my community? The city I live in is my community. You know, the parents at the school my kids attend is my community. Or my homeschool, my co-op, is my community. Like, what is that? And then it could be the people that are the most involved in your life, the people that you have the most involvement in their lives, and I think that's really important just to distinguish, to make that clarity, because it means something different to everyone.

Speaker 2: 15:30

I don't think we truly really had that defined before we came here, because we just thought it was going to be applicable here. Yeah, for reference, we moved from Southern California to North Nashville, like Northern North of Nashville, tennessee, and it's quite a culture shock coming into just a completely different way of life and a different. I mean, the US is so diverse as far as, like, agriculture is concerned, but then also populations of people are very different all across the US. So I don't think we were really prepared for that or really had that level of awareness. But our community to us were the people that had like stake in our lives, the people that we consider family. Not. You know, they're not friends. You know, in fast and the furious we love the that series in fast and the serious domo like I don't have friends, I got family and that's what it is like when you're a friend of ours and you've been in our lives, like you're your family now, and that's it so for us, you, that community was.

Speaker 2: 16:42

We were super plugged into it. We became and I know this is rare, but we became very close with our oldest son's best friend's parents.

Speaker 2: 16:53

So we're super close to them and a couple of his other friends very close to those parents, to the point where we would. He went to school with them and then we would help each other, pick them up sometimes and then on, you know, when we went to church, they were also at church and work. Like it was the very like, um, they were very immersed in our lives and vice versa. So that is it. That was a big part of our community, our two best friends, who are also our kids. God, parents are out there and we have they.

Speaker 2: 17:25

Both have lived with us at different periods of time for various reasons, and I think that's something also very unique and it has created such a strong bond between the four of us adults and then also in our kids lives. They look up to them, they are their family. So I think community defining it is very important, but to us and to me, that community is someone or a group of people who are very vested in your life and you are also vested in theirs. So I would even say, just because you don't live down the street from me, you're definitely part of my community. We are literally integrated into each other's lives in a very unique way thanks to the 21st century technology hit to both of our mental health and then also our oldest son, which I don't know that we were that prepared for.

Speaker 1: 18:32

You know, it is really a shift in just the culture. No matter you're in the United States, it's very diverse. But the people in New Jersey, new York, up north, versus the people down south, it's just too totally different. It's just really different how nice or how approachable people are up north versus down south or down south versus up north. So that's always going to be a transition, especially when you're having kids.

Speaker 1: 18:58

And I think about the World Health Organization and what they define health as, and that is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness, right, and then they also define wellness as the optimal state of health of individuals and groups. So basically, wellness is expressed as a positive approach to living. So we're both public health professionals and, like I said, we can sit here and talk all day and tell you guys, give you guys a glimpse into our brain, but you know we can spare you all the crazy, the different file cabinets that's opening up in our brains every time. But to you, gianna, what does social support play in promoting health within our communities? And again, in this instance, when we're talking about communities, again that could mean where you live at, like you say, or it could just be that community that you build with the people around you. So what role does social support play in promoting help within communities?

Speaker 1: 19:51

And the reason why I'm asking this? Because I've seen people on social media or just people who I may know or I'm acquainted with. You know I don't need no support, I don't need friends, I don't need family. I can do this all on my own when, in reality, my girl or my guy, you do need help. If you need someone, you kind of keep depending, let's say, maybe on one set of a person just to tell all your problems, because what I'm realizing is that we all have something that's going on and I'm going to share this. See, I asked a question and I'm running my mouth. I was in Bible study. I was in Bible study last night and what I think we were reading might have been James 1, verses 2 to 6. Here goes Pastor Tanya now entering the tea tasting room.

Speaker 1: 20:33

But in that and I'm not reading this verbatim, this is just my interpretation of what I can remember. But in that scripture they spoke about, you know, sometimes, the guilt that we have or the doubt that we have when it comes to, you know, god answering our prayers or giving us the gifts that we want, or whatever the case may be. And it's like you know, I think in one passage it said look around to see the beauty around you, like he's invisible but yet still present, because, again, who's making the sun rise and set. You know all that whole aspect of it and I was like you know my interpretation, because we all had to be in groups. My whole interpretation from that reading that particular scripture was that sometimes I think about the people before us and what they had to enjoy, you know, from slaving and everything, and so they had to enjoy, you know, from slaving everything, and so they had a community. You know the same physical. They had to go through physical abuse and you know you're thinking about mental and emotional. But back then, because one of the ways in which we were told to read the Bible was one of the things was culture context, and I forgot compassion, I forgot the other one, but the culture one was what you focus on. And I'm thinking, you know, back then they had a community, like the people who were essentially on the plantation doing whatever they have to do. You know it might have been a tough day mentally, physically, because you know you're being abused across all boards, but you know you had your community and you guys are going to stick together to fight until you're able to get out or be released from that situation that you were in. And then we were like fast forwarding to because we were saying that you know, back then they all had similar trauma, basically the same trauma, because we know, back in slavery you're going to pick the cotton, you're going to do whatever, you're going to be beat, but you had to just still rely on your black brothers and sisters or whatever the case may be.

Speaker 1: 22:11

Here as now, we all have some trauma, some of. But I find that we tend to oh, my trauma is worse than yours and I try to look at trauma as sin. No sin is greater than the other sin, you know. So I'm just saying we all have trauma and I've experienced it where people are telling me oh, your trauma doesn't compare to mine. I'm like, why are we even comparing trauma. So I'm saying all this to say I think about us as individuals in this century, where we have access to therapy, we have access to so many other different outlets that we can just release ourselves from our stress or trauma for a short period of time, depending on how thorough you want to be as far as healing your trauma from childhood to now.

Speaker 1: 22:54

But I'm saying that sometimes I see that many of us, we, oh, I don't need a friend in the community, I don't need X, y, z, and it's like you know what. We can have our community, we can have our people in our circle, we can have our village. That's going to impact us, you know, in a positive way from a mental health standpoint. Now I'm not saying that your best friend needs to be a therapist or your sister needs, then fine. But if you're not, of course you're going to want to vent to your friend, your sister, whoever it is.

Speaker 1: 23:22

But then sometimes I've been in a situation where I've told someone hey, I don't have the mental capacity in this moment to deal with your issues, and they took that to mean that I was being mean and that's because I'm a recovering or still recovering from it. You know, being a people pleaser, but I'm like I have so much going on and I've usually compartmentalized my issues to accommodate someone else's problem, because I know they really need a shoulder to lean on or somebody to talk to. But when I'm putting these boundaries out, oh, tanya is the worst person and it's like well, you know, you haven't even asked me how I was today, of all, to see, to assess my, my mental capacity. But I'm saying all this is just like I know again having people like you, gianna, in my life and my best everybody is I can come to. But for me I find myself asking do you have the capacity today? The other day you were texting me I need to vent or whatever. Do you have the capacity? If you don't, that's fine and I'm like no, but I'll be honest, I didn't have the capacity at the time. But't, that's fine and I'm like no, but I'll be honest, I didn't have the capacity at the time.

Speaker 1: 24:19

But then, when you told me, I got really hot because I'm like, no, I'm going to have to jump in my car and head on to Tennessee. So I'm like you know. So the capacity I didn't have. I got it after just reading. I was just over the day. But I'm like I said, if I had you came to me at this hour and I was like okay, but then when you started telling me I was like no, I got too much energy. So I didn't even sleep that night really, because I was still pissed. But I'm saying all that to say what role does our social support play in promoting health and wellness within our communities? Because we need that.

Speaker 2: 25:02

We, we need it, we need it and I know, I think that I, I understand why people may say that it could be because that they've been hurt in the past or like they feel, like you know, they may have trust issues because you know, I had these people in my life and you know, whoop-de-whoop, whatever happened, and now I'm not gonna, I don't need nobody, like that's a protective, that's a barrier, yeah, barrier uh, which is fair to a point, but I think that it can be very detrimental down the line.

Speaker 2: 25:25

But the, the whole, the social support, like you said, going back generations, like deep generations, people lived together in villages, which is why you know, we call it, you know the. But as time went on and progress was made and I'm putting air quotes because progress has been made but I think that there has been such a harmful mentality that has perpetuated throughout Western society that we don't need each other, we're against each other and not together, because what they can, what they, whoever they is to you, divide and conquer if people don't come together and start working together as a team, then they got us where they want us.

Speaker 2: 26:12

They can divide and conquer and and spread a lot of mistrust within each other, and it's working. I'm not trying to say you got to trust everybody, but everybody needs somebody and that level of support can change your health outcomes tremendously. As far as knowing who to go to for you know a certain health issue in the community like oh, go see so and so down the street at their clinic, they got it. You know a certain health issue in the community like oh, go see so and so down the street at their clinic, they got it. You know, like that they could help you with this, that and the other. Oh, I need a.

Speaker 2: 26:47

It's something so simple. Like I just need a cup of. You know a cup of sugar. I forgot to get it at the store. Oh, go see, miss so and so down the street, like that's how it used to be, like that's just how it used to be and like it gets. It gets. It gets to me, because everyone's really just like in these bubbles, so self-absorbed. This is what I'm doing, this is how I have to do it Me, me, me, I, I, I and we when we look around us.

Speaker 2: 27:17

like you said when you were talking about that verse look around you, look at the beauty around you, get outside yourself for a second.

Speaker 1: 27:23

Yep.

Speaker 2: 27:24

Start asking questions about how can I serve, how can I help? Right, we all have talents, we all have roles. There's my kids. Like I tell them all the time, you play a role in this house, in this family. We need you in this family. Whatever that strength you have, let's play to it. You're part of this team.

Speaker 2: 27:43

We're working together, for you know, our lives here on this earth, while we're here like we are working together, without you pulling your weight, we're not going to be as good as we can be yeah that's how I feel it is in most, if not all, populations is that we don't realize the strength in numbers we don't realize what it's going to look like when we actually pull together for the betterment of our community.

Speaker 1: 28:11

And I think too, while I'm listening to you, I think for me I have a love-hate relationship and I say I want to say technology, but essentially I'm just on the social media Because of course, again, it brought us together. You know there's other people I've been able to network and connect with, but I think and this is a conversation my sister and I often have when we talk about, again, the community Everyone is not meant to be a leader of a particular community or leader of your friend circle or leader of your village, whatever it is, but particular community or leader of your friend circle or leader of your village, whatever it is. But sometimes, when you realize that you have an influence and I think sometimes we have all these influences, which we love them but sometimes I often look at some influences with a squint in my eyes because I'm like, okay, some of the things that you are saying to us, who are your supporters, like your followers, is not accurate. And then I have to tell myself as well, you know, especially when it comes to health, public health, you know, maternal health, reproductive health, we've seen, you know, we've seen people just they take off and they're saying something. It's an evidence base. But I'm coming from a point. I'm like you know what, tanya? Everyone is not going to be a public health professional. Everyone is not going to think the way you think. You know you're deeply passionate about saving the world and doing X, y, z, but you don't have as much influence as some of these quote unquote influencers.

Speaker 1: 29:25

But it comes on again. What even is influence Like? What does that even mean? My goal in life is just to impact one person, and if I can impact one person, then I'm doing my job, you know. So I want to know what is your view as it relates to even technology and how does that like? Again, I have a love-hate relationship because, again, I have a nonprofit. We have this podcast, we have pages that we're trying to put out, information to help you to better an individual about making choices, about their health, their wellness, just in life in general. Of course, you know I cannot hold your hand. I can only give you suggestions based on what have worked for me. That's what you know. Generally, we try to do Like we. Of course we have all this knowledge, but we're not going to tell you something that we haven't even tried or we haven't done all the research behind a bit. So what is your take when it comes to technology and fostering even a health or inner community as well, whatever that circle looks like?

Speaker 2: 30:16

I do like the implementation of technology when it comes to bringing information into the hands of everyone who has access to technology, and I think that it's made a huge difference in the way that people perceive their health care. They know that they have access to this information. Now you know what they have. What they do with it is a whole other story, but that's what you know. That's kind of along the lines with what you were saying is that you can only do so much point people to the resource, and I do think and value that the resources are just out there.

Speaker 2: 30:52

Uh, now, I think that is twofold because, uh, there's anything out there. You can publish anything on the internet and it's very difficult to sift through that and it can have a level of influence on you and all of this information that you're just taking in and absorbing it leaves very little room for you to listen to your own intuition and what is applicable and what is not into your own life. So I think for sure that we have to set better boundaries when it comes to technology as a community to make sure that people I'm not saying like ban all this information on the internet because it's wrong, because I do think that's going far, but I do think that we have to have healthier boundaries, like maybe even resources that say that are giving better. I guess like quick and easy FAQs or tips to how to tell if something is clickbait or true information that you should, you know, pay attention to and give the time of day.

Speaker 2: 32:00

But I think that it's definitely twofold. I believe that we have a challenge when we're raising young children in this environment because of what they have access to now. So, you know, we're definitely helicopter parents when it comes to Internet access. There's no phones until you're driving, like we're. That're that for those people when it as it relates to health, like there's so much in front of us that we have, we just don't even know what to do with sometimes no, I agree, because I think about growing up in antigua.

Speaker 1: 32:35

We were on the streets playing, we were playing sports. We didn't even know. I mean we had TVs, don't get me wrong. But we know, okay, on Saturdays would be the TV day. When you get home from school, you're doing your homework, you're doing something in the yard, you're falling down, cutting yourself up Because I mean, I have so many marks on my knees because I was an outside girl, like I was't want to deal with you. Well, I'm not a mom, so I get that sometimes. So sometimes you just need a break and the only way you can get a break is just to give them a computer, laptop, tablet, watch something, play something. For that point in time, until I have give me like an hour to myself, you know. So, of course, again, it has its pros and cons as it relates to technology, but I want to shift gear briefly as it relates to body literacy. I know that's your thing and the reason why I'm bringing body literacy up as it relates to our community and community health.

Speaker 1: 33:33

Because what I'm realizing as a nonprofit founder things that I, from a health education standpoint, things that I expect or believe or assume that people would know they don't and this is not even for me, not perfect for them it's more like even working in the maternal health space, working as a doula, community health worker all these different things you are providing, because Gianna and I we're very big on education, we can give you all the resources we can. I mean, that's the easy part of our job at this point in time. When it comes to actually educating, I want to say educate. I'm not talking about one person. One person is two or two. Two divided by two is one.

Speaker 1: 34:04

Yeah, whatever, I'm talking about actual, like education, about your body and the reason why I'm saying that when we're talking about our community, our village, even community health as it relates to the population, like if you go up in, I'm gonna call it village, if you go up in Swiss Village, I'm talking about a community of Swiss Village. Whereas, are we coming together to ensure that we are still planting our trees, growing our bush tea in the yard, doing all these different things? Can we still go and get some peppers in the backyard. Like where is that sense of community in general? Because again, for me going up in Antigua, you know our village was our village, like everybody knew everybody. Now, for me, going up in Antigua, you know our village was our village, like everybody knew everybody. Now I can't really say the same because you know, people are traveling, people are moving to live in different countries I mean, I'm here as an immigrant as well but that same level of community.

Speaker 1: 34:48

So when I talk about body literacy or even health literacy as it relates to our health but also community health, I'm talking about understanding that for me, in my case, having a migraine every day is just not normal. How can I advocate for myself? So then, that way I can tell, I can teach my sister, my cousin, my neighbor about, oh, if you have a migraine for more than a week when I was this year, so we can have that conversation again working in the nonprofit space. Whereas we're talking about menstrual hygiene management, menstrual equity, reproductive health, of course we know again that as a woman you're going to have a period. That goes without saying, unless it's something very rare. But at the same time we've just been taught to oh, hey, put on the pad, that's it.

Speaker 1: 35:30

We're not being taught okay, you need to change your pad ever, so how many hours throughout the day? Or having a heavy flow and having severe pain. Again, it's just, we normalize these things and what we're realizing in today's world is that more and more younger people are developing, you know, whatever it is cervical cancer, whatever it is, some sort of cancer or some sort of illness, because, again, we're just living our life, because we grew up this way, let's just go right ahead. And then the communities are not necessarily as close as before. The values aren't being aligned. It's just like a misalignment. So what is body and health literacy and why do you think it's important, as it relates to our health as individuals, but also from our community standpoint.

Speaker 2: 36:10

Yeah. So body literacy is having a deep knowledge about your own body, so having a level of awareness that you only have and you understand you can identify your body signals and then also kind of connect the dots, if you will, and then relay that information to a provider if you need to. Being able to identify those signals and respond to those signals also comes with a level of self-awareness, which I think is really important to talk about too. But having that body literacy gives you the tools it you already have the tools right, like, let's say, I got a full toolbox in my garage, right, and it's got a drill, it's got a freaking like I don't know a saw, the sanders, like nuts and bolts, like all these tools. Okay, let's say I have that in my garage and I have a project that I want to do. I go to this toolbox, I open it and I have no idea what anything is. I'm lost, I'm looking at this thing, I don't know what the names are and I'm being honest this is a scenario for me.

Speaker 2: 37:24

I'm looking at this thing I don't know what the names are and, I'm being honest, this is a scenario for me I have a bunch of stuff in the garage. I don't know what to do with it, but it's there. But do you realize, like all the things that I could do with it? If only I knew how to use these tools? So this is the point of body literacy is like there's a lot of things that we can catch quite a bit earlier than we normally would, just listening to our bodies and what those signals are telling us, and then also responding to them, addressing them in a way that you think that you can address them to be able to remediate the issue, and then also having this awareness of okay, this is what I've done so far.

Speaker 2: 38:03

What I'm doing, you know, from a natural holistic, like at home standpoint it's not working, the problem is persisting or it went away and it's coming back. I'm going to escalate, care now, because now you have this awareness of being able to relay this conversation over to your provider. So you get in front of your provider and you're like, hey, so-and-so, I was having this issue. It's been happening since you know such and such a date. It was persistent for a while. Blah, blah, blah.

Speaker 2: 38:31

This is what I tried. I noticed it came back, but this time it was like do you understand how much detail you're providing these providers with? And they're like, wow, they're not coming off of a. Oh, just take this and you know, that's it. Like they can't do that to somebody who knows their stuff about their body. They can't just put a bandaid over it, because this person has the tools and they've used them. And so now this provider is also a tool in that toolbox that they're now escalating care to, which has now a responsibility to treat this person as an individual versus just another patient to spend seven minutes with.

Speaker 1: 39:06

No, I get that, and I'm glad you even mentioned like patient to provider, because when we're essentially again talking about health from a community standpoint and this is going to I'm going to speak to all of you. But also when it comes to individuals who are pregnant, right, or even just like myself, sometimes I'm not pregnant. Let me take that back, Not just like myself Myself. When I go to my doctor, like I said, I'm spending, I'm taking out time of my day to go see a doctor and then I'm only. You only talk to me for 10 minutes and you're able to diagnose me, whatever the case may be. So also when it comes to your health and knowing what you need to do as it relates to that, you know, have that open conversation, Because I think sometimes we get a little bit shy. Like your doctor is supposed to be part of your community, part of your village, for lack of a better word. Like you know your care providers. They need to be part of your village because one we're all sharing the same common interests. You know, of course, whether it's a friend, family or, again, your care providers. However that looks like. We have one interest. We have the same values or goals that could be in different forms as well. So, when you mentioned about the care provider, I said sometimes we put our care providers on a pedestal, which is all good, Don't get me wrong. I mean they went to school. They're in debt because of that, trying to help me. However, it's very important that you're asking pertinent questions when you, because, again, it comes down to your health. How can you better your community, how can you make better or more informed choices or decisions as it relates to your health and wellness? So, again, you want to find people who share a common interest as you, who have your best interest at heart as it relates to your health and wellness and just as far as the community. Because, again, going back, I can say back in the day we were playing cricket and all these different things in the room, in the road, at home, in suites, but then now we're just so segregated to some extent. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 41:07

And then, for me, I think that we have to create and cultivate a culture where we are much more soft. You know, you hear people talk about this soft life and this soft era, but it's like every man for himself, you know, when it comes to fostering like a community, as you mentioned earlier, inclusive. You know we want to ensure that we, you know, you could be white, you could be black, you could be Jamaican, you could be Trinidadian, whatever it is. It's important that we lean into that value of what it means to have a diverse community. You know, like myself, some of us we don't practice active listening. I was just telling myself this morning, you know, there's a big difference between listening and hearing, and there's a big difference between hearing and listening. I mean, if you, you know vice versa in that regards, you know what I mean. So we want to create spaces where we all feel welcome and we can just contribute to our community in some way, shape or form.

Speaker 1: 41:54

I want to say community, again, Like Jana, is part of my community, she's part of my village. Like some decisions that I make, I have to run by her before I even make my one decision Because, again, I am conscious and I'm intentional about building that, putting my or having that toolbox where I can have. You know, she's part of my community. This is what community means to me. And, like Gianna mentioned earlier, you know, is it where you live Because you live in a nice area, or does it mean that you have a community where you want to in my case, sometimes give back. You case sometimes give back. You know, in social media we have, we have followers, we're educating you, we're giving you free game a lot of that on social media. But again, so you are now our community. Like you're here in the tea tasting room listening to this episode today, you're part of the tea, you're part of the community that I'm trying to foster, I'm trying to build so we can all be on this health and wellness journey but also understand what it means to be health literate, body liter literate, also what it means to be part of a community.

Speaker 1: 42:48

What does community mean to you? Again, how can I build my village? How can I make sure that I'm advocating for myself and those around me? You know we have this saying of I want my names to be calling wound I may not even be in yet. You know I'm going to say Gianna, I think this could be a good fit for you, Get it done. And I think this could be a good fit for you, Get it done and it just, I think it just contributes to overall health and wellbeing from a mental, emotional and physical standpoint. When I say physical. Now we can talk about the physical community, the roles that you have, the environments, the built environment around you. That could be something you know the basketball course in your village or city, whatever it is then that's also another way you can foster that community. But also, you know, for me for as an Antiguan I'm thinking that we we are losing that, that, that manners and respect for our elders too. I don't know, I know, I know I'm going like off topic, but no, I was.

Speaker 2: 43:35

I'm so glad that you said that, because I was just thinking about that when you. We were talking, you were talking about fostering community like it's been lost throughout generations and it's it came down like to me. My first, my first thought goes to the way that women were in a community women healers, midwives in the community, these were the birth experts, these were the women who knew plant medicine, like the back of their head how do you think they knew that.

Speaker 2: 44:05

Their grandmommies told them, then their grandmamas told them, and their grandmamas like this this wisdom was passed down and suddenly you get to this point in history where that stuff didn't matter anymore it's non-existent it was being passed down, but the, the young, that generation wasn't listening. What? What happened? And I desperately have that question what happened? Why did we stop passing this wisdom down to each other?

Speaker 1: 44:32

That's part of fostering community, and I think we often forget that. You know, right now there's so many different stipulations, even from a midwife standpoint, and I get it. You know, we are much more advanced as it relates to technology. But again, who's going to be passing down all this wisdom point? And I get it, you know, okay, we are much more advanced as it relates to technology. But again, who's going to be passing down all this wisdom?

Speaker 1: 44:48

I mean, I guess our wisdom has come from from the internet. And even then, even then, because I was just telling my sister, like I said, I'm off topic again, but we back growing up, we used to watch so many different documentaries about hurricanes, for, like, just the, the beauty of the world, and because we have all these million freaking streaming platforms, a lot of these documentaries are no longer available. So whether we could watch these documentaries by VHS or DVD or whatever, at the time that was also helping to shape or mold a community of young minds. So, you know, I can be a veterinarian, I can be an astronaut, whatever it is, but now we're just going with the flow. I can't even find a proper documentary and I think I'm subscribed to every single platform you can think of. They just take anyone out of my car every month, but sometimes I only watch one.

Speaker 2: 45:36

I'm being honest that.

Speaker 1: 45:37

I cannot tell you as I open even one of the streaming platforms, but, yes, I'm paying for it for some reason. I don't know why, but I think it's just that we've lost that touch as it relates to our community. So I hope again, our goal between Gianna and I is for us to continue to educate and empower and I know sometimes that word empower gets thrown out loosely as well, but we are really passionate about empowering you to make informed decisions, empowering you, for you to realize that you need somebody to lean on. Like you know, sometimes we have friends and we take them for granted, and what I mean my dad is, you know, oh yeah, she's gonna be there for me, she got me, I got her. But then, like, what's going on with your friends? Mental, like, like what, what kind? What sort of conversation are you guys having? How do you know that this person should be a part of your village? Because I will say this for me one thing about me my mom used to tell me you know what I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna repeat that quote but she used to tell me I need to be careful when it comes to my friends, right or, at the time, the people who I call my friends and I've.

Speaker 1: 46:31

I've been through some transitions where people who I thought were my friends are no more, and that's okay, there's no hard feelings. And then the ones who are still here. Obviously you're here and as we continue to evolve in life, you're making friends as an adult now, so you're able to pick and choose or realize who is for you and who is not for you, and I think that's a big thing that we need to essentially think about, because you can't navigate this world alone. You don't know everything, because I sure don't, gianna, sure don't at the same time. So I want us to be more mindful when it comes to creating or building that community, that village as well. And that can just be something simple. Start with something small, like a very, very small gesture that could be striking up a conversation with your neighbor. Sometimes, you know, again, I remember with my grandmother we were sitting in the gallery, or you guys call it the porch and everybody, oh, hi, miss Ambrose, or whatever.

Speaker 1: 47:22

And then they'll stop and talk and I'm just like, oh, here she goes and hi, miss ambrose, or whatever. And then they'll stop and talk and I'm just like, okay, she go there and I'll talk into this one person for like 15 minutes outside, like woman, go share my dinner for me, you know. But again, but when we were younger we didn't necessarily realize that that was a sense of community, it was just the, it was the natural thing to do and I think, in order for us to get back there for me, overall health and well-being, and just ensure that your community, that you're living, because we're losing the art of like, what community means again, like we see what, what's happening across the globe and it's just like, wow, we're, we're, we are our people, as they say, our ancestors or the older generation, to just come and get us in line. So, again, before we go, you know, like building that community again, like I say, start with that small conversation with your neighbor. You know, try to be more active in your community. Maybe, you know, you could, could, if there are many, any sort of community organization that you may have, do that, or even if they don't, then you can be the change as well for a better community, and I think we underestimate again being outside having a conversation with somebody, sharing something that may have happened to you you know as much as you want to with the people in your community, because that way they'll know you and then they're able to show up for you and support you in ways that you didn't anticipate or you wouldn't know.

Speaker 1: 48:30

And I think again, as I said, that's something that we forget. So I'm encouraging you to, when you leave this tea tasting room, you're going to sit down and you're going to get a piece of paper and you're going to write the pros and the cons. You're going to ask what does community? You're going to answer what does community mean to you and how do you want your community to look? And then you can start doing the pros and cons of if I have this person. Does this person need to be deep in the community or do they need to be on the side? We got to differentiate or we got to categorize.

Speaker 1: 48:59

There's layers, to the people who make up our community from a physical standpoint, but also, as you know, the relationships that you may have as well. And that's all I got. Jenna, you can tell me. If you got anything else, you let me know.

Speaker 2: 49:11

No, I agree. I mean, getting out of your comfort zone is really big. Being able to identify the people that are going to not just hear you but also listen to you, but then also making a conscious effort to listen and not just be someone who hears. I think, it's definitely reciprocated, and I think we all have to get outside ourselves sometimes to be able to really truly build, you know, the community, whatever that means to us.

Speaker 1: 49:37

No, I agree Before you go. What is one phrase or affirmation that you're living by in this current season?

Speaker 2: 49:45

Oh, listen, affirmation that you're living by in this current season. Oh, oh listen the it's a bible verse um this one.

Speaker 1: 49:53

It's exodus 14, 14 oh yeah, the old testament, honey.

Speaker 2: 49:56

Sorry, go ahead and it is the lord will fight for you. You need only only be still.

Speaker 1: 50:04

Ooh, okay, come on, say that again. Oh, that's a word for me, honey.

Speaker 2: 50:07

Okay, the Lord will fight for you. You need only be still, and I think we don't take that as inaction. But I think there's so much that we lose when we're not still, and we just have to remember that he's there Like he's fighting for us. He's working behind the scenes even when it feels like things are. You know, crap is just hitting the fan. Yeah, it's such an empowering verse for me, so that's carrying us through right now.

Speaker 1: 50:38

No, I like that. And also I'm just going to add you know, just be still and know To follow that. Just be still and know to follow that. Just be still and know. Well, thank you, gianna, for joining me in the tea tasting room. Before you go, let the people know where they can find you, what you got going on, and we'll put everything in the show notes as well so I am at simply gianna natalia v on instagram.

Speaker 2: 51:01

I don't tiktok, and so I don't have that. I am there, but not.

Speaker 1: 51:07

Yeah, we just, we just, we just know to people over there.

Speaker 2: 51:11

Yeah, and then I have a website. It's Gianna Natalia Vcom, and then I have all of the like resources on there like a blog, the classes, workshops, what's going on right now? Right now I am going to be opening up birth education again. It's called Birth and Wisdom. That's coming out in summer, in June, and then for the bomb girlies, the people who are interested in learning more about their reproductive health system, their own personal fertility and infertility patterns, and being able to apply it to reproductive health monitoring, trying to conceive or postponing or avoiding pregnancy altogether, being able to talk to your doctor and being able to document what's going on in your body and what impacts it.

Speaker 1: 51:56

I am starting that workshop again next month and I will say you want to get on board with this workshop because it's a wealth of knowledge and it'll make you just think about your body in a much different light than what we, we are taught out here in these streets, you know. So I'm definitely. I will put that, that link, in the show notes so you guys can support Gianna all right girl, thank you, thanks bye thank you for joining me for another episode of tea with tanya.

Speaker 1: 52:26

If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on instagram at tea with tanya podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly tea talk newsletter and, of course, rate on apple or spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.