WOC in Wellness: Liz Andolong
This is the fourth interview in a series of Women of Colour (WOC) in Wellness – an audio blog dedicated to diving into diversity in the industry through candid conversation.
Each blog will feature a WOC in the wellness industry, where we chat about their career and how we can bring more diverse voices into the spotlight.
Liz Andolong is a Transformational Yoga Instructor, Meditation in Nature Leader, Reiki Master and Energetic Realignment Practitioner based in San Francisco, California. Liz is a master at helping people learn how to feel safe and comfortable in their body, and helps promote the idea that wellness is accessible to everyone.
The people and resources we mention in the interview below:
About growing up as a first-generation American…
“Growing up in a family that is Filipino American, looking back, I realized just how important being a first-generation American is, in a way that my experience in life has been so different because my parents come from the Philippines. I don't want to say they have an old way of thinking, but kind of like old school, and very traditional.
I feel in my parents' generation, it was all about checking things off of your list and making sure that you take each and every step and then you'll get rewarded at the end and coming into this generation, or my generation, or our generation, it's totally different. You kind of make your own way, and you learn that there is no straightforward path.”
About wellness and financial roadblocks for POC…
“There's so much promotion around wellness, but I don't feel like people are giving them real tools behind products to support people on that journey.
I started realizing, not only when I was teaching classes, that I would be one of the few women of color in my other class. And when I'd bring people or friends, they'd always be like, I just can't pay for that right now, or I just don't have the budget. I’d constantly be having conversations with people settling away from wellness because of finances, or because of lack of accessibility. Whether it be transportation, or having communities locally. There are just so many challenges keeping people from having wellness.”
On the accessibility of wellness…
“I'm tired of wellness being a rich person's game. I'm tired of people telling us that we have to buy this, and this, and this, in order for us to get a peace of mind.
The body is such an incredibly magical being, and if we can really incorporate mindfulness with a physical visceral body experience, I was like, I think there's just a tool to it. … So what can they bring home that doesn't feel like... if you meditate seven hours today, you'll feel so much better. Also, truth be told, I'm a really terrible meditator.
I just wanted to dumb it down in a way that anyone, from any walk of life, from any other background, any other upbringing, could really relate, and someplace that it wasn't too ethereal.
I didn't want to go too woo-woo or too grounded, so that it didn't give you enough space to allow for a transformation or change in your own life.”
“If I was managing a studio and realizing that a lot of the people that I served in that studio were people, pretty much white, affluent, and made a shit ton of money. I realized at that point, money is one of the biggest gaps.
A lot of people of color who are not in wellness that I know are working in the nonprofit world. They're working with children. They're working as social workers, or as psychiatrists and therapists. I feel like all these things that help us better who we are not getting the proper compensation, regardless of whether you're a person of color, but especially if you're a person of color. And so, I feel like, not to bring it back to finances, but money is a huge reason where there's a gap.”
On what Yoga & Wellness is really about…
“I, in every sense of the word, don't feel like I identify as a yogi at all. Maybe this is the angle or perspective that I want to share with people -- that practicing yoga or living yoga, or practicing wellness or living self-care -- all those words I feel are interchangeable. It’s not about sitting, clearing your mind and being one or with your environment and oming a lot of time or lighting up sage. What it is, is really this practice of, I feel like I repeat myself, but really tuning in.
One, creating the space to connect with yourself, making that commitment a priority. And two, beginning to create like a language, verbiage, a dialogue between you and yourself, which I don't think most people do all days, most days.”
On showing up for yourself…
“I think being able to figure out who I want to be, who I am and what I'm most passionate about, and then just doing those things no matter how many people show up has been the greatest exercise and greatest practice for believing in myself.”
On wellness & social media…
“I think the second thing that I'm noticing an area of opportunity in is where, especially in social media, I feel like we're still transitioning from a society pretending that we're all perfect and got it together, and still not practicing, showing the places and spaces that we need love or tenderness, or a little bit more support. We're not really good at asking for help. And so, we strive to make things really perfect, and hide things that I think we should bring more awareness and more voice to. And so, making things uncomfortable I think is what's needed and what we're kind of avoiding right now.
I mean, there's really a fine line between going overboard and being able to think of everyone and getting kind of stuck -- like, okay, well then maybe I shouldn't create this because I don't know if I'm fully representing everyone. But just remembering and checking yourself is really huge, and making sure that it's something that's digestible for anyone. And then secondly, also showing your most authentic self and sharing what's uncomfortable or vulnerable.”
On being an ally…
“If you can be really authentic and show up and be willing to learn, I think those are really the highlights for anyone who is interested in becoming an ally or really interested in supporting anyone in any situation.”
Liz recommends, in her words…
Not to say I knew Lizzo way back when, but I knew Lizzo way back when. Her putting herself out into her music and making those internal dialogues And conversations that women have held in front of the mirror for so long out as popular mainstream music, so fly.
Haejin, of Big Bad Wolf. She is in the cannabis industry and works to offer experiences for women in the community to have really beautiful curated multicores and dinners. You can imbibe in cannabis or you can have it cannabis free. And I think she's just a huge inspiration for me.
GOFITJO, also known as Joanne Encarnacion. She breaks it down so real and I think, especially for people looking for body positivity, and as someone who is a mother of two young girls, and a self-proclaimed mother hustler, it's really cool to hear what she has to say, especially I think this month is Filipino American History Month. And so, she's been really talking about sexuality and being a Filipina. It's been really cool to watch her stories.
Nkechi Njaka from NDN Lifestyle, is this beautiful meditation teacher. And not only is she a meditation teacher, she's just all things beautiful. She's a choreographer and a dancer, a neuroscientist, as well as a meditation leader. And what she creates and does in art is something that brings me so much joy.
Natasha Wong. She is in the works of building and creating her new company and called Before Noon. And had previously owned Seldom Seen, which is this beautiful … urban prep store with lifestyle home goods and all that stuff. And now she's kind of entering the wellness space as well, kind of creating tools that allow people the ability to build wellness into their life in the form of boxes.
Full Transcript:
Zafira: Hi, Liz. Thank you so much for joining me on my next installment in the Women of Color in Wellness Series. And I'm really excited to welcome you and hear what you have to say today. So let's just go ahead and get started. Why don't you tell us a little bit about what you do and all the ways you're showing up in the world right now?
Liz: Awesome. Thank you so much, Zafira, for having me on today. I think when our mutual friend, Mara, just first introduced us, I felt so excited that there are conversations and spaces and people like yourself that are interested in talking about this. So firstly, thank you.
So, a little bit about me. I am a San Francisco based, where do I even start, transformational yoga instructor, meditation in nature leader, and energetic realignment practitioner. And I always struggle kind of introducing myself because I feel that it's so hard to kind of describe the kind of work that I do without a TLDR link. So I guess to really summarize all of that, without any job titles, my name is Liz, and what I really like to do is aid people in feeling safe and comfortable in their body, and helping promote this idea that wellness is for everybody and everybody, and that it's accessible.
And so, the ways and modalities that I do that in is with breath based yoga. Sometimes I infuse a little bit of aromatherapy in there with essential oils. My playlists are curated to really elicit a released and relaxed nervous system response. One of my favorite ways in classes is to really begin to thread together my energy work. So I'm also a Reiki Master, but all that really means is that I hold a container of space to allow people to kind of listen to their bodies or reconnect to the wisdom of their bodies. And using universal life force energy, allow that to kind of clear things along or help draw in more abundant or strong energy to kind of move stagnations, really just bringing wellness into the body, quite literally. Yeah, so it's a little bit of me and what I do.
Zafira: Sounds like you hold such beautiful transformative spaces for humans and that's just so wonderful. So, tell us a little bit about how you ended up doing all these wonderful things and how they came into your life to inform what you're doing now.
Liz: Yeah. Every time I think about this question, I automatically think of Steve Jobs' commencement speech, I think it's him, where he talks about connecting the dots backwards. And it's so funny to kind of look back about how I got into this job. I think even as a young child, I'd always been pretty attuned and sensitive. I think back then, I didn't really know what to do with that or that I didn't realize that that was actually a scale or something that was unique to me or unique to everybody actually when you tune into it. But the space and time that it actually began to really come to a peak was I think really first coming along my own wellness journey. So I came into this work really discovering a lot about myself through the ways that I needed to heal.
So, regardless of whether or not in childhood, I really felt sensitive and open, I didn't know how to quite use it or that I could use it until college. I guess a little bit of context about where that started and how it went, I would say, in my childhood, life was pretty free and fun, and I'm pretty naturally a silly person.
And I think growing up in a family that is Filipino American, looking back, I realized just how important being a first generation American is in a way that my experience in life has been so different because my parents come from the Philippines, and I don't want to say an old way of thinking, if that makes sense, but kind of like old school, very traditional. I feel in my parents generation, it was really all about kind of checking things off of your list and making sure that you take each and every step and then you'll get rewarded at the end and coming into this generation or my generation or our generation, it's totally different where you kind of like make your own way and you discover a new learn, and there is no straightforward path. So, fast forward to college. Thanks for bearing with me.
Zafira: Yeah, I love hearing about it.
Liz: I was really lucky to have a great education. Once I went to college, everything kind of shifted. I realized that I was absolute shit at time management. I realized that very fine line between need and want. And getting there, I went from a pretty narrow subset and community of people who went to private Catholic schools, to going into a public university, which is just like whoa, like meeting the world.
I get there, I have my first heart shattering breakup. I lost my grandfather and coming into the pre-med track and program, I realized, oh my God, I hate everything about this. What am I going to do? And so, at that point, I feel like I was having an existential crisis at 17. And ended up going through my first bout of depression. I think that's where things really started for me, where I don't even think I was even realizing, I don't think we had language for that yet or language for burnout, or what happens when highly perfectionistic people and driven people push themselves too far.
And so, starting from then, I kind of just stumbled on a yoga class as cliche and stereotypical as it sounds, because of the time, Madonna was doing yoga and she was also in her deep Kabbalah phase of finding herself through all the ways that she transformed. End up going to this yoga class in an eco friendly studio. All I remember is getting to Shavasana, which I didn't even know what it was, it was just lying the fuck down and just fully releasing.
It was the most space I'd felt, the most weight-less side felt in a really long time. I didn't know what was going on. I also started involuntarily weeping. So I go up to the teacher afterwards, I'm like, "Hi, my name is Liz. I don't know if this is normal but I don't know why I was crying." It was so nice and she was like, "I think you don't have to know what's going on but just that your body needed that." It was a very Yoda moment where I was like, whoa, I'm intrigued. And also, I think that was good enough for me right now. So that's where it all started.
Zafira: Oh my gosh, that's amazing. And thank you for sharing that journey. I'm so curious because you mentioned that your parents follow things by the rules and we kind of carve our own path. How did they react to you kind of shifting and navigating down this new path of your own?
Liz: Oh man. No, it's a great question. I don't even think I've thought about that. What comes to mind is my therapist. As we've worked together for many, many years, she was telling me that oftentimes in her work, she's found that children are kind of the complete opposite of their parents, and it kind of just shakes up their parents' world a bit. And I think that's pretty true to form with me. I've always been kind of, when you look at Filipino culture, I feel like there's a specific way to kind of be and act especially as a woman, as a lady. And I was definitely not that. But I think, I'll just say my entire life, my parents have always kind of begun to become more flexible with me as time has gone on.
But when I first, coming into yoga, didn't really happen until, I would say, until eight years after I was practicing yoga on and off. So, I hadn't even considered doing yoga training, but at that point, I had just gotten fired from a job, pretty big job and gone to the Philippines. And so when I came back, I was just like, well, I'm going to go to yoga teacher training. And they were like, what? You're going to do what? You're going to spend money to do yoga?
So I think, it was a mix. They were kind of like, that's a big risk to take. I don't know if you should do that. And they were very much about counseling. If you stayed in this job and stayed here to complete this, then you can become this and get the money, and then you can do the yoga on the side. And I was like, no, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do for eight hours than just do yoga. So, I'm going to go with that.
Not to get too deep but it wasn't just talking about it with my parents, it was also kind of taking the steps to start kind of creating space between me and my parents because as I found, not just in my own community, but with also other first generation people of color, I find that there's this inextricable bond almost sometimes with the older generation families and the younger generation families. And sometimes when those waters kind of become muddled, it can be difficult to kind of find yourself or feel okay taking up space and carving that path.
So, in the same vein, not just announcing it as a job, but also kind of making sure that I was financially savvy and smart or being able to move out of their apartment to kind of show them that I was ready to do that, get that done. That was kind of a big deal and part of the journey like, girl. When I started that journey, I remember living in this, I don't even think the bedroom was a room. There was no door. It was like a sunroom, there was no closet and I was sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor, like a total startup story.
Zafira: Oh my goodness. And this was all in San Francisco, right?
Liz: Yeah.
Zafira: Yeah, it doesn't help.
Liz: No.
Zafira: Oh my gosh. Yeah, well, that sounds like it's been quite the journey like the whole way. How long have you been practicing yoga as a teacher now?
Liz: So teaching, I think I'm coming upon my, let's see. I'm coming up on my fifth year of teaching.
Zafira: Amazing. Wow.
Liz: So, kind of, I don't even know how you kind of qualify that, it's kind of still in the beginning, but got a few years underneath my belt.
Zafira: I love it. And I'd love to also dive a little deeper into something you said earlier about how you believe wellness is for everybody, and that's something that's very much at the core of these conversations I'm having with other women of color in the wellness world. Is that approach to having wellness be inclusive and accessible something that you've held from the beginning or did that idea kind of originate as time went on in your experiences in the wellness industry? Tell me a little bit more about that belief and mission that you try to uphold.
Liz: It's so funny, when I started, I think it was so, I was such at the beginner stage of finding wellness for myself that it was really all about discovering for me. And as I've begun to kind of reclaim parts that are authentically me, namely kind of reclaiming my Filipino American identity, reclaiming space as a feminist and reclaiming space as a woman in wellness, and especially realizing that it's unique and rare to be a woman of color in wellness. I think it never really struck me until about the last year, last year and a half as I've been going through big transformation changes. In my own journey, I'm still not 100% fully an energetic healer, a teacher, I still work in restaurants.
I started to notice that I had a different perspective on taking calculated risks and kind of leaping for things because finances were specifically so top of mind for me. When I had graduated college, I had close to $30,000 of credit card debt, not even just for school or student debt, it was credit card debt. And when I realized that there are so many other people that also faced the same issues of how do you get yourself in a hole that deep, and then when you're called to kind of go on your journey for wellness, whether it's like an illness that gets you or you get fired from a job, or you're unhappy where you're at in your life, whether it be in your career, personal, etc. That base level sense of security is so crucial to being able to have a little bit more wiggle room to make decisions for yourself.
And so, the last couple of years, as I began to become more fiscally conscious, it really colored a lot of my experience, where I would see on Instagram, how do I even say this without sounding like a total bashing Instagram or social media thing? There's so much promotion around wellness, but I don't feel like people are giving them real tools behind products to support people on that journey. I started realizing not only when I was teaching classes that I would be one of the few women of color in my other class. And when I'd bring people or friends, the idea of coming as a guest or why don't they come to my class, they'd always be like, I just can't pay for that right now, I just don't have the budget. Just constantly having conversations with people settling away from wellness because of finances, because of lack of accessibility, whether it be transportation or having communities locally. Just so many challenges keeping people from having wellness.
And I was like, I'm tired of wellness being a rich person's game. I'm tired of people telling us that we have to buy this and this and this in order for us to get a peace of mind. The body is such an incredibly magical being, and if we can really incorporate mindfulness with a physical visceral body experience, I was like, I think there's just a tool to it. What is it about yoga specifically, when I first started, that I can extrapolate these ideas and allow people even in my yoga classes to just practice. So what can they bring home? That doesn't feel like it's like, okay, well, if you meditate, like seven hours today, you'll feel so much better. Also, truth be told, I'm a really terrible meditator.
I just wanted to dumb it down in a way that anyone from any walk of life from any other background, any other upbringing could really relate, and someplace that it wasn't to ethereal. So if I didn't want to go to woo woo and too grounded that it didn't give you enough space to kind of allow for a transformation or change in your own life. So I don't know if that answered your question.
Zafira: Yeah, absolutely. And I love that you're kind of giving voice to something that a lot of people don't talk about, which is just that, wellness can be a rich person's game and I think it assumes a certain level of privilege in people who do consume from the industry. You shouldn't have to feel like you need to have money to indulge in wellness or self-care practices of your own. So, I love that you're really taking concrete steps to help other people in your community not feel that way and give them the tools they need without it being something that just hurts their bank account.
What have you found to be the reaction to the work that you're doing? Have other people noticed that it really supports them in ways that other classes or modalities might not? What have you found to be the response to the way you're going about providing wellness?
Liz: I think you're catching me on are really special week. So, this past year, I actually had a pretty big health, I'll say opportunity. It really slowed me down quite a bit. And so, this week, it feels like there's this rising momentum of people. I kind of basically got into pretty severe adrenal fatigue. And for those who have no idea what adrenal fatigue is, basically the adrenals sit on top of the kidneys and they're responsible for kind of promoting this anti-stress hormone called cortisol. And if I'm completely butchering this, anyone out there please correct me. But when you're constantly in the sympathetic nervous system, that fight or flight, you're constantly pumping out this cortisol, that's what helps you calm down the heart and slow down. There's just so many things that it does. And when you push that too hard, your adrenal is pretty much cash out.
So I was at a pretty cashed out state that was affecting all of my other hormones like my estrogen, testosterone, and also kind of affecting my thyroid. But, I had to take a break, and so, coming slowly back has been not only an exercise in practicing what I preach or walking the talk, it's been the most incredible fertile place for me to kind of start honing in on what I wanted to do. And I think that's when I started to really create the Irreverent Yogi.
And that for me, I'd had this idea coming around for a long time but just didn't know where to start or how to focus in on it. And it wasn't until I had gotten sick and had time and space to slow down that I realized, it's like I, in every sense of the word, don't feel like I identify as a yogi at all, and maybe this is kind of the angle or perspective that I want to share with people that practicing yoga or living yoga, or practicing wellness or living self-care, all those words I feel are interchangeable, is not about sitting, clean your mind and being one or with your environment and oming a lot of time or lighting up sage. What it is is really this practice of, I feel like I repeat myself, but really tuning in. One, creating the space to connect with yourself, making that commitment a priority. And two, beginning to create like a language, verbiage, a dialogue between you and yourself, which I don't think most people do all days, most days.
So when I began to shift that perspective and get really clear on what that was, and by the way, it took so long. Have you heard of the chart, the Ekegi Chart?
Zafira: No.
Liz: Oh, man, it's amazing. It's this, how do I even describe it? It's almost like four different Venn diagrams, which peddle out. And it's this belief that if you can find your passion, what you're passionate about, what your mission is in life, what your purpose is, and then link that together with your career or your profession, and then also the vocation, that's the sweet spot where you find your purpose. I'm so sorry, I totally butchered it, it's Ikigai.
Zafira: Okay. Yes, I have heard of it.
Liz: Not Ekegi.
Zafira: Okay.
Liz: I was like, I'm sure she knows exactly what this is, I must be messing it up. And so when I shifted that perspective, it gave me vision with clarity so crisp that I think the offerings that I'm putting out now are just kind of nailing people who need it, people who are looking for it. And this past week, I think I'm still kind of coming back to Earth on it. I have been working really hard to kind of give opportunities for people to slow down. So even in my practice and my teaching of Yoga has gone from power yoga pretty much all the way down to like two restorative poses, or a little bit of flow, or laying and receiving essential oils or Reiki.
And this week, I was really fortunate where after the full moon in Aries, which was on Sunday, my class was Monday night, and it was, there were like 30 people there, which was a full class. And usually, I'm averaging like five to 10 people or so, to do restorative yoga and Reiki, which blew my mind. There is a waitlist. I was like, a waitlist for a class that wasn't like SoulCycle which I love, or going into like Barry's boot camp. This was people, the response to being bold enough to lay down for an hour and to be with your thoughts and to try a new thing like energetic healing that's not quite hit mainstream, I think it's rising in consciousness, but not quite there yet. It just blew my mind.
And so, I think being able to figure out who I want to be, who I am and what I'm most passionate about, and then just doing those things no matter how many people show up has been the greatest exercise and greatest practice for believing in myself.
Zafira: Kudos to you, that is so powerful. Clearly you've been downloading all the right thing to be putting out into the world. ‘Cause that sounds amazing. What do people say to you after that class? I would assume, I do assume maybe that for many of them, that might have been the first time to try that kind of combined approach to things.
Liz: I always find like after Reiki, and especially doing it with restorative yoga, have you experienced both by the way? I'm curious.
Zafira: Yes. Yeah. I received my Reiki attunement when I was 13. My mom was super into it.
Liz: Oh my God.
Zafira: I still have Reiki Master to go, but since I was 16 or 17, was when I did the last couple levels. So one day I'll step into that. But yes, love Reiki. Love the combined approach. I have done massages with Reiki and done yoga with Reiki, and I just love how it just gives you that additional layer of restoration and rejuvenation. I'm always ready for the best nap in the world afterwards.
Liz: Exactly. It's when you're asking, you're like, what do people say, I was like, it kind of just floated out, but they just floated out with really peaceful faces, soft and slow. And the people that did stop me afterwards were just so effusive. And not even that, I just feel so lucky because I think even, not only is it to be a woman can be challenging, but as a woman of color as an added layer, and then a woman of color in wellness, it's just like so many things that I feel like I'm constantly navigating in isolation. But that night wasn't just about me creating space, I had people around me who created space for that too.
And so, the staff that was there was just there reaffirming. Before the class, they were just like, people are here for you. Don't forget that. Not just for but that that space that you hold. And it was just mirrored afterwards where people came up to me and they're like, thank you so much for such a beautiful class. A lot of people had said they'd been trying to come to class for a while but had never made it in. And other people were asking the next time that I was back here at the studio. It was just constant things that I think I'm still unraveling today and I haven't even sat down to journal, which boggles my mind.
Zafira: So much affirmation, that's amazing. So I noticed you just said that there are a couple of things that you feel you navigate in isolation as a woman of color in wellness. Are you open to sharing maybe some challenges or what those things might be?
Liz: Totally. I think what first comes to mind is, as someone who is highly sensitive and working with energy as an empathic person, I find that my experience and a similar experience with people who work in this industry is kind of learning how to navigate being someone so attuned and so open with a world or an environment that may not be. And sometimes the environment is not just, it could be with friendships with other people or interpersonal relationships, like with loved ones, with family members. And sometimes I feel isolated where almost like, I'm like, how do I even summarize this? Sometimes I feel like I live on my own planet. It's like often a bit of that, where it's like I kind of say things and do things that other people are like, wait, what are you doing?
Now as my social circles and circles with those interpersonal relationships have tightened, it's given me a bigger and broader sense of like, okay, I had to really let go of a lot of things that I thought I needed to kind of, or things that made me feel I had to box myself in, if that makes sense, without realizing that I was boxing myself in with that. So, sometimes just feeling like I'm the only person doing that. I think other times, before our call, I kind of was perusing your blog and reading other interviews. And with some other interviewees, you asked, who you look up to in wellness that are women of color? And I was like, oh, I think I'm still making that list, and I felt kind of embarrassed about that where I was seeing other people who are women of color entrepreneurs, most especially in wellness like, I find myself getting stuck with being, if I wasn't here or if I got sick or something, could I find someone else to kind of replace me because, I don't even know if I'm making sense with that. I guess another metaphor example would be like if I wanted to do a woman of color wellness group, even here in the Bay Area, I don't know if we'd have too many people in that category to meet up in, if that makes sense.
Other ways of isolation. I think the path of spiritual transformation for me has been one that's really been isolating. I've been really leaning heavily on a big group of healers, not just women of color, so I've got an incredible badass acupuncturist, Liz, who's incredible. A beautiful body worker Reiki Master, and a, I believe she's training in some shamanistic modality as well, Margarita, who's just incredible. And my chiropractor, Dr. Rubin. With this work that they've created, because they're further along, they've kind of been unofficial mentors for me. Where like, I realize the deeper I go on this journey, the more things are getting revealed and I feel the more I'm stripping away of all the old things that weren't working for myself and kind of taking up these new ways and experiences that feel really uncertain or kind of nerve wracking.
For example, all throughout my 20s, I kind of did it all, did a lot of drinking a lot of partying, a lot of drugs, and a lot of kind of like sex and rock'n'roll. All those things that felt comforting for me then is really not serving me now. I have a glass of wine now and I'm like, that's a lot, ready for bed. If I have a cup of coffee or a cup of green tea, I'll be electrified and just ready to go up until like two in the morning. And so little things like that can feel really isolating where I feel like I'm the most sensitive person in the world and maybe most people wouldn't understand.
Zafira: Thank you for sharing. I am very similar I got to say, so, I can relate on some level. Yeah, thank you. So I noticed, you'd mentioned if you were to bring a group of all the women of color and wellness in San Francisco together, there wouldn't be a big group. Why do you think that might be the case? I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you feel there might be some gaps in diversity in this industry.
Liz: Where do I even start with that. I feel like so much of my experience can only be shared through my filter. So I don't know if I have the capacity or knowledge of why it could be a widespread thing in our local community. But for me, I had a lot of hang ups about putting my work out there into the world. Everything down to really championing my own class at the studio, trying to figure out how to help people realize how powerful this class was when I'd never seen anything like it on the schedule. I feel like, one, having hang ups about putting your work out there, I think that's a sense of worthiness and also kind of really committing to yourself and your purpose. And when you're unsure about that purpose or yourself, there can be a lot of challenges that get in the way of you putting yourself out there.
I think the second thing is having allies, and maybe allies is a strong word, but I think having people that champion you when you may not be the strongest champion for yourself. And so, I feel lucky to have met so many incredible people that have given me the space to try new things in both of the studios that I work in that gave me the tools to then believe in myself and begin to work out of my own home. I think also having conversations or a dialogue or a space kind of rounds out encapsulates that. Maybe if you feel like you're not ready to put that out there in the world and maybe you don't have quite the same platforms or people to help you create leverage and movement in the space, and also feeling that there's a call or a need to create that or you don't even know where to go to or who to turn to or who in our community are people that you look up to, it can, again, going back to the isolation thing, feel really isolating.
And so we think now we're starting to pay attention, we're starting to pay attention to mental health, and allowing there to be a National Mental Health Day, allowing that to be a conversation that I hear cropping up in a lot of the fitness spaces and wellness spaces. And then when I think about those spaces, the only way that I was able to come into these spaces was either being a practitioner so that I could be able to engage in these services in exchange for what I also serve and offer. Or if I was managing a studio and realizing that a lot of the people that I served in that studio were people pretty much white affluent and make a shit ton of money. I just realized at that point blank, money is one of the biggest gaps.
A lot of people of color who are not in wellness that I know are working in the nonprofit world. They're working with children, they're working as social workers or as psychiatrists and therapists. I feel like all these things that help us better who we are not getting the proper compensation, regardless of whether you're a person of color, but especially if you're a person of color. And so, I feel like, not to bring it back to finances, but money is a huge reason where there's a gap.
Zafira: Yeah. And I think the fact that it's coming up multiple times in this conversation is a really good indicator, showing us how that's something that can really shape your trajectory in this industry. So, thank you for sharing that. I love that you mentioned having allies and I think that's super important. And what would you say for people who aren't really familiar with being an ally or being an accomplice. If they're listening to this conversation and they're like, okay, cool, I want to be an ally for Liz and I want to be an ally to someone else in my community, who might be a woman of color in wellness. What does that kind of allyship look and feel like for you?
Liz: I'm already beginning to laugh because I immediately just think of my partner. So my partner and I come from completely different backgrounds, and through our interactions have really learned to kind of hone in on that. What does it look like to communicate with an ally or make space for someone who either doesn't get it or is really trying to get it? I just laugh it all the time, we kind of have not quite nailed the conversation or really struggled to understand when I don't want so many of my interactions to be about being a person of color or a woman, but I'm realizing like it's so important to do this work.
I think the first thing is to have a willing audience, that's the most important thing. I think if someone really truthfully and authentically wants to be there to support, I think that's the biggest tool and I want to applaud that because I feel like sometimes people can kind of misunderstand what it means like to be a willing audience. What that means is really being able to create space to hear what people are saying regardless of whether you agree or disagree or want to disregard or feel uncomfortable about the information that comes up.
Me and my partner have ended up making light of the situation in ways that feel fun for us. And so, sometimes things will come up, like we'll watch TV, to tell him, this sounds so crazy and funny at the same time, but I was like, I found myself saying so many times. He's like, "How have you never watched this TV show?" Or like, "How have you not watched this movie?" that are like really big in American culture. Or I guess, potentially worldwide. And I'd be like, "Well, I grew up in a Filipino home, my parents are immigrants and that wouldn't be something that they would have been like, hey, we should watch with the family or listen to or do." He's like, "What are you talking about? You were born here." And I'm like, how do I explain. You kind of first feel lucky that he's willing and able to listen.
And so now we have flipped that conversation, where we've been like, I was like, can you help me understand, and this sounds so reverse racist and unPC, but can you help me understand white culture. I can't actually nail idioms. I think about idioms, because my parents grew up in the Philippines, they've assimilated great, but they don't speak in American-isms. One example is like, you got to look for the gem in the rough, and he's like, burst out laughing. I was like, "What are you laughing about?" He's like, "It's diamond." Diamond is a gem, it's the same thing. And so, he'll do the same thing of teaching me, I'm like, oh, I'm learning, when you say this but do this, this is kind of different from what I experienced in my culture.
I guess one, finding someone who's willing to listen and create space, and two, someone who's willing to really hear what you're having to say, and also kind of I find humor is so important because we can get so serious about so many things, and I think that brings me down into that PC, unPC hole. But if you can be really authentic and show up and be willing to learn, I think those are really the highlights for anyone who is interested in becoming an ally or really interested in supporting anyone in any situation.
Zafira: Yeah, absolutely. Anyone listening, take notes. I think those are really important. I like that you mentioned just being able to create space to share people regardless of whether they agree or disagree with you. And it feels just giving people access to those platforms for people to listen to them in that way is so important.
So, I'd love to shift gears a little bit and zoom out a little. And I'm curious to know what you think about some of the biggest mistakes or things you noticed, I don't know, like wellness influencers or wellness brands doing today that could potentially have a negative impact on people who consume with this industry.
Liz: I love this. I think the first biggest mistake that people do is forgetting to include everyone. I feel like remembering the varying level of socioeconomic statuses or financial spaces that people live in, getting accessibility to things, even down to where you're living or where you're from. The differences between us living in major cities versus maybe living in middle America. Or versus a country where women aren't even allowed to drive cars, or just recently, in Saudi Arabia, allowing women to drive cars. And I just think that we can get so myopic in our own experience, which is a blessing and a curse in this generation that people forget to kind of do the same thing that you kind of alluded to like zooming out. One of my teachers always told me that there are two perspectives. Are you coming in as a mouse or are you coming out as an eagle or a hawk?
And so, kind of remembering, when I see a lot of wellness industries focusing on.. ‘What can we sell? How can we push this? This is what you need.’ I think what they aren't treating is the actual underlying issue of... ‘How are you feeling? What's going on? How can we redirect you from searching for a solution or a solve that's outside of you to coming back in towards yourself.’ Because if you look at it, all we have in this lifetime is really ourselves and our life is that experience of how we relate to ourselves that influences how we relate to others and how we relate to sharing in the community.
I think the second thing that I'm noticing an area of opportunity in is where, especially in social media, I feel like we're still transitioning from a society pretending that we're all perfect and got it together, and still not practicing, showing the places and spaces that we need love or tenderness, or a little bit more support. We're not really good at asking for help. And so, we strive to make things really perfect, and hide things that I think we should bring more awareness and more voice to. And so, making things uncomfortable I think is what's needed and what we're kind of avoiding right now.
I guess those two are the things that really come to mind, is making sure that you consider. I mean, there's really a fine line between going overboard and being able to think of everyone and getting kind of stuck in like, okay, well then maybe I shouldn't create this because I don't know if I'm fully representing everyone. But just remembering and kind of checking yourself is really huge, and making sure that it's something that's digestible for anyone. And then secondly, also kind of showing your most authentic self and sharing what's uncomfortable or vulnerable.
Zafira: Yeah. And it's keeping that real. I noticed that you do that on your Instagram really, really well. You walk that really wonderful line between just saying hey, this is who I am, this is what I'm about. But also just opening space for dialogue. So I love how you do that really well. I'd be curious to know, do you know or have you noticed any particular brands or other people you follow on social on the wellness world who are taking active steps towards kind of closing this gap and meeting all these levels of things that you were just chatting about?
Liz: Oh, good question. I honestly feel like 2019 has been the year of the woman for me. When I think back to all those things, I think of so many spaces and places that I draw inspiration for wellness, if that makes sense. Like Lizzo for example, and not to say I knew Lizzo way back when, but I knew Lizzo way back when. Her putting herself out into her music and making those internal dialogues And conversations that women have held in front of the mirror for so long out as popular mainstream music, so fly.
I feel like in my own community, there's this incredible chef. I'm going to totally butcher her name, Haejin, of Big Bad Wolf. She is in the cannabis industry and works to offer experiences for women in the community to have really beautiful curated multicores and dinners. You can imbibe in cannabis or you can have it cannabis free. And I think she's just a huge inspiration for me.
A Filipino American that I look up to hugely in the wellness industry is GOFITJO, also known as Joanne Encarnacion. She breaks it down so real and I think, especially for people looking for body positivity, and as someone who is a mother of two young girls, and a self-proclaimed mother hustler, it's really cool to hear what she has to say, especially I think this month is Filipino American History Month. And so, she's been really talking about sexuality and being a Filipina. It's been really cool to watch her stories.
A couple of good friends of mine that I knew from the Lululemon community, Nkechi Njaka. I'm sorry, Nkechi, if I butchered your name, from NDN Lifestyle, is this beautiful meditation teacher. And not only is she a meditation teacher, she's just all things beautiful. She's a choreographer and a dancer, a neuroscientist, as well as a meditation leader. And what she creates and does in art is something that brings me so much joy.
And then another lovely friend, Natasha Wong. She is in the works of building and creating her new company and called Before Noon. And had previously owned Seldom Seen, which is this beautiful, how do I describe them, I forget their fashion sense, but urban prep store with lifestyle home goods and all that stuff. And now she's kind of entering the wellness space as well, kind of creating tools that allow people the ability to build wellness into their life I think in the form of boxes. I'm still not sure exactly what they're up to but I love what she talks about and does for herself as well.
Zafira: I live that. I can't wait to just go stalk all of them and follow them immediately after this conversation. And for anyone listening, we will link all of them in this piece as well. I can't believe it's almost been an hour that we've been chatting.
Liz: How does that happen?
Zafira: I don't know, this is what happens when good conversations take place. I have a few final questions for you. First one is, I know accessibility is super important to you with wellness and making sure everyone can have access to all the wonderful tools that are out there. If you could wave a magic wand tomorrow or right now, what are some ways you think that the wellness world can start being more accessible to all humans?
Liz: Oh, my God. If I could have anything happen, we would go back to the bartering system of, not even bartering, but in exchange for energetic things. I could just put up yoga classes and workshops for no monetary fees and just be like, if you can come, come. If you're a baker of bread, come bring your bread and let's do this. If you do art, let's do that. I feel like I would just kind of wave a wand and get rid of the financial thing and kind of teach people how to exchange their goods and their services and wares. I find a lot of people even in my intimate personal circle, and those who are creating their own businesses, have such a hard time figuring out how to kind of prove that they're worthy and put a price point on themselves, which kind of stunts their work as well.
I think that's the biggest thing for me is waving that wand and getting rid of any kind of financial thing, and also kind of maybe possibly removing the patriarchy. That'd be really cool.
Zafira: That'd be dope. Let's not lie.
Liz: That'd be really awesome, just so that women could kind of fully be themselves and support each other, and not tear each other down, and just brighten and build each other up. That'd be amazing. And then I think also making conversations about uncomfortable things more norm and mainstream than uncomfortable would be probably the last one.
Zafira: Yes. Love them all. Final question. If someone listening could take away one thing from this conversation to support more women of color and wellness, and/or shift how they show up and their industry, what would it be?
Liz: I would say, do yourself a favor and follow exactly what's drawing you to that class, that workshop or that self-care thing or wellness thing that you've been putting off and making excuses for. That'd be the one thing because in the end, your investment back to you is going to liven and fill you up so that you can be your most full expression out into the world. And that's just going to keep bringing back and giving back to that abundance circle.
Zafira: Beautiful. All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge, your emotional labor to just share everything you did with me today. If people want to connect with you, Liz, what's the best way for them to do that? Where do you hang out, online, IRL?
Liz: Probably the best way to find me is through Instagram. And my handle is @theirreverenceyogi.
Zafira: Wonderful. And I will link that below in case people don't know how to spell irreverent.
Liz: I was like, do I need to spell this one out? I was like, I'll leave it.
Zafira: Don't worry about it. We've got it. Thank you so much again for joining me, and looking forward to seeing what else you put out in the world. And if anyone's ever in San Francisco, they need to come to your incredible classes. So, I'll be sure to link kind of where you host them as well in case we have anyone listening. Thank you so much, Liz.
Liz: Thanks again for making so much space for these conversations. I super appreciate it, Zafira.
Zafira: My pleasure.
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