Start Within w/Coach Colette Coach Colette Ellis

Have you ever thought about going plant-based, but figured it was either too expensive, too much work, or not tasty enough? LA Dunn, plant-based advocate and founder of Black Girls Eat, is determined to prove those assumptions wrong. For Black Girls Eat members, LA shares delicious plant-based recipes, tells stories about her own plant-based journey, and provides advice to families who are trying to transition to a healthier lifestyle. 

In this Coach Chat episode, Coach Colette and LA discuss their own food journeys and the swaps they've made away from consuming meat, dairy, and processed foods, to eating more whole foods, vegetables, and grains. They discuss ways to remix your plate that won't take away from the comfort and authenticity of your cultural food favorites. They talk about the struggles for people of color to make healthy choices as we are more likely to live in food deserts. LA describes how she empowers grocery shoppers to invest in foods that make them feel their best. If you've ever thought about changing your diet, or want to hear about how small changes to the way you eat can completely transform your wellbeing, then this episode is for you! LA's energy, humor, and zeal for helping others is infectious, which makes this conversation one to remember.

Both Coach Colette and LA are ambassadors for Splendid Spoon, a woman-owned, plant-based meal delivery service that offers yummy smoothies, soups, grain bowls, and noodles that are low in sugar and sodium and delivered ready-to-eat. To save on your first plant-based meal order, click HERE. And, to sign up for the 21-Day Splendid Reset beginning on January 10th, to build long-lasting healthy eating habits, click HERE.

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Want to ask a question or make a topic suggestion? Send us a message here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!


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The 2021 theme for World Mental Health Day is “Mental Health in an Unequal World.” This theme highlights the fact that between 75% to 95% of people with mental health issues in low and middle-income countries are unable to access the care that they need. In the US, it's not much better for people of color given that only 14% to 15% of U.S. psychologists are non-white. The good news: there is a movement to decolonize, disrupt, and dismantle oppressive mental health practices. That movement is being led by our Coach Chat guest, Melody Li. 

Melody is a queer therapist of color and founder of Inclusive Therapists, a platform that offers a safer, simpler way for people of all identities and abilities in all bodies to find a culturally responsive, social justice-oriented therapist. Melody is a mental health liberation activist whose goal is to decolonize mental health and healing, especially for those who live at the BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ intersection.  

Melody talks in this episode with Coach Colette about what it means to decolonize mental health and how colonizing practices impact those with marginalized identities. Melody shares their own decolonizing journey to healing from internalized shame, oppression, and white supremacy. They also talk about the power and necessity of telling your story and the importance of finding safe, healing, liberation-oriented communities — communities that take your mental health seriously and provide space for that storytelling. You don't want to miss this one— it's a conversation rich with meaning and reflection on how we can tend to ourselves and others.

To see Coach Colette's offerings, view her profile on Inclusive Therapists here.

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Want to ask a question or make a topic suggestion? Send us a message here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!


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Have you ever seen a group of kids running around a playground and reminisced on the joys of childhood, when play was encouraged? Kevin Carroll — author, speaker, facilitator, and creative Katalyst — believes that play is serious business and that we all should be playing more. In this Coach Chat episode, Kevin dives into the way that play transformed his life. You'll hear how play is a muscle that you need to strengthen if you want to foster community, collaboration, and innovation. 

Kevin also talks with Coach Colette about recent social justice movements and the athlete activists who are inspiring the younger generation to take a stand for change. Kevin provides some of his own tips and tools to help you stay hopeful, positive, and motivated during challenging times. Whether you're already a big believer in play or don't even remember how to get started, Kevin's energy, creativity, and innovative perspective will inspire and teach you some new tricks.

For a special treat, this episode is being released on their shared birthdate! Happy Birthday Coach Colette and Kevin Carroll! If you'd like to gain more insight, read the books that are mentioned in the episode: A Kids Book About Belonging and Rules of the Red Rubber Ball. 

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Want to ask a question or make a topic suggestion? Send us a message here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!


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Content Warning for sexual trauma and gender-based violence. 

Have you ever felt a spiritual connection with an ancestor or other higher being? Have you ever had difficulty recognizing when your intuition is guiding you? These are just two of the eye-opening concepts explored in this Coach Chat conversation with Anita Kopacz. Anita is a spiritual psychologist, and author of the newly released novel, Shallow Waters, published through Black Privilege Publishing at Simon & Schuster. The novel imagines Yemaya, an Orïsha—a deity in the religion of Africa’s Yoruba people—in mid-1800s America. Readers meet Yemaya as a young woman who is not yet fully aware of the spectacular power she possesses to protect herself and those she holds dear.

When we're open, we can experience a lot through our senses, yet many teachings tell us to ignore those experiences. In this episode, you'll hear about Anita's first connection with a spiritual being, and how she was treated by others when they learned of her gift. She shares in the conversation that she has been connected to Yemaya since she was 18 years old. Coach Colette and Anita discuss how Western psychology fails to incorporate spirituality and indigenous traditions, and how this initially made accepting her abilities challenging for Anita. The two also explore how Anita's childhood experience of molestation became an inspiration behind her campaign, Zero F's Given, which aims to raise awareness and help survivors heal from sexual trauma, find their voice, and reclaim their power. 

If you're looking to hear about monumental transformation and spiritual growth, or you just want an amazing teaser of Shallow Waters, this episode is a must-listen! PS -- Enter our book giveaway to WIN a copy of Shallow Waters here!

If you enjoyed this episode, share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Have a question or topic suggestion? Send us a message here. 

Help us create more great content by joining our Start Within tribe! Support this podcast with a donation to sustain future episodes here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!


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In recognition of BIPOC Mental Health month, it’s important to recognize that traditional mental health care solutions do not take into account all of the self-affirming, healing practices that exist within Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other communities of color. These tools, systems, and practices are valid, valuable choices that people of color can make to support their own mental health and well-being. In this Coach Chat episode, we hear from Chandra Roxanne about the Community Healing Network, an organization that exists to reinforce these self-affirming beliefs. 

CHN hosts Ubuntu Healing and Emotional Emancipation Circles where Black people can gather and talk about what’s ailing them, not just externally, but what’s going on inside. In the episode, you'll learn more about the magic and renewal that occurs within these safe spaces. Chandra explains the meaning of emotional emancipation as well as why emotional resilience and self-reflection are key to Black liberation.  

Chandra shares the mission of CHN to unravel and reject the lie of white superiority and Black inferiority on which the lie of white supremacy rests. She and Coach Colette reflect on the power of Black joy, and the enriching capability of African ancestry to renew Black minds, bodies, and spirits. The two also discuss the detrimental ways racism impacts BIPOC mental health and the importance of this impact finally being acknowledged more widely.

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it with your friends on social media! Follow @coach_colette on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Clubhouse. Get healing and self-care tools from Coach Colette on Gumroad. Want to ask a question or make a topic suggestion? Send us a message here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Thanks for listening!


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When you hear the name, Ida B. Wells, what comes to mind? Journalist? Suffragist? Civil rights pioneer? How about a dangerous Negro agitator? This was just one of the terms used to describe Ida B. Wells back in her day because she was intent on speaking truth to power and holding a mirror to the Black experience of that time. In this Coach Chat episode, Coach Colette has the privilege of speaking with Michelle Duster, author of Ida B. The Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells, and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells.  

She’s an author and educator who has written, edited or contributed to numerous articles and 16 books. Michelle provides us an in-depth look into current efforts to commemorate Ida B. Wells: a street and a monument in Ida's honor in Chicago, a statue of Ida in Memphis, and a mural of Chicago suffragists, to name a few. Coach Colette and Michelle also reflect on current Black women leaders and revolutionaries who carry on Ida's legacy of speaking truth to power. Whether you're a history buff, racial justice or feminist activist, or just interested in hearing from a powerful public historian, this episode is for you!

If you enjoyed this episode, why not share it on Instagram and follow @coach_colette. Give us a shout-out on TikTok and follow @coach_colette. Tweet your thoughts and follow @Coach_Colette. Be sure to follow @coach_colette on Clubhouse. If you'd like to ask a question or make a topic suggestion, send us a message here. While you’re at it, we’d appreciate a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Tell your friends about the show, and thanks for listening!


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