Bringing Health Home with Giana Vasconcellos

Did you know that reclaiming your health autonomy could be the key to holistic well-being? Join me on this episode of Tea with Tanya as we explore the powerful intersection of women's health and self-care. Our journey begins with the vibrant benefits of hibiscus tea, the perfect companion for February's heart health focus, and a nod to embracing self-care amidst surprisingly warm weather. With this energy, I'm excited to share the launch of my new website, TanyaKAmbrose.com, and the honor of being recognized in the Pockstock Future of Black America Top 50 list alongside inspiring figures like Simone Biles and Ta-Nehisi Coates. This acknowledgment during Black History Month reignites my dedication to advancing maternal and reproductive health.

We tackle critical discussions around empowering women's health autonomy, especially for marginalized communities often overlooked by a politicized healthcare system. Learn how traditional practices, such as midwifery, have been marginalized and the importance of body literacy in regaining control over our bodies. By fostering open conversations about reproductive health, we equip ourselves with the tools needed to advocate for our well-being throughout every stage of life—from puberty to menopause. Holistic wellness shouldn't be an afterthought; it should be a priority.

Let's embrace wellness as a non-negotiable part of our daily routine, empowering ourselves and future generations with the knowledge and authenticity needed for better health.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Whole Woman Wellness and Recognition
• 9:23 Empowering Women's Health and Wellness
• 18:20 Reclaiming Rest and Self-Care
• 23:43 Prioritizing Body Literacy and Self-Care
• 28:42 Empowering Women's Health Advocacy
• 40:29 Prioritizing Wellness and Self-Care

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. You know the podcast where we sip, spill and dive deep into all things whole woman wellness.

Speaker 1: 0:33

Now, today, I am not only being joined by a special guest, but I have some exciting news to share with you guys. And let me tell you, my friend, I am elated. I'm still trying to process everything, even though I knew it was going to come, but I wasn't expecting things to be the way that it is. But, of course, before we get into today's episode, we're going to talk about the health tea of the week, and that's going to be some hibiscus tea. As you know, february is all about love. It's all about heart health as well, and what better way for us to show love to ourselves or show love to yourself by caring for your heart? So hibiscus tea is packed with antioxidants and is known for helping to lower your blood pressure, supporting heart health and, of course, to reduce inflammation, something that I'm very big on this year because I need to ensure that I'm not as inflamed as I am. Plus, of course, its deep red color makes it the perfect tea for the month of love. So you want to tap into that hibiscus tea, my friend, because again, february is all about love and we know, when it comes to love, we talk about our heart and, of course, you know heart health and I'm going to encourage you to get outside. If you haven't done anything special for yourself today or this week, just go and take a walk for at least 30 minutes. That's going to contribute to you being physical, it's going to contribute to your heart health as well. I'm just going to let you feel good if you can go outside and just get some sun, of course, depending on where you are in the world. Right now, here in South Carolina, it's a whopping 82 degrees. I don't know why. I mean, I'm not complaining, but again, I'm not understanding how we're having summer in the middle of winter, but again, your island girl here is not complaining about that, of course. So definitely get that hibiscus tea and, you know, let's sit for self-care, sit for your heart, of course, again, and be more active this week or as you listen to this podcast.

Speaker 1: 2:13

Now, some big news, obviously. Last episode if you haven't go check it out I did announce the launch of my website, tanyakambrosecom, and let me tell you I am overjoyed this has been a very, very, very long time in the making, so to have it come to fruition and just to see how beautiful it is and the feedback I've been getting from you. It's been amazing. So I want to thank you guys for checking that out. If you haven't, definitely go check out TanyaKAmbrosecom and of course, I've put that link in the show notes as well.

Speaker 1: 2:52

Now, another big thing that happened, which is so crazy the same with my website launch, I was featured in the Pockstock Future of Black America Top 50 list. Let me tell you I am beyond honored. When they first reached out to me, I thought you know what? This could probably be a scam. What is this little old me over here in my little side of the corner? Little old me over here living my life? You want to feature me for Black History Month as well. But of course, I did my research first and found out that they were a credible company, a credible source, and I responded to the message and we started a dialogue. And then here we are, a few weeks later and the list is out.

Speaker 1: 3:25

And let me tell you, I am on the list with so many great people, from Simone Biles to Laura Roach, to Ta-Nehisi Coates Like it's just what Me Sterling K Brown, so many other creators and entrepreneurs who are doing amazing work in their communities. So for me to be recognized among so many inspiring changemakers is truly humbling and it also really and truly fuels my passion to continue the work that I do, especially when it comes to maternal, reproductive and menstrual health, public health, especially through the way of my non-profit Spub Life Kids and, of course, here in the Tea Tasting Room with you. So when I think about it, this recognition honestly is not just for me, it is honestly for every woman, every menstruator, every mother, not just for me. It is honestly for every woman, every menstruator, every mother, every young girl whose health, voice and dignity deserve to be prioritized. So my work for me comes from the heart and being included in this list is a reminder that the mission matters, the impact is real and the work must continue. So I definitely want to give a shout out, a special thank you to Parkstock for celebrating Black excellence and highlighting the work being done to create a healthier, more empowered future for our communities. This moment continues and will motivate me to keep pushing, to keep advocating and to keep showing up for those in my community. So all gratitude, all love for that, for that future love for that, for that feature.

Speaker 1: 4:46

This has been a really tough week and to have that out, you know, to even be having a conversation with someone who I admire, who's just a part of my, my community, and we're going back and forth about the state of the world and how we're feeling and how it's important for us to keep showing up, doesn't matter how big or small, once we show up for ourself and our community. So your girl, your girl is happy, she's, she's in good mood, she's happy and this is. You know, I take this feature being in this list. You know it's not a gimmick, it's not. I'm just here. You know I am showing up in the community and I am putting in the work.

Speaker 1: 5:13

So to see my hard work pay off, without even realizing that people in the community are recognizing me, you know it does feel good. So I'm just excited to continue to do the work that I'm doing. I'm motivated, I'm inspired and I hope that this even inspires you to continue to show up for yourself, show up for your community, for your village and, of course, you know, when it comes to your health, just show up for yourself on a holistic standpoint as well. So, definitely, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and I'm just happy. I am just happy and I'm trying to contain the happiness so that it doesn't translate. I'm trying to convey the happiness, but I really am happy and this is just something that I needed, personally, as it relates to confidence or the way in which I've been feeling discouraged, as it relates to the state of the US world. That is so to have. This is just as a reminder that to keep showing up, keep going, no matter what happens around you, keep your eye on the prize, keep your eye on the mission and the vision that you have for yourself, and it will pay off in the end. All right.

Speaker 1: 6:15

So today I have someone so special joining me.

Speaker 1: 6:19

She's new to the Tea Tasting Room, she's been here several times and every time I think about who I can talk to about certain things, she always comes to my mind, first and foremost, because the conversations that we have on a regular day can really be seasons of a podcast, so I am happy to have Gianna back here in the Tea Tasting Room.

Speaker 1: 6:39

You know if you follow her online. If not, you need to, but you should know that she's always dropping some truth bombs about self-care, body literacy and the importance of prioritizing ourselves, and this year she has a theme called Bringing Health Home and I find it very intriguing. When she did her post on social media, I was like, oh my goodness, this is really. I love this. It was a long caption that you need to go read, but I love what she said and it really makes sense for me to have her on the podcast for the second episode so we can talk about. You know, we're talking about whole woman wellness and she is also on that train with me, so definitely looking forward to having her here to tea tasting. So, gianna, how are you?

Speaker 2: 7:16

I'm good and I'm glad to be back.

Speaker 1: 7:27

I'm glad you're back. You got him back. Where did I go? Well, yes, I am happy to to be back. So, like I was mentioning, you know, one of your posts earlier this week, it hit me really, really hard because, you know, you asked why, as women, do we put ourselves not first, we like, why do we do this? So I think you know, let the people know what your post is about and what we're going to be talking about, because why is it that, as a, I mean, I know, for I'm not a mom yet You're a mom of two, you're a wife and for some reason, I mean, I am a nurturer, you're a nurturer, and I think, as women, we're just naturally born nurturers.

Speaker 1: 7:54

But then sometimes we tend to forget about ourselves, we lose ourselves. Some people lose themselves in motherhood and relationships and friendships. So, relationships and friendships, so what does it mean when we're talking about? You know, first of all, let me dial it back. Hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself. Now, for those women that know who you are, please tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do, give us all the tea.

Speaker 2: 8:13

Sure, I will spill the tea. So I'm Gianna Vasconcelos. I am, like you said, wife, mom of two boys, nine and four and we live in Tennessee as of now. And I, what I do for work when I say work, I don't know that I want to say even work what I do, how I serve. How I serve is through childbirth education, fertility awareness, education and just really strongly advocating for body literacy, because I believe that women have the tools at their fingertips to be the gatekeepers of their health, preventative health for that of their families, and to be able to understand their cycles and their body signals and have the ability to meet those needs to maintain their health. And that is just like you said, as we go into 2025, that's going to be my main pillar and overarching thing for everything.

Speaker 1: 9:23

Why do you think this conversation is so important for us as women today?

Speaker 2: 9:27

Specifically and starting from just the present, we have seen our government agencies take away information. We have seen websites just completely shut down with resources to be able to help various different populations and, to me, health, wellness all of that should never be politicized. It is nonpartisan to be a healthy person, and when I made that post that you're referring to and there was two the last one was caring for yourself as a nurturer and empath, but that first one, I was really discussing why we need to bring health home. We cannot continue to lean on these large agencies to tell us what to do, when to do it and how to be healthy when we already have the tools to do so, and the reason why we cannot continue to rely on that is because these agencies, unfortunately, they do bend to the whim of political powers, no matter who is in office, and unfortunately, the population pays the price for that.

Speaker 2: 10:43

I don't believe that we as a nation have done a very good job at keeping health in the hands of the people and educating people on preventative health. Specifically, I'm talking about women, and then you can contextualize that even into motherhood and their children. There has been a complete cultural shift where we used to be able to be the medicine women, the midwives right Like it's Black History Month, we're talking about the granny midwives a lot lately Of the things and the people that served the community. They had a better pulse on the community than the government had on the community. So when we're making these large decisions about our health, we can take all of that external information into account. But we really need to take in what we need, to dial that back and say, okay, what are the needs of my body? How do I respond to this type of dietary?

Speaker 1: 11:41

intake.

Speaker 2: 11:42

Or how do I respond to this? For example, that's what they removed from the hands of the population when they took midwifery out of the hands of Black women and Black families. The only safe space that we had to give birth to our babies the only safe people, to our babies, the only safe people and even the herbal remedies that we brought over as a people to the Americas was taken away. And when you look at that culturally and then you look at where we're at now, we cannot continue to rely on a colonized I feel like that word is like a buzzword right now and it's overused a little bit, but I'm going to say it anyway. It's a colonized method of healthcare and I'm doing air quotes of healthcare, so yeah, so that's where I'm coming from when I say like we need to bring health home, when I say like we need to bring health home.

Speaker 1: 12:44

Well, I think, for me, honestly, the last couple of months it's just been. It's been heavy. Of course, you know, not all the time, but when you think about the political climate that we're in and, um, as you said, the removal of information that we have, we once had access to, it's becoming more and more frustrating. You know, seeing things that are being ripped apart from people, from, you know, minority population, marginalized, who are being, to me, taking advantage of, because, again now, I feel that we're trying to remove or eliminate a group of people which has been this the norm in this country, if you're being honest for a number of years, but to do it so blatantly and I I find myself asking this question, you know, like, how are we here in 2025? How are we here dictating what someone should do or how they should live their life? What's the obsession on this? And I don't care, what's the obsession with white men and women's bodies? I'm trying to think back to way, back in the day. What's really the obsession as to why you're so hell-bent on telling us what to do and then it leaves us in a position now where we're having to fight for ourselves and we already know how it is historically when it comes to women in general. But when you think about it from a Black woman's point of view, it's like where do we go from here?

Speaker 1: 14:11

You know you often hear about the strong Black woman aspect of things. Or if someone gets a little bit too loud, oh, she's an angry Black woman. There are so many negative connotations that's attached to Black women. I can only speak about my experience. You know I mean women in general, but I can only speak of my experience being a Black woman living in this country. And we still have to show up. You have to show up for your family. You know I have to show up for my family. Other people listening have to show up for their family in some way, shape or form. What can we?

Speaker 1: 14:38

do and why is this conversation so important for us to really learn how to prioritize our health. So let's start from body literacy. What is that? Because you know, you and I work in this reproductive health space and for me, I'm trying to ensure that people have the access to the health education so they can make informed decisions. You know I talk about, you know, the whole woman wellness from puberty to menopause.

Speaker 1: 14:59

In some communities we're still talking about, we're still hiding to talk about periods. We're even hiding to talk about sex. We don't even want to talk about pregnancy in some regards. Sometimes, you know, in some cultures, if a girl, a menstruator, starts seeing their cycle, their menstrual period, it's a oh, you know, don't be too fast, or you can get pregnant. It's a oh, you know, don't be too fast, or you can get pregnant, you know. So there's still a community where parents are afraid to have the conversation with their children as it relates to you know, periods and sex and how to take care of your body.

Speaker 1: 15:36

How do I advocate for myself when I'm going to the doctor and these different things? And I know for me, like one of the goals of the mission of Squad Life is for us to have that health education. I tell people all the time we can connect people with resources, physical resources but if we don't have that understanding or that knowledge about our body, how can we advocate for ourselves? So, in the theme of bringing health home body literacy, health literacy how can we, as women, continue to move forward in this crazy political climate that's threatening our livelihood? How can we shut up for ourselves?

Speaker 1: 16:01

This time it's a very heavy cross to bear, like as a woman. We're great multitaskers and then sometimes I know for me, I forget about myself. You know, we talk all the time. It's like girl, go get some rest, you know. So how can we really get to a point where we can prioritize ourselves but still be able to balance? Because, honestly, where we can prioritize ourselves but still be able to balance? Because I'm honestly, to be honest, I'm tired of using the word balance now, because what even is balance at this point in time.

Speaker 2: 16:24

What is balance right?

Speaker 1: 16:26

What even is balance? But how can we get to a point where we can set stronger boundaries we can use that word boundaries Right right when we can prioritize ourselves but also the needs of our family, our kids, whatever the case may be? How can we do that without feeling guilty, because a lot of moms talk about mom guilt Me if I can't show up for someone in the way that I'm used to. It also weighs on me heavily, but at the same time, I need to put myself first. So how can we really show up for ourselves without feeling guilty as it relates to caring about ourselves?

Speaker 2: 16:54

I think that question is so loaded and I want to go back to something that you mentioned. In order to answer this question properly. We have to understand why you said why are they so obsessed with women's bodies, like what's happening with healthcare and all of that right? So that really started back when they realized that they could monetize our bodies. They realized that a lot of the education system right, which is a whole other conversation. But when it comes to medical school, it was an elitist structure. Only white men with money could get into medical school. And when they started beginning all of these specialties subspecialties that we see today, obstetrics being one of them they had to find a way to bring birth out of the home and discredit midwives, and so when they were doing that in tandem, they were building their business.

Speaker 2: 17:55

Healthcare in America is a business but that's the bottom line and as much as we're part of that structure and that business right as public health professionals, it really boils down to that and we have to be able to look that in the face and be honest and say that without any question. That's what it is. It's a business and that was realized when they could monetize birth. They pulled women out of their homes, out of meeting with midwives. They discredited midwives.

Speaker 2: 18:26

They discredited medicine women, women who used herbs and plant medicine from various different cultures, indigenous cultures, and they called them quacks and they called them crazy and witches, and there's just tons of things them quacks and they called them crazy and witches, and there's just tons of things. It was a slander campaign, essentially that that swept across the South and it just made its way across the entire country and, unfortunately, we bought into it. Unfortunately, we started trusting people outside of ourselves more than we trusted ourselves, and then we, on top of that, we started distrusting ourselves.

Speaker 2: 19:06

So, not even not trusting yourself we just don't trust ourselves, and I think a lot of that comes from the fact that we have been so conditioned to to believe that someone that has gone to X amount of years of schooling knows better about our bodies than we do. Now I don't want to say that that's. I don't want to discredit medical school or osteopathics or anything like that at all, because, absolutely, like they are lifesaving. My mom, you know, has just gone through two surgeries in the last 16 weeks and I am thanking God that we have doctors and oncologists and and plastic surgeons. Like. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that we need to be able to look at this as an umbrella and how we can use this in collaboration with our own preventative care and what we know about our bodies.

Speaker 2: 20:05

Now, how can we kind of bring that back Right, like you're talking about? How can we focus on ourselves and putting ourselves first without that level of guilt? We have to understand that we've been conditioned to feel guilty for a lot of things and that is something that I think we all have to wrestle with, just on an individualized level, based on what that looks like for you, but at the end of the day, I would always start with what are your values, what are your boundaries? And identifying core values is so important because those are the hinge point from which you make all your decisions, and so, unfortunately, a lot of us don't have those identified, even boundaries, really and I'm speaking to myself because I have allowed my boundaries to be compromised many, many times but your values and boundaries can change over time and I think it's important to do little checkpoints with that.

Speaker 1: 21:08

I think for me, me and boundaries I've been talking about this on the podcast for a while now. I, for some reason, I feel guilty for even exercising my boundaries to this day, Like I thought I was doing good, but I feel like I'm just like backside at this point. But again, you know the need to to serve and because, again, I share in the community in so many different ways, it's just always it's like my go-to, that's like that's my baseline just serving, being there for everyone, ensuring that their needs are taken care of, and then, in that sense, I am losing out on, let's say, rest or even putting myself first, and I can see it affect me in so many different ways. I remember a couple of weeks ago I was so stressed out and my period was delayed. And I'm here thinking I'm not even sexually active and I'm over here thinking, oh my God, I'm pregnant, taking a pregnancy test.

Speaker 1: 21:55

That may be TMI, to my people listening, but I'm just being honest, the immaculate conception I was doing and I'm like I'm giving maybe 2.0 because my period has just never been this delayed in all my life. And I sat and I'm like you know what you were really, really stressed. You had an intense last couple of weeks as it relates to just what's happening in society, you know at work, you know in your personal life, and then trying to ensure again, how can I share with those who I really need, and that essentially threw my whole rhythm off completely. And then the idea of me resting and I'm putting air quotes, resting because for me resting is I can be laying down when I'm on my phone doing some sort of work. So now I'm at the point now where I have, even in the last year, I've put my phone on do not disturb at a certain point of time in the night. So even if you can't get me then oh well, it's going to be until another day I can't, and then on the weekend it's on do not disturb all day. Because again I'm trying to prioritize myself when it is keyed into what's happening, especially in just the last few weeks.

Speaker 1: 22:58

Now, Every time you blink it's something in the media, in the news, that's really really negative or just heavy. But again, how can we, as women, unlearn the idea that rest needs to be earned, Because you know you will see, growing up, we'll see our grandparents. Oh, they're working on the farm, or we call it, in the ground in Antigua. You know you're plowing, doing what you gotta do because you gotta provide for your family. You're working hard to take care of your children and then, before you know it, it's nighttime, it's time to go to bed, and then mom is still here cleaning up after you, XYZ. And then, well, how is it now? How can we just really and truly just rest without feeling guilty? How can we unlearn that we need to be granted the permission essentially to rest?

Speaker 2: 23:43

I always like to go back to. You're either going to there's two camps here. You're either going to continue to be hypervigilant and go, go, go and your body forces you to rest, with illness and exhaustion and fatigue, or you can prioritize rest so that you can pour into your community. It's really one or the other. There's really no gray area there. You either make the decision or your body will make the decision for you.

Speaker 1: 24:13

I'm so over you really.

Speaker 2: 24:15

I'm so over me.

Speaker 1: 24:19

All right. So I want to shift gears to body literacy, which is right up your alley, this is your thing. At this point I'm going to say you invented body literacy. She did not. But again, this is just.

Speaker 1: 24:29

She's one of the founding members of what it means to when it comes to body literacy and health literacy in general, and talk about the importance of recognizing that our bodies, or when our bodies need care, like physically, emotionally, mentally, even spiritually, because, again, like I said, you're a busy mom of two. You have to be a wife, a daughter. You know you are a caretaker, essentially for your entire family and even with your mom going through what she went through, that forced you in a sense, to be even more of a caretaker. And I think, sometimes, because we're just so programmed to be, like you know, I'm a mom, I'm a busy mom, I got to do exercise for my child or my children and again, you neglect yourself. So how can we, as women for those listening if they don't know? You know I have a physical ailment or I'm emotionally drained. I'm mentally drained, cause sometimes and even myself included, like today, today's, the day I'm recording why I'm physically, emotionally and mentally tapped out. But am I going to go to rest? Absolutely not. I'm going to go to the gym, work out, because I think my mental health needs it. I'll be honest. But again, that's me. I'm not telling you. If you're listening to my tea tasters, this is not me telling you to do what I do because it's not the most healthy thing. So I'm now trying to find a way to again think about putting my boundaries first, not balance boundaries first. But again, how is it?

Speaker 1: 25:42

What's the importance of us recognizing when we're physically, emotionally and mentally drained? As it relates to even body literacy and health literacy, because, again, many women out here they're facing PCOS, endometriosis, breast cancer. There's so many things that we, as a woman, that the environment that we're living in, the climate that we're living in, really does affect us when it comes to reproductive health, even people are having infertility issues. That's on the rise now. People in their early 20s you know, 20s and 30s are now being faced with some really really when it comes to infertility as well. So talk to us more about body literacy and why is it important for us?

Speaker 2: 26:15

as it relates to, again, from puberty up until menopause, just, talking about being aware of what's going on in your body regularly is body literacy, and teaching your kids essentially what body literacy is is going to change their entire lives, the way that they view themselves, the way that they value themselves, the way they navigate the healthcare system.

Speaker 2: 26:40

It's a game changer Body literacy for way that they value themselves, the way they navigate the healthcare system. It's a game changer. Body literacy for those who don't know is being aware, self-aware mentally, emotionally and primarily physically of body signals that your body is sending you every single day and learning to interpret those and understanding what those are and what it might be asking for, and not being apologetic about meeting those needs or seeking ways that you can get those needs met. I think that you know, speaking of women specifically, we do tend to be nurturers and we are very attuned to other people. Most of us are attuned to other people's needs and I think it could be rooted in some sort of self value, like my value is in the way that I take care of people.

Speaker 2: 27:30

And if I stop being really good at taking care of people, then my value is going to go down and unfortunately, that is something that I have found myself in for sure, I would say, over the last six months, probably since the summer, it was nonstop taking care of people, but if I stop or if I don't, then nobody's going to get fed, the laundry's not going to be done. My mom needs me right now. Everybody, everybody, needed me, like every piece of me, and then there was nothing left for myself, which led to a lot of disassociation, from like floating through the day with very little awareness.

Speaker 2: 28:11

But all of that to say is that it really just comes down to what are you noticing about your body, like, are you feeling tired? Comes down to what are you noticing about your body Like are you feeling tired? If you are, ask some more questions and get a little bit more curious about why or where that tiredness is located. So if you're feeling tired, and it's more so in your head, and you're feeling heavy in your head, and your eyes are kind of hurting.

Speaker 2: 28:34

maybe just get out from the fluorescent lights for a second or put your phone down or get away from the screen. You know simple things like that. I was losing my hair when I first moved to Tennessee from California. I was losing my hair and just gobs. It was devastating. I would cry about it, like after I'd get out of the shower. I would just cry and that was a sign. That was a signal that my body was sending me. You're stressed, all of these other things that were happening to me, to my body, they were all signals that I was under a lot of stress. But I think we rationalize sometimes. Is that well, I have to keep going? The world is not going to stop spinning if you sit the hell down for a second.

Speaker 2: 29:20

It's just not. If you take 15 minutes and this is what I've started doing I take like 15, 20 minutes and I'll plop myself right on the couch with the boys, no matter what they're doing, and I get my book and I'm reading it I just read with them right there. They want to read with me? Cool, they'll get their books. If they don't, they can go somewhere else and play, or play right there. Right, I'm a sit down and read.

Speaker 1: 29:42

No, and I think for me I'm getting there. I feel like I'm there, but sometimes I regress, to be honest, because I'm in my reading era. I'm in mind I'm going to come home, drink some tea, mind my business and watch a TV show, because again I'm realizing that, as you mentioned, you're here, falling out. I'm seeing a lot of changes in my body that I don't like. I'm like girl, no, this is not what we want for ourselves. You know, I feel like I'm much more inflamed because again, the stress like I feel like I'm holding the stress in my body because there's no outlet. I mean, I do got a therapist that can get me on, but again I am not releasing the tension that's in my body or the need to be the end all and be all for everyone. And even now I'm at the point where, if I am the end all, be all, I don't have the capacity to add anything else to my plate. So I'm not working through. You know what? I understand you're going through something, but I don't have the capacity and I feel like if that person that's in my life that wants to be upset because of that, then we have a problem there as well, because you know you're so used to me being all about you 100% now, and then the minute I'm telling you I need 20% for myself, then you know. So we got. We got an issue there as well, like you know, for me, like I mentioned earlier, about my cycle being off by an entire almost week and a half and I didn't go to the doctor, or I didn't reach out to my doctor. I mean, granted, I knew essentially it was mainly stress, but at the same time I was still in denial. But I know there are other people who are experiencing a change in their cycle, not understanding what's going on. That could be a heavy flow, that could be missing periods, when you're not even in birth control as well, but they're still not going to seek help. Granted, some people may not be able to afford to go seek help. Let's talk about that.

Speaker 1: 31:20

We live in a country in the US here, where healthcare, to me, is a scam. I don't care what. It's just a scam. I don't care what nobody says. That's my belief. It's just a scam.

Speaker 1: 31:28

So there's some people that don't have the access. Depending on where you are, they don't have access to healthcare, they don't have access to the education, they don't have access to any sort of resources that they need essentially to have these conversations with their provider. And even if they do, it comes down to you only spending 25, 30 minutes with your physician for a very basic checkup, depending on if you're just going for your annual, if you're pregnant, you know you're not having that long interaction with your physician and then you can't even ask that question that you may have because, again, there's no time. So you're paying all this money, whether you're in the US or any part in the world, I mean you're going to be paying money regardless. You know you're paying all this money to not even get the care and the attention that you need and I want to point out that you know. That's why it's important for us Gianna, you know, as community health workers, doulas, you know, working in this space for us to be that bridge between communities who may not be able to have that education as it relates to their health, have that education as it relates to their body.

Speaker 1: 32:27

So they just assume. You know what I'm stressed out. Or my period is late, either I'm pregnant or something is wrong, but I'm not going to go and see what it is because I can't afford it or sometimes, like I had someone recently which is so crazy, might've been yesterday, to be honest someone was telling me that a friend of theirs had a baby and her feet was swollen. Um, her blood pressure was a little bit elevated and she went to the urgent care and they basically told her that they don't know what's wrong with her. I said wait. I said she had the baby when, because I started getting confused. Now you know, you have to be, you have to be mindful when you're, when you're giving advice or what you're saying within you know you gotta be in your scope so I scope.

Speaker 1: 33:00

So I said she had the baby when or is she still pregnant? Because it wasn't making sense. She had the baby three weeks ago, went to the hospital. She got discharged. As a matter of fact, she got discharged and four hours later that's what it was. Four hours later, after being discharged, she had to go back to the hospital because she had very vision, she had a headache and then her feet was swollen and she said the doctors told her that they don't know what is wrong with her, but then they were going to send her to physical therapy. So she did Okay.

Speaker 1: 33:29

I got to go, girl, I can't wait.

Speaker 2: 33:32

Talk about blood pressure rising.

Speaker 1: 33:34

Right, it's not even funny, but you know she's saying that her feet were swollen. This is four hours after being discharged. Feet were swollen, elevated blood pressure, headache and blurriness. We all know what that is, oh yeah, so say the words so people can know what I'm talking about. Postpartum eclampsia Right, they're telling her that they took some blood. The blood work came back normal, so they're telling her now that she's going to go headache.

Speaker 1: 34:02

We're just bypassing all these things four hours after being discharged from having a baby and you're not even thinking immediately that it's pre-cancer. You know what I mean. So I still have to say that again some people she was like you know, I don't want to go to the hospital anymore because what's the point of me going? Because they're not taking care of me and it's like do in that position, because again you're a mom with a brand new baby. You still have to go home to nurture your other babies that you have at home. You know she's having to nurture her partner because that's the nature of what she's, what she's living right now. And then I just kept thinking about the lack of understanding because she just believed in everything that her doctor is saying. Now, this is not me bashing any doctors, because I love and appreciate you guys, because without you, you know we do need you guys.

Speaker 1: 34:42

But sometimes there is a lapse in judgment, sometimes when it comes to our care providers and because individuals may not have that knowledge. Because, I'll be honest, I was one of that people that anything a doctor told me, joanna, you cannot tell me it wasn't the gospel. Anything they told me I was going to do. Because, again, you know, we are programmed to think that our doctors know it all, which, well, because we don't have the understanding of our own bodies, because we're not trained to advocate for ourselves. That's a reality. We just think go to the doctor, look at your annual, whatever they say, don't ask any questions and keep it moving.

Speaker 1: 35:15

And again, we're trying to be that bridge as it relates to learning how to advocate for yourself. So I'm saying all this to say for the average individual who may not know enough about being body literate or even health literate how can one advocate for themselves in a healthcare setting? But just in general, because again we are out here being nurturers, we are on the forefront as it relates to our families. We're the first line. We talk about the men being the head of the household, if we're being honest, that man cannot be the head of the household if the wife or the woman is not ensuring that the household is in order for him to be successful when it comes to that. So how can we, as women listening here, what are some practical ways or things that we can do to ensure that we are taking that step into really learning about our bodies and about ourselves and how we can advocate when it comes to our health and well-being?

Speaker 2: 36:10

Two things we have to learn to stay curious. I always am relating or watching my kids. Sometimes, and girl, they talk a lot. They don't stop talking from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep. But a lot of the questions that they ask are very good questions and one of those questions is why Well, why mama, well, why mama, how come I can't blah, blah, blah, mama? And all of those moments are teaching moments and instead of saying well, because I said so, I'm not that type of parent. I will offer an explanation because it feeds their curiosity and I don't think enough of us had that type of response when we were asking all the questions, because when we were asking all the questions as kids, you're being disrespectful. Just do what I say. That's not what.

Speaker 1: 37:02

I asked you to do.

Speaker 2: 37:03

So we've stopped asking questions. And, to your point, what you said you took. Everything that they said was gospel. We were told that we couldn't trust our bodies. I mean, we had doctors well before 1993, when women were barely starting to be considered to be included in clinical trials. We had them diagnosing us with hysteria for, for PMS syndromes. Like, like we're, we have been taught yeah, we have been taught generations behind and we've adopted and continue to perpetuate those ideologies.

Speaker 2: 37:43

You don't know enough about your body. So what I would say is to stay curious, always stay curious. You are the natural expert of your own body. You don't need a degree to understand what's happening to you on a daily basis. I'm talking about a daily basis, knowing what is happening. When you're tired, take a rest. If you're feeling thirsty, don't push off that water. Drink, hydrate If you're hungry, like, oh my goodness. Like, please, eat. Like, why are we skipping meals? Right, if you don't have time to eat, then you are not giving yourself enough love. Like, you have to love yourself enough to give yourself time. Tell people no without saying, without saying, oh, I'm so sorry I can't do that right now. I'm not sorry that I can't do that right now. Thank you for your patience. It's not, I'm sorry. Thank you so much for your patience. You're going to have to give me another 48 hours. Like, what are we doing when we're not asking for what we need Really? We're putting someone else's needs and desires and preferences above our own.

Speaker 2: 38:48

But when it comes to body literacy on a daily basis, staying curious, pay attention to what's going on in your body and the way that I teach, when I teach the bomb girls workshop, I explain in that body literacy segment. You pay attention like go through your whole body, like take a minute, close your eyes and we'll sit there for a second Check in with yourself from head to toe. How am I feeling? Do you feel any discomfort? Tightness, tension, heat, coolness, like anything like just pay attention to that, make it a habit. Start with one habit a day.

Speaker 1: 39:24

One. No, that is true, and I like when you said about you know, if you can't eat, then you're not even showing yourself love, because you know we need to be nourished. You know that's important when we talk about feeding the brain if we can't sit down for 10 minutes to eat. You know, I've spoken about intentional eating on the podcast before, because sometimes I find myself I'm at work and I'm eating until my lunch break and I'm not even taking lunch. I'm working through while I'm eating and I'm like that's not me. I'm not taking the time to even count how many times I'm chewing to fully or properly digest what I'm eating, because I'm so busy trying to get something done for other people again, you know, and then that leads to us neglecting ourselves.

Speaker 1: 40:01

So, you know, a little veggie snack, something simple. It doesn't have to be anything over the top, but you must ensure that you are nurturing your body, because if you don't have your best health now, how can we continue to take care of those in our lives? You know, I want to go back to when you mentioned something about your bum class. So we should talk about what b-o-m-a is or bomb girl is, and then we'll have another episode. That's a whole other episode. My girl, yes, but let's briefly touch on it already, as it relates to even, you know, women's health.

Speaker 2: 40:27

Sure, sure, yeah, so it's. It is a body literacy component, being a fertility aware. It's a fertility awareness called Billings Ovulation Method and it is largely used for people who don't want to use any type of hormonal contraception and really want to be able to monitor their own reproductive health in the most simple way possible. I chose to study that method specifically because it was the most accessible to people. There are tons of other fertility awareness methods out there. I personally don't believe that they are the most accessible.

Speaker 2: 41:03

This particular method has been shown to be successful even within the blind community. It's been shown to be successful through various cultures, cultural preferences, languages and ways of life, and to me that is a successful method. So what it does is it teaches you to learn your body signals, specifically your fertility signals, in patterns and observations, and those patterns are really helping you understand when you're fertile, when you have fertile windows or infertile windows, based on different signals that your body is sending you, and it's super simple to keep track of. I like I still do it to this day I started it maybe 10 or 11 years ago and then I stopped in between babies and then I started up again and it just I mean it's tried and true and it's easy and I, like you said, we don't have all the time in the world but if I'm going to make time for something.

Speaker 2: 42:01

It's got to be efficient.

Speaker 1: 42:04

No, I do like that and again, that's something that we don't often talk about out in public. Again, because people just don't know what's even out there for them, especially during this climate, as it relates to a lot of women going through infertility as well. But before, as we start wrapping up, how do we make wellness and self-care a non-negotiable part of our daily life? Because I know you've spoken about that you have your time blocks where this is just what I'm going to do. I don't care what's going on, this is just me. I'm sitting down here doing that. I at one point mastered that. Now I'm back to trying to master it again because my brain is always running, zipping, going somewhere. But again, I've come to a point in my life where I'm going to block out a good hour or two, and that's going to be to do whatever, whether it's watching TV, whether it's reading, whatever. It is something that I don't necessarily use my brain too much for or be of service to others. But how can we? Because I know, of course, the girlies. We're all about self-care and wellness and let's do X, y, z, but are we doing it for ourselves or are we doing it because we need to put on a show for those people on social media.

Speaker 1: 43:10

Because, let's be honest, social media is really. It has taken over all of our lives. I don't care what anybody says, whether it's good, bad, because I often say you know, gianna, I met on social media, so of course it's something. There is good there. But again, I I've found too many times even included.

Speaker 1: 43:20

When I first started blogging many years ago, I mean probably oh, that's a long time for real, about nine years ago, that's crazy. Anyway, when I started blogging about nine or so years ago, I remember being obsessed with how many people were reading my blog posts or you know, if I'm out somewhere, let me take a second post on my Instagram and I'm just like, girl, wait, my sister would be like T? T, you need to live in the moment, stay in the moment, and I'll be like brushing them off because I'm like no girl, I gotta get this content for my people on social media to a point now where I'm just I have a love-hate relationship now with social media. You know we talk about it all the time like I'm just, I'm neither here nor there about it anymore, to be honest. But again, how do we make wellness and self-care really a non-negotiable part of our daily life, for ourselves and not for nobody else.

Speaker 2: 44:07

You have to decide that it's a non-negotiable.

Speaker 2: 44:10

So instead, before even adding anything like any new habits or any new like wellness routines or anything like that, you have to decide that you matter enough to be on that to-do list and schedule out time for it.

Speaker 2: 44:27

So make the decision today, right now, to say I'm going to do one thing, I'm going to do one thing that supports me today, and then the next day you're going to make that commitment. And then the next day you're going to make that commitment. You're not going to say, okay, okay, for seven days straight, for 14 days straight, I'm going to do, I'm going to get movement in that's, that's it's tangible day. The night before, you're going to say tomorrow, I'm going to take 15 minutes and do a quick stretching routine or workout routine really quick, something on YouTube, super simple and start with that day. Once you finish that day and you get that 15 minutes in of whatever it is that you decided to do, it's a victory. And then, before you go to bed that night, you're going to do the same thing and make that commitment to yourself the next day.

Speaker 2: 45:26

Over time, you're going to learn to trust yourself because you've kept promises to yourself before and you know you can do it again. So I would say you have to decide that it's non-negotiable and then start looking into what is going to be on that non-negotiable list.

Speaker 1: 45:44

Yeah, I think what you mentioned. It just comes down again to making these small adjustments, because I think sometimes we do need to reframe our mindset when it comes to habits, myself included Because we just think, you know what, we're going to start something this week and it's going to stick, and then that's it Like no, you have to start small. If you're going to start at the broader end of the spectrum, like, oh yeah, I'm going to do that, I'm going to lose 10 pounds, I'm going to do it. No, we've got to start small. We've got to start by waking up in the morning.

Speaker 1: 46:08

Let me start by drinking a glass of warm lemon water in the morning. Let's start there first. Let's see how we can do that water with lemon. Or sometimes and I'm getting old and I was like I do my metamucil but, um, but again, it's a habit now that I look forward to. If I don't do it now, something just essentially feels off because I've gotten so used to making that be a part of my daily routines. It's all about starting, you know, really, really small in your life.

Speaker 2: 46:37

Because, again, if not, you know who right and you have to go, and it goes back to like what we were talking about in the beginning what are my values, what are my boundaries? Let's start there, let's identify that and then we can go. Okay, since this is what I value I value knowledge, I value education, I value movement and fresh air, whatever it is, then you can start creating some doable daily habits that you want to start including.

Speaker 1: 47:03

I have a guide for that, though I should send that to you.

Speaker 2: 47:05

I don't know if I have ever sent that to you.

Speaker 1: 47:07

Yeah, so we'll put that in the show notes as well. And of course you guys are going to go check Gianna's social media out so you can unsubscribe to her newsletter, because it's really honestly the bombcom. I'm not saying that because she's my friend, but it is. Her writing is just. I'm friend, but it is her writing is just. I'm going to try to be a new york time bestseller, but once, about a time, honestly, because she really does write really well.

Speaker 1: 47:32

But again it comes down to, you know, unconditioning and then sometimes fear as well, because we we fear being seen as selfish because again we're taking time for ourselves, maybe even fear of, uh, disappointing people, you know, fear that things will fall apart if we take a step back. I know I've been there before and I'm like, you know, I need to take a step back. Like you know, jenna always tells me say it's like girl, go to sleep. Or, you know, take a breath, let's see where we are. Because again, I do do a lot and I have a lot of people often say how do you do this, how do you do that? And even though in essence, that they essentially praise that, I don't want to be celebrated for being exhausted, if that makes sense right, you know what I mean. I don't want, I don't want it to be a single, you know, yeah, I'm wearing a badge of honor for always being exhausted like no when we, when we're in pain, when we're feeling emotionally off or even hormonally off, because, again, as women, we get like one good week out of a month, if that much know. So we should essentially try to slow down.

Speaker 1: 48:23

I often have a mantra of pushing through, but you have to know when and where to push through. Pushing through is not going to work in every scenario. You know what I mean. It is not. But as we get ready to go, gianna, you know, let us know, like what is something that you would like for one of our women listening, like what is something you can tell him, what is some part of some sort of wisdom you can tell him to take charge of their health, charge of their body, as they continue on this journey of being a woman from a whole woman aspect Gosh stay curious, keep asking questions Don't be apologetic about it and look at your values and your boundaries and reassess as needed.

Speaker 1: 49:05

I love that. I love that. I love that. Thank you for joining me here in the Tea Tasting.

Speaker 1: 49:10

Room. It's always a pleasure talking to you and we're going to have her back, my friend, because again we have to talk about the billions of relation method. That is something that, especially for our girls who are trying to conceive or just want to know better, have a better understanding as well of their body. But before we go, I'm going to leave you with the post-it note that we have here in the t-shape, and that's going to be. You are worthy of the same love, care and attention you so freely give to others. Take up space in your own life, prioritize you yes, I'm gonna say it again you are worthy of the same love, care and attention you so freely give to others.

Speaker 1: 49:44

Take up space in your own life and prioritize you. So we're going to work in that, going forward in 2025. Yes, I'm here for it. Yes, now tell us where we can find you, how we can support you.

Speaker 2: 49:56

You can find me on instagram at simply giannaataliav. And then I have a non-active website that is coming soon and I'm not going to give you the what is it the link for that, Because that's going to lead you absolutely nowhere right now. And then my subscription newsletter is over on Substack, where I talk about all of those things in addition to being a multi-passionate woman and navigating that, and that is called I Mean Honestly. So if you just put Substack I Mean Honestly in your search bar, you'll find it.

Speaker 1: 50:39

Well, thank you for that. Speaking of website, like I would have announced, my TanyaKAmbrosecom website is live. That has been a true labor of love and a long journey to get to where we are, so that link is not broken, so please go ahead and check out TanyaKAmbrosecom.

Speaker 1: 50:57

Unlike mine, yours is live and definitely make sure that you know we are keeping the conversation going. So definitely make sure you follow you, subscribe to the newsletter and, if this episode resonated with you, of course share it with a friend and tell a friend and tell a friend you know. All right, thank you, sis, for this amazing conversation and thank you, guys, for tuning in until next time. Take care of you, thanks, bye, bye. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you liked 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 or spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.