Welcome to the first episode of Love Letters 2 Our Bodies, with your host, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Founder and CEO of MOYO Institute, Inc. As a lifelong spiritual seeker and energy worker, Gwendolyn leads thoughtful conversations on health, healing, and happiness, by, for, and about Black and African American women. In this debut episode, she explores the profound impact of chronic stress, especially among African Americans, and its link to poor health outcomes like cancer and diabetes. While acknowledging racism’s role in exacerbating chronic stress, Gwendolyn powerfully advocates for radical self-care as a path to changing these harmful dynamics. Tuning in, you'll hear how prayer and meditation can become transformative tools for managing stress and fostering healing, leading to inner peace and improved health. She emphasizes that prayer isn’t just a plea for help, but a method for manifesting desires with clarity and gratitude. Gwendolyn also shares a powerful reminder about self-love, urging us to appreciate and cherish our bodies just as they are. Tune in for an inspiring invitation to embrace radical self-care and recognize the beauty within yourself!

Key Points From This Episode:

• An introduction to host, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Founder and CEO of MOYO.

• The Love Letters 2 Our Bodies workshops and what to expect from the podcast.

• MOYO's decision to focus on cancer among African American women.

• The particularly severe effect of cancer on African Americans compared to other cohorts.

• How being Black in America, and many other countries, contributes to chronic stress.

• Key findings on the effect of chronic stress on the body, and the role of racism.

• Prioritizing self-care to alter the life-diminishing effects of chronic stress.

• Unraveling messages of self-hatred embedded in systemic racial oppression.

• Methods for living in an empowered state and how to take cues from your body.

• Prayer as a powerful tool for manifestation when approached with clarity and gratitude.

• Techniques for quieting repetitive stress thoughts through meditation and mindfulness.

• Embracing your body's beauty and intelligence, regardless of appearance.

Quotes:

“We have a responsibility to make radical self-care a priority if we're ever going to change these life-diminishing dynamics.” — Gwendolyn Mitchell [0:17:16]

“We need to unravel the messages of self-hatred that are embedded in systemic racial oppression.” — Gwendolyn Mitchell [0:19:15]

“Becoming sovereign beings, that's my recommendation for how to meet racism with a life-affirming response.” — Gwendolyn Mitchell [0:36:30]

“Your body is a gift from God. Your body has intelligence. Your body is beautiful. Love it.” — Gwendolyn Mitchell [0:37:09]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

‘Meditation and Self-Care: A Radical Life-Affirming Response to Racism’
‘Racial discrimination and telomere shortening among African Americans: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study’
Free Ananda (Joy) Transfer Evenings

Love Letters 2 Our Bodies is sponsored by Moyo Institute, Inc and the Lloyd Symington Foundation
Gwendolyn Mitchell on LinkedIn
MOYO Institute, Inc
instagram.com/moyoinstitute