Self Love, Mental Health, and Menopause

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Good morning, everybody. I'm so excited to be here with Iris Douglas. This is our new adventure, our first episode, and we are the Vital women of Washington Heights. You're listening to the vital women of Washington Heights. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Hey, guys, it's Iris Douglas here. I just want to thank Andrew o', Brady, the CEO of Mental Health America of Dutchess County. Their community is all about the future of the whole person, the health, healing and furnishing. They really want our community to get the right people they need in order for them to feel better and live better energetically and feel better about themselves. So I'm happy that he sponsored us. Thank you, Andrew. We support you at the Mental Health America of Dutchess County. Namaste. Hello. Hello, everyone. My name is Iris Douglas. I hope everyone's doing well. I'm here with my very good friend, Yvette o'. Sullivan. We're so excited to be here. [00:01:06] Speaker A: Iris and I both grew up in Washington heights in the 80s and we came together to bring this to you guys. We're going to talk about self love. We're going to talk about menopause. As the episodes continue to develop and somochicas Dominicanas, somo chicas Dominicanas y queremos espressal no estromol porustedes yito de las mujeres nu importas y sean de Mexico que sean de Ecuador de Colombias estamos aqui porquetodas. [00:01:43] Speaker B: Somo entas international. Somo unas. [00:01:55] Speaker A: Exactly. So this is going to be bilingual and I hope that you guys will support give us our support. And we're here to have fun and to bring you lots of information that you guys can incorporate in your life. [00:02:10] Speaker B: Listen, it's all about love where we want to talk about love. It's February. It's all about connecting with self love and how to self care you first before you can take care of anyone else. [00:02:23] Speaker A: So we want to give a shout out to our sponsor, Mental Health of America. Thank you so much, Andrew o', Grady, for believing in us and supporting, supporting this cause that we really are passionate about. And we just want to talk a little bit about the programs that they offer in. It's their veterans program and they have many umbrellas or many different programs under their veterans program. And they are located in 1335 Route 44, Pleasant Valley, New York. They're open Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Look them up. If you have a family member that is a veteran, please support them, love them. They need lots of love as well. [00:03:11] Speaker B: And Yvette, can I Just say something. Coming from the heights, you and I, we didn't have this opportunity. We didn't have a place where we can go and figure it out. And, you know, so it's good that we have that here in Dutchess county where people can go and make a phone call and say, hey, I'm not feeling. I'm feeling this way. What can. How can you guide me? So this is good. Good. And I'm so happy that we're being sponsored, because it kind of all makes sense with what I do as a. As a healer, as a Reiki practitioner, as a mother, you know, is I want community to heal. You know, it's all about the community, and that's what we're bringing here. These conversations, Vital women of Washington, ISIS all. You know, we made it. We made it. We living in Dutchess county, we could see the struggles, and we want to help, you know, and we got together and we had this conversation. How can we do this? And this is. This is the best way to do it, you know, and I'm so. I'm so honored, Yvette, for you to include me. [00:04:17] Speaker A: Thank you so much. Mental health is a big component that's affecting a lot of people today. And by the grace of God, I am here today because I'm going through menopause as well. [00:04:32] Speaker B: And. [00:04:33] Speaker A: And I am so grateful that he has been there for me and that I've been able to find him as my healing power and also having the opportunity to use other means of healing as well, in terms of practicing yoga, in terms of also healing my body, using Reiki to heal my body. Back in 2009, I had Lyme disease, and Reiki helped me tremendously to get strong. And women go through a lot. And that's why we're here today to talk about this month of February. That is so important, and it's so. It has a lot to do with our emotions, with our mental health struggles that women go through, and how can we help the public heal or the women heal? [00:05:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So I like to share that. About 12 years ago, I was going through men. I. I believe was mental illness. You know, I was getting confused. I was feeling I wasn't balanced, and it was getting a little uncomfortable. And that's when I seek Reiki, and that's when I. After Reiki came the Medicaid meditation, and after meditation came the yoga, and. And after the yoga came, you know, this manifestation of, you know, of the center. But if women don't understand their bodies, it's going to Be harder as they. They go through their menopausal phases, you know, because menopause is always there since you're born. You had mentioned that once, Yvette, that we are literally born with it. We just. It just sparingly comes out as we get older. So we have to learn to tame it because it's. It's fire. It's almost fire. So that's. That's what Reiki has helped me, is learn to tame those. Those emotions. You. I don't want to be like that. I can't be like that. So going back to center is like what I really need. Praying. Praying. My mother used to pray a lot because she set the intentions for the day with prayer, you know, with prayer. And so that's another thing. When women are going through emotional stages of craziness or, you know, off balance, prayer is very important. Take a deep breath in and just pray, man. [00:07:22] Speaker A: It's a book that I love that it was created because it brings balance. It takes you to a state or a place. At least for me. It brought me peace in my life. It helped me heal. There are so many scriptures in the Bible that can provide guidance, and part of providing that guidance is self kindness. How do you love yourself? What is. [00:07:48] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:49] Speaker A: Or what does love look like to you? Because I believe a lot of women are searching for love everywhere else, and they don't realize that love is loving yourself. Love comes also from the Father up there and learning how to be kind to ourselves. How are we kind to ourselves? [00:08:10] Speaker B: Absolutely. How? Kindness. You have to be compassionate for yourself. You have to show compassionate for yourself. We. We make mistakes and then we. We hold those mistakes and we're like, why did I do that? What? Let it go. Let it go. It doesn't serve you. It's. It happened over there. Moving onward, moving forward, showing compassion and love and not making the same mistakes. But you have to self love yourself. You have to care about how you look, how do you present yourself, how many hats you wear. Women wear so many different hats. [00:08:45] Speaker A: That's a great point. As women, we wear many different hats, girl. And all we got lots of. Yes, that's right. Hats bring a lot of pressure and a lot of stress. [00:09:01] Speaker B: Right? [00:09:02] Speaker A: And again, I believe God knew exactly what he was doing when he created women. Because we're strong. We're very strong being. And we are able to balance back and be resilient no matter how many times we're knocked down. It's finding those tools, finding those tools for us to make it back up how do we lift ourselves up and it all comes within us. [00:09:25] Speaker B: Yes. [00:09:27] Speaker A: I. I'm a truly believer that there's no need to look for. For love somewhere else in terms of, you know, looking for love within a man, looking for love. Maybe in. In other areas. We need to learn to love ourselves first. [00:09:44] Speaker B: Yeah. My mom used to say, and, and how do you. How do you. How do you do that? By showing up, cleaning up, making sure you do the right thing, taking care of yourself. [00:10:03] Speaker A: You just said that. Self acceptance, you know, accepting. Okay, I made a mistake letting it go. How can I fix that mistake? How do I make myself better? Self acceptance. You need to accept who you are entirely. [00:10:18] Speaker B: Authenticity. Authenticity, you have. But that's. But, but you have to go within. First you have to spray and you have to sit and you have to get and receive, and then you have to find out who you are within yourself. And then you take that authenticity and you make it better. And you find your tools to make sure you maintain that authenticity. Because you can find your authenticity, but then you can lose it because of all the energies, all the changes that you go through life. [00:10:46] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:10:47] Speaker B: Especially women. We fall in love, We. We out of love, we get crazy. I don't know. [00:10:55] Speaker A: Right. You're right. Because, you know, as women, we try to please so many people. We try to please, you know, our. Our mothers, our parents, our husbands, our children. And you can get lost within, trying to please everybody. So how do you maintain that authenticity? [00:11:13] Speaker B: You know, boundaries, Mamacita, boundaries. Mommy, you'll know I can't talk to you right now because. Because the anxiousness, nervousness, menopause, trickles down to you because now you're receiving. Do you see what I'm saying? So you have to create boundaries to maintain your maintenance of not getting at somebody else's energy, because you know that mothers can drive you crazy sometimes. I love my mommy. [00:11:44] Speaker A: I'm a mother myself too. And we have good intentions. But sometimes, you know, being a parent doesn't come with a book. No, we. We have our children and we learn as we go. We struggle being parents, to be good parents and finding the right resource so that we are able to teach our children how to become strong individuals. But at the same time, again, going back, we can lose ourselves. And although for me it is a struggle going through the menopause stages, but at the same time, I believe I have found myself because now I have the time and the opportunity to concentrate on working on myself. I have the opportunity to rediscover who Yvette is Because four years ago, I felt I lost myself. I lost myself because of different factors. Covid hit. Changes happened because of COVID And within that, then, boom, menopause hit, and I couldn't understand those changes and those struggles that I was going through. So now that I am at a place that I feel that I have healed and I have healed again, I am going to repeat myself, but I have healed by the grace of God, and I have healed because I have looked for other means of healing. And we need the right track on each other. As women, we relied on each other and support each other and not pick at each other and not break each other apart. Come together. Let's come together and support each other, especially through the struggles of men. [00:13:35] Speaker B: Menopause, girl. Absolutely. Because menopause can drive you crazy. Menopause can drive, you know, literally, it can drive you crazy because everything is coming at you at the same time, and you juggling, and then you're going through all these emotions and all this discomfort. Waking up in the morning, then your body's changing, your face is changing. You don't feel good about yourself anymore, you know, and you've got to go through all of that. And getting depressed when you're menopause is no bueno. [00:14:05] Speaker A: So how do we take care? [00:14:07] Speaker B: How do. You said it. Self care. Music, going for walks, meditation, yoga, Reiki, oils, frankincense mior. I mean, once you and I get it together, we'll put out those recipes out for these ladies to. You know what I'm saying? Let's get it together so we can put it. Frankincense mior, lavender. Just relax. Because menopause is fast and it's. It's a tyrant. So you have to. It is. [00:14:42] Speaker A: And you don't know. You know, it comes so fast that you don't know that it's hitting you and. [00:14:47] Speaker B: And creeps up. [00:14:48] Speaker A: It creeps up. Part of pampering yourself is using, like you said, those oils. Going for a walk. [00:14:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:14:58] Speaker A: Rain. Using your environment. You really don't have to. And I know I speak to some women and they're like, oh, I don't have the money. I don't have the funds. You don't need to have a lot of money to pamper yourself. It could just be taking a walk in nature, enjoying nature, calling up a friend and saying, hey, I'm struggling. And I know now with technology, a lot of us, you know, we're used to texting and. And people don't have the time to sit down and have a Phone call, but. But go back old school, you know, reach out for that phone and call a friend. Don't isolate, because that can happen also. [00:15:35] Speaker B: During isolation is no bueno, ladies. No bueno. So let me just give you. Let me just kind of share what I used to do, too. I used to go to the gym. I used to go to the gym. I used to work out for, like, 45 minutes. You know, I'd get on that treadmill and lift some weights. And this is all through my menopause, just to let the tension out, because it creates tension. If you don't release all that tension, all that fire that. That menopause is bringing up, you're going to create the tension. So I used to lift weights. I used to. And then I used to go to Barnes and Noble, have me a nice little chai lante, and read a book and then go deal with the drama with the husband and the kids and the house and the dogs and the cats. This is going through menopause because women have to. We're the managers of our households, of. Of everything. We are like la hefas. So we have to manage everyone because everybody's, oh, where's my shirt? Or, where's this? Where's that? And we have to know everything. So when you're going through menopause and being the manager of your household, the CEO and everything, that can be crazy. So that's why women, you have to take the time for yourself. You cannot. You cannot let the household overwhelm you. You have to be in control. You have to hold the reins. [00:16:46] Speaker A: And, you know, and some people may say, well, that's very selfish. It's not selfish. Because if you don't take care of yourself, don't take care of you, who's. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Gonna take care of them? Kids? [00:16:56] Speaker A: No, if I don't take care of myself, who's gonna take care of me? I'm taking care of everybody else. I'm managing the household. Like you said, you know, we are the CEOs of our household. So if we don't take the time to love ourselves and give ourselves that quiet time to maintain that strong emotion, the physical. I'm glad that you brought up. It's important to very work out. And. And. [00:17:23] Speaker B: And especially you do yoga, right? You do yoga. [00:17:26] Speaker A: Because I practice yoga, and I also. And I also go to the gym twice a week to do my weights. And you need to keep your body strong. You need to keep your outer shelf strong in order to keep your inner self strong. [00:17:40] Speaker B: Yeah, your body is your Vessel, guys. Ladies, your body is your vessel. If you don't take care of your skin, you got to take care of your skin, because as you get older, it gets dry. So make sure that right after that shower, you moisturize, you give yourself some shiny. I'm 62. I'm going to be 62 April 7th. [00:17:58] Speaker A: Just saying, you know, since you're putting it out there. I just turned 59. Turn 59. Christmas Day is my birthday. [00:18:09] Speaker B: And, oh, God bless you on the birthday of Jesus. Nice. That's a. That's a beautiful, beautiful date of birth, mija. [00:18:16] Speaker A: Thank you. But it's. It's all because, you know, eating right, you need to eat correctly. [00:18:23] Speaker B: This is your vehicle. If you don't eat right, things are not gonna be right. You're gonna start creating diseases. Your body's gonna start achy. Why? Because you're eating too much. You're having too much salt, you're having too much sugar or a hot mess. [00:18:37] Speaker A: And it's. It's part of the hormones, too. You know, when your body's depleted of estrogen. Estrogen keeps the woman's body together. And when those hormones begin to drop, it causes a lot of inflammation. And due to information, you start feeling the aches and the pains in the joints. And through nutrition, it helps if you're eating the right foods and not absolutely yourself. The salt and the sugars and the additives and preservatives that come with a lot of food that is already prepackaged. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Because, Yvette, you know, as we also. We get addicted to sugar as we get older. [00:19:19] Speaker A: Well, sugar, I'm a little sugar is the cocaine for the brain. When you research on sugar, it comes up that it triggers different neurons in your brain, and your brain wants more and more sugar. And that's like almost becoming addicted to cocaine. [00:19:36] Speaker B: I. I'm dropping it. I have been off sugar for almost two weeks now, because I can't. Well, not really, like, almost a week, to be honest, because. Okay, so what happens is when you run your body. I'm just going to share this because I do. I'm constantly working. So when you run your body a lot and you're on menopause, you're going to want to get that snack, fast snack to give you that satisfaction of eating something yummy. Don't do that. Get some carrots, get some fruit, get some water, a lot of water. It calms your appetite. Because if you start eating the sugar and you start eating the wrong foods, you're going to see it in your body and your skin as you menopause because we lose estrogen. As Eyvette said earlier, when you lose the estrogen, your skin is not going to be as tight. So. And if you start eating the sugar with all the bad foods, everything is just going to start looking different. [00:20:37] Speaker A: Yes. [00:20:37] Speaker B: So it's important that you stay focused on your body as well. [00:20:43] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:20:43] Speaker B: And you self love you. You know, you have to take care of your body. It's. You're beautiful. Take care of yourself. [00:20:49] Speaker A: You know that's right. Nobody is going to do it for you unless you take the time. Unless you're mindful about taking care of your body. [00:20:59] Speaker B: You're right. Mama said it. Mommy said it too. [00:21:03] Speaker A: Let's see. I'm taking a look at my notes here. Let's see. [00:21:06] Speaker B: See what? [00:21:07] Speaker A: What did we say? What else do women need to do in order. Oh, engage in a favorite hobby. [00:21:14] Speaker B: Absolutely. Find something. Oh, my God. Dance guitar. I love the guitar. It's in the center, but I love the guitar. That helped me. I don't know, but it helped me. [00:21:25] Speaker A: Music, classic music helps a lot. You know, we. We spoke about the mental health of America and in the. One of their VA programs, they have music for the veterans. And the reason that they have music for the veterans is because music is very healing. And again, that is something that doesn't cost a lot of money. Everybody has a phone nowadays. On your phone, you know, put some music, download music as you're doing housework, listen to music, whatever your favorite music could be, you know, salsa, bachata, merengue. [00:22:03] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:22:05] Speaker A: Music is very healing. [00:22:07] Speaker B: It is healing because you're expressing, you're letting go the tension. You're dancing, you're moving, you're express, you know, you gotta dance, man. You gotta dance. Because if you don't dance, everything gets stuck. And you don't want anything to get stuck because again, menopause, you're a tree. Okay, so you're this beautiful plant, right? We're this beautiful plant. And if you feed that plant, right, the right amount of water, the right amount of, you know, whatever it needs, that plant, that plant is always going to look beautiful. [00:22:36] Speaker A: It thrives, it's going to grow, it's there we go to shine, you know. And with a plant, you need other elements, right? It's not just water, it's not just soil. You also need the sun. And, and the sun is very healing. The sun is the sun. [00:22:54] Speaker B: I go outside when I'm. When I. I'm a Reiki practitioner and I have a wellness center and between. In between clients, I go for a walk, I take a deep breath in, I come in and I receive from the sun. So then when I go back, I'm resetting myself. Thus. You're right. The sun gives me that energy that I've lost, you know, because I was working with somebody and I had to reboot myself. So I'm glad you said sun because I've been doing sun salutations like, God, give me energy so I can help others, because I purpose. [00:23:38] Speaker A: Absolutely. You know, and that's a good point that I want to bring up too. It's like people talk about the universe, and to me, my faith is very important. And I don't know how people are going to take this message, but it really doesn't matter. And I'm being honest. [00:23:55] Speaker B: No. Do you, girl. [00:23:58] Speaker A: God created the universe and they work together. The Lord and the universe work together because he's the one that created the sun, the moon, the water, and all of these are elements that are there for us to enjoy. And yes, I am a Christian, and I am a Christian that practices yoga. And there's nothing wrong with practicing yoga as long as I'm giving the glory to that man up there. Because I've also have come across that it's like, oh, how do you practice yoga? I practice yoga to keep my body healthy because it's such a great exercise for women and men. But for women, it just releases so many, so much tension in your body. But I never forget the Creator up there. He's the one that created the universe and I'm very grateful for that. So to bring it all together, I enjoy the sun. It's there for our enjoyment, for our healing purpose. [00:24:59] Speaker B: Absolutely. For healing purpose. Because if God didn't create the sun, how are we going to reboot? How are we going to reheal? If he didn't create the trees, how are we going to receive? How are we going to breathe, Mommy, if we didn't create the ground, how are we gonna. Where, you know, how we gonna build food? How are we gonna get our food? The sky, rain? How are we gonna. [00:25:20] Speaker A: So he. [00:25:20] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:23] Speaker A: You know, and so he did a good job in providing all of this for us. [00:25:28] Speaker B: So. Yeah, so, so, so can I just echo on what you said earlier about, you know, that you are a Christian and you practice yoga. There seems to be a little bit of, you know, that going on lately, because I've experienced that in the center with a client that came and expressed that to me, that she went to church and she was at a prayer group and she expressed that she does yoga and she gets Reiki healing because she's got stage four lung cancer. And you know, I feel so bad for her because she says, you know, it's interesting because when I said that in my prayer group, they judged me because I do Reiki and yoga. And I said to her, you have to do whatever makes you feel better, whatever helps you calm yourself down, believing that God is guiding you for. That's it. That's all I got. That's how I express myself. Because I, I was raising, I went to St. Rose of the in Washington Heights on 164th street, girl, for eight years I was there. So I know I'm, I'm a Christian, I practice Reiki and all these other different modalities, but trust me when I tell you God is in front and center of me because if not all the time, always made notes and everything, you know, like references. So. [00:27:06] Speaker A: Absolutely. I truly believe, you know, that he has given us all of this information how to heal our body. And it's because he wants us to have this information on how to heal our bodies. There's many forms, it's not just by western medicine. I had the opportunity growing up when I was doing my internship to live in Japan and experiencing different cultures. And through that culture, it opened up my eyes that there is more out there than just western medicine. And just like he gives doctors the knowledge to heal, there's also different ways of healing your body and it's not just through medication. [00:27:51] Speaker B: Yeah, so with that said. Absolutely. With that said, God had to give someone the knowledge or the, the energy of, to teach people how to heal too. Right. Somebody had to start being the first doctor. That's it. Right. [00:28:08] Speaker A: Well, according to the Bible, Luke was the first doctor. He was a doctor and so he. [00:28:14] Speaker B: Taught with his writings and everything he taught. So those, those people had to teach other people, but they had to do it through spirit. Cuz they had to believe that they had something inside to do that. No. [00:28:27] Speaker A: Yes. And you know, what we have inside is the Holy Spirit. [00:28:30] Speaker B: There we go. [00:28:31] Speaker A: And that's what we have inside. [00:28:32] Speaker B: And that's what guides us. [00:28:35] Speaker A: The Holy Spirit is what guides us. So I'm glad that you brought up that point. [00:28:39] Speaker B: Yeah, well, you started it. I'm following your flow, girl. [00:28:44] Speaker A: That leads to what? So here on our notes we have what can self love lead to? [00:28:51] Speaker B: Manifestation of living a best, a better life. [00:28:54] Speaker A: Increase confidence. Right. So that's. Yes, that's what that is. When you increase Your confidence in yourself, you improve in decision makings. And when you make better decisions and being the CEO of our, of our home, then we're able to guide our families better. [00:29:13] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. But, but you have to start with self love. [00:29:18] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:29:20] Speaker B: It's self love. So I'm gonna tell you a little story. So I used to work for a doctor. I loved this doctor for many, many years. And when I started self loving me and putting boundaries, he wasn't feeling it. So he wasn't feeling it because now I wasn't giving me his. I wasn't giving him my undivided attention. I was all about business, all about work, making sure I. All those clients, all those patients, you know, and I wasn't taking care of me. So I, when I found that Reiki, I said I have to take care of me. Wait, that have to. I can't overwhelm my energy and give it out so much to somebody else, especially someone who wasn't really grateful for it. So you really need to really believe that the Holy Spirit is there for you. Listen to it, meditate. Because when I started doing that and practicing rape, people listening to my. Because I went to Catholic school, like I said, that's what guided me to be better. So self love guides you to be better for yourself and make better choices so you won't get stuck in the mud. And you can manifest your dreams. You can start journaling and manifesting your dreams. [00:30:32] Speaker A: Journaling is a powerful tool. [00:30:34] Speaker B: And again, you're a writer. You're a writer. [00:30:36] Speaker A: I'm a writer. That not cost money to write your words down, your feelings on paper, you know, and then when you have a moment that you are calm, you can read your thoughts. Especially like if you're going through a lot of anger and a lot of emotions. And we spoke about how that fire comes in into women. And sometimes we can be very explosive and the mood swings. If you sit down and you journal. And then when you have that quiet moment, you can look back and you can read your thoughts. [00:31:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:31:10] Speaker A: And in reading your thoughts, that's another way of healing. [00:31:13] Speaker B: Also 100 ladies, let me tell you, is you, you said this. When that energy and you're pissed off at something at that moment, ladies, take a time to step back because that's. When women are in menopause, we tend to make little stupid mistakes because we're running with our emotions. Take that step back. Think about it. Drink water, calm the energy. [00:31:44] Speaker A: Now water is great again because it calms you down. It brings that coolness when you drink that cold glass of water and you feel it, because I have, you know, that temperature, that fire that builds up. Drinking that cold glass of water brings everything down. [00:32:02] Speaker B: And then you move forward because you don't want to do anything when you have that menopausal brain. [00:32:09] Speaker A: I love how you said that. That menopausal brain and that have menopausal brain. All those chemicals, all those chemicals, all those hormones over. And we need to figure out how to prevent all those hormones from taking over our brain. [00:32:27] Speaker B: Yeah, we definitely do. So I think that. I think that you and I, we definitely want to bring that to our community. Whoever, you know, engages with our podcast, we want to bring in speakers that. That can help us also navigate our. What, our emotions. Just because we're talking about it doesn't mean there's so much more to learn about ours. We are beautiful but complicated. Yes, very. So we have to learn how to live with mind, body and spirit and balance all of that, you know, because if. When you balance all three, you have a better harmonious life. You could be in your 60s and still feel like you're in your 30s. You could be in your 70s and still feel like you, you know, you're still young and you want to dance and you want to rock and roll. You can. We. God, want us. He wants us to have fun. He wants us to have a joyful life. He wants us to have community. [00:33:26] Speaker A: That's right. Por is muy fuerte en el momento. That kind of like brings us down. See how I switched there from Spanish? [00:33:57] Speaker B: No, I got. I love it. No, let's do it. [00:33:59] Speaker A: That's my brain. [00:34:01] Speaker B: We're from Washington Heights. [00:34:04] Speaker A: We're from Washington Heights. [00:34:05] Speaker B: We had to switch it up. That's right. [00:34:07] Speaker A: That's right. [00:34:08] Speaker B: We had to mingle. Everywhere you go, it was different, you know, everywhere. Amsterdam was different. Fort Washington, Riverside, you know, and it was amazing. Broadway. [00:34:19] Speaker A: Broadway. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Broadway was busy, girl. [00:34:21] Speaker A: Broadway was busy. The. Yes. [00:34:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:27] Speaker A: The highway of everything happening there on Broadway. But I love how you said that Washington Heights has such diversity with different neighborhoods and beautiful. That's what makes people. That's what makes people. [00:34:41] Speaker B: Community. [00:34:42] Speaker A: Community. [00:34:44] Speaker B: Community. Listen, I. I love living in the Heights. It was. It was crazy, and it was beautiful, and it made me who I am today. [00:34:54] Speaker A: And these are all things that we're going to unpack. Yes. This is our first episode, but we've touched on. [00:35:00] Speaker B: Yes. [00:35:00] Speaker A: So many different topics that we're going to be unpacking one at a time. And we just wanted to bring it to the audience attention that there's more to come. There's more to. [00:35:11] Speaker B: Definitely more to come. And you know what? We're figuring it out because, like you said, this is our first episode. But if you guys, what do you want to hear? What do you want to know about what's, you know, what do you want to be curious? What are you curious about? Maybe we'll have some answers, and if we don't, we'll figure it out. We'll find someone. [00:35:27] Speaker A: Yes, yes. [00:35:28] Speaker B: And like, one of the questions that. [00:35:30] Speaker A: We wrote on our note is, what brings you tranquility? How do women use their time to bring tranquility into their lives? Is it exercising? Is it, you know, journaling? Is it reading the Bible? Is it practicing yoga? [00:35:51] Speaker B: All of that. All of it. [00:35:52] Speaker A: Getting Reiki, you know, to heal your body, to shift your energy. What does our audience do to bring tranquility into their lives? [00:36:04] Speaker B: Yeah, we want to know. We definitely want to know. But one thing that I tell you that brings tranquility to my life is prayer, meditation, and hoping for a better universe, for a better world. For a better universe. A better world. [00:36:21] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:36:21] Speaker B: Because let me tell you, as an elder, I have some concerns, but that's a different episode. [00:36:34] Speaker A: Absolutely, that's a different episode. We're wrapping our episode up, and once again, I want to give a shout out to Mental Health of America. Thank you, Andrew o', Grady, for the opportunity to sponsor us. Thank you for the opportunity of giving us this moment, for us to talk to women, to the public about the struggles, the struggles that women between their 40s and on, because menopause does not leave us either, to be able to express and ask people, you know, what do you need in your life in order to not allow these emotions that can take over to break down your mental health? [00:37:27] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I also want to say thank you so much, Andrew. I don't know you personally, but Yvette talks very highly about you. Of you. I am very happy because mental illness is in the home. Is in the homes, and it starts sometimes with the mom, because if mom is not feeling well, those babies are not going to do well. The husband's not going to be happy, and it's going to be a hot mess. So I appreciate it because it's all about the community. It affects all of us. So thank you so much. [00:37:56] Speaker A: I agree. Thank you so much, Iris. Also, thank you. [00:37:59] Speaker B: Thank you for making me part of. [00:38:01] Speaker A: This and bringing this awareness to. To women out there. And we love you. We love you very, very much. And we're here for you, Iris and I. And, yeah, we like to call ourselves ElBochinche. Es. I and I are you. [00:38:19] Speaker B: I and I are here for you. We'll figure it out. If you don't know, if we don't know, we'll figure it out. Trust me. Yvette, thank you so much. [00:38:27] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:38:27] Speaker B: God bless. God bless.