Dance, Song, Story & Stillness: Jemarc Axinto on Soul Sickness, Burnout, and Creative Healing

Why we should (always) practice accessibility

I was briefly part of a work group in spring of 2022 that focused on accessibility standards for the spa. We called it the Equity workgroup. Why would that be important? Why would a spa consider how someone in a wheelchair might receive massage therapy? Why would it be important to consider how somebody transgender should be guided to the locker rooms? How they should be addressed? Why would it be important to consider what pronouns and what names might be used in an intake form? Why might it be important to consider how someone of Black skin and hair is guided through services and oils that might not be the best for their skin and hair types? Why might it be important to consider how to drape a bigger body who might require more than one towel and might require an XXL bathrobe? It’s important because it teaches... Accessibility. But more importantly, it teaches Collective Care. It teaches collective liberation. It teaches that “luxury” services and healing arts and centers for bringing care to the forefront of conversation are also places that can put elitism and classism to the side. Accessibility is important because we understand that in order to help our children, we’re looking out for All children. Get full access to Needle in a Shaystack at shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe [https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Dance, Song, Story & Stillness: Jemarc Axinto on Soul Sickness, Burnout, and Creative Healing

I am “soul” excited to introduce Kuyate Jemarc in this concluding episode of the Equitable Wellness podcast, before an indefinite break! Our season finale features Jemarc Axinto, Filipinx neurodivergent and nonbinary trauma recovery coach, spiritual guide, and public speaker. Together we ask four intriguing shamanic questions to address soul sickness and burnout. The conversation touches on Buddhism, neuroscience, trauma healing, and lived experience to inform creation as healing within restorative culture. A full transcript and show notes are available on the blog at https://shaynagrajo.com/burnout-as-soul-sickness-jemarc-axinto/ [https://shaynagrajo.com/burnout-as-soul-sickness-jemarc-axinto/] People & Mentions Jemarc Axinto · Harvard Divinity School · Indigenous African shamanic traditions · the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni), sutras and shastras · Yungblud · Daddio movie with Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn · César A. Cruz/Bansky quote · Doechii · Pete Holmes · Pikachu & Yoda · Megamind movie · Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism · Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics · good ol’capitalism and algorithmic social platforms · neurodivergent & trauma-informed healing About Jemarc Axinto Jemarc Axinto is a Filipinx nonbinary trauma recovery coach, wellness consultant, spiritual guide, and public speaker. With over a decade of experience in trauma healing, Jemarc integrates neuroscience, Tantric Buddhism, limbic system retraining, meditation, mantra, and breathwork to support others in healing and rewiring trauma at the intersection of science and spirituality. They have spoken at Harvard and trained mental health professionals across disciplines, offering an approach that bridges science, spirituality, and lived experience. Visit their website → jemarcaxinto.com [https://www.jemarcaxinto.com/] Get full access to Needle in a Shaystack at shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe [https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Mental Health and the Marching Arts, with Jarid Polite

In this episode of Equitable Wellness, Jarid Polite and I finally hold the mental health conversation direly needed to be expressed en masse within the unique marching arts activity. The founder and artistic director of the Melanin Mosaic Performance Ensemble dials in from Toronto to talk all things color guard and care: from representation, artistry, and education to the mental health struggles that are ready to take the stage. Our podcast conversation takes us from inner-city ‘90s New York to Uganda and back, touching on the silences of burnout, trauma, abuse, financial barriers, ageism, and abelism within a community art form that we are evolving for pleasure, joy, equity & creativity well beyond traditional pageantry competition. Get to know Jarid—whose grandmother, aunt, mother, and father all had involvement with the activity—and learn about the Melanin Mosaic’s March Forward Wellness Initiative, designed to create systems of care, mental health, and wellness for all performance members of the marching community: past, present, and future. A full transcript and show notes are available on the blog at shaynagrajo.com/podcast [http://shaynagrajo.com/podcast] People & Mentions Jarid Polite · Melanin Mosaic Performance Ensemble · Cadets of First Baptist Church of Crown Heights · DCI (Drum Corpos International) · “Drumline” (film) · HBCU Community (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) · WGI (Winter Guard International) · Dayton Black Dance Company · Dayton Ballet Company · Black Lives Matter Movement · Reddit · 1990s New York City marching arts environment · March Forward Wellness Initiative · National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) · Megan Yankee · MAASIN · U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health · RISE Group · Santa Clara Vanguard · Atlanta National Civil Rights Museum · Dr. Martin Luther King About Jarid Polite Jarid Polite is the founder and artistic director of Melanin Mosaic Performance Ensemble—a growing collective that reimagines the marching arts through storytelling, movement, and representation. Guided by his deep love for movement, film, music, and theater, Jarid blends disciplines to create experiences that speak to both heart and heritage. His work celebrates the brilliance of the African diaspora while exploring what mental health looks like within the marching and performance community. Grounded in empathy and care for others, his mission is simple: to create art that moves, heals, and builds community. Read more here → melaninmosaicpe.com [http://melaninmosaicpe.com] Get full access to Needle in a Shaystack at shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe [https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Reluctant Capitalist: Eroding Capitalism as Solopreneurs

In this episode of the Equitable Wellness podcast, we hold conversation with Marisa Guthrie — coach, entrepreneur, and author of the forthcoming book, The Reluctant Capitalist. Together we explore the paradox of surviving and thriving while transforming a system that profits from global injustices. Through the lens of equity, liberation, and holistic business, we unpack anticapitalism and what it means to create ethical income, hold sovereignty within collective wellness, and fulfill the lifetime arc of eroding capitalism as solopreneurs. It’s been my utmost honor and pleasure to chat with Marisa, for whom writing the book The Reluctant Capitalist is an act of “audacious hope.” Give this episode a listen to hear about her experiences in multicultural London, post-apartheid South Africa, nearly 30 years of entrepreneurship, and the deep research for her book: from economists like Eric Olin Wright and Kate Raworth to journalists like George Monbiot. A full transcript and show notes are available on the blog at shaynagrajo.com/podcast [http://shaynagrajo.com/podcast] People & Mentions Global Sumud Flotilla · Pedro Sánchez · Nelson Mandela · Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine · Eric Olin Wright · Kate Raworth · George Monbiot · Simone Grace Seol · Maeggan Megginson · Roots TV mini-series 1977 · Alex Haley About Marisa Guthrie Marisa Guthrie is a business coach and entrepreneur who helps solopreneurs balance profit and purpose so they can grow their income without compromising their ethics or their wellbeing. She supports solopreneurs in creating business models that have social justice baked into them, ensuring their work aligns with both their purpose and their financial goals. With nearly 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, Marisa brings deep expertise in building ethical, sustainable businesses that thrive. Read more here → The Reluctant Capitalist™ [https://marisaguthrie.substack.com/] on Substack and marisaguthriecoaching.com [https://marisaguthriecoaching.co.uk/] Get full access to Needle in a Shaystack at shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe [https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Decolonizing Yoga: Beyond Representation and Into Liberation

If yoga is freedom, why has it been used to justify war, uphold caste systems, and mask state violence? In this deep conversation, activist scholar Sheena Sood, PhD unpacks the shadow side of yoga — from its weaponization and “Omwashing” to its long history and present entanglement with state violence among supremacist entities. We explore how governments, militaries, and nationalist movements co-opt yoga, and we dare to ask how to reclaim it for justice, anti-oppression, anti-imperial values, and collective healing. If you’ve ever felt uneasy about the commercialization, appropriation, or politics of yoga, this episode will nourish both your critical mind and radical heart. A full transcript and show notes are available on the blog at shaynagrajo.com/podcast [http://shaynagrajo.com/podcast] People & Mentions Lenni-Lenapehoking people · Baba Ramdev · Hindutva ideology · Highlander Research and Education Center · Movement to Free Mumia Abu Jamal · George Floyd · “Little Israel” in Himachal Pradesh · Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank · Narendra Modi · Magnolia Zuniga · Nissim Amon · Tejal Patel · Hadeel Gharbawi · Al-Jawad Camp · Donald Trump · Mariame Kaba Key Takeaways * Decolonial yoga does not stop at BIPOC representation — it demands radical ethical frameworks. * “It’s important to talk about the harmful weaponization of yoga by the Zionist entity and other members of the far right who are in alliance with Israel right now.” * The liberatory potential of yoga includes organized political action — even militant political action — in the face of injustice. * A truly decolonial approach is built in the present toward the future; it can’t simply be reclaimed from the past. * Recognizing yoga’s entanglement with systems of violence invites more intentional, politicized practice. * Naming contradictions creates the space to birth more liberatory ways of practicing and teaching yoga. ABOUT SHEENA SOOD, PHD Sheena is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Delaware Valley University; and a Philly-based activist scholar, yoga practitioner, and healing justice visionary. She earned her yoga certifications at Kailash Tribal School in McLeodganj, India, and her research “Omwashing Yoga: Self-care and State Violence among the Global Far-Right” examines how right-wing movements in India, Israel and the U.S. appropriate yoga to advance ethnonational, colonial, and supremacist agendas. Her work appears in Jadaliyya, Race & Yoga Journal, Al Jazeera, and multiple edited volumes, such as Practicing Yoga as Resistance: Voices of Color in Search of Freedom and The Yoga Teacher's Survival Guide: Social Justice, Science, Politics, and Power. She co-founded Yogis for Palestine [https://www.yogis4palestine.com/] and created Yoga Warrior Tales [https://www.instagram.com/yogawarriortales/], a social-justice–oriented yoga program for children. Read more here → sheenashining.com [https://sheenashining.com/] Get full access to Needle in a Shaystack at shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe [https://shaynagrajo.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]