Pause On The Play

Diet culture is everywhere.

What we consider healthy. What we consider unhealthy. The foods that we’re taught are good for us and the ones that we’re told to stay away from. How we think about food, health, and wellness is shaped by a culture steeped in white supremacy culture.

There is so much more nuance available to us around food, health, wellness, and culture–not to mention enjoyment–when we break down the binary of goo...

​So often, our goals and the way we feel about success come from what we’re supposed to want, what we’re supposed to do, and how we’re supposed to act and feel once we achieve those goals.

But being truly satisfied with our achievements means defining success outside of the “shoulds.”

Amanda McKinney joins Erica for a replay from a live conversation within The Pause on the Play Community about success, accidental entrepreneu...

How do your identities impact the way you show up at work and how you interact with work culture?

How we move through the world is influenced by white supremacy, colorism, and capitalism, and it can have profound impacts on our working life and our physical and mental health.

And while none of us can extract ourselves entirely from these systems, it may be possible–even necessary–to say enough is enough and forge a n...

Have you ever felt like you betrayed yourself?

We live in a culture that teaches us to forsake our own wants in favor of serving others. We operate from a place of “I’m fine,” and get stuck in functional freeze, even when from the outside it appears we’re successful.

María-Victoria Albina joins Erica for a discussion about resentment and obligation, setting and holding standards, and tending to your nervous system as...

As seasons shift, our thoughts may turn to growth and transformation.

And it’s worth taking a pause to consider what you might need to let go of in order to continue to grow.

Erica shares her thoughts on releasing the ideas and narratives you no longer want to hold, creating space to grow, and affirmations to support you along the way.

In this discussion:

• Identifying and releasing the ideas and narratives that you no longe...

Goal-setting can bring out the perfectionist in many of us. 

When our goals don’t account for our imperfect humanity, it leads to burnout and feeling like a failure. Getting stuck in the mentality that there is one course of action or one right way to do things doesn’t honor what we learn and experience along the way, even when things don’t go to plan.

Betsaida Lebron joins Erica to discuss setting J.A.N.K.Y goals that allow...

Your values are the foundation for every single thing that you do.

Yet sometimes, we think we have to leave those values at the door when we go to work, whether in our own businesses or as team members for others. But your values come with you wherever you go.

Erica and India discuss rethinking how your values show up in your business, getting explicit about them, and why being clear on your values helps you build lasting ...

Doing the work of shifting systems toward equity and equality can take a massive toll physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

It’s easy to feel like you’re not doing enough when you’re working against systems that existed long before you. But it’s important to remember that it’s not your debt to pay.

Erica shares a reminder about the debts that we owe, and the importance of doing the work in community.

In this discussion...

When you’re working toward creating more equity in your business, it can be tempting to use demographic labels to diversify your client list and work with underrepresented communities.

But assessing a potential client for fit is about more than labels. 

Guest host Cher Hale discusses why she chose to shift her business to working exclusively with underrepresented voices, how she sets and keeps her boundaries around client ...

Getting involved in the speaking industry is one way to build your thought leadership and support yourself or your business. 

But that journey isn’t the same for everyone. There is more work that needs to be done to make the speaking industry more equitable.

Danielle Tucker joins Erica for a conversation about the speaking industry, building thought leadership, and how people of color can be more visible and get paid well ...

We tend to think of being a leader as something someone is or isn’t.

But a concept of leadership that focuses only on the individual misses the inherently social nature of being a leader.

Erica discusses what it means to be in leadership, why leadership is social, and why leaders must consider the collective whole.

In this discussion:

• How the common conception of leadership reinforces white supremacy culture

• Why le...

While many business owners want to do business differently, there is no one-size-fits-all checklist for building a business that supports collective liberation.

But there is plenty of shame, guilt, and expectation around how to do business. Yet shame and guilt can actually stifle our growth and perfection is neither a reasonable goal nor expectation.

Jeffrey Shiau joins Erica for a conversation about building a liberatory ...

Many of us live lives that are disconnected from the land and our environment.

The process of learning about the traditional stewards of the land you’re on, and honoring the environment can have impacts that go beyond land acknowledgments.

India joins Erica for a discussion about acknowledging and honoring the land, what Erica has learned about gardening, and how she’s evolving in her work and relationships.

In this discus...

Labels like co-dependent, perfectionist, and people-pleaser get used constantly. We’re told we shouldn’t be those things.

But for many of us, those labels stem from survival skills we learned in our early lives. And reliance on labels can actually undermine our ability to heal from these behavioral patterns.

María-Victoria Albina joins Erica for a discussion of survival skills, authenticity, embodiment, agency, and choicef...

There are words that we use so often that we rarely stop to consider the impact that they can have.

The word but is often used when we discuss things like Black History Month. “It’s important but, it’s the shortest month of the year…” The word but negates what comes before it. When you use the word but you may be negating the lived experiences and realities of others without even realizing it.

For the final episode of Blac...

Black History Month often curtails the true scope of Black history to a few key periods of time, but Black history is much more than the history of enslavement or the Civil Rights Movement.

Black history is full of innovation and joy, and it’s being made all around us.

Erica and India discuss the importance of recognizing and celebrating Black joy during Black History Month, and all year long.

In this discussion:

• Why...

Getting clarity on how you want to be in community–whether one-on-one, in a group, or taking time to process on your own before coming back to the group–helps create interdependence by fostering a community of choice that benefits that collective whole.

Erica digs into showing up as yourself and how fostering interdependence creates counterbalances and safety nets as we navigate liminal spaces, planning for the future as...

Systemic biases can have profound impacts on how we receive medical care and support. 

Members of marginalized communities may be brushed off, misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and mistreated within the medical system, sometimes with catastrophic effects.Andrea Nakayama joins Erica for a discussion about bias, medical gaslighting, a systems approach to health, and how to advocate for yourself in medical settings.

In this discus...

A new year is often a time of reflecting on the past and planning for the future, but it’s important to remember that where we are right now matters.

And as content creators, it matters that you share what’s going on with you and not forget yourself in the process of interviewing others or providing value through teaching. 

Erica and India get together to share where they are right now and why it’s important for conten...