Brown Girl Confessions

We're excited to be back in the new year! In this episode we speak to Meenakshi Krishna who shares her experiences of navigating grief and how losing her father impacted her. We explore the importance of space and community as part of the grieving process. Meenakshi is also the founder of My Mantra, a wellness support service which focuses on providing both emotional and accountability coaching to aid others with their mental health and well being journey. Her experiences of grief has played a huge role in starting My Mantra and providing a safe space for others to talk through this process.

In this episode we have the opportunity to speak to Serena Chana who is the founder of Desi Minds, a platform which focuses on mental health within the South Asian community and the co-founder of the Panjabi Female Forum. We explore the importance of creating safe spaces within the community to talk about the impact the pandemic has had on mental health and the sense of isolation that has come with it. Serena has recently launched a mental health course designed specifically from a South Asian lens, and about topics that are important to the community in a supportive and inclusive space.

In this episode Angie speaks about her journey so far as a yoga teacher and the impact it has had on various aspects of her life. The mass commercialisation of the practice itself and the lack of representation that continues to exist within it in the western world is ever more evident. Angie provides her thoughts and reflections on what more needs to be done to ensure that the origins of the practice itself are not ultimately lost. 

In this episode Sukhjeen shares her experience of being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia. She speaks about both the personal and societal challenges she has faced due to the embedded perceptions that still exists around the topic of chronic illness. The stigmas attached to being diagnosed at such a young age are explored during the conversation and what more needs to be done to raise awareness of the negative impact this can have on a person's mental health. 

We are joined by Malvika Jaganmohan who is a specialist family law barrister, practising in public and private children law, and matrimonial finance. Alongside her practice, Malvika runs her own blog, 'Stiff Upper Lip' where she writes about mental health issues affecting lawyers and aims to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in the legal profession. **Trigger Warning - episode includes references to suicide**

In this episode we are joined by Ananya Sethi who is a model and social media influencer from New Jersey who believes in promoting self love and confidence, through her voice on social media and in the modelling field. She wants to spread the message of being confident in your own body especially to girls in the South Asian community and shares her experience of facing colourism within her community. 

In this episode we speak with Taranjeet who resides in Australia and is working towards breaking down stigmas around topics such as disability within communities and providing us with an insight into the systemic challenges that need to be addressed to bring about change. 

In this episode Ammaarah provides an insight into the work she is currently part of, in relation to addressing gender based violence in London and explores how such support has further heightened during this time.

Sandeep candidly speaks about her struggles and achievements as a Panjabi woman in America today. We discuss her personal journey and how she has kept herself motivated throughout the obstacles she has faced and why self-love should be taken more seriously.

An introduction to the Brown Girl Confessions Podcast & what has inspired me to embark on this journey to provide South Asian Women with a platform to amplify their voices.