Wellness is a civil right, and long before we were looking at how people of color were unintentionally left out of the wellness community, Reverend Imani Olear was illuminating the fact that supposed healing environments were severely lacking access and subsequently were the cause for the very thing they were out to heal. Imani is a Luthern Pastor, a Spiritual Activist and Founder of Yoga 4 A Good Hood and Tru Yoga Rochester. She advocates for people to know what they may view as their deep brokenness may be, in fact, their deepest gift. Like she shares in this episode, “Your misery is your ministry and you can’t escape your calling.” In this episode, Imani shares her journey from stripper and addict to pastor and yogi to beloved teacher. Allie and her talk through the significance of the analogy of breaking bread and how this simple act has the possibility to lead to world healing; how the world has forgotten about basic human rights; why they believe our greatest spiritual assignment is to love unconditionally; and how to live the “yes/and” life as opposed to the common default “either/or.”
As a Lutheran Pastor at her recently planted church Sankofa- a beloved community of faith exploration that encourages people of color to explore their ancestral roots; the Founder of and Yoga Instructor at Yoga 4 A Good Hood and Tru Yoga Rochester; a Healer; and Self Proclaimed Ambassador of Love, Imani Olear’s life mission is to help the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community see their beauty and giftedness.
In this episode, Allie explores Imani’s human experience. They discuss:
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This episode was co-produced by Allie Nunzi and Lucca Petrucci and mixed and mastered by Alec Kwo.