Diversity In The Wellness Space & How To Get Your Message Heard w/ Les Alfred

Les Alfred saw a lack in the representation of strong, colored women in the fitness community, so she decided to create a space herself. The Balanced Black Girl Podcast focuses on creating an inclusive wellness media hub that is more representative for more diverse groups of people. She works to amplify other women of color in wellness space so more people can get to know them and their message. About Les Alfred Focusing on creating a platform to help more people feel included and finding the most authentic version of yourself, Les is a force to be reckoned with and is here to share the story behind her huge transformation. Everything from getting comfortable sharing your voice, to the seasons of our fitness and establishing good habits is on the table today. It is time to start paying attention to more voices and broaden your perspective. There is so much more to health and nutrition than just doing squats, and Les is here to share all of it and more to you today. What are your thoughts about diversity in the wellness space? Let us know your thoughts in the comments on the episode page!   On Today's Episode Being a visible minority in the wellness space How to break out of the corporate world and into the personal training world Creating healthy habits and cementing them into your routine early Finding your core wellness values and non-negotiable wellness habits Cultural appropriation in wellness traditions and ways you can honor those traditions   Quotes "I decided okay, I want to be a personal trainer because I really love fitness, and I totally hated my corporate job, like the typical millennial story. And I was like, maybe if I can just help people work out, they will enjoy it as much as I do and they will get as much as I do." (14:02) "Everyone wants a quick fix, they want the secret. And really the secret is you do it one step at a time, one habit at a time until you master it, and then you move onto the next thing." (20:08) "When I learned how to just kind of relax and let myself have seasons and be a bit more intuitive with both movement and food, that was when my body was able to get to kind of a set point where it just kind of stays regardless of my fitness routine looks like." (24:54) "More people need to be included in these conversations. I was like, that's what I want to do. I want to facilitate conversations surrounding women of color in wellness. That's it! That's what we're going to do... Major lightbulb" (38:16) "I think not often enough do we take the time to understand where those practices actually come from, and what cultural significance they could have to people. And we are not really paying due diligence to make sure we're sharing and practicing these things in a way that is respectful to those cultures." (43:25)   Resources Mentioned In This Show  The GOOD Fest The Balanced Black Girl Podcast The Balanced Black Girl Website Follow Balanced Black Girl Podcast on Instagram Follow Balanced Les on Instagram Harder to Kill Facebook Club   Check out the full show notes here! Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes!