I'm Curious with Ashley Asti

What if poetry could unlock our potential to heal? Jim Elsaesser, a healing poetry guide who has facilitated workshops for survivors of sexual and domestic violence, for girls at the School for Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA), and more, joins me to talk about the connective, spirit-opening power of sharing and writing poetry in community. He insists that, whether you’ve ever written a poem or not, poetry is in you and it can walk you back home to yourself. Learn more about SOLA in this recent 60 Minutes segment, “Daring to Educate Afghanistan’s Girls.”

Jason Bryant, the Director of Restorative Programs at CROP Organization, shares what it’s like to experience marriage and fatherhood from across a prison visiting room table. He talks openly about personal responsibility and how it was his commitment to serve that transformed his relationship to himself and his community, and propelled him to the governor’s attention, who ordered his immediate release in 2020 for his life-changing work while incarcerated. Everyday, Jason takes new steps to build his and our collective “unprecedented future.” It’s impossible to not be moved and inspired by his energy. Learn more about CROP: croporganization.org Check out CROP’s Prison Post Podcast. 

After hitting rock bottom repeatedly, Michael Hoffner discovered the secret to his healing that he had been missing: deep spiritual communion and belonging. Today, he is the founder and Executive Director of the Community Growth Center in Long Island, NY, a non-profit center for spiritual and personal growth. Our conversation explores disconnection as the source of our discontent, our inherent worthiness, and the root of healing. Learn more about Michael’s work on the Community Growth Center website: communitygrowthcenter.org

Time. Urgency. Purpose. This episode with psychic medium Denise Correll will make you want to seize the day: as she says, it’s never too late to release the past and step into the fullness of who you’re becoming. Denise invites us to embrace pleasure and the sensual joys of being in this body—taste, touch, smell, communing with nature. We talk about dying regrets and how to wake up to your one precious life while you’re still here. What happens when we don’t hold back? Connect with Denise: Website: https://www.thegratefulmessenger.com Enlightened Empaths Podcast

Richard Mireles didn’t know if he’d ever come home from prison. Serving 25 years-to-life and faced with the possibility of dying in prison, he knew he had to make a choice: “I had to take a stand and say, I’m going to be committed to loving all people.” Today, three years home from prison, Richard embodies compassion, committed public service, and determination to live meaningfully while he still has time. His words and story will move you and surprise you—and remind you of the power of courage, faith, and love. Connect with Richard: The Prison Post Podcast CROP Organization

“Every single human being experiences trauma…it’s part of the human experience.” Somatic coach Marina Yanay-Triner and I deep-dive into trauma’s roots in the body. She insists that healing from trauma cannot happen with talk therapy alone: we need to heal from within, on the level of the nervous system. We talk about building our capacity to connect with our feelings after trauma and Marina gets personal, sharing her own healing journey, with trauma extending back generationally to her grandmother who was imprisoned in a labor camp during the Holocaust. Connect with Marina: Website: https://marinayt.com Instagram: @marina.y.t Take Marina's latest course, Treasure's in the Trigger: Regulating, Healing, and Living Fully Alive!

Kayra Martinez, the founder of Love Without Borders for Refugees in Need, joins me one year after our first on-air conversation. Kayra has been working with individuals in refugee camps in Greece since 2015, providing the healing power of art as well as other empowering opportunities. In this conversation, we explore not only her work and life in the camps during COVID-19, but our interconnectedness and her calling to serve. Website: http://lovewithoutborders4refugees.com/ Etsy Shop (to purchase art created by refugees). Listen back to my first conversation with Kayra in early 2021 here.

Serena Liguori, the Executive Director of New Hour for Women and Children—Long Island, is an activist and a force—a woman living from her power who’s equipping other women to emerge after incarceration knowing their power as the leaders of their own lives and in their communities. She unpacks her story, from growing up poor but filled with joy and love, to the women she met behind bars, to her depth as an activist and her intentions as a mother. Website: https://www.newhourli.org Instagram: @newhourforwomen Twitter: @NewHOUR_LI Facebook: @NewHOURforWomenandChildren

Dionne Ybarra is invigorating! After entering her 50th year, Dionne chose to embrace her wisdom, her passion, and her curiosity and say an even greater yes to life. She is a birth doula, is training to be a death doula, and the Executive Director of The Wahine Project, an organization that connects people who otherwise wouldn’t have the resources to access the ocean, build a relationship with it, and learn to surf. Together, we explore fear, birth, death, resilience, and being on the precipice. The Wahine Project: https://www.thewahineproject.org Instagram: @thewahineproject  Facebook: @wahineproject

Gloria Araya is a modern day Renaissance woman—a dancer and movement teacher, photographer, and social activist. Her life is a masterclass in generous listening—the ways she listens to her body, her neighbors and companion creatures, and the world. Together, we explore sensuality, death, projection, love and more.  Connect with Gloria: Ayun Movement: https://ayunmovement.com/ Photography: https://www.gloriaarayaphotography.com Instagram: @glorialight and gloriarayaphotography

When Nikita was in 6th grade, his dad went to prison. In this episode, Nikita explores with me the loneliness he felt knowing that his experience with his dad—essentially a relationship over the phone—was different than many of his peers. He talks about the advice he wished he would have gotten from his dad, but also the ways his dad was a consistent and guiding force, even from a distance. For the past three years, Nikita was a member of the Osborne Association’s Youth Action Council, for teens with an incarcerated parent. Today, at age 18, he’s in his first few months of college at Binghamton University in New York—and he wonders if he would have gotten there without Osborne. About The Osborne Association: Based out of New York, they’re a mission to serve individuals, families, and communities affected by the criminal justice system. They provide programs that offer opportunities for people to heal from and repair harm, restore their lives, and thrive. They challenge systems rooted in racism and retribution and fight for policies and practices that promote true safety, justice, and liberation. The Youth Action Council provides civic engagement and advocacy training and as well as growth opportunities for young people ages 15 to 18 who have currently or recently incarcerated parents. Connect with Osborne: Website: https://www.osborneny.org Facebook: @osborneny Instagram: @osborneassociation

Zach and I set out to answer this question: are work and purpose the same thing? Zach and I have known each other since high school and, since then, have found ourselves on unlikely paths: him working his way through divinity school only to lapse with the Church and me seeking entrepreneurial—but not always stable—pursuits all in my hunger to unite my passion and my job. But as we both stand at the precipice of new career opportunities—him choosing, at least for the moment, a solid 9 to 5 at a local company and me a full-time opportunity at a nonprofit—we want to know: can and should a job fulfill you? Along the way, we wonder about what it means to do the work of living a life—creative work, spiritual work, and community work—all to unpack what it means to us to live a good life.

“I’m going to show you what a divine miracle you are.” Photographer Jade Beall doesn’t simply capture someone’s image through her lens; she reminds them of their beauty. Ten years ago, deep in postpartum depression after the birth of her son and feeling at war with her body, she stripped off her clothes and took a photo for the world to see, no hiding. It went viral—women wanted to liberate themselves from hiding, too, and to see the truth of their own magnificence in a world that continues to tell them their bodies are too much or never enough. Since then, Jade has taken millions of photographs of women in their bare beauty, all shapes and stages of life. It is Jade’s heart that can be felt the most in this episode. Her book Wise Bodies Beautiful Elders comes out this spring. About Jade: Jade Beall is a proud mother and a Tucson, AZ based world-renowned photographer specializing in truthful images of women that inspire them to feel irreplaceably beautiful and good about one's body as a counter-balance to the airbrushed, photoshopped imagery of a single body shape and age that dominates mainstream media. Her work and book "Bodies Of Mothers" has touched millions of women's lives and garnered global attention from media outlets including the BBC, The Today Show, The Huffington Post, and beyond. Jade's books and social media platforms feature truthful photos of women alongside their stories of their journey to build self-compassion in a world that thrives off women believing that their bodies are problematic and never enough. Connect with Jade: Website: jadebeall.com Instagram: @jadebeallphotography Facebook: @jadebeallphotography

At 40 years old, Oneika Mays found herself in limbo. After walking away from a great paying job with all the perks she could never have imagined possible for herself growing up, she found herself in the middle of a sweaty hot yoga class in New York City and on a threshold. In the throes of chair pose, she realized she didn’t know the way forward, but she knew it wasn’t what she had been doing—the way ahead was outside her comfort zone. Today, Oneika is a Mindfulness Coach working full-time in Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York, and everyday she explores the grayness of finding joy and connection in a jail while also believing that the oppressive system must crumble. “Joy does sometimes exist in conjunction with pain or with sorrow,” she says, and “we have to allow that to happen.” In addition to her work within the prison system, she teaches classes, facilitates workshops and trainings, and leads retreats. She believes that when we can connect with ourselves we can become more connected to the world around us. Connect with Oneika Website: https://www.oneikamays.com Instagram: @oneikamays Twitter: @oneikamays Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneikasYogaLife/

“We have to get out of this notion that revenge is going to heal us in any way.” Mercedes Montagnes grew up wanting to be an actress. Instead, she found herself taking the LSATs on a whim and, eventually, becoming a lawyer. As the Executive Director of The Promise of Justice Initiative, Mercedes and her litigation team are challenging racist laws and practices in prisons in Louisiana, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. In our conversation, we explore what meaningful healing looks like (including for survivors), her continuing fight for justice for those convicted by the Jim Crow era practice of nonunanimougs juries, prison plantation labor, Covid—and, of course, change. “There is hope,” she told me. “It’s hard,” but change is possible. Mercedes Montagnes is the Executive Director of The Promise of Justice Initiative. Mercedes jumped into her legal career feet first by litigating prison conditions throughout Louisiana. Her first impact litigation case challenged the alarming heat conditions on Death Row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as Angola. Today, her litigation team is tackling a myriad of issues ranging from medical care to over detention. In addition to leading the litigation team, Mercedes oversees the projects at PJI. In the last year, this has included exposing corruption and violence in law enforcement in Jefferson Davis Parish, building the Jim Crow Juries Project on behalf of people incarcerated from non-unanimous juries, establishing and building Louisiana Survivors for Reform—a group of justice minded survivors, and coordinating litigation and policy responses to COVID-19 for those in prisons and jails throughout the state. Mercedes’ work is rooted in the belief that our criminal court system must be reformed in order to keep our communities, both inside and outside prison, safe. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and clerked for Judge Carl Barbier in the Eastern District of Louisiana and Chief Judge Roger Gregory on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Connect with Promise of Justice Initiative: Website: https://promiseofjustice.org Instagram: @justicespromise Twitter: @justicespromise  Facebook: @promiseofjustice

The host is in the hot seat! I handed the I’m Curious keys over to my friend Diane Kahn, who interviewed me. We explore my life lessons, my moments of shame and fear about my purpose, the best yoga classes where laughter erupts in the middle of them, and more. Let’s dive in! Connect with Ashley: Instagram: @ashleyasti Twitter: @ashley_asti

I grew up in a “very, very patriarchal country,” Alina Anjum Ahmed told me about her home, Pakistan. “It’s a different place,” she said, where gender role constrictions and violence against women is common. “I’m certain that a lot of women who have been abused or who have had violence committed against them don’t even know because they’re so used to it and because they think it’s so normal.”  By her early 20s, Alina started realizing the full scope of the violence and decided to do something about it. Today, a graduate student on a Fulbright scholarship in the United States, Alina is changing the way survivors in Pakistan understand harassment and abuse by bringing them together in listening circles where they can feel seen and heard. Alina is youthful and fiery and determined. I love her sense of her own power to create change and her responsibility—and I can’t wait to continue watching her grow. About Alina: Alina is a Pakistani Fulbright graduate student studying Philosophy in the US. She is a feminist activist and organizer who aims to work on Transformative Justice in community organizing. She volunteers for Aurat March Lahore, which does amazing work in feminist organizing, community aid, and socio-political resistance. She is also a GATHER fellow with Seeds of Peace for her work in her organization CHADAR (Challenging Harassment and Abuse, Demanding Action and Respect) and is a co-founder for Pakistan's first intersectional feminist e-mag Behenchara (translation: sisterhood). Behencharamag.com Chadar.org Seedsofpeace.org/changemakers/alina-2/ Spread Love: Alina suggests whoever can visits this GoFundMe page to support Afghan women activists fleeing the Taliban. 

“Today I know I deserve to be loved.” At 19 years old, Sol Mercado was locked up and given the death penalty. After years of experiencing abuse and violence at home and turning to gangs for love and protection, she felt hopeless and broken. But it was unexpected love in an unexpected place—from her niece and nephews in a California state prison visiting room—that reminded her she’s worthy of love and encouraged her to explore her own trauma and take accountability for the harm she caused. Sol is now home. She’s a nursery technician in Oakland, CA at Planting Justice and is expecting her first child.

“In a place where [racial boundaries] really existed for real...we brought everyone together with the power of music.” Eric “Maserati-E” Abercrombie went from teaching himself guitar in prison to recording music in historic studios with legends. Through his music, he’s breaking down the stigma of incarceration and taking back the power to tell his story. And he’s having an impact. “Love over hate all day,” he told me. “Love will take you so much further.” Instagram: @therealmaserati_e Twitter: @maserati_e  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EricAbercrombie54 Just Me and My Guitar EP: https://maserati-e.bandcamp.com/album/just-me-and-my-guitar San Quentin Mixtapes, Vol. 1: https://open.spotify.com/album/0sM3z0fP5UpOoDJWCKSkiI

“There’s not a person that I talk to inside that doesn’t feel forgotten.” Those words from this conversation still haven’t left me. Diane Kahn, my guest, is a teacher who went from an elementary school classroom to teaching men inside San Quentin prison. Along with incarcerated journalists, photographers, and editors who are serving time in the California prison or who have recently come home, she has created Humans of San Quentin, a digital storytelling space that seeks to break down the walls and stereotypes of prison life, allowing those behind the bars to be heard. While Diane offered me her time, wisdom, and love during this episode, I want, also, to celebrate everyone who makes Humans of SQ possible, including Juan Haines, Eddie Herena, Marcus Blevins, Joseph Krauter, and all the interns, volunteers, and people inside who are willing to share their stories and who offer us the blessing of listening. Connect with Humans of San Quentin: Website: https://www.humansofsanquentin.org Email: hi@humansofsanquentin.com Instagram: @humansofsanquentin Twitter: @humansSQ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humansofsanquentin.org