In this episode, I sit down with Ritu Bhasin, a renowned diversity, inclusion and empowerment speaker, author, consultant, coach, strategist. Ritu and I talk about what drives her to do the work she does. 

We start off the conversation about how the 1960s and 1970s saw a new wave of immigration to Canada, and how Ritu’s upbringing in Toronto and Unionville was shaped by the race-based bullying she experienced. Ritu shares stories of social isolation and feeling like an outsider growing up in Unionville, and how the intersection of race and class identity impacted her social acceptance as a young brown woman (ex. shopping at Biway when the other kids rocked Roots and Benetton). These experiences had a tremendous impact on Ritu and inform the work she does now in disrupting forms of supremacy. Ritu also explains the neuroscience of how trauma is kept in the body and can be passed down inter-generationally. We close the discussion by talking about the importance of listening to your body and using mind-body methods of healing. 

If you haven’t heard of Ritu yet, check out her book, The Authenticity Principle. I personally found it to be a very useful roadmap to identify situations where I am not being my most “real” self, and how I can bring my true self forward.  You can follow Ritu on Instagram, or check out her website that’s filled with free tools like blogs, videos, and free self-reflection worksheets to help you live your best!