This is not Tea
Is it tea if we’re just storytelling? Two yoga teachers of color discuss navigating challenging spaces, sometimes including Yogalandia itself.
Is it tea if we’re just storytelling? Two yoga teachers of color discuss navigating challenging spaces, sometimes including Yogalandia itself.
Episodes

Apr 17, 2025
Apr 17, 2025
1 hr 1 min
In this episode, Tamika and Ashley welcome to the show welcome to the show the incomparable radiant rest queen, teacher and founder of Empowered Life Circle, Tracee Stanley.
Tracee Stanley is the author of the bestselling book Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity and The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices & Rituals to Remember Who You Are (Shambhala Publications). Tracee is the founder of Empowered Life Circle, a sacred community and portal of practices, rituals, and Tantric teachings inspired by more than 28 years of studentship in Sri Vidya Tantra and the teachings of the Himalayan Masters. As a post-lineage teacher, Tracee is devoted to sharing the wisdom of yoga nidra, rest, meditation, self-inquiry, nature as a teacher, and ancestor reverence. Tracee holds certificates from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Advanced Eco-Therapy, New Thinking, Best Practices, and Emerging Modalities and a certificate in Advanced Ecopsychology. Tracee is gifted in illuminating the magic and power found in liminal space and weaving devotion and practice into daily life. Learn more at traceestanley.com.
Tamika, Ashley and Tracee get candid about their personal experiences in the Yoga community and explore the concepts of radiant rest, self-care, and community engagement, particularly within the context of Black women and femmes.
Tracee also shares paradigm-shifting wisdom from her bestselling books Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity and The Luminous Self: Sacred Yogic Practices & Rituals to Remember Who You Are.
Mentioned in the episode:
Favorite teas that offer calming and restful effects: blue lotus, chamomile, Gateway to Spirit livingtea.net
Free yoga nidra practices with Tracee may be found here.Find all things Tracee Stanley at her website Traceestanley.com and on Instagram @tracee_stanley
Buy her books: The Luminous Self and Radiant Rest
Follow Ashley and Tamika, as well as the This is Not Tea Pod on Instagram and YouTube.
Yoga with Ashley websiteTamika's Substack: Soul Garden
High gratitude to Pixel Punisher for the beats.
Apr 17, 2025
1 hr 1 min

Mar 7, 2025
Mar 7, 2025
1 hr 7 min
In this conversation with sound therapist and yoga educator, Shawn J. Moore, Tamika and Ashley delve into cultural identity, healing practices, and sound therapies while navigating exoticism, tokenism, and appropriation. They also discuss recontextualizing healing practices, and the importance of understanding the roles of representation, privilege, and intersectionality within the healing spaces.
Dive into this honest conversation to explore collective expansion, and self-actualization, and more.
Find all things Shawn Moore at his website ShawnJMoore.com and on Instagram.
Buy his new book, Sound is my Sanctuary to go beyond the surface of sound healing.
Follow Ashley and Tamika, as well as the This is Not Tea Pod on Instagram and YouTube.
Yoga with Ashley websiteTamika's Substack: Soul Garden
High gratitude to Pixel Punisher for the beats.
Mar 7, 2025
1 hr 7 min

Oct 4, 2024
Oct 4, 2024
1 hr 8 min
How do we care deeply for ourselves when we're operating in an environment with oppression baked in? Tamika & Ashley discuss the 8 Types of Self Care as described by Scottsdale Recovery Center and how they've found self care practices that might help navigate problematic systems.
Read the article: https://scottsdalerecovery.com/embracing-holistic-self-care-8-types-of-self-care-for-lasting-wellness/#:~:text=By%20embracing%20the%20eight%20types,towards%20lasting%20wellness%20and%20sobriety.
Oct 4, 2024
1 hr 8 min

Sep 13, 2024
"We don't talk about that here."
Sep 13, 2024
Sep 13, 2024
1 hr 16 min
In this episode, we discuss the masking and code-switching required to work in a studio. Can we show up as our full selves? If so, how do we navigate applying liberation philosophy to the realities of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ life?
Sep 13, 2024
1 hr 16 min

Sep 6, 2024
Predators, Praise, and Protection
Sep 6, 2024
Sep 6, 2024
1 hr 5 min
In this episode, Tamika and Ashley discuss the ubiquitous predatory behavior in the Yoga community, which, mimics so many other spaces of trust in which power and position are at play. There is no discussion of explicit or specific behaviors, but if these topics are triggering, please be advised.
Sep 6, 2024
1 hr 5 min

Aug 26, 2024
SEO Killed Yoga
Aug 26, 2024
Aug 26, 2024
50 min
What does the wellness world look like when it's run by marketing departments and tech bros? In this episode, Tamika and Ashley discuss how the search engine optimization (getting found in Google) and social media are informing what we see, who teaches, and how wellness, specifically yoga, are being shifted into something nearly unrecognizable.
Aug 26, 2024
50 min

Aug 16, 2024
Don’t Touch My Hair.
Aug 16, 2024
Aug 16, 2024
53 min
Is the new landscape of yoga modern day sharecropping? When is it okay to touch a Black woman’s hair? What’s the difference between tokenizing and culture-shifting?
In this episode, Tamika & Ashley talk about the tokenism, exoticism and commodification they've experienced inside and outside of wellness spaces.
Whether or not you care about yoga, there is something in it for you.
Aug 16, 2024
53 min

Aug 7, 2024
Big Backs and Yoga Mats
Aug 7, 2024
Aug 7, 2024
34 min
In this episode, Tamika and Ashley discuss fatphobia and the lie of sameness in Yogalandia and off the mat. They also offer some hope for the future. in Yogalandia and off the mat. They also offer some hope for the future.
Liking, rating, and sharing this podcast helps us grow!
Follow Tamika Caston-Miller and Ashley Rideaux on Instagram.
IG: @tamika_castonmiller @ashleyrideaux
Catch Ashley on her website and Tamika on hers.
yoga-with-ashley.com and tamikacastonmiller.com
Practice with Tamika & Ashley at Ashe Yoga Collective.
Music provided by: Brian Jackson aka PixelPunisher
Aug 7, 2024
34 min

Pour something & chill with us
Tamika Caston-Miller and Ashley Rideaux are notable yoga teachers in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California, respectively.
Known for applying ancient yoga principles to modern living, they have found themselves using their skills of compassion, rest and resilience in the face of systemic harm happening inside and out of the yoga studio.
In this podcast, they look forward to telling stories of the real ish behind yoga and encourage people to do things differently in the quest for liberation.




