Alex Elle – Lessons on Healing
I spoke with Alex Elle about the importance of morning walks, seasonal shifts, grounding rituals, and self acknowledgement. It was a beautiful exchange to first speak on Alex’s podcast, The Hey Girl Podcast (you can listen here) about therapeutic photography and the significance behind my mood disorder before hearing Alex’s voice on a more personal level. There is a softness and a kindness in her voice and in her presence that will leave you craving the self care she encourages.
Her new book, How We Heal, is available for preorder in November.
You can tap into highlights here and tune into the show wherever you get your podcasts.
On motherhood:
“I do not think twice about honoring myself. I’m raising three Black girls and I want them to see their mother taking care of herself, setting boundaries, honoring herself, and not feeling guilty about it. Sometimes I think we give our children a complex because we are carrying the world on our shoulders and dishonoring ourselves while doing it. That’s a generational issue that I’m breaking.”
“I am setting my lineage up for joy and possibility and healthy boundaries and happy relationships both with the Self and with other people. I often think about how my children bear witness to me when I am my best self and when I am my worst. They see everything and I want them to see their mom taking care because I want that to be a practice in their lives.”
On healing and community:
“When we heal ourselves and care for ourselves we heal our community and care for our community. When we heal ourselves we heal our lineage. When we heal ourselves and take care of ourselves we are showing other people not only how to take care of us but also how to take care of themselves.”
Alex’s favorite teachers:
“All of my teachers are ancestors and authors. I don’t know them personally but they live in their books on my shelf.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Maya Angelou
Mary Oliver
Tony Morrison
Bell Hooks
Pema Chodron
Kent Nerburn (Small Graces)
Mitch Albom