Mamaste with Tanika Ray

One of the reasons I created this platform is because mothering is hard. Being a daughter of a mother is hard and so vitally complicated… It might be the most complicated relationship on the planet. She’s the person from which you came from, she sacrifices everything to make sure that you can enter the world healthy, loved, and nurtured—And then around eight or nine, you're rolling your eyes at her and telling her she’s lame!Tune in and listen to episode seventy six of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Today, I’m all about connecting with my sassy, brilliant, beautiful, self loving, self empowered daughter.In This Episode, You Will Learn:Our kids give us honest, gut wrenching, savage truths—right to our faces! (01:22)As mothers, we need to remember to share our jewels with our whole mama network (05:09)Right now, I'm in a strange, beautiful, nostalgic phase of looking at where I came from in order to figure out where I'm going (07:27)Let’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

As mamas, we give everyone else everything we have before we give ourselves grace. We try to make our kids’ lives full with every possible thing they could love. We pack their schedule because we don’t want their time wasted on screens, but we also often forget to allow them their own sanctuary to figure out how to pass time by themselves. When all that backfires, it can be hard to let everyone breathe and give everyone—including ourselves— space.Today, I’m welcoming my dear friend from my red carpet days, Michelle Ryan Bathé. Michelle is an actress and an extraordinary mama of two boys.Tune in and listen to episode 75 of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Michelle and I are talking all about shifting and adapting, raising small kids during the pandemic, and some of the positives that came out of all that time at home.In This Episode, You Will Learn:What it was like for Michelle to film during the COVID-19 pandemic started (04:00)Why neither of us miss homeschooling our kids during the pandemic (08:37)Our kids often don’t have the skills to occupy themselves because we keep them so busy (15:51)How Michelle parents around screens and devices (22:39)What it’s like parenting children so that they’re aware of their privilege (28:25)Connect with Amerie:InstagramAlliance of MomsLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

A lot of us are suffering from all different kinds of triggers on Mother's Day… it's a  heavy, emotionally charged day at its core. It’s such a beautiful gesture in theory: “Today’s the day that everyone stops and honors the person that keeps all of our shit together.” But in practice, is that even possible?Tune in and listen to episode seventy four of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Today gets really real mamas. I had the perfect Mother’s Day planned for myself and let’s just say things went pretty much the opposite of the intentions I had set.In This Episode, You Will Learn:Growing up, I didn’t have the greatest example for Mother’s Day (02:27)Last weekend, my daughter learned about her limits—the hard way (04:35)I love my daughter to the moon and back, but mothering is not my favorite job (13:35)Sometimes you gotta keep your business to yourself, even when it comes to your kid (17:08)When you’re having a difficult Mother’s Day, sometimes the best thing you can do is release (19:48)Let’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

I’m wishing all you mamas out there a happy belated Mother's Day—And that includes everyone out there who’s in this dang game of raising people, taking care of humans, and staying sane and loving all at the same time. I hope that whatever you did on Mother's Day, it was exactly what you wanted and exactly what you needed… and that you were able to take a break from taking care of anybody that's been in you or that's come out of you! Today, I’m welcoming superstar Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Amerie. Along with her breakout success as an R&B artist, Amerie is also a fiction author and one incredible mama to her little boy. Tune in and listen to episode 73 of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Amerie is telling me how she got started writing children’s books, the importance of being gentle when we educate our black and brown children, and why she’s come to believe that human beings are tribal at their core.In This Episode, You Will Learn:Amerie started out in the music industry after a very typical military brat childhood (09:40)Amerie is using her books as a way to impart knowledge on her son (13:25)Why it was so important to Amerie to accurately represent her and her sons multiracial background in her book (16:09)How Amerie relates to and owns both her Korean and her Black identities (21:04)About Amerie’s belief in free speech and freedom of information (26:34)Connect with Amerie:InstagramWebsiteYou Will Do Great ThingsLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

Mama, May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we are all up in it! I love this month because it’s all about awareness—no one’s asking us to fix it or even take action. But if you are a person that hasn't sought help for any issues, any trauma, any ill that you may have, then this isn't judgment. This month is all about taking another look at where your trauma lies and how you can possibly make it disappear by doing the work of wellness and healing.Today, I’m talking to Kaywanda Lamb, an author, a speaker, a blogger, and an incredible single mama. Kaywanda started her professional journey when her boys were babes and has spent the last 16 years showing other women that they can parent, thrive, and win.Tune in and listen to episode 72 of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Kaywanda is telling me about why dating shouldn’t be transactional, learning to be a single mom, and what we’re missing out on by not learning a second language.In This Episode, You Will Learn:Trauma doesn’t always have to begin with a capital T—sometimes it’s the quiet stuff (05:11)A little about Kaywanda and her love affair with the Spanish language (14:34)You can be proud to be American and still scared about the direction the country is headed in (26:07)How Kaywanda tackled the George Floyd conversation with her sons (29:58)You can do it on your own and kill it—you shouldn’t have to settle for someone who’s not committed to you (36:50)Connect with Kaywanda:InstagramKaywandaLamb.comLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

Mamas, I know I don’t have to tell you: if you're a black woman in America, you know your needs are ignored. That’s why we typically don't trust the medical industry; there's this idea that we're superhuman, that our pain means nothing. Especially for those of us who have experienced pregnancy, we’ve had to make sure that we have a plan in place, that we have friends in the space where we're giving birth, and have people there to truly advocate for us. Here on Mamaste, we're never going to adhere to some fake timeline—Juneteenth is all year round, every month is Black History Month and we’re always in tune to Black Maternal Health. Today, I’m welcoming an actress, an artist, and my new friend, Megalyn Echikunwoke. Megalyn is a deeply introspective and powerful artist who recently wrote and directed Weathering, a short film that explores the intense and often traumatic experience of Black motherhood, loss, and grief.Tune in and listen to episode 71 of Mamaste with Tanika Ray. Megalyn is telling me about her very famous friend that helped her with her artistic process and why the topic of Black maternal health resonates so strongly with her.In This Episode, You Will Learn:A bit about Megalyn and the process that brought her film to fruition (07:11)How taking a leap of faith opened up the door for her (13:20)The racism in the US healthcare system serves as a microcosm of racism in this country as a whole (16:19)About Megalyn’s writing process and the place she had to go to create her narrative(19:23)Megalyn wrote Weathering for Black women (20:58)Connect with Megalyn:InstagramWeathering on NetflixLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter