Generational Wellness with Raymond Achille
angela_r_howard (00:02.324)
Alright, hey Ray, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for being here.
recovery_ray (00:06.246)
Of course, of course. Thank you for having me. This has been, I've been looking forward to this. Once you let me know that I could be on, I was super excited to join you in this space. So thank you for having me.
angela_r_howard (00:18.796)
Yes, yes, and I am excited about our discussion today about generational wellness, but also some of the work that you're doing when it comes to thinking about wellness as not just an end game, but also how we can compound it over time and what our responsibility is, especially in the corporate space within workplaces and what our responsibility is.
recovery_ray (00:39.425)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (00:46.968)
being a container for people for eight hours a day and what we can do to help with that. So I'm gonna bounce it to you for an introduction. So tell us who you are, what you do, and the impact you're looking to make on the world.
recovery_ray (00:58.15)
Yes, yes. My name is Raymond Ashile, but also go by Recovery Ray. I like to share that because if you're on the social media spaces, that's, that's how you'll see me there. I am a wellness consultant and coach, I own a wellness and health equity firm called Balance Period. And as an organization, we are focused on helping to create a world where generational wellness is accessible to everyone. So generational wellness is merely
creating an environment where we're passing down healthy habits from one generation to the next. And that is something that is fueling my personal life, but it also ties into the impact that I want to have on the world. And I know for me, that impact starts with me and my family and leading by example as I create generational wellness, as I create financial freedom, and time affluence.
for at least this generation, the last generation, and the next two generations of my family. And I believe that doing so, in and of itself will create an impact and a ripple effect around me to empower other people to do the same for themselves and their families. So that's a little bit more about who I am, what I do, and the impact that I wanna have on the world.
angela_r_howard (02:14.48)
That's amazing. And for those who haven't heard the terms generational wellness or health equity, these are all terms that maybe we've heard in the ether about closing disparities, closing gaps, and disparities in health outcomes. Can you tell us more about that, just a little bit about what the gap is, especially for Black and brown communities? Because you talk about that generational compounding over time. So.
recovery_ray (02:40.171)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (02:43.728)
Tell us more.
recovery_ray (02:45.178)
Yeah, and so when we think about our black and brown communities here in the states, when we look at just the data behind our longevity and around the different ailments that we die from, it's disproportionate to our white counterparts in this country. And when we think about, you know, heart disease, we think about diabetes, hypertension, right? A lot of what
angela_r_howard (02:59.766)
Mm.
recovery_ray (03:13.026)
contributes to us experiencing these ailments are aligned with the habits that we practice and with the environments that we've been forced into within systematic racism, right, throughout this country. And so there's a lot of inequity as it relates to quality of life that can be adjusted and shifted based on paradigm shifts in our minds and the habits that we choose to practice. And so...
for the work that we do is centered around helping individuals understand the impact that their mindset and the habits that they practice have on their quality of life. Then we show them simple and sustainable ways to go about improving their quality of life over time that they're able to pass down to the next generation of their family and ultimately redefine what it looks like to be happy and healthy in this country.
angela_r_howard (04:06.288)
Yes, and so, you know, trying to break these, the generational trauma that, as you mentioned, is, I think, causing this disparity, but also, you know, habits, changing behavior over time. I mean, that's one of my favorite things to do, is, you know, is focus on behavior change, and sustainable behavior change, to your point. This is not about...
recovery_ray (04:20.354)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (04:30.32)
kind of a singular way of doing things. It's not about body image, for example, it's more about sustainable health and what that means. And so I think a lot of times we think about the physical, but what else are you considering in that framework other than physical health?
recovery_ray (04:39.246)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (04:48.094)
Yeah, so we kind of look at wellness more holistically. So we do have the physical and that's important, but we also have our mental health, we have our spiritual health, we have our social health. And so those are other areas that oftentimes go overlooked because we spend a lot of our energy focusing on the physical side of our health and well-being. So for us, we help individuals understand that.
angela_r_howard (04:56.214)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (05:15.65)
You know, you're able to shift how you feel and how you function based on what you do to care for yourself mentally and emotionally, spiritually, right? And the social connections that you get to develop throughout your lifetime too. So I think that there's a lot more, from what I've learned and from my personal experience, you know, the things that go into caring for myself internally actually have a greater impact on my physical health over time.
angela_r_howard (05:43.578)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (05:44.258)
So if we're able to kind of see that we've been conditioned to look at life from the outside in, if we start to shift that perspective and say, well, how can I care for myself internally in a way that allows me to express myself more authentically and fully, that actually will help us experience greater physical health over time.
angela_r_howard (06:07.736)
Yeah, and it's all connected, right? Mental health, physical health, all of it is connected. And so I wanted to just throw out some stats here because recently the US Surgeon General published, I mean, we know this was the truth all along, but there was this recent push for workplace wellbeing. And some of the things that were basically kind of put into perspective is that workplaces play a significant role in our lives, right? To your point.
recovery_ray (06:09.739)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (06:36.302)
Yes.
angela_r_howard (06:36.928)
all the time that we're spending within the workplace, how is that environment contributing to those wellness outcomes? So just a few stats. You can find this on the US Surgeon General's website. 76% of US workers report at least one symptom of a mental health condition. 84% of respondents said their workplace conditions had contributed to at least one mental health challenge. 81% of workers respond...
that they will be looking for workplaces that support mental health in the future. So what does this tell us, right? This tells us that workplaces are contributing negatively to, currently they're contributing negatively to mental health, but they do have an opportunity to contribute positively based on the conditions they create, and how they think about the employee experience.
recovery_ray (07:08.342)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (07:29.032)
but also their health experience, not just benefits, because I think we get so caught up around the programs and the perks. How are you thinking about the structure of your organization? How are you treating people with fairness? How are you creating social structures so people can fill their cups that way? How are you creating psychological safety, which we talk a lot about? So there are many different ways that...
recovery_ray (07:32.802)
Right?
angela_r_howard (07:56.82)
organizations can contribute positively to this movement.
recovery_ray (08:00.934)
Yeah, yeah. Some research came out from Gardner at the end of last year that talked about a couple of ways for organizations to mitigate turnover and help their employees prevent burnout. And a couple of them, one is proactive rest, which is essentially not resting to recharge, but resting to stay charged. And then another was intentional interactions, which speaks to the social and more, you know, community.
angela_r_howard (08:22.189)
Mmm.
recovery_ray (08:28.506)
aspect that a workplace can provide. You know, so I think that even in those two things right there, if you're focusing on creating an environment for your employees to experience proactive rest and to have intentional interactions with each other when they are in the workplace, then you're naturally going to provide them with opportunities to experience an increased quality of life when they're at work and that will bleed over to their
home life and everything else that they choose to spend their time and energy doing as well. So I think even those two things are a great place for organizations to begin to think about writing and start incorporating into how they are serving their employees.
angela_r_howard (09:13.08)
Yeah, and I, so first I would love to hear more about proactive rest and what this means and what this means from an organizational perspective. But I just want to put into perspective the fact that, you know, we're talking about behavior change. We're talking about giving permission and defining systems and structures within an organization that creates the outcomes that we're talking about. And I think wellness programs are failing because they're not sustainable because they're programmatic that
recovery_ray (09:17.023)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (09:42.532)
puts the onus on the individual, not the system that has created the unhealthy behavior. So I think what you're talking about is potentially like a tactic, right? That an organization can say, you know, proactive rest is something that we want to see all of our workers doing. And there's a business case behind that and there's a human case behind that. So tell us more about this particular tactic and how organizations can implement it.
recovery_ray (10:05.249)
Yes.
Yeah, and so some of what organizations that have started to implement this, what it looks like, in their organizations, some are saying, Hey, you know, that last week of the year, we're just shutting things down, right? So you're not, we're not doing anything. Everyone goes rest or says, Hey, we're going to shift to a four-day work week so that you can get your stuff done in four days. Now you have three days to rest and recover, or they're doing things like saying, Hey, you know if you just need to rest.
take time to rest and no, it doesn't go towards, you know, the hours of holiday or not holiday, but you know, the hours of vacation exactly right that you have, you just get opportunities to engage and rest in a way that isn't waiting for you to be burnt out before you start to incorporate it into your life. There's one company that I love what they've incorporated. It's it's a wearable device company. So it's whoop.
angela_r_howard (10:46.928)
PTO.
recovery_ray (11:09.85)
And they have their employees wear their devices. And if they experience a red recovery, which essentially means their body isn't equipped to take on very much strain during that day, they don't come into work. They're like, you, nope, stay home and rest and recover. They also have it to where when their employees maintain, I believe it's over 80% in their sleep that they get throughout the month, then they get a hundred dollar bonus.
angela_r_howard (11:35.439)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (11:38.736)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (11:39.402)
So they incentivize these healthy habits that their employees can practice to help promote their well-being and ultimately prevent them from experiencing burnout. So those are some more specific use cases and how companies are incorporating proactive rest. But as I mentioned before, it's this concept of saying you are prioritizing time to rest, not to rest and recharge, but to rest and stay charged.
angela_r_howard (12:05.764)
Hmm. So what does that mean to rest? I know that's like a very simple question, but I think people like myself have trouble resting. Like I have to act, proactive rest is something that I have to be intentional about because I can go to the point of burnout very easily and not even notice it because I love what I do and that person has multiple tabs open and my brain's always working.
recovery_ray (12:16.226)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (12:25.582)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (12:34.32)
And so, you know, when I rest, if I'm like, you know, let's say on the couch or like, even doing nothing, you know, just kind of sitting in the chair and just staring off into the distance, I feel guilty, I feel shame. And I think a lot of people feel the same way. So do you have some thoughts about the different types of rest and how we need to shift our mindset around rest?
recovery_ray (12:57.258)
Yeah, and you know, there are several different ways that you can go about resting. I think as I look at it in my experience I tend to talk a lot about what I do as it relates to rest, just to help put it into perspective. But one of the things I do is take naps. And you know, I feel like that's something that is oftentimes they're like, I can't take a nap during the day. I'm grateful that, you know, I'm a business owner.
angela_r_howard (13:10.04)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (13:15.32)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (13:24.382)
I get to craft what my schedule looks like. So I just incorporate time to where I carve out 30 minutes throughout, you know, throughout my day and I just lay and do absolutely nothing. And I intentionally just be, all right. Um, mindfulness is another way that I integrate rest into my life. So I have a seated mindfulness practice that I do but also set reminders in my phone that vibrate throughout various times of the day.
and I unplug, I unhook myself from what I'm doing and I pause and I take some deep breaths and I just fully engage with the present moment. I just notice what I'm feeling internally, and externally. Those are moments of rest. Rest could also be just carving out time to read a book or to daydream, right? There are a lot of different ways that you can rest and I think that in the process of
changing our behavior in a way that's aligned with us experiencing more rest, we're naturally going to experience this guilt or this shame that comes along with saying, oh no, I'm not being productive right now. And I've been conditioned to think that if I'm not being productive, then that has an impact on my overall worth or my value. And I think that for us to shift that paradigm for ourselves, it takes us sitting with those emotions.
angela_r_howard (14:31.49)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (14:47.886)
and extending kindness, grace, and compassion to ourselves to know that, hey, rest is resistance against grind culture. Rest is our way of saying, I am enough with who I am at this moment. And when we start to reframe what rest looks like for us, our experience with doing it regularly will shift as well.
angela_r_howard (14:59.972)
Mmm.
angela_r_howard (15:15.072)
Yeah, it's a big mindset shift because, to your point, it's shifting paradigms. It's shifting what we're conditioned to believe about our worth. And for those of us who have like myself, who have worked in corporate America for most of my career, all of it at this point, you know, I just started my business last year. I feel like, you know, I'm still I still find myself and I don't know about listeners, you know, who may feel the same, but.
you know, that you fall into bad habits. And those habits are, you know, again, they work within the system of the workplace. And so I think back to organizations, how can you deconstruct those a little bit? How can you think about what performance is? Where does your bias come in when it comes to performance? Where's that bias coming from?
Because if my bias is I want to see you online 24-7, I want that little green light, and that lets me know that you're being productive, like let's unpack that a little bit. Like, does that make sense? You know, we're human beings, not machines. So what are some things that you, by the way, and I love, you mentioned breast is resistance. I've been a huge fan of the nap ministry for a long time. So really it's this idea that.
recovery_ray (16:30.035)
Yes, yes.
angela_r_howard (16:35.868)
we are shedding this idea of worth and conditioning of productivity connected to worth and realizing that just doing nothing is resisting those paradigms, which is wild to me. But I love the nat ministry and the work that's done there. So what are some of the barriers that companies
recovery_ray (16:45.752)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (17:04.712)
are faced with either a behavioral perspective or a systems perspective that gets in the way of actually doing this work.
recovery_ray (17:14.654)
You know, I think that it starts with just doing what's always been done. And certain individuals at leadership levels that have, they've been conditioned to just do what's always been done and there's not this clear line of open communication between the employee that is experiencing the brunt of these worn systems.
and the leader that is continuing to perpetuate this growing culture in their organization. So I think that oftentimes it's the employee not having or feeling like they have an opportunity to share how they're feeling and get change, right? Or get an outcome that is leading to them experiencing something different in their organization.
angela_r_howard (17:44.899)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (18:09.642)
So I think that is one of the barriers. And I mean, I have, you know, my girlfriend, she works in a corporate space that is just, is not super healthy, right? Is one of those to where she, you know, she wants to make sure that she's moving her mouth when she's working from home, just so that she stays, right? She's in view that she's on and she's doing something. It's just like, for me, if, in my mind, I'm like, well, if you have a way that you can communicate with someone that can be an advocate for you in those executive spaces.
to say, hey, this is what our people need right now. And these are some adjustments we can make to accommodate where they are and what they need. That in and of itself would be transformational for an organization.
angela_r_howard (18:51.22)
Yeah, and this is the work. I mean, I think, again, we talk about wellness programs. Let's give everybody the Headspace app, or let's give everybody the Calm app, or let's have webinars and teach them about what they're supposed to be doing. Yes, those things are great, but how are you thinking internally about the value system that you've created within your organization? What is the culture of your organization? Is it supporting well-
you know, behaviors, is it supporting and giving permission? Because I do think, I keep saying the word permitting because to your point, I think we're so used to work being this place where you have to be on and you have to, of course, you have to perform, right? It's an agreement, it's a partnership between two parties, parties that decide to come together and you're adding value to my life, I'm adding value to your life. But I think there's these outdated ideas of
what productivity is? I don't think we focus on outcomes enough, which is like, I mean, you and I work together, right? And you know, from my perspective, I'm like, if it gets done and we're communicating, that's all we need to do, right? To make sure we're negotiating, and renegotiating timelines and outcomes as we go. And I think organizations have long been in this space of having...
the most empowerment and I think employees are starting to get empowerments and it's a rough push and pull right now because now those old paradigms are being broken down a little bit.
recovery_ray (20:27.854)
One more thing I wanted to add to that too, I think something that is also a barrier is not having individuals in leadership positions to model what it looks like to care for yourself prioritize rest, and make sure that you're giving yourself what you need when you need it. So I think there's also an opportunity for leaders to lead by example and to embody the changes that they want to see in their organization and their people.
angela_r_howard (20:38.029)
Mmm.
angela_r_howard (20:57.784)
giving yourself what you need when you need it. I can't even tell you how important that statement is because when you are running a million miles an hour, I think we've also been conditioned to, especially in the workplace, to almost forget about what we need, physically, mentally, emotionally, and I think it's just such an important statement. And it's also a really important statement that leaders are role models.
recovery_ray (21:00.503)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (21:24.9)
So sometimes when I'm working with organizations, we, many organizations right now are focused on DE&I and wellness amongst other things, right? And all those things are cultural. And I think there's this romanticizing of DE&I and wellness especially to again make them, make it a separate program when in reality, all you need to do is look at your executive team.
and say, is, are these people role modeling what you want everyone else to do? And if they're not, that's your answer. I mean, it can be that simple, but a lot of times leaders are just like looking at everybody else and saying, you know, you all change. Right, you all change. There's nothing that we need to do here. We're just here to throw the spaghetti programs at the wall and see what sticks.
recovery_ray (21:58.023)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (22:18.394)
Right, right. Yes. No, I agree wholeheartedly. I agree wholeheartedly. And I think that that's where, you know, when we think about proactive rest, and that is if you do hear that, that is my puppy, Milo. He's he sees something outside that he wants to communicate with. But when we think about. Right, I know, I should get him, you know, Mike earphones. When we think about proactive rest and.
angela_r_howard (22:36.551)
He should put them on the podcast.
recovery_ray (22:46.254)
creating an environment for our staff to be able to experience it. I think it's also you demonstrating what proactive rest looks like for you being open and honest and sharing your journey. I think the storytelling we all know is so powerful. But if you as a leader in your organization can share your story with your team, not just of the highlights but of your transformation in your mindset.
angela_r_howard (22:56.461)
Yeah.
angela_r_howard (23:00.698)
Mmm.
recovery_ray (23:13.794)
and in what motivates you to take action and in those actions themselves, that is transformational. That is so powerful to be able to communicate that and tell that story to your organization and to the people that you serve. So I think that is, you know, another way that leaders can begin to model this shift in how they care for themselves is by storytelling, right? Do it yourself and then share your journey and your story with your company.
angela_r_howard (23:40.564)
Yeah, and there seems to be, I mean, there's still a population of people who actively resist this type of demonstration within their organizations. I don't know if you see this with some of the clients you're working with, but I've witnessed executives and leaders, call this stuff, be uncomfortable with talking about this stuff, or start a...
I don't know, a meeting with a stretch or taking a mental mindfulness moment before starting a meeting or, you know, I just witnessed it. You know, you've witnessed the eye rolls or the discomfort. Where is that other than being conditioned to not do it? Like, where's that active discomfort coming from? Do you think?
recovery_ray (24:31.218)
Yeah, it comes from, yeah, a large portion of that is the conditioning, like, ugh, right? But I think that another large part of that comes from us not generally spending time with ourselves in that way. We tend to distract ourselves from what's normally uncomfortable instead of sitting with it. So when we are taking a mindful moment and we're just noticing the sensations we feel,
it's difficult to do that when normally, instead of doing that, we're scrolling on social media or doing something on our phones to distract ourselves from what we feel at that moment. So I think the discomfort comes from, yes, the conditioning, but also just not engaging in mindful awareness or in activities that are contributing to us.
experiencing life in its fullness in the present moment. So, naturally, there's going to be discomfort there when you're doing something that you don't normally do, it's a part of the process, it's a part of behavior change is uncomfortability. So I think if you have the right facilitator or the right person delivering the message, then you're able to help guide people through that discomfort so that they can experience peace.
angela_r_howard (25:38.937)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (25:44.044)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (25:59.094)
the joy, right, that comes on just the other side of being uncomfortable, because that's there for us too, but oftentimes we tap out before making it to that point. So, yeah, I think a lot of it just comes from us not engaging with ourselves and with the present moment in that way regularly enough.
angela_r_howard (26:17.32)
Yeah, getting in your own body for a moment is magic. I mean, to your point, mindfulness exercises, meditation, all these things are not fuzzy concepts. These are things that reconnect you with your body and your mind. And it fascinates me how focused we are on grind and hustle culture and reality. All we need to do is just take a beat.
and slow down for us to truly optimize our minds and our abilities. But we're so focused on your point on just no time to sleep. We could sleep when we're dead and all these are just ridiculous concepts, which by the way, people are making a lot of money on. There's a lot of capitalism in the opposite of this work or work that may sound like this, where people are trying to be life coaches or wellness coaches.
recovery_ray (26:54.06)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (27:07.863)
Mm-hmm.
angela_r_howard (27:16.688)
So just be careful. If you are looking for a wellness coach, reach out to Ray first. Do not reach out to the person on social media who's trying to be a life coach and has no perspective or background on it. Because it's a responsibility. And it's upsetting when you see folks who are not qualified to do this work.
recovery_ray (27:32.512)
Mm-hmm.
recovery_ray (27:41.291)
Mm-hmm.
Yes, yeah, they are sharing other people's opinions that they took as facts without having life experience and just trying to sell you something. That's generally what happens most times. So yeah, I appreciate the recommendation in using, you know, balance period and the work that we do. But yeah, I think that regardless, if you work with me or someone else, I think that, you know, the fact that you
angela_r_howard (27:58.393)
Hmm.
recovery_ray (28:13.346)
feel like it would be beneficial to work with someone. I think that's a great place to, you know, commend yourself on noticing that there's space for you to change and adjust. And I would say just, you know, once you start the journey, keep moving forward, keep going.
angela_r_howard (28:27.832)
Yeah. So Ray, tell us how people can work with you at Balance Period or your team at Balance Period and then how they can find you if they want to reach out.
recovery_ray (28:40.054)
Yes. So a lot of the work that we're doing right now is coming in and facilitating conversations about wellness. We guarantee that the listeners or the participants are going to leave with simple and sustainable ways that they can incorporate healthier habits and behaviors into their daily lives. So you're going to be changed after experiencing a facilitated conversation about the balance period. So that's a fantastic way to get started with us. But we also
provide a coaching program that we take individuals step-by-step through our emotional literacy program, along with equipping them with a sustainable self-care system, which is a series of daily habits that they practice to promote their optimal health and well-being. So that's another way that it's more of an intensive program. But by the end of it, you have all the resources that you need to embody this happier, healthier lifestyle. And
I will also mention that we do have a podcast. So if you are open to just listening to something a little bit different, uh, it's at balance period on any social media platform, you can find our podcasts there. Um, but any listening platform that you listen to podcasts on, it's just balance period, type out both words. You'll see a couple of lions and you'll know that it's us. Um, and how you can get in contact with us, you can go to our website. It's balance period.com.
We have a contact form at the bottom of that website where you're able to reach out and let us know how we can best serve you and your organization.
angela_r_howard (30:14.76)
Wonderful. Well, I'm so amazed, proud, and thankful for all the work that you're doing at Balance Period. I think it's so needed from a social perspective, from an organizational perspective, an individual perspective. You know, this idea of kind of collective healing and health and wellness is something that we sorely need right now. And you all are taking the first step.
providing tactical ways that organizations can implement real sustainable change. So you all are the real deal. I appreciate you and thank you so much for sharing your insight and your wisdom with us on the podcast, Ray.
recovery_ray (30:58.174)
Of course, thank you so much Angela for having me. It's been a pleasure and I'm looking forward to continuing to watch you and the work that you're doing grow because it is so needed. Like it is so needed. So thank you for all that you do too.
angela_r_howard (31:10.757)
Hmm. Thank you, Ray.
