On Healing Yourself While Helping Others: Nina Rose
Leading up to our Summer ‘20 iteration of WORK, we conducted interviews with some of our conference's speakers and thought leaders. In conversation with bbatx staff member Margeaux Labat, child welfare advocate and The R.O.S.E. Project founder Nina Rose talked about systemic injustices young Black and Latinx women face and her ongoing journey of healing through meditation and yoga.
WHO: NINA ROSE
Nina Rose, founder of The R.O.S.E. Project, is a Black yogini (baby yogi) passionate about the emotional and mental wellness of Black and Latina girls and women. Her journey of mental and emotional health is ongoing, but she chooses to share that truth with others. Her meditation techniques, which she’ll share at WORK, utilizes imagery in order to celebrate and manifest one's path.
1.) You've worked in child and family services through government, nonprofit and educational sectors for over a decade. What led you to pivot into making meditation and yoga a career path?
I am still involved in child welfare and the non-profit world. Now, I am approaching it from a different perspective. After years of trying to change a system by being a part of it, I realized I was really just causing myself more trauma working in a system that is not based around recovery and healing. I was also working myself in circles and had to recognize that these systems that I was trying to make a change in were not wanting to change. Pivoting to meditation and yoga started as a mental health asset for me personally, and I realized that had I known about this years ago, my personal healing would be much further than it is now. I want to be able to assist marginalized communities that are continuously dealing with systemic traumas—share my story and hopefully give them that power we continuously feel stripped of.
2.) You're the founder of The R.O.S.E. Project, which helps provide mental and emotional wellness services for young Black and Latinx women. What inspired its creation?
I was inspired by my own journey and the journey of young women that I have worked with in these systems that were created to keep them crippled. I have my own share of traumas, am recovering from PTSD, and work to maintain my own mental health daily. It is not easy to try and navigate all of this mostly on your own, and I am a grown woman. In my career, I have watched Black and Latinx girls be removed from homes and placed in worse conditions. I have watched Black and Latinx girls in group homes where they are treated unfairly, as though they were not children, and had to be a whistleblower in these situations. There is a lack of counseling services with mental health professionals that look like them because the system picks their own people. They are not given examples of healthy love in these places, and when they complete the program, they are left out on their own to repeat the unhealthy cycles again. It's not okay for Black and Latinx girls to be left behind because a system made their own determination on the importance of their lives. I had to try and do something; this is an obligation.
3.) In part of our WORK Conference, you'll be speaking on career development and sharing meditation techniques. What can our attendees expect from your sessions?
Understanding that we won't ever have all the answers, especially in these times. We are all walking into the unknown, and the best thing that we can do is be gentle with ourselves. I am in no way this perfect example because some days are hard, and life happens. What I do know is that we are all trying, and that is something. Being nice to ourselves, and knowing that we are trying to do our best with work, life, family, etc. in a crazy time. Showing up may be the best thing that we can do some days and that is okay.
4.) We'd love to know more about your views on manifesting one’s path. What has been the key to your personal success? What is a lesson you wish you’d known earlier?
Really taking one day at a time. I cannot keep wishing I did anything different in my past because it brought me here. Once I started reminding myself that life is happening FOR me—not TO me—I recognized that whether the things I have gone through were amazing or not, they have all helped me. I wish I had learned earlier that everything that I want I already have. Once something is placed in your heart to do or have, it belongs to you. Now, your path may not be what you would like, but how you choose to look at it is going to determine your outcome.
5.) You've shared that your journey towards mental and emotional health is ongoing. Has your meditation and yoga practice shifted or evolved lately?
I have learned to let go of shame and guilt. I feel like those two things keep us from being our best selves. Through yoga and meditation, I have learned to be nicer to my body because it does amazing things I never took time to pay attention to, and I control how I want to move and utilize my body in those moments. I am able to feel my emotions and not feel guilty. I sit with them and process where they are actually coming from. My boundaries are stronger and my communication is healthier. My spirituality has grown into something that I still have a difficult time conveying fully into words, but it feels amazing. I can say that I have transformed into something new and better.
About WORK: WORK is a biannual conference, exploring ideas and approaches to creative, collaborative and entrepreneurial work. Hosting 300 guests every summer and winter, this biannual, one-day event's panels, workshops and speaker sessions touch on personal and professional development, marketing, wellness, business management and entrepreneurship. ✨Click here for more information.
