Today we’d like to introduce you to Nyeesha Williams.
Hi Nyeesha, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After delivering my son in 2016, I was moving non-stop with my coaching business. I recently self-published a book and began traveling domestically with my three children. I prided myself on speaking to women and teen girls about the importance of emotional healing and being authentically themselves. I didn’t realize it but being a Black woman + mother who had experienced her own trauma which included pre-term labor, maternal-fetal death, miscarriages, and PPD to name a few, hearing the stories of young women who had lost themselves after motherhood struck a chord in me.
I began expanding my personal development business to mothers in the BIPOC community looking for a safe space to unpack, gain additional resources, connect with over 12,000+ women from around the world, and receive coaching on a sliding scale from accredited holistic practitioners.
With a focus on trauma healing, my company has allowed me to speak with more students and their parents than ever before. I have partnered with high schools, colleges, parent groups, and inner-city communities to approach the topic of healing with the entire family in mind.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were many challenges. My husband left to work on the road and he would be gone for months at a time. Super excited about how life was changing for the positive, I noticed juggling motherhood, building a brand, and homeschooling wasn’t for the faint of heart. I began questioning if I was experienced enough and if this was my calling, and imposter syndrome had me in a chokehold. I couldn’t breathe. On top of me not being able to figuratively come up for air, I watched George Floyd physically struggle for air while attempting to call out for his mother. How does one endure their own trials while witnessing someone else’s on the tv screen?
The overload of injustices kept me and many others mentally imprisoned.
Then there was the beginning of the pandemic.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Serenity & Oasis is a community and membership for BIPOC mothers. Membership includes access to qualified holistic practitioners, mental health coaching on a sliding scale, a 24-hour digital support group, and all of the resources a mother could need.
Here’s the Problem: Research suggests that BIPOC moms are more at risk of developing postpartum depression and related conditions. In one survey conducted between two and six weeks postpartum, Black and Hispanic mothers were more likely (43.9 percent and 46.8 percent, respectively) to report depressive symptoms than white mothers (at 31.1 percent).
Given how reluctant many women often are to share mental health symptoms, it’s possible that these numbers are even higher. Some factors play a significant role in this issue: socioeconomic disparities, lack of insurance coverage, and health conditions during pregnancy and beyond. Additionally, BIPOC mothers who have lower incomes, less than a college education, are unmarried, or are unemployed are significantly more likely to develop postpartum depression.
Serenity & Oasis focuses on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices which center around the thoughts, emotions, body, and spirit of BIPOC mothers. In 2012, NHIS showed that yoga, meditation, deep breathing, and mindfulness practices were the most popular complementary health approaches for adult women. In 2017, the use of mindfulness practices increased more than threefold from 4.1 percent in 2012 to 14.2 due to its effectiveness in stress reduction. Serenity has continued to make strides in supporting BIPOC mothers and their maximum well-being, for over two years, by using similar CAM practices. Our practices range from vinyasa + hatha yoga, mental health coaching, alternative therapy modalities, and pre/postnatal supportive care. This integrative focus allows us to cater to each individual’s needs and the needs as a collective.
Serenity creates a space for women prior to conception and even as empty nesters.
What makes you happy?
Life and having the opportunity to live it as authentically as possible have made me the happiest. I get to make mistakes and learn from them. I choose to provide myself with grace versus beating myself down for not making a deadline.
Happiness is watching my children experience joy. Listening to their laughter as if it was my favorite 90s R&B track. Playing Anita Baker every morning and waiting for my youngest daughter to sing along. Happiness is peace. I didn’t know what that felt like for a long time but it’s the calm before every storm yet no storm appears.
Happiness in breath and I’m breathing 🙂
Contact Info:
- Website: www.serenityformothers.com
- Instagram: @serenityformothers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenityformothers
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/serenity_oasis
- Other: www.NyeeshaWilliams.com
