In this week’s edition of Tranquility du Jour, I chat with Ananda Leeke on:
1. The Power of Surrender in Midlife
Ananda discusses the importance of embracing surrender as a key tool for navigating midlife changes, grief, and the challenges of postmenopause. She highlights how surrender fosters growth and acceptance in the face of life’s uncertainties.
2. Mindfulness as a Lifeline
Ananda shares her lifelong journey with mindfulness, from discovering meditation in her late 20s to integrating practices like yoga, Reiki, and journaling. These tools have evolved into a central part of her thriving midlife approach, promoting grounding, self-awareness, and emotional resilience.
3. Creative Evolution Through Decades
Creativity remains a core part of Ananda’s life. From art and writing to exploring new hobbies like crochet, she embraces creative expression to honor her ancestral connections and celebrate personal growth through mixed media projects and storytelling.
4. The Soft Life and Self-Care Practices
Ananda emphasizes the importance of a softer approach to life in midlife, focusing on self-care, boundary-setting, and activities that nurture her body and mind. From tennis and biking to journaling with tea, her examples illustrate how everyday moments of joy and care can rejuvenate and inspire.
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Grab your journal, a cuppa tea, and settle in.
Our Guest: Ananda LeekeAnanda Leeke is a Thriving Mindfully Coach, Human Design Doula, artist, and author. Ananda discovered mindfulness, self-care, and wellness when her career as a lawyer, an investment banker, and a digital communications professional stressed her out, caused burnout, and did not produce the level of success she expected. During her healing journey, she studied and practiced meditation, yoga, reiki, journaling, art-making, and creative writing. They helped her develop self-care practices, navigate change, and become resilient. As a result, she became a certified yoga + mindfulness teacher, a digital wellness educator, a reiki master practitioner, a sound healer, and an artist-in-residence at Howard University Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Today, she leads Ananda Leeke Consulting, a wellness company, and the Thriving Mindfully Academy, an online education platform and network. She also hosts and produces the Thriving Mindfully Podcast. Her books, Love’s Troubadours, a yoga-inspired novel; That Which Awakens Me, a mindful creativity memoir; and Digital Sisterhood, a mindful technology memoir, are available on Amazon. Currently, she and her father Dr. John F. Leeke are co-writing his memoir, American Change Agent (Fall 2024). She is also writing her midlife memoir, Thriving Mindfully as Theresa's Daughter (2025). In addition, she is creating a body of artwork and spoken word music that celebrates the ancestral relationship she has with her mother Theresa.
Find Our Guest Mentioned in the Show- Coterie waitlist: a yearlong signature immersion to support women in finding more beauty, balance, and connection in midlife
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Kimberly Wilson is a psychotherapist, author of seven lifestyle books, and host of the Tranquility du Jour podcast. She also serves as president of the Pigs & Pugs Project.
With over 25 years of experience, Kimberly is dedicated to helping midlife women find balance and beauty in their lives. She holds master’s degrees in Women’s Studies and Social Work and has been featured in publications such as Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and Cosmopolitan.
Living in Washington, DC with her rescue pugs and longtime partner, Kimberly shares her passion for tranquility, ballet, loving her 50s, and more at kimberlywilson.com.