Name: Ms Yseult P. Mukantabana
Role: Author Real Friends Talk About Race
QN: What does wellness mean to you as an African woman? Do you prioritize it? If yes, how?
Wellness for me as a Rwandese woman has been a journey I still am, something I consider as a lifelong journey. I have had to understand that not everyone’s wellness looks and feels the same. Personally, wellness is something thats rooted in things that have cultural and personal values. This means doing to work of self-care in ways that may not seem conventional through the western gaze but suits my personal comfort.
For example, therapy for me has been incredible with a therapist but also with community gatherings.
I absolutely prioritize personal wellness, because if I am not well, physically, spiritually or mentally I won’t be able to be there for those I love and for myself in things that matter. I think that advocating for wellness ultimately means showing up for yourself in the most important way. I also believe that in different points of our lives, selfcare and wellness won’t be the same, I was turning 30 years old when I realized that alcohol wasn’t for me and that I had to be sober
QN: Any wellness practices passed down to you that you are keen on passing on yourself?
The importance of community is something I have been passed on and hope to pass on myself. In good and bad we need people, either chosen family or born in family, it gives us the strength and love that we need to exist in this world. I think wellness is often presented as a lonely and solo trip to a better version of ourselves. Really, I couldn’t have made it through much without my community. We all need a hand either to hold in hard moments or to clap for us when we win. That’s why It’s so important for me to create spaces where people feel seen and understood, where kindness and compassion are leading in action.
QN: What has been your biggest lesson/ realization about wellness?
I realize that you cannot be well if you don’t take time to check in and address things inwardly and outwardly. The only way I have found my wellness is by tackling deeply rooted thoughts and buried feelings. I also realized that wellness isn’t the same for everyone and that the western way to address wellness isn’t the only valid way. I also know that wellness doesn’t work like a weekend spa to relax but rather is something that we should work on forever. I have found peace knowing that it’s a journey without a clock. Ultimately, my biggest lesson has been that by caring for myself I get to know myself better. I have discovered parts of me that I didn’t know were there. My growth has given me the chance to show up authentically and unapologetically.
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Biography:
Yseult Polfliet Mukantabana is Rwandan, Jewish and a queer woman. She is an author with her first book “Real Friends Talk About Race” coming out April 4th 2023, published by Park Row, a HarperCollins imprint.
Mukantabana is a creative director and social and art advocate, the Co- founder of Kinswomen podcast, listed as best podcast in Marie-Claire and Cosmopolitan US magazine in 2020.
As of recently she was invited at the Tel Aviv Institut as an expert fellow researcher, the institute was created to educate and advocate against antisemitism. She also sits on the Board Committee of POWarts in New York, an organization meant to uplift professional womxn in the art industry, Ted Speaker and designer/ co-founder of YOAH, a gender-free children’s’ brand created with her brother Noah Polfliet. Her unique approaches to matters of race issues are global and intersectional, located mainly in New York, she lives and travels between Kigali, Paris and Tel Aviv. Mukantabana has done consulting in anti-racism/antisemitism for small and large groups, her clients have ranged from corporate America, high profile art institutions and prestigious American universities such as Columbia and Yale. She has a distinct way of intersecting spaces and people. Her work aims at making the conversation possible and practical. She makes it available for people to build a realistic plan of action to be impactful and empowered in their advocacy.