S3 Ep17. Nurturing Self and Others: An Inspiring Life with Renee Rampersadsingh

Renee Rampersadsingh joins ABWilson's Heart of the Matter podcast, sharing her warm journey as a yoga educator, devoted caregiver and joyful creator in Trinidad and Tobago. With roots in a family of teachers and a lifelong spiritual practice sparked by meeting her guru at age 10, Renee inspires through her reading club, retreats and vegetarian lifestyle shaped by ethics and yoga. 

Her stories highlight community building, self-care, and finding joy in bird song, dark chocolate and strategic gaming.

Renee opens up about her multifaceted life, describing herself as an educator who teaches yoga to all ages, plans retreats and events and empowers people to manage their well-being through breath, movement and mindset shifts. 

She reflects on her role as a carer, having supported her mother through 17 years of stage four breast cancer from age 13, which deepened her empathy and commitment to nurturing relationships. As a creator, Renee celebrates everyone's innate creativity, from hosting silent reading clubs that foster third spaces for connection to crafting origami, embroidery and co-leading photography-yoga retreats on perspective with her partner. She shares surprises like her lifelong vegetarianism rooted in family ethics, her love for strategy games and a casual spiritual foundation that sustained her family. 

Proud of her year-old reading club partnering with the Bocas Lit Fest and recent joint retreat successes, Renee discusses making differences through adaptive yoga for seniors, injury recovery and palliative care, relying on empathy, patience and extensive training. 

Overcoming her MBA amid caregiving taught her perseverance, willpower and self-care like pranayama for energy awareness, strategic napping and graceful aging. She envisions ripples of positivity from grounded self-awareness, upcoming events like World Labyrinth Day and International Yoga Day and her memoir on co-surviving her mother's cancer journey. 

Simple joys like morning bird song, flowers, family and guiding transformations light her path.

https://www.abwilsonconsulting.com

https://abwilsonphotography.com

Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:02.996)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth, and empowerment. Hi, I'm Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. And my guest on today's show is Renee Rampersadsingh. Renee is an educator, a carer, and creator. Renee, welcome to the show.

Renee R (00:38.894)

Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:41.718)

And Renee, I'd like for you to talk a little bit about your descriptors. Tell me about being an educator. What does that mean for you?

Renee R (00:53.772)

Well, my current profession — I'm a yoga instructor. Some people would say a yoga teacher. But in thinking about what words to share, I settled on educator, just because of the scope of what I do. In terms of what I do, I don't just teach to one small subset of people, but it's a wide range from youth to adults. I plan the programs because I also do classes, but retreats and events, and so it's a lot of curriculum planning in a way, even though I don't necessarily call it that in my head. But it covers a wide scope — and educating that too, because I am educating in whatever way I can for people to learn how to manage themselves, how to be in a good space, how to take care — all of these different things. So, educator.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:53.638)

And for you, what's the best part about being an educator? What does that feel like?

Renee R (01:59.446)

I think it's having an impact and seeing the change that happens when people come into a space of learning. And that doesn't necessarily mean that they come to class, but that they come into that mindset of, well, this is something that I can use for myself. And then they use it, right? So it's always a positive.

I come from — both of my parents were teachers, secondary school teachers — so it's a continuation in a way of what they have been doing.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (02:35.254)

Thank you. And your second descriptor is Carer. Please describe that for me.

Renee R (02:43.113)

Yeah, my brother told me to put down this one. And I want to say that I did a lot of prep beforehand just by talking to people and saying, well, what should I be talking about for this conversation? But he's like, you know, Carer has to be there. In terms of when I was — when I was 13, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage four breast cancer. And so she continued her journey with breast cancer for 17 years. So from when I was 13 to when I was 30, it was just a family of four of us. So I was one of the primary caregivers, and that has — I want to say — shaped how I look at my relationships with people and how I interact and how I move through the world, because care is something that is needed in all of our interactions. So, Carer, because, yeah, I take care.

Yeah, it's a continuation of everything.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:54.664)

And being a creator.

Renee R (03:56.75)

So a creator — and I was thinking, you know, a long time ago I would have said I'm not very creative, and it's taken me many years to come into this fact that no, all of us are creative beings. And I say that I'm a creator because I like to create in terms of creating spaces for people to come together, for people to interact. I like to create opportunities in terms of bringing people together, planning little things, events and activities. And creating in terms of — well, even in the work that, you know, everybody has to be on social media these days — so all of that content creation. And creating in terms of that I really like arts and crafts — more crafts than art — but so I like to craft a lot in terms of paper crafting and origami and stationery and even like embroidery. All of those little things I enjoy thoroughly. So yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (05:07.35)

Thank you, Renee. Please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.

Renee R (05:18.03)

Three interesting things. Well, I suppose the underlying one, the major one that your listeners won't know — I feel some of my friends already know because it's my history — is just a casual, everyday spiritual upbringing that I've had. I mentioned before that my mom had cancer — got cancer — when I was 13. Three years before that, we met our guru and started doing yoga and started doing all of the things. And the yoga has been pretty much a foundation throughout our lives — for myself, for my family, for my mom going through her journey with cancer. And so that in itself, having that everyday call back to the divine, to faith, to how we connect — that has been one of my strongest things. And I feel like it's so built in for me at this point that I don't recognize it as something interesting, and yet when I talk about it, it tends to be that. So that's one.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (06:39.542)

Can I just ask you a question? So you were 10 when you met your guru — is that correct? So where did you meet him? And how did that happen?

Renee R (06:46.306)

Yes, yes.

Renee R (06:52.558)

Yeah, so as I mentioned earlier, both of my parents were teachers. So my mom was teaching in a secondary school, Karapichaima Secondary. And our guru was at the time doing meditation workshops throughout the country. And so he did a workshop at her school where she was a teacher. And so she met him in September 1993. And you know, when you have children, you carry them along with you. That is how we ended up meeting him as well, because she was going off to meditation classes and satsangs and she took us along. She took us along with her to all of the retreats and the workshops and everything.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (07:42.511)

Hmm. Sorry — and you were going to add your two more things.

Renee R (07:49.004)

Yes. So the second thing is that I'm a vegetarian, but I'm not a vegetarian because I'm a yoga instructor. And this is something — you know, I tell people I'm a yoga instructor and they're like, they all have this view: well, you don't eat meat. You don't smoke. You don't drink. I don't do any of those things. It's not because I'm a yoga instructor. My parents had stopped eating meat before I was born. And so by the time my brother and I came along, well, we didn't have that in our space. So we always had the option to try. But I think as we grew up — because then we got into yoga — it just reaffirmed the fact that we will stay vegetarian. Because then it became more about the ethics of the thing, as compared to, well, there's no meat in the house. It became more of the ethics of: should we be eating meat? Should we be doing this? How do we care for, you know, the animals and that kind of thing. So yeah, that's the second one. Vegetarian, but not because I'm a yoga instructor.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (08:57.472)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Renee R (09:01.911)

Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (09:02.294)

And the third one.

Renee R (09:04.526)

The third one is that I'm a gamer — a computer gamer. I like to play games so much. And it's something that I thought I would share here because this one I know is a surprise to a lot of my friends. It's not a surprise to my immediate family and to my partner, but to the rest of everyone else, they don't know that I do enjoy playing computer games.

My dad, when I was young, he was very techy. And so he had the first sets of computers and he started building computers. And so we were always introduced to computer games and that kind of gaming. So computer games, when I was growing up, became a way for me to — part escape and part understand — because I like games that tell a story, and I like games that have puzzles, and I like games that are strategic — so battle strategy. Not that I like games that have a lot of death and blood, but the planning of battle campaigns, the planning and the strategy. I love that. That's wonderful.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (10:23.509)

So what are some of the games that you play? I'm just curious. Are they on the open market? Can others? And in your gaming, do you play with others or is this a solitary pursuit?

Renee R (10:37.73)

Yes!

Renee R (10:42.976)

It's more solitary, partly because of my time and how I manage my time and schedule and that kind of thing. But when I started playing way back, it was Age of Empires, and that is a computer game that has been around since I was young. So it's been around for — let's say almost three decades, maybe definitely more than two decades. And of course it's upgraded and they've had many versions since. But Age of Empires is one. I play Stardew Valley, which is a cozy game but building up. I'm currently working my way through Brötato — which is, I think, I'm not sure if it's free but it's very low cost. And so yeah, those are individual games. With Age of Empires, you could partner up — my brother and I have played. And I have played some games with my partner, but I don't go online and play. The timing doesn't work for me.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (11:53.238)

Hmm. OK, so I just want to — randomly — ask you about this book. I read a book recently that was built on gaming. It's called Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Are you familiar with it? Have you read it?

Renee R (12:00.705)

No problem.

Renee R (12:05.912)

Okay.

Renee R (12:10.08)

I've heard of it, but I've not read it. I've not read it. I will.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:16.048)

And I'm not a gamer at all, unless you call Scrabble and word gaming. I'm not convinced. It is, right? And I play the computer — my phone version — quite addictively, but I wouldn't consider myself a gamer in terms of playing a computer game. And I know this is often a topic of conversation.

Renee R (12:21.862)

Well, Scrabble is a lovely game.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (12:46.166)

For gamers maybe, but do you find that there are games specifically built for women?

Renee R (12:55.638)

Yes, I know there are games targeted at women, but I also know women will play a wide variety — like I would. And you know, for me I don't like the bloodshed. I don't care for fighting games in that regard, but I would — I'm perfectly fine going for strategy. So if I had to play a game where there were those options,

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (13:13.302)

Mm-mm.

Renee R (13:24.728)

then I would choose this over that, right? There are lots of — it's called cozy gaming. So little games where you build up your space, you are organizing things. And those I feel are targeted at women specifically, because we like cozy things, we like stationery — but I know of many men who enjoy them as well. So I don't know. Yeah.

It's interesting because to me, everyone can play all of them as their desire matches up. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:02.004)

Okay, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Yeah, thanks. I've not thought about gaming. And so you've given me a little insight into it.

Renee R (14:04.782)

You're welcome.

Renee R (14:16.668)

Yeah, it's very creative.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:19.574)

Hmm.

Tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you're particularly proud of.

Renee R (14:30.446)

Can I tell you two?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:34.28)

Look — please do!

Renee R (14:38.668)

I can tell you about my weekend. So my weekend — this past Saturday, I was invited to, you know, Bocas Lit Fest. Bocas — so the Trinidad Bocas Lit Fest is a literary festival that happens yearly, at the end of April — the literature festival, right? So as one of the pre-festival events, they had a bookfluencer meetup. Bookfluencers are those who in the literary space are promoting books or sharing about reading in the country and otherwise. And I was invited because I have started a reading club this April. Yeah, so we are now in April. So this month is our 12th meetup, which means we've been going for 12 months. And I'm very pleased, because I started this reading club because I wanted to have a space to just read my book and to give myself that time and space — but in community. And it has been such a joy to see month to month how people show up, what they're reading. I call it a reading club, not a book club, because it's based on this silent book club model — the silent book club where you go and you read for an hour silently and then you talk about it, right? So for our meetup, we meet up for half an hour, we order our stuff, and then we read our books silently for an hour, and then we share in community about what we're reading. So everybody is usually reading their own whatever — their own whatever. So like a novel or fiction, poetry, autobiography, memoir. My husband will read his manga. There was someone who came with an audiobook and they just had their headphones on. So month to month, you know, people come and they go, but it's been a steady flow of people coming together, reading, and then sharing about it. And that's been lovely — to be in that space of people reading and to hear what others are reading, because that's

Renee R (17:01.398)

also an enjoyable thing — to get the perspective of, why are you reading this book? What do you find enjoyable about it? Yeah. So that's one of the things I'm proud of, because April is our 12th meetup and we are partnering with — collaborating with the Bocas Lit Fest — as one of their pre-festival events, which will be our 12th meetup, because they are sponsoring some of their books for our people to come and read on the day of the meetup. So feeling very pleased about it. And that's one of my things that I'm proud of. Thank you. Yeah. You know, it's in thinking about it — you've heard about third spaces. So third spaces are spaces that are not like your family space or your workspace, but

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (17:38.792)

Congratulations — a whole year.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (17:49.609)

Tell me more. Tell me more.

Renee R (17:57.966)

like an informal, accessible space that you go to to relax and to voluntarily gather with other people and to form bonds and relationships, right? And so in this current age that we are in, where everybody is online or everybody's at work, everybody's doing their things, there's been more and more call for — or need for — these kinds of spaces where people gather, which is different from, you know, way back in like my grandmother's days, everybody would meet up by the village shop or in the market or in the bar — that kind of thing. Even, you know, the aunts, the uncles. And it's become much more solitary, even though we're still in that community. And so third spaces are providing now, in the present day, that kind of community space, right? And so when I think about my reading club and also some of the other things that I do, I think about it in that way — as a way of providing space for people to come together and to share what they like doing and to be in a good space together. And I've seen, you know, how people relax when they come into that kind of community space. So yeah, there's lots of levels of why I'm proud of my reading club.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (19:24.534)

And the community spaces — where does your reading club meet?

Renee R (19:31.982)

Yeah, so there are two spaces we meet. The primary spot is at a local café. They have a separate room. And so I had — when I had the idea that I wanted to start this reading club, because there wasn't any other close by that I could go to — I approached the manager of the café and I said, you know, I would really like to do this. And she's like, yeah, you can have this room at a time when they don't really have it very busy. And so we get to use the room on Tuesday evenings once a month. Once a month, people will patronize the café and we read and it's a good space. The other space — so in months when the café is busy, and like for this one for April where we're having a bigger gathering — we meet at a local spot where I do my yoga, where I have my classes. So it's a more relaxed atmosphere, there's a bit more landscaping, so people get to sit out on the lawn. And we will — we are still providing food, because I fully believe that food is an important part of any gathering. So yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (20:43.474)

And if people are — are you taking new members? Can people join you if they wish?

Renee R (20:50.466)

Yeah, it's not really a membership. There's — on my website, I put all the dates that we're having it. People can just register on my website so I know that you are coming, and I can make sure we have you there. And that's it, really. I suppose at some point — pardon?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (21:06.454)

You know, I'm watching — website. What's your website?

Renee R (21:11.638)

Anugraha Yoga TT dot com.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (21:15.776)

Say it again, one more time.

Renee R (21:16.65)

I know — Anugraha, A-N-U-G-R-A-H-A, yoga, Y-O-G-A-T-T dot com.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (21:28.406)

Mmm.

Renee R (21:30.732)

Yeah, because I started this on a whim and I'm like, I'm not creating a whole separate website for this. This is going on my yoga. But in reality, you know, it is an extension in a way — it's an extension of what I do as a yoga instructor. So yeah. Quickly, because I know — yeah, let me tell you the second thing I'm proud of that happened this weekend.

On Sunday, my partner and I — my partner is a photographer — and I have been trying for all of our time together to convince him to do a retreat with me. Because I have firmly believed — both of us are artistic — and I firmly believe that we could teach any subject together. And so he was like, I don't know what we're doing, but okay, you come up with a theme and we'll do it. And so we did a retreat on perspective — a way of seeing. And I did my yoga bits, talking about perspective in terms of how we breathe, how we can have shifts in perspective based on changing our breath, changing our movement, changing our balance. And he did his workshop on photography and perspective, right? And changing up how you look at things — near, far, angles, all of that. And so I'm very pleased that one, I managed to get him to say, okay, we can do it. And two, that he was happy about it after. And three, that the attendees thought that it was very good and they are asking for us to do something like that again. So, yay me.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (23:19.136)

Congratulations on both. Congratulations.

Renee R (23:21.218)

Thank you. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (23:25.298)

And so can I assume that should you do more joint retreats, that people can find it on your website?

Renee R (23:33.324)

Yes, it's all there. Usually — so I've done retreats before, I've hosted by myself with him as the photographer. But I really wanted him to try and, you know, partner up that way. So it's — I feel good about it.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (23:35.328)

Okay.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (23:54.326)

Thank you, thank you for sharing. Please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another's life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.

Renee R (24:03.906)

Goodness. So this is a hard one for me because I feel that that's the work I do. That's the work I do. I do want to say that, following from my experiences with my mom, I am a yoga instructor, yes, but I also privately — privately — I teach to people who are older, people who are seniors, people who have injuries or disabilities. And so I've also done some palliative care workshops and seminars. I've done some work through the palliative care society. So in terms of making a difference in some lives, I would say clients that have had injuries. So I've worked with someone who had a brain injury to regain his balance, to regain his ability to move through his day and manage his day. I've worked with a couple of people who have had cancer before and who are managing both the experience of recovery — in terms of going through the chemo and radiation — and coming through and aftercare. And so — that's that — through my training and through my experiences, I have worked with people who have had injuries and issues and are now healing.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (25:43.466)

What were the key strengths and qualities you rely on to make a difference for these people?

Renee R (25:51.735)

Well, empathy and patience and skills picked up through lots of training — lots of training. You don't realize how much training you have to do to become a yoga instructor. But yes, there is — especially if you want to work with persons who are older, persons who might be immobile, persons who have had, you know, different things going on with them. Yeah. Empathy is definitely — patience, because often people will — people expect results instantly, and there can be lots of emotional issues that come up when that doesn't happen. And so you have to manage the mental and emotional space as well, which in a way is what yoga teaches us to do — to manage the physical, the mental, the emotional space, and to turn inwards and connect to this spiritual grounding that helps people really connect to their faith and look through whatever they're going through.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (27:11.99)

Thank you, Renee.

Renee R (27:14.19)

You're welcome.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (27:15.626)

Can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?

Renee R (27:25.198)

Yeah.

Yeah, I want to say that way back in 2010–2011, I was doing my MBA — my Master of Business Administration — and I was very, very grumpy about it, because not only was I working but I was also taking care of my mom. Those were coming down to her last years. And so I was in a space of not quite sure if I wanted to be doing any kind of study. And, you know, to do a master's, it takes a lot. In fact, my dad will say this is his master's degree because he convinced me to keep going through it. But I did. I want to say that that was a challenge — just to manage the amount of time that I had and the brainpower, because caretaking and studying and working is a lot to juggle. And what it taught me was perseverance and self-care, how much is needed to help us to balance and to manage. And the fact that anything I put my mind to do, I could do it.

And sometimes I will tell my husband, you know, sometimes I get through things just from sheer bad mind — sheer bad mind — that I will put my mind to it and say, yes, I will do the thing. I will get it done. And specifically that time where I had to work through that MBA and do all of those projects and the dissertation — and boy. Yeah. Yeah. Please see the end.

Renee R (29:26.887)

And willpower.

Yeah, I'm sure you understand.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (29:35.402)

Yeah, I do. I totally understand. And you just got to be able to put your mind to it, right? Just put as much of your energy into that one thing at that time, and then shift your energy when you need to, or shift your focus when you need to, to the other things that are pressing. And probably equally pressing.

Renee R (29:53.206)

Yes.

Renee R (29:57.152)

Yeah, exactly. Equally pressing, yeah. So it helps you really to learn how to balance. What is important? What is not important? To manage how you switch from one to the other so that everything gets done. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:14.966)

And then also deciding that this can be done tomorrow, next week, or maybe there's somebody else that can do it. Because one of the things I've come to realize — I can't do everything, right? And sometimes you just have to say, I can't, I just can't do that. And then having the courage to say no.

Renee R (30:20.707)

Yes.

Exactly.

Renee R (30:36.458)

Yes, that is a big one. Having that courage to say this is enough for me today. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:41.674)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Renee, thank you.

Renee R (30:47.011)

Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:49.288)

You are listening to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter podcast. Welcome back to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter. My guest today is Renee Rampersadsingh. Renee, we've talked about your yoga practice. We've talked about your successful retreat that you held recently. We've also talked about your decision to be a vegetarian and stay as a vegetarian, and your role as caregiver for your mom.

What self-care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating your journey?

Renee R (31:35.202)

Yeah, well, as we've been sharing, I'm a yoga instructor. So for me, it's the yoga, which encompasses so much in terms of how I go through my day. And day to day it can be different, but it is in knowing how to manage my space, right? So some days there's lots of breathing and resting, and some days there's lots of movement. But through — even just with the breath, the pranayama — we work with how to manage the body, the subtle energy of the body. So even observing the energy level, if I need to boost up a little or relax a little — that's been very important to me. The nutrition — in terms of figuring out — because as a vegetarian, and you know, currently trying to figure out — I am now in my 40s and so perimenopause is upon us. You know, figuring out that whole balance of what should I be eating? How should I be nourishing myself? How should I be? All of these things have been coming into play recently. And for me, movement — I really enjoy my yoga practice. Some days it is very restful and relaxing. Some days it is very strong and strengthening.

So yeah. And I also think, just knowing when to take the time — as we were talking about earlier — knowing when to take that pause has become very important. As the years pass, it's become very important for me. I remember being able to wake X amount of hours and now it's a different kind of situation where I need to really prioritize when I will take my nap and when I will wake up and when I will go to sleep. So it's also giving myself grace in terms of knowing that I am in an aging body. I am still, you know, young and vibrant, but it is different now compared to when I was a teenager. And so the body has different needs. In the same way, I observe how my emotions have changed over time.

Renee R (34:01.95)

In the same way, how the mental space — I do a lot of practice in terms of meditation. I will not say that I do a lot of meditation because I try — I am still going to say meditation does not come easily to me still. I am much more of a physical practitioner. I will do the postures and the breathing. The meditation is a work in progress.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (34:34.998)

And I just want to go back to something — two things you touched on. You talked about energy and managing your energy. How do you do that? How would you guide somebody to do that?

Renee R (34:51.816)

Yeah, so — I don't know how much you know about yoga — but when we do pranayama, we're working with not just the breath, but the subtle energy of the body. So we observe that we are made of different layers — the physical body, the mental, emotional, the subtle body, right? And so in working with the breath and with the space around us, you begin to observe, well, what is underlying all of that? What is the energy of self, in a way, and how do we tune into that? How do we tune in to see well how we can manage? And so when you ask the question of how to observe the energy, it becomes a thing of — for everybody, it's going to be a little bit different according to their disposition and the thing.

For me, I work on it through my breath, through my breathing, and through my movement, through my postures. In terms of being able to tell — an easy practice is like when you rub your hands together and you feel the heat, and then you draw the hands apart and you feel the magnetic force between the palms. Like that is one of the things, right? It becomes a thing of — if every day you practice, you begin to tap into that awareness quicker, so that you build up the practice of doing the thing, until you begin to become aware: there is something else there, something beyond the breath. Something — okay, today my breath is this way, but my energy level is this way, right? I don't know, does that help? Does that help?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (36:49.418)

It did, it did, it did. Thank you, thank you. And you talked about napping. Is this during the day, at the end of the day? How often do you take a nap?

Renee R (36:50.913)

I hear you.

Renee R (37:02.254)

I love naps. I love napping. It depends on my schedule. Because I am a yoga instructor, day to day, every day kind of looks a little bit different. And so if my morning is busy — if I get an early start to my day — then I will take a nap after lunch, like around 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, somewhere around there, just for 20 to 30 minutes.

If it is that I'm going to — I know I'm going to have a later evening — then I try to take somewhere around 11, 10, somewhere there, a small kind of mini nap. And so it depends on, you know, how the day is going for me. Yeah.

Yeah, I think it's really about tuning in and knowing your body, right? And that's the important thing. When we practice, when we build that awareness of ourselves, we can say, on Mondays this is what's going to happen, on Tuesdays this is how it's going to look. So that I've been doing it enough that now I have a general idea of, well, some days I will need to take a nap right after lunch — or two-ish, three-ish. Two-ish, three-ish is my usual kind of thing. Or if I'll need to sleep later. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (38:28.726)

Thank you, thank you, Renee. How might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a positive ripple effect in your family, community, the world?

Renee R (38:42.178)

Yeah.

I think that when one is very grounded in self, then wherever you go, that ripples out. Wherever you go in terms of the physical space, wherever you go if you're in a space online — if you work on yourself such that you are in a good space, that ripples out. And I remember when I was a teenager, in one of the youth camps that I had gone to, my guru — yeah, so youth camps — my guru was teaching us about energy level, the same kind of thing, the level of the energy, and how if you are in a good space and you go into another and it's a lower thing, you can raise the level of the vibration of that space by being yourself, by channeling, by grounding in your own space such that you are a positive — you are bringing positivity into that space, right? And I think about this in a way, kind of like osmosis, where everything kind of comes up to the level. But at the same time I make sure that if I'm in a space, I don't let it pull me down. And I feel that when we — I want to say the thing is grounded in self — when we are very grounded in who we are, in what we believe in, in what we are doing, then we will not lose our positivity or our joy or our good vibes, because we are connected to that, because we are connected to our nature, because we are connected to the divine, because we are connected to spirit, right? And so even if we go into a space that is not so great, it still will not

Renee R (40:43.456)

affect us very negatively or too much, because we have our strong connection to who we are and to what is guiding us and what is our support system. You know, is that answering the question? Please tell me if we need to clarify — I don't know, sometimes I just keep talking.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (40:57.083)

Mm-hmm. Thank you. I think so. I think so. I think so.

No, I think you have.

Renee R (41:12.204)

Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (41:12.234)

What exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon, and how do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?

Renee R (41:21.83)

Exciting opportunities. Well, I think continuing the work that I do. So like right now I already have another retreat lined up for April — that's one for myself — I'm focusing on breathing and pranayama. I have in May — I'm going to be hosting an event for World Labyrinth Day. In June it's International Yoga Day and so I'm partnering with two other yoga instructors and we're hosting an event in Central Trinidad. And so those are work-related projects that I am looking forward to. In terms of personal projects, I am currently working on a memoir, and I have been for some time, focusing on my mom's journey with cancer and my time with her. That's called a co-survivor, right? When you are there with them for that time period. So yeah, I'm working on it. We'll see — whenever that comes into fruition, it's a project that is day by day being worked on. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (42:36.992)

Renee, thank you. And what brings you joy?

Renee R (42:39.064)

You're welcome.

What brings me joy? So much. So much. I am, you know, I am a generally happy person, but there are a couple of things. What brings me joy? Early in the morning, I really love that I live in a space where there is birdsong, so that I hear when the birds are waking up, I hear when they are moving around, I hear when they are closing down at the end of the day. And I appreciate — well, we mentioned we're in the Caribbean — that through all of my life, I have been able to be in a space where there is birdsong, because they have so many conversations and I love them. So birdsong is one constant. I really love flowers. I really love dark chocolate, and Trinidad is known for really good chocolate. A good piece of dark chocolate brings me joy. And then of course my partner — I love him — and my family and my friends. Yeah, and I think, yeah, my work, because it can be a lot sometimes depending on what people are going through. But it is always a joy to help people and to guide them and to see the transformation that comes through working on themselves.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (44:18.144)

Hmm.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (44:26.262)

I'm going to ask you a question about a book recommendation, but I just want to go back to your reading club, because I'm fascinated, right? I'm fascinated by this. How did you choose to do a reading club over a book club? And I've had a book club for — I don't know — 30 plus years, right? I've been in one. And so this nuance is intriguing to me.

Renee R (44:53.762)

Okay.

Renee R (44:59.4)

Yeah, it's because of — partly because of my partner. We both have very different tastes and I love spending time with him. So that is the thing — I love spending time with him. We both love reading. And so in thinking about reading in community, I wanted that possibility of both of us sharing in that space. But I knew that we wouldn't be able to have the same books, right? And then I saw that, well, worldwide there's this move towards silent book clubs where people just come and they gather and they read together and then they go about their business. And I was like, you know, this makes so much sense to me, because I know of a lot of people who are reading, but they're not necessarily — they don't have the time or the ability to commit to a certain book, but it doesn't mean that they are not reading. Just that they are focusing on what they like, right? And so when I thought about the reading club, it was partly to be able to accommodate people like us who want to read with their partners and read with their friends in a community space, and to encourage just people reading together. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (46:28.992)

So carrying on that book theme — what book recommendation do you have? It can be a book you've read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years. And I will point out, you can recommend more than one — two or three, actually.

Renee R (46:45.998)

I have to. I have to. I'm limited. I have to. And the first one is The Art of Gathering, and that is by Priya Parker. The Art of Gathering — I think it's How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. And I read that one just coming out of the pandemic. And it speaks to pretty much gatherings.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (46:48.681)

Okay.

Renee R (47:15.886)

So different — she gives different examples of gatherings, what would make it better, why stuff wouldn't work, how to host gatherings. And because I'm so interested in creating spaces for people to come together, it really has been eye-opening just to read all of the cases that she has laid out in the book and to see the suggestions that she's made. And now I am following her on her social media because she continues to crowdsource information about gatherings. So I feel for anyone who would like to host or who would like to create meaningful gatherings, it's a really good book for that, right? And the second one is Writing for Our Lives. And this is a book I went to — I attended the book launch last year. This is a book from —

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (48:01.43)

Hmm.

Renee R (48:14.254)

— it's by Caribbean authors. It's an anthology. So 18 emerging and present Caribbean authors, and they're talking, writing about Caribbean climate justice. Yeah, so different stories and work related to climate justice and how climate change could be affecting the Caribbean, how it is affecting it now, how it might affect it in the future. I think it's really very important for all of us here to pay attention to. And I appreciate just the work of the anthology itself in sourcing all of the voices from throughout the Caribbean to talk about it. And I also appreciate how it was laid out because there's like some random science fiction in it, you know, poetry. So it's —

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (48:51.434)

Mm-hmm.

Renee R (49:13.248)

A lovely anthology. Writing for Our Lives — I would recommend.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (49:20.81)

Renee, thank you for your book recommendations. Thank you for sharing your journey and your loves and passions. Is there anything else? Do you have any final thoughts?

Renee R (49:24.206)

You're welcome.

Renee R (49:36.942)

I know.

Renee R (49:42.274)

I think just — thank you for the invitation to be on the podcast, because in inviting me, then one, I was introduced to the podcast, and I — as I told you earlier — I went through a lot of the back episodes because I really wanted to hear, and I appreciate listening to what everyone has had to say and to share. You know, going back to that question — how might sharing experiences create a positive ripple effect? I feel this is exactly it. This is part of that, you know, that we create these positive experiences and it continues, because a random person might find it on the internet and be inspired and find it. This is a lovely piece to listen to for my day. And I think that in itself is joy. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (50:39.767)

Well, thank you. I appreciate your comments. I appreciate you listening to the podcast. And also thank you very much for saying yes to being a guest on today's show. And some of the appreciation nuggets that I'm taking away from our conversation — all of us, and you said this — all of us are creative beings. All of us are creative beings.

An appreciation nugget that I'm also taking away is how you spoke about having empathy, patience, skill, and being able to talk with people and help them to manage the physical and mental and emotional space that they're in as they manage their energy.

I'm going to take away and really think about a reading club — what that looks like, what that feels like. I may contact you separately to learn more, because as I mentioned, I am intrigued by that. I love reading, hence the book recommendations that I always ask for. And if you don't know, if you haven't had a chance — or others who are listening haven't had a chance — on the website, I've been collecting people's recommendations. So I've built over the last year — few years — a reading library for people to go in and look to see books that have been recommended on the podcast. And so I will be in touch to talk some more with you about your reading club. And I — can I assume that if others have questions for you about starting a reading club, or anything, that they can contact you through your website?

Renee R (52:48.716)

Yeah. So my website is there and there is the contact form, and I am on pretty much all of the social media channels except for TikTok. I'm on Facebook and Instagram and YouTube. Yeah. And the website. So anything about reading club, about yoga — yeah, for me, yoga really is a whole lifestyle. And so in talking about —

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (52:49.911)

Yeah?

Renee R (53:16.142)

going through our conversation today, it is how we live our lives. So any question, people are free to message.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (53:24.919)

And of course, I'll encourage people to contact you if they're in Trinidad already or planning to visit Trinidad, to have an experience with your retreats and potentially attend a reading club session. Renee Rampersadsingh, I appreciate you taking the time to join me

Renee R (53:35.342)

Thank you.

Renee R (53:50.755)

Okay.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (53:53.309)

on ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories and wisdom of people you may know. Renee, thank you so much for being here today.

Renee R (54:09.909)

You're welcome.

A few notes on judgment calls made:

• "Boulkas/Bulkus" → corrected to Bocas (Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad)
• "Karapichai my secondary" → rendered as Karapichaima Secondary (common school name in Trinidad)
• "Brotito/Brotito" → rendered as Brötato (the actual game name)
• "share bad mine" → rendered as sheer bad mind (Trinidadian expression for sheer stubbornness/determination)
• "audio book club" → corrected to audiobook
• "bird song" → standardized to birdsong
• "I hear you" added at (36:50.913) where the transcript had "I you" — this seemed the most likely intended phrase in context

Let me know if any of these should be adjusted!