On this final episode of Spirit & Liberation, host Jeanette Charles-Márquez is joined by Belia Mayeno Saavedra (she/her)—a Xicana, Japanese, and Ashkenazi Transformative Coach and Somatic Practitioner based in Lisjan Ohlone lands. Belia works with BIPOC organizers and movement leaders to grow their sense of choice and power in body and spirit, grounding her practice in the truth that lies beneath the surface, in both earth and body.
With over two decades of experience in youth development, Belia’s journey has included work with incarcerated youth, survivors of abuse, and communities organizing for justice. She has trained in the lineage of Oakland’s generative somatics since 2014 and in Transformational Coaching methodology in 2016–2017. Her coaching and somatic practice extends across California, supporting Indigenous land and water protectors, youth electoral organizers, warehouse workers unions, immigrant rights defenders, restorative justice advocates, and housing justice movements.
Belia also serves her Lukumí community as a beadworker and priest of Oshun Ibu Anya, having been initiated by Igbin L’ete and Odu Fora in 2008. Across her work, she brings a deep commitment to weaving somatics, spirituality, and movement building.
In this closing conversation, Jeanette and Belia speak about:
🌍 How truth is held in the ground and the body,
🌱 Building collective power by listening to the wisdom of our traditions,
💛 Spirit and Liberation as a practice for what comes next.
Spirit & Liberation is a limited series podcast, brought to you by the Latinx Therapists Action Network, exploring the intersection of sacred traditions and political struggle.
Over the course of the series, we’ve been invited into conversation with organizers, spiritual practitioners, and healers committed to weaving ancestral wisdom into the fight for our collective liberation. This final episode brings the series to a close, offering grounding in somatics, truth, and spirit as we continue onward together.
Links:
Latinx Therapists Action Network - http://ltan.org