A day before the arrival of The Athleta x Alicia Keys Collection, the musician and entrepreneur sat down with three influential women — musician and activist Marsha Elle, West African dance instructor Naomi Diouf, and movement artist Sierra Caravarin — to speak about the ways in which they’ve found the essence of who they are by tapping into their power. The empowering conversation is part of the partnership between the Grammy award-winning singer and the activewear brand’s wellness community, AthletaWell. The platform was built to provide the ability to access wellness experts, exclusive conversations around wellness topics, and free workshops and workout classes to the women within the brand’s community — according to its site.
The discussion, in the video above, is set to Keys’s song “Skydive,” which the singer chose to have as the soundtrack. “‘Skydive’ felt so right with this theme of what’s within us, the theme of ‘Power of She’ (Athleta‘s tagline), the comfort and the lifestyle of all these pieces, and how they’re just supposed to support our own empowerment, and our own purpose, and our own real life-ness. . . . And, it’s a reminder to keep taking the leap,” Keys previously told POPSUGAR.
Set in a mountainous area, Keys and her guest speakers are all dressed in items from The Athleta x Alicia Keys Collection. Donned in the colorful apparel, Keys opens the video by explaining that this discussion was birthed out of a want to celebrate each of the women’s life experiences and what makes each of their journeys unique. Keys says, “I was thinking about how beautiful we are in all of our differences. I was wondering if we can share a little bit of — what do you think is that thing for you that you’ve really had to work to get?”
“We can walk into a space and say, ‘Hey, I own this,'” — West African dance instructor Naomi Diouf
Activist and amputee Elle responds first. “Overcoming my amputation and just being disabled. At one point I thought it was a hindrance, but in actuality, it made me who I really am. . . . I became relentless in the pursuit of finding Marsha and nothing else,” she says. Elle mentions that she’s both proud of her persistent attitude toward “finding Marsha” in the face of adversity and that, even if she could, she wouldn’t change her current situation.
After Elle, Diouf responds. “There are so many women out there who have a lot of self doubt. But then, we are here with a lot of confidence, we know who we are, we know our power. We can walk into a space and say, ‘Hey, I own this,'” she answers. Diouf mentions that, through her career as an educator, she’s able to guide students through life’s ups and downs by offering them “morals and life lessons.”
Caravarin is the final speaker to respond to Keys’s question. She says, “For me, I’ve also found or begun to find peace with the impermanence of everything and of life, and that recently has brought me so much freedom. Because as people, we want to cling and attach to things and hold them so dearly forever. But that’s not the truth of life.” Moved by Caravarin’s words, Keys responds, “And respect! Because, man, you’re not going to have this forever, whatever the thing is.”
“I love that, all those things that you’re saying are just supported by the intention behind what we’re doing . . . just reminding us of no limits,” Keys says as she closes the conversation. Listen to the full discussion by watching the video above.
I appreciate the balanced perspective you provided here.