There is a quality show airing on BET right now called T.D. Jakes presents Mind, Body & Soul. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in the studio audience for the episode that features Essence blogger, branding expert and all around dynamic chick, Jai Stone. The taping was actually 6 months ago. If you know Jai then you know that she is a very matter of fact and straight to the point type person in other words, she keeps it real real. She also is a lot of fun! I met Jai virtually on Twitter and have been following her forever. The first time I heard her speak on relationships was at Chocolate Chat Atlanta last year. I finally got to meet her face to face this year when she was speaking on business branding at a conference that I attended. She exudes confidence and strength. Outside of blogging for Essence.com and brand building, through her blog EmotionalNudity.com she takes her message of “fixing your shit” to a whole other level. I didn’t know what to expect on that rainy summer day when I entered Turner Studios. I was there at the Jai’s invitation to be a part of the studio audience for this new show. I thought that I was going to meet her there to watch the show together but it turns out that she was actually being featured. It was an awesome experience as it was my first time sitting in the studio audience for any show none the less a show that is being hosted by the great Bishop Jakes.
As the show began and I saw Jai sitting up on the stage I was unprepared for what was about to happen next. What happened next was Jai completely baring all for the world to see as she discussed her issues with obesity, weight and self esteem with T.D. Jakes who offered comfort and advice while she spoke. Hearing about the devastation that she has experienced in her life and how she used food to cope hit me like a ton of bricks. At the time I was dealing with my own health issues that are a direct effect of poor eating habits. I was also dealing with a less than positive prognosis from my daughters pediatrician about her weight and health. As Jai cried on stage I wept as well. At one point during the show there was an actual tissue break as all of hearts reached out. In effect what she did in displaying her beautiful vulnerability to us was made us stronger. Not 2 weeks after her show I completely revamped the eating lifestyle of my entire family and the results have been astounding. After proving that we could be successful with our changes to live and eat differently to better our health I reached out to Jai to let her know she was an inspiration to us and she wrote about it on her site.
There were quite a few things that I took away from my experience on that day. I cant begin to name them all but here are three points that that really stuck out…
Until you deal with issues on the inside no diet is going to help you.
You don’t have to be wealthy to eat healthy!
Its not about what you are eating…It’s about what’s eating you
It was an honor to be there to witness this healing and it was an even bigger honor to LIVE tweet the episode as it aired. I even got retweeted by @BishopJakes!
After the show I participated in a LIVE chat via Spreecast. It was hosted by Jai with Q & A for audience response. Trainer @TRresults and Author/Speaker @JackADaniels were guests as well. We basically recapped the show and spoke about how we experienced the show as audience members. We all also let Jai know how proud we were of her.
I hope you were able to DVR the show if you missed it. It will be available on hulu soon (no eta) but you can access it here when its ready. http://www.hulu.com/td-jakes-presents-mind-body-and-soul
The SpreeCast is up and you can access it by clicking this link. http://www.spreecast.com/events/td-jakes-after-show-chat-w-jai-stone
#SupportJai by liking her FB Page https://www.facebook.com/supportjai
Would you be able to bare your soul on national television like Jai did?
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