Meet Aiko Smith | Mindfulness Teacher, Facilitator and Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aiko Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aiko, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
My experience growing up in LA with a single, immigrant mother, struggling to keep us housed and fed created the foundation of my values and what I choose to do with my limited time on earth. I grew up navigating systems of poverty, racism, and misogyny without the awareness of how these systems were creating an idea about who I was, what I was capable of and where I belonged in society. I worked in behavioral therapy for a decade before I made the transition into becoming a Mindfulness facilitator and speaker. As I worked with young people that were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder I realized that in order to do my job as a behavioral therapist or a mother to the best of my abilities, I needed to become the master of myself. I needed to learn how to control my emotional reactivity and learn how to respond with kindness and compassion. I began meditating to get a deeper understanding of my mind. I wanted to know why my behavior didn’t always reflect my intentions of being a consistent, calm, healthy adult woman. A whole new universe opened up as I learned more and more about the complexities of our perception and we interpret of our experiences. I believe that my life is on purpose, that I experienced suffering in the ways that I did, with the heart that I have so that I am able to teach from my lived experience how we can be well when life is out of our control.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a Mindfulness facilitator, I provide workshops, trainings, and courses for people, groups and organizations. Mindfulness is meditation but also an attitude. These practices have many mental health benefits, and more relevant they are free and available at any moment to anyone. We get encouraged to go to therapy which is necessary and great but what is missing are the daily mindsets, practices and tools that maintain our mental wellness. Initially, I had a very difficult time finding where I fit it in the meditation and wellness space. Meditation is represented in ways that might appear to be either too woo woo mystical mama or too sciencey and boring for people who had similar experiences as me. I am not a vegan yogi (although I love both vegan food and yoga) or a neuroscientist. I wanted to teach this practice from my lived experience as a Black and Japanese girl who grew up in South LA (kinda hood), with a single immigrant parent that had to work 15 hour days, 7 days a week to keep us fed and housed. Mindfulness has helped me navigate internal and external systems of oppression whether that was my own limiting beliefs because of what my world was reflecting back to me or the limiting beliefs put upon me by systemic racism, poverty and misogyny.

There is a project that we are working on in Leimert Park in 2023 that I am so excited about. My late grandmother Laura Mae Gross owned a blues bar in the neighborhood for over 54 years called Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn. It was a community hub that provided the space for connection and healing through live Blues Music and soul food. It was one of the most accessible and diverse healing spaces in the community. In a series of events we are recreating the space for the community to bring awareness to the places and spaces that were once existing that provided mental, emotional and community care to the neighborhood. Our hope is to shed light on how we can heal gathering in reverence for Love Loss and Grief in our own spaces, in our own ways and with each other.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although this sounds basic to Angelinos the first place I’d take my best friend visiting LA would be the Getty. It’s the perfect place to go for a day trip. Touring the art, the gardens then stopping to eat having a glass of wine while overlooking all of Los Angeles, would be the perfect way to start the trip. Every Sunday at Fairfax high school there is a flea market, The Melrose Trading Post. It’s the best outdoor marketplace in LA to buy clothes, vintage items, art, and there are tons of delicious food vendors there too. We would spend a couple of nights in Downtown LA in the arts district there are so many galleries, hole in the wall nightclubs and intentional gathering spaces like Shiloh a late night tea house to experience in a small area. I would definitely take my friend to the beach, Hermosa specifically because I spent my teenage summers there, it’s way more bougie than it was 20 years ago but nonetheless it’s such an LA beach. My late Grandmother’s bar Babe’s and Ricky’s Inn was in Leimert Park, there is a vibrant community of artist, musicians, and poets that live and work in that community, spending an afternoon strolling there and eating would definitely be on the the list of things to do! There are so many cool places to see and visit in LA, my favorite thing to do is literally drive around and look at houses. Grabbing a coffee, picking an area like Brentwood to begin and just driving around looking at beautiful homes and from there interesting places to eat and shops to tour.

At some point in the trip we would have to eat Ramen at Chibiscus on Sunset, it’s the best ramen in LA, not too much seating available but worth the wait, I literally dream of the broth it’s so good! In Torrance my favorite Korean Restaurant Cho Dang has the best kimchi tofu soup. In downtown LA I just recently went to Guerrilla Tacos, the most interesting and delicious tacos I’ve had in a long while. In El Segundo there is this little Italian spot, Jame. Easily the best pasta I’ve had in California, pretty sure they make their own, it’s incredible. Just like there are so. many places to see, there are even more places to eat. I alway encourage everyone to venture out of their norm and try new foods, in new hoods, there are so many talented chefs putting out insanely delicious food in places you’d least expect it.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Because I grew up with very little resources, EVERYONE in my life has offered some sort of support, love, mentorship and encouragement. I wasn’t born with wealth but I’ve always been rich in my relationships, it’s what I am proud of most. Having so many loving, caring authentic people in my corner is one of my greatest accomplishments. It’s difficult for me to name all the people or narrow down the list of people who have guided me along a dark path towards the light of my potential. But I would like to shoutout all the teachers, mentors and peers at UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, the community of BIPOC and women that Sonali Fiske has gathered in community, my family and friends and my mentor and guide, Cheyann Benedict. I recognize that I am fortunate to have so many amazing people in my life. They have consistently provided a soft landing with their support and encouragement which has allowed me to take risks in my life and career so that I can lean hard into my purpose, which is making mindfulness more accessible for people and communities that have fallen into the gaps of our mental healthcare system.

Website: www.themindfulnessmindset.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/aiko.means.love

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aiko-mindfulsmith/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aiko.means.love/

Image Credits
@arronxhart @textheartist