UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK Soul-Full Yoga + Somatic FREEDOM Dance |Online

Oya Heart Warrior would like to share tender yoga, freedom dance + liberating meditation with you. Our unique practice is dedicated to Black Joy and pain, and to the wellbeing of Black Women, Black Men and Black non-binary people of African descent, (mixed heritage Black people of African descent people are warmly welcome).

(Remember you can register with a donation less than the fee if you need to).

Feel welcome to follow us on Instagram here. You are welcome to join our practices on YouTube here. You can also check out our website here to know more about us.

This is not your usual yoga class - we centre, agency, intuitive movement and Black affirming mantras to uplift Black lives.

We use story telling through movement and have down to earth mantras like:-

'Don't bruk up yourself'

'Big up yourself'

'Free up yourself'

☀️ ☀️

We offer accessible, therapeutic yoga, somatic practices, freedom movement and meditation practices designed to:- release stress, metabolise pain, cultivate Black joy and boost our collective wellbeing. We rejuvenate our bodies and connect to our spirit with effortless power.

Black people have had enough pain & judgment, so we stretch while 'centring our comfort', we strengthen without ‘brukking up' ourselves. We bring rhythm, free movement, calming restorative practices and empowering meditation to 'big up ourselves' & 'free up ourselves'. We tend to our own wellbeing, from the deep well of our ancestral knowing and embodied wisdom.

We honour ourselves & each other in a loving, all Black space. I promise you a warm welcome and an hour of quality time together, where you are greeted with warmth & cherished just the way you are (honestly people sometimes rest throughout the whole class with no judgement).

Our Unapologetically Black Yoga classes celebrate Black Joy while holding our pain and making a stand against anti-Black Racism. Our accessible practices can help with stress, anxiety, fatigue, loneliness, grief, and racial trauma. Our gentle therapeutic movement addresses mental health issues as well as physical issues like:- joint care, arthritis, muscle flexibility, physical fitness, auto-immune illness, cellular nutrition, IBS, menopause symptoms, pain relief, hypertension, heart health, and much more.

Our practice is very different from what we call performance yoga, that sculpt you into set poses, perfected by the often bendy white teacher. This has no recognition of our body, our vibe, our discomfort, our health issues, our ancestral vitality or our racialised scars.

You won’t find the traditional yoga sequences, instructions, mantras or approaches here. If you are seeking this - you will be disappointed.

We’ve developed many original sequences that support Black people to move with intuitive wisdom and choice over our body. We invite ease of breathing and movement to uplifting rhythms that affirm Blackness in all of our complex diversity. We celebrate the dynasty of the free, Black body in all of our skin tones, shapes, identities and abilities.

You really don’t have to be fit, flexible, thin, dark, have locks, or be a certain ‘Black way’. You don't have to feel political, spiritual, or have done any yoga before. All Black body identities, backgrounds and abilities are welcome to Unapologetically Black Yoga for all Black and Mixed Race People from the African diaspora.

You are invited to do what feels good for you (even if you want/need to simply rest in the belonging of this positive Black space), and to take away or add what feels right. Your wisdom, your power, and your choice are the priority here.

This is a unique expression of non-linear, trauma sensitive Yoga for Black people, that addresses anti-Black racial trauma from a place of being already resourced. We don’t think you will find this unique expression of yoga anywhere else.

NOTE - You are respectfully required to have your camera on, and to be visible during the practice to affirm our Black presence together. Note, everyone is generally looking at the teacher in speaker view, and not you. 🙏🏿

Our Unapologetically Black Yoga, is offered at low cost, and by donation to Black people of African descent, to support our access to wellbeing services. I thank you for all the gifts you give so compassionately to this world.

Founder ~ Oya Heart Warrior ~ 🙏🏿 Find out more about Unapologetically Black Yoga here

Why Black only spaces? Kujichagulia (Self-Determination). To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Please see:

My Grandmother’s Hands - By Resmaa Menakem

And

Kelsey Blackwell

Axé (the breath of life manifest and also a mantra that means - 'so it is')