Yoga is a practice that quickly became one of the first wellness practices to go mainstream a few years ago and as a result, white people have been at the center. Without realizing, I didn’t see myself reflected in yoga and this only added to my unpleasant early experiences. My first yoga classes were through my figure skating program when I was in middle and high school. As you can imagine, I did not take the practice seriously or understand the deeper value of it. All I knew was that downward dog hurt and I couldn’t breathe in most of the poses. 

Years later, when I was in college, I decided to dip my toe in yoga again by joining a yoga club when I was studying abroad in South Africa. The few sessions that I went to through that club completely shifted my relationship with yoga because I was being taught by people from the South East Asian diaspora and being introduced to deeper principles behind what we were doing. After each class, we would eat amazing home-cooked vegetarian food and the instructor, who was a monk, would facilitate a conversation about spirituality. I really enjoyed the club but I was only able to go a few times before the semester was cut short due to student protests.

Fast forward to a few years later, after getting a knee injury and going through physical therapy due to my poor posture and lack of flexibility, I knew it was time to take stretching more seriously, especially now that I was sitting at a desk for most of the day. I would try to wake up early to stretch or prioritize stretching after my dance classes while I was still warm but I was pretty inconsistent. Eventually, I was able to find a yoga studio in my neighborhood through Class Pass. I loved the studio because it was focused on women empowerment and my first class was taught by an amazing, Black instructor. Unfortunately due to COVID, that studio is no longer open but I recently started incorporating yoga into my morning routines gradually through YouTube videos. When I first searched for yoga videos, I noticed that the first results I got were overwhelmingly white but with a little digging, I’ve been able to find 15 amazing Black Yogis that you should follow: 

1. Arianna Elizabeth: Bright x Salted Yoga: Arianna is a professional photographer and certified yoga instructor based in the Midwest. On her channel, Bright X Salted Yoga, she provides a combination of vinyasa yoga, yoga sculpt and meditations. She was one of the first instructors I found on YouTube and I’ve been doing her videos every morning for the past few weeks.

2. Britteny: Trap Yoga Bae: Britteny is an Oakland based Vinyasa Yoga instructor who was certified in Rishikesh, India, and began Trap Yoga Bae because she didn’t feel welcome in traditional yoga settings. Her typical live classes include an upbeat yoga session paired with ratchet affirmations. She recently held her first virtual Trap Yoga class in late June so stay tuned into her social to see when the next one is.

3. Jessamyn Stanley: The Underbelly: Jessamyn is a North Carolina based yoga instructor, writer, and body-positive advocate. She frames her vinyasa flow classes with a body positive approach and offers virtual classes through her app, The Underbelly.

4. Abiola Akanni: Trap Vinyasa: Created by Nigerian-American yoga instructor, Abiola Akanni, Trap Vinyasa is a yoga practice centered around alchemy, body positivity, and exploring sensuality. You can sign up for a virtual class here and check out some videos on her YouTube here.

5. Erica Rascon: Deeply Rooted Wellness: Erica Rascon is a certified yoga teacher and the founder of Deeply Rooted Wellness which provides customized holistic wellness. You can sign up for a private class and shop their teas and essential oils blends through their online boutique. 

6. Yoga with Nico: Nico is a yoga instructor providing classes and tips through her YouTube channel.

7. Channing Hixton: Channing aka Cookie is a yoga instructor at Yoga Works in Atlanta and also provides practices and other content on YouTube. 

8. Youmie Jean Francois: Flex N Fly: Flex N Fly is a wellness company that provides stretching and relaxation classes for frequent travelers. It was founded by Youmie Jean Francois who also has her own YouTube channel with yoga practices and more. 

9. Faith Hunter: Spiritually Fly: Faith Hunter is a DC/New York-based meditation and yoga instructor. Her YouTube channel provides a mix of yoga flows, meditations, and other lifestyle content.

10. Koya Webb: Koya is an author and an International holistic health coach. Her YouTube channel includes vegan recipes and yoga flows in addition to episodes from her podcast.

11. Yours Truly Bianca: Bianca Ashley is LA/ Atlanta based body holistic health lifestyle expert that provides yoga, meditation, and nutrition content.

12. Donna Noble: The Noble Heart of Yoga: Donna Noble is a UK based yogi, writer, coach, and body-positive advocate who offers online yoga classes.

13. Nicole Cardoza: Yoga Foster: Nicole Cardoza is an investor at Reclamation Ventures, the founder of the Antiracism Daily Newsletter and Yoga Foster, a platform providing free yoga and meditation videos for families.

14. Dianne Bondy Yoga: Dianne is a yoga instructor, author, and social justice activist dedicated to making yoga accessible for everybody. She provides online classes and videos through her platform Yoga For Everyone TV.

15. Tonie Warner: Yuja Yoga: Yuja Yoga was founded by Tonie Warner with a focus on connecting back to self. She provides yoga classes via Zoom which you can learn about through her Instagram updates. 

With the support of these 15 Black yogis, I hope you’re able to give yoga a try for the first time or deepen your relationship with the practice. Let me know who you try out! 

Cover Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash
By: Paula