Bend Don’t Break with “He Do Yoga”
"He Do Yoga" is a black-owned and operated yoga program that provides a safe space for black boys and men to practice being in authentic relationship with themselves. This program has many aims; improving the social and environmental factors surrounding the health of black boys and men is just one of them. In our community, black boys and men face a long list of health challenges, with mental and physical health at the top of that list. [African American Males Facing Serious Challenges | HuffPost Chicago. In other words, black bodies are bending and breaking out here, and we need help.
This is partly why I attend yoga sessions with HDY; it brings me joy. I also have a twenty-year-old son who attends HDY yoga sessions, and we often discuss how great it is to have HDY in our community. I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for the HDY program, as it creates a safe place for black boys and men to come together, fellowship with no judgment, and learn, grow, and breathe without restraints.
HDY is a collaborative program that provides multiple opportunities for black boys and men to discuss improving our health and wellness. Additional programs run by HDY in collaboration with other black-owned and operated businesses in the Milwaukee area include Embody Yoga, Alice’s Garden, and Style Pop Café.
HDY holds its FREE yoga sessions at the Embody Yoga studio, owned and operated by a fierce and elegant black woman named Joanna Brooks, one of Milwaukee's very own. For more information about Embody Yoga, please visit their website [ www.embodyyogamke.com].
HDY also has a Food Justice Program. This program aims to help boys and men shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers' market with confidence. The HDY Food Justice Program was a collaborative effort with Alice’s Garden. Alice’s Garden provides models of regenerative farming and community cultural development. Venice Williams, the executive director of Alice’s Garden, has served the Milwaukee community in various ways for over thirty years. She strongly believes her purpose is to help bring forth all that is good and whole in people and places. {www.alicesgardenmke.com}
HDY provides guided painting for kids and yoga for men at Alice’s Garden on opposite weeks of Food Justice Week. I attended guided painting and yogi sessions this past summer with my 4-year-old and 7-year-old, and they ask me every Thursday when they are going back to Yoga with me. I feel blessed to have my children around to witness me center myself so I can be more present and freer for them.
In my opinion, being a black man who practices yoga is a great way to resist racism and oppression. It's my way of trying to counter the risk factors in my life. Living in a world where black men and black bodies are constantly under attack due to the disparities we face in America, HDY is necessary and essential to our community. I hope more men and families will benefit from practicing yoga as my family has. I want to ask the community and community funders to support He Do Yoga's movement to improve and extend the life expectancy of Black boys and men. I can't wait to see more black boys and men bending to break the strongholds that threaten our lives. "He Do Yoga" is one place in Milwaukee where black boys and men are bending but not breaking for life.
Written by Troney Small Jr.
