Representation in Wellness: Faith Hunter's Insights on Inclusive Healing (71)

A safe space for me is very warm, welcoming and comforting. They are coming home right, and especially when you're on your mat, that's what you think about. I'm returning to myself, I'm coming home, I'm feeling safe on my mat, but you want, when you walk into a yoga space, a wellness space, you want to feel that same way.

Hi everyone and welcome back to how the Wise One Grows. I am so excited to share today's conversation with you because it is about, I think, one of the most important conversations we can have when we're talking about wellness, and that's inclusivity and representation in the wellness space. And in this episode we got to speak with Faith Hunter. Faith was the first dark-skinned black woman to be on the cover of Yoga Journal, and she was on the cover of Yoga Journal twice. In addition to the big impact she's made in the media, she has also had a huge impact on creating inclusive spaces for people of color in the yoga community in the DC area through her yoga studios and through the work she does online and in the world. This is a conversation I think any and everyone in the wellness industry needs to hear, whether you're someone teaching or someone practicing. There's so much we can learn from this, whether it's how to make your wellness space more inclusive or how to take care of yourself and resource yourself as you're moving through spaces of society that aren't supportive for you. But before we get started, let's just take a moment to land here together with three deep breaths. So just take a moment to notice where you are right now, take note of your physical surroundings and, if it feels safe, you can gently rest your eyes or soften your gaze at a point in front of you and then notice where your body meets the earth. Let the shoulders soft and down the back and take a big breath in and a big breath out. Inhale, fill your chest, fill your belly with air, exhale, open your mouth, let it out. One more inhale and exhale. You can return to the sensation of your body rooted on the earth and slowly open your eyes as you return to this space. Today we are with Faith Hunter. Faith is a global yoga and meditation instructor, wellness philanthropist, movement motivator, healing guide and music head. Faith began her practice of yoga and meditation in the early 90s to manage the stress and emotional pain of her older brother dying of complications related to AIDS. Through mindfulness, personal reflection and deep personal practice, faith was able to release her fears and experience an awakening from within. Over the past 20 plus years, faith has studied yoga, meditation, breath work, reiki and many wellness approaches. She's graced the covers of Yoga Journal twice, aam Yoga and Lifestyle, origin Magazine and Sweat Equity. She's also appeared on Wendy Williams, the Real Housewives of Potomac that's hilarious. And Essence, black Enterprise, women's Health, shape, new York and Yoga magazines. Faith is also an author who has penned two books, shades of the Soul, and her latest Spiritually Fly, wisdom Meditations and Yoga to Elevate your Soul. Faith, thank you so much for being here today, absolutely my pleasure.

Thank you for inviting me.

Do you mind sharing a bit about when you were first on the cover of Yoga Journal and why that particular issue of Yoga Journal was so impactful? Oh, wow, so.

I'm going to dive right in. Yeah, I love it. I love it. Um, so it was in 2010 and one. It was really unexpected I, the yoga journal, had reached out because I had some podcasts. I had a podcast that's amazing, yeah, yeah, back in 22. So it was, of course, all audio podcasts and it was called um, all the way live and it was just recordings of my yoga classes and I would just throw them up for my students. But yoga journal found them somehow and thought they were interesting and they reached out and they were like hey, can you come and take some photos? And so I took some photos and then, upon arriving right, um, they're like oh, by the way, we're going to put you on the cover. I'm like why don't? You didn't know that before? Yeah, yeah, yeah, so it was. And it was almost like like I think it was like probably the day before we were, we were flying out they were like yeah, so we decided that we're going to put you on the cover. And so for me, of course, being a young yoga teacher I mean, I'd finished my yoga teacher training in 2003, but I still kind of considered myself a young teacher because all of my mentors have been teaching for like 20 years, so I mean, I thought I was still in my infancy, of course. But the other thing that was really powerful is that I was, you know, out of yoga journals. I think by then they had been around for 30 years or something. I was actually the only the second woman of color, our person of color, um, on the, the magazine, um, the specifically black. And the other thing that was really powerful, especially within, you know, the African-American community, I was also a dark skinned black woman, so that made it even more powerful and it was significant because people were able to, especially people of color, were able to see themselves in me and it. I, I believe and I'm. Many people have also shared with me over the years that that's where they started taking yoga. That's why they decided to become yoga teachers, because they were like, oh my God, they're black yoga teachers and so, um, yeah, it was. I feel like it was one of those major shifts that happened within the yoga and wellness scene, where more people of color were stepping forward and not only practicing actively but also teaching.

Hmm, that's so powerful and I that's actually how I came across you, because one of my first teachers, jay Miles, you know, was really influenced by you and his early years. So it's just, it really is a testament to the way that representation truly does matter for people to see themselves in that space in order to be able. When you can see yourself through someone else doing something, it gives you more capability to believe you can do it yourself. Absolutely, absolutely. What was it like for you being one of the first and in the first dark skinned black woman to cover? You didn't know how eternal Well it's.

it's interesting because in my life, from the moment I was oh my God, because I started dancing when I was really young, like at the age of four, I started doing ballet and whatnot and being on stage and I my life was filled with a lot of firsts.

Hmm.

Yeah, when I looked back at it I was like, oh my God, I was the first black dancer in a ballet company in North Louisiana and I was only like 13 years old right At the time, and so that was like a really significant. I was first in so many other moments in my life, but stepping into that place of being one of the first in the wellness scene, I really believe, inspired me to keep going because I knew that, because I looked back, I was like you know what, maybe this is part of my purpose, part of my my Dharma right is to to open some doors and to be the first and to set a tone and to to knock down some walls.

And so I was like, okay, I got this yeah, that's so important and since you were, you know, the first from from a young age with so many things, is there anything growing up or anything you can pinpoint in your life? That kind of gave you that confidence to step into a space where you didn't see yourself represented yet you know.

I think part of it is just the way my brother and I would talk about this a lot, but I think it's the way that our parents raised us. Yeah was for us not to be afraid and to take chances and I mean younger, when I was younger. I always say my mom lived vicariously through me, but I think it was at a level she was kind of living vicariously to me because those are probably some things that she wanted to do when she was a young child and they just didn't have the the financial means to do it. And so her and my father really encouraged us to try new things, do things that were unconventional, and to maybe even sometimes be a little uncomfortable in a space, but knowing that that because they were exposing us to those things, that had opened up a whole world for us mmm, that's really powerful.

So it seems like simultaneously they were giving you, like, the confidence and the belief, but enhancing your ability to be with discomfort, which I feel like so many people don't have, that skill set, you know, even in their adult lives yeah, and I don't even think that they were thinking that they were putting me in uncomfortable spaces.

Yeah, I think that. I think I know my dad would always say it's like I'm preparing you for the world. You know, he would always say that I'm preparing you faith for the world and even when he was raising like my parents were raising both myself and my two brothers they definitely raised me differently yeah, yeah, hmm.

So as someone who is in the wellness space myself, I'm very aware that there are many changes that still need to be made and the wellness space to make it more inclusive and accessible. But I'm curious for you is what changes did you notice after your appearance in yoga journal and then, are there any changes that you that really stand out to you, that you would love to see happening now?

yeah, it's kind of interesting. The things have definitely made some interesting shifts and the practice spaces have evolved. I think definitely more people of color are teaching I mean it was it? That increase has been steady over the years. The thing that I find that has not made a major shift or enough of a shift is within the media. We will see some pops and moments, right. I mean I look back at my personal career and I'm like, oh yeah, I've been on these in these national videos and commercials and like all of these other things and in magazines, but still there really isn't enough when I think about the, the wellness scene and the number of people of color that do practice. And then you look at other genres I often describe, kind of look at like NBA or football, I mean, because it you see tons and tons of African-Americans playing those sports and fully represented and respected. However, if you look at the wellness industry, which is kind of like right in that same angle, in same slide, is that we are not fully represented based upon the numbers that are practicing and and the numbers that are actually purchasing products and items, right, and then the other piece is that and I don't really talk about this a lot, but I also think financially we're not compensated in the same way as well, and I know myself and Jake Miles have. Jay and I have talked about it a lot and I'm like always pushing him. I'm like advocate for yourself. You deserve it, like you are worthy of being paid based upon your experience and your expertise.

Mm-hmm, a hundred percent. I think that's so such an important element to give voice to, so thank you for that. We're gonna take a brief intermission to Take a moment to thank you for listening to this podcast and to share a review from one of our amazing listeners. This review says I highly recommend this podcast for deep, thoughtful dives, along with lots of compassion and fun. Holly's insights and healing voice are a balm for the soul. You will be fed and nourished while learning and growing with this podcast. Holly speaks from wholeness. Everything is welcome and everything is part of the experience. Thank you, holly, for the gift of this podcast, and thank you, listeners, for allowing me to share this podcast, and thank you for the person who wrote this review. It means the world and makes a tremendous impact. If you love this podcast, you can support it by sharing an episode you love with a friend, by leaving a review, by following the podcast and downloading episodes on your favorite streaming platform, and, and you can even join the dream team to financially support this podcast and Community causes for as little as three dollars a month. Okay, now let's dive back into our conversation with faith, something that I I did like research about you from Jed, but I really loved hearing from his perspective how you created a safe space through your studios in DC and in the community for people of color to feel like, yes, we can show up here, we can practice, this is where we can Be safe, in this wellness space together. And I guess for me the question is like what is a safe space to you and how did you cultivate that?

and, I guess, how do you continue to cultivate that yeah, a safe space for me is Is very warm, welcoming and comforting. Like what do you what anyone would think if, like, they are coming home, right, and especially when you're on your mat, that's what you think about I'm, I'm returning to myself, I'm coming home, I'm feeling safe on my mat, but you want, when you walk into a yoga space, a wellness space, so you want to feel that same way. You don't want to feel insecure, you don't want to have these massive levels of doubt of around the fact that, oh my god, do I even belong here? So when I opened both, both of my spaces in DC, I've I was always extremely intentional about not only Aesthetics, but I was also extremely intentional about the staff that I hired, and I wanted to make sure that the teachers that were teaching there were a beautiful representation of the DC community, and so my staff was extremely diverse and not just within, you know, are the color of our skin, but with sexuality, with Spiritual practices. I mean I had some teachers that were extremely religious and, you know, maybe they they were Jewish or they were Christian, but and they brought that to their teaching and I wanted them to bring that to their teaching, like I encourage them to do that, while at the same time, I had some that were a little more hippie-dippy, right, and some they were a little more strict and refined, like it Win terms of like the way that they taught. They were all about the anatomy, and so I wanted to make sure that the staff was a beautiful collection of what I feel that the yoga community should actually look like and, as a result, people felt comfortable walking into the space. Even you know, you have, like these really Hard-core heterosexual men that are like athletes would still show up into our space and felt comfortable Hanging out with like chicks and little tiny, you know yoga pants that are like omane, but they were like you know, this is what I needed, you know, because they felt comfortable In terms of like kind of what I do. Now I don't have a yoga space I'm relocated to New Orleans but when I do travel or I offer any pop-ups here, my intention is the same is that I want to make sure that when I show up in that space, I am bringing my powerful vibration that's filled with love and comfort, and I'm always reminding people that when they show up, I'm here to serve and and be of service to them and hopefully I'm giving them exactly what they need.

Hmm, I love that perspective so much. I another thread of how I know Jay is from our work together at Project Yoga Richmond. I was on the staff there for years and the key element that you know you were naming of having I Diverse staff, a diverse range of people walking in, I think really gets to the root of yoga, because when you have all of those Perspectives, you can embody wholeness and then everyone can walk in and show up as their authentic self. It's not like absolutely this is the cookie-cutter image that's here. It's like you can find anyone and anything here and all of your parts are welcome here. Yeah, so I really love that.

That's a good reminder, you know it's really interesting I definitely want to share this story with your your listeners is that this was probably like the last few years that I had my space. It must have been like 2018, 2019, something like that. I and one of our community members was going through top surgery, um, and so they were transitioning and they had had their top surgery and they were like recovering. And there was one moment in class Um, it was so hot, it was so sweaty, it was like it was just like a nasty DC summer day and the the person was like everybody else was taking their shirts off, top soft, like just whatever. And again, they had just experienced top surgery and the fact that they felt comfortable taking their shirt off in class. I was like my job is done. That's amazing, that's. I was like my job is done, like I've. I've like I've done everything that I needed to do in this lifetime in DC. I've done like it was, because I was like the fact that they could feel comfortable in that space to be themselves was why opened.

Hmm, absolutely, I think it's really. I'm glad that we took a moment to reflect on the way as we can actively make wellness spaces more inclusive. You know from the media but even if you're not in the media, like if you have a studio space or a community, like ways we can get that more representation, more inclusivity in that space. Um, this question is a little bit harder, and I guess it's for how can someone create a safe space within themselves as they're moving through unsupportive spaces in society? Because the harsh reality there's so much of that around us and so many wellness spaces like that. So if someone listening finds themselves in a space where they don't feel supported, what can they do to take care of themselves through that?

Yeah, um, it's interesting. I was actually talking to a friend last night about protecting themselves and I think that one of the most important pieces is, before you do leave your safe space like if you're leaving your safe space of your home or the safe space of your car you know you want to make sure that your level of, or your energetic balance, is in check and that that you're grounded and steady and that when you know that you are possibly, or when you do enter a space that is uncomfortable, you know exactly what tools you can draw on to reset yourself. The other thing is being unafraid to say no In a space like no is a really, really powerful word and it should be part of your fucking habit, especially in this day, and sometimes the no is it may not be verbal and just maybe I'm leaving Right, I step away Right, or you take time to pause, and sometimes the pause is enough no for somebody else to recognize that you're uncomfortable and then, of course, verbalizing. Also, the other thing is if you are entering a space and a lot of times people are dealing with family members and they they still have to go and be around them. Yeah, but their but their lives are. You know their personal lives are much more holistic and comforting and loving and right, or they they've chosen their friends, so they're very selective and they know that those environments are safe, but when they do have to enter uncomfortable environments, the other thing is setting really really clear boundaries and advocating for yourself and being really clear in your communication and with others.

Yeah, so those are so key. So, if I'm remembering correctly, it's taking time to pause, like having your wellness resource toolkits, to like energetically balance yourself. No, no, no, and taking that pause and communicating your boundaries. To be clear, exactly, yeah, absolutely. For anyone listening to, faith has an amazing podcast called spiritually fly, and yesterday morning I was on a walk and I was listening to your episode. I think it was called season of ease and I feel like that is like an episode everyone should listen to and I feel like you did such a good job talking about how you can find ease even amidst the discomfort, and I think there's a lot of like tools you named in that episode that could help resource someone with some of the tools they might need, as they are in an unsupportive space.

Absolutely. I mean the one thing that I draw upon. I mean, even today, like an hour and a half ago, I was triggered by something and I'm like my belly was rolling and like oh, and I just like stopped immediately. I mean I tried to push through and I was like no, what am I doing? What am I doing? We know when are you going. Girls, hop in your kitchen and pause and breathe before you make this smoothie, right? Cause that's what I was about to do. And I was like stopped. I closed my eyes, refrigerators like wide open, and I just took like 10 long, deep breaths and I was like this is my space, meaning, this is my body, this is my mind, this is my heart and I have control of it. I don't have to allow external forces to dictate how I feel in my body. And so when you talked about the season of ease, that for me, taking that moment created ease. It took a while for the ease to slowly move through me, but it happened and I was like I have things to do. I'm telling you how a holly I was, like I want to be ready for that. Like I mean, cause I knew what was coming and I was like no, I'm not going to carry that with me. I'm going to create a safe space for me.

And I love the way you used like. I'm going to take this back Like it's. It's such an empowering act and can give you so much more agency and control back. To be like this is my power. You don't get control what's within me, and I think that's such a gift. Absolutely, Absolutely. Well, I know that we have to be mindful of your time, but I want to make sure that people know how they can continue to support you and your work. Do you mind sharing? Absolutely, that way people can stay in touch.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So the best place for people to find me, of course, is on my website and it's really easy. It's faithhuntercom. And then I am all over all the things social media. So of course you can find me on Instagram and Facebook, where I'm spiritually fly the new threads oh yeah, that thing right. So I'm spiritually fly there and they are kind of like share a couple of different things. I love writing poetry and just random thoughts. I find that it's even different than Twitter. I don't really go is it called Twitter or X? Anyway, I'm on there, but I don't really do too much on there anymore. And then I have YouTube, and on YouTube you can find, of course, the podcast that you mentioned, but the podcast is also all over other places iHeartRadio, Spotify and whatnot, Google and on the YouTube channel I also have yoga sessions, meditation, journaling. I've lately I've been doing some astrology reading which is not like it's not typical, as I have to tell people it's not your typical astrology reading, but what I do is I share a little bit about, like I'm going to do one posted up today or tonight about the new moon in Virgo that's coming up, but I also layer in spiritual practices and rituals oh, that's so cool, so it's like that are very specific to that, that particular new moon or full moon. So I've been doing those and they've been like really, really fun. So that's there. And then I also, where else am I? That's basically it. I mean, I have a couple of other places, but you know, people should buy my book Spiritually Fly, which has so many amazing tools and practices and a little bit about my personal life and story in there as well, and of course, all that can be found on my website.

Yeah, and I will be sure that all of the links are in the show notes so people can just scroll below and click to stay in touch with you, and I know that we've done a couple episodes on the moon and astrology, so I know our community members will want to check out your spirituality side of the strong. Yeah Well, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. Of course, yeah, he's possessed so well, but now I'm stuck.