{"id":98219,"date":"2018-11-10T11:22:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-10T16:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=98219\/"},"modified":"2020-01-14T14:48:01","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T19:48:01","slug":"how-the-ghetto-guru-is-changing-the-face-of-yoga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/pt-pt\/journal\/how-the-ghetto-guru-is-changing-the-face-of-yoga\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Ghetto Guru is Changing the Face of Yoga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Ebony at the Wanderlust 108 in Dallas on April 13! For tickets and more information, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Ebony Smith\u2014aka the Ghetto Guru\u2014came to yoga through an unlikely portal: Ricki Lake. At the time, Ebony was married to a man she didn\u2019t even really know, and was pregnant with her first child. Life in her Dallas neighborhood was strained at best, and Ebony stressed about opportunities she\u2019d be able to provide her baby. When she learned<\/a> about natural childbirth in a documentary<\/a> produced by Ricki Lake\u2014and that the state of Texas had recently allowed for Medicaid to cover natural childbirth\u2014she realized it was a something she could do for her daughter right out of the womb. \u201cThat\u2019s how I found the doula,\u201d Ebony says. \u201cAnd the doula was like, \u2018Yes, girl. You\u2019ve <\/span>got<\/span><\/i> to go to yoga.\u2019\u201d So she did. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I stepped on the mat, that was the first time I had met Ebony and who she was,” she says, “and as I continued to practice, who she could be.\u201d Ebony realized that if she plugged into herself<\/a>, she could empower herself to change her thoughts\u2014and that in turn could change her life. This realization provided self-healing that Ebony hadn\u2019t expected or experienced. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, oh my god\u2014people in our community need that, and it\u2019s just not accessible,\u201d she says. And so Ebony went on a mission to change that. Yoga N Da Hood<\/a> was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now in its eighth year, Yoga N Da Hood<\/a> is a growing non-profit that provides accessibility to wellness programs for underserved neighborhoods in Dallas, with outreach programs that teach the art of self-talk and self-love alongside traditional mindfulness practices. The organization currently serves upwards of 150 people every week, having grown from its roots of free yoga classes in the park.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSome people would come, some people wouldn\u2019t\u2014and it just kind of grew from there,\u201d Ebony says. \u201cNow we have after-school programs where we do mindful movement, yoga and mindfulness, and self-regulation. We also host four free yoga classes every week in different areas of the community,\u201d she says. The organization is currently raising money for its newest project: Converting<\/a> retired school buses into mobile yoga studios for kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

Giving People a Choice<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s no secret that yoga in the West has, in recent years, been popularized in the mainstream and on social media through the cultivation of a certain aesthetic\u2014one that\u2019s dominantly white, beautiful, lithe, and curated. According <\/span>to fitness.com<\/span><\/a>, the average cost of a drop-in yoga class across the country is $12, which can be prohibitive. Ebony says that in underserved communities there\u2019s a pervasive stereotype that things that are good\u2014things that are good <\/span>for<\/span><\/i> you\u2014are only for people of privilege. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times you go into a yoga studio\u2014if you can even get into a yoga studio\u2014and there\u2019s no one there that looks like you,\u201d says Ebony. To boot, t<\/span>ypical yoga studios, with their music and incense and dark lighting and Om-ing, can be intimidating to someone who\u2019s never seen it. And sometimes, well-intentioned teachers and studio owners can exacerbate the problem: Ebony recalls a time when she entered a studio and was gently informed that the class she’d signed up for was advanced and “<\/em>Wouldn’t she rather take the restorative<\/em>?”<\/em>\u00a0 P<\/span>art of the Yoga N Da Hood mission is to break down these kinds of stereotypes using different kinds of music<\/a>, reaching out to people from all backgrounds, and teaching outside of these traditional spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re not powerless. It\u2019s in your mind, it\u2019s in your thoughts, and if you can change your thoughts, you can change your life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s creating the space for people to feel comfortable in the uncomfortable,\u201d says Ebony. \u201cWe teach trap yoga, R&B yoga, jazz yoga; we teach yoga outside so everyone can come.\u201d She wants to serve people the nitty gritty of it, she says: \u201cThis [practice] can help you get your power back. You\u2019re not powerless. It\u2019s in your mind, it\u2019s in your thoughts, and if you can change your thoughts, you can change your life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ebony didn\u2019t come to this conclusion in a void. Though she had been practicing for a while, it was when she lost her house that she truly realized the power that yoga had taken over her life. She knew that she could always take her children and go live with her mother, but in the past, she says her ego wouldn\u2019t allow her to accept that kindness. In the past, \u201cit would\u2019ve been a spiral of drinking and not making good choices,\u201d Ebony says. \u201cI noticed it was a turning point\u2014I felt I had a choice. In this moment I had a choice<\/a> to make my life better; I could go home to my mother who is alive and well and willing to take care of us. Or I could drink booze and not be responsible for my own actions.\u201d Living from an embodied place come to through her practice, Ebony was able to make the choice to ignore her ego and do what was best for her family.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Taking it Off the Mat<\/h3>\n

This is one reason why the mission of Yoga N Da Hood doesn\u2019t stop at yoga. Access to wellness isn’t just about practice\u2014it\u2019s also about education and lifestyle<\/a>. \u201cIt takes a certain level of mindfulness in order to transform your life,\u201d she says. A lot of the neighborhoods Yoga N Da Hood serve are food deserts, says Ebony, with convenient stores on every corner. Once a person is exposed to wellness and mindful living, they are more apt to make healthy decisions. For example, Yoga N Da Hood helps to educate people on how to use their food stamps to make better choices\u201a even in a food desert<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Hot Takis are not part of your child\u2019s diet staples; you don\u2019t have to fill up your basket with Little Debbie\u2019s,\u201d laughs Ebony. In that vein, Yoga N Da Hood hosts workshops, and partners with various other organizations to teach people how to cook healthy food, for example. Last summer, they held a small wellness festival and brought in experts to talk about heart disease and diabetes, and how yoga could help address these issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

It takes a certain level of mindfulness in order to transform your life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And it works. Ebony says that sharing success stories of the community she\u2019s fostered is one of her favorite things to talk about. People approach her often to tell her that the program has changed their lives. She was recently teaching a workshop for educators, and there was a participant she didn\u2019t recognize. The woman came up to her after the workshop to tell Ebony that she\u2019d been taking her yoga classes, and had lost 150 pounds. \u201cNot only was it the yoga classes,\u201d Ebony says, \u201cbut it was how she had transformed her whole life, how she ate, and how she fed her children. We get that a lot. Or, you know, kids say \u2018I feel good about myself. I feel relaxed.\u2019 Those are the kinds of things that keep me doing what I\u2019m doing because it solidifies the fact that it\u2019s working,\u201d says Ebony. <\/span><\/p>\n

Though Yoga N Da Hood offers classes<\/a> that do resonate with underserved communities, Ebony is a firm believer that wellness is for everybody. She notes that everyone experiences trauma in life\u2014and though some may be worse than others, none are by any means \u201cless than\u201d for the person going through the trauma. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yoga N Da Hood is a kind of gateway for people to explore programs that can make them healthier and happier\u2014whoever they are. It\u2019s <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> just black people, she says, and not just for poor people. \u201cWe have everybody come to our classes from all walks of life, just to be encouraged and learn to be well<\/a>\u2014whatever that means for themselves,\u201d says Ebony.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Want to board the inclusivity train? Here are Ebony\u2019s tips on making your studio more welcoming to all communities:<\/h3>\n