First West African Immigrant to Open up a Wellness Space In Maryland - Black Girl Magic

Today I am sharing my #blackgirlmagic story as shared on my IG @gigis.light

I took my Love for your Yoga & nutrition and bravely turned it into my dream business. @thelightlifeliving

At the beginning of this year, I became the first black woman born in Ghana to own a yoga studio in my state. And the only Yoga studio in my county to provide child-care.

Although, COVID-19 forced me to close my doors, to people coming in. We have been offering classes online, and my business is going strong as I just signed a corporate contract to do Yoga with a state-funded organization today.

If you are interested in taking a yoga class, use this link to visit our website—www.healthylightlife.com, where you can register for online classes.
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My Love for Yoga started many moons ago, during my humble beginnings in Bronx, NY. While registering for my 1st semester of college, I saw Yoga as a P.E. class that could be taken for credit. So out of curiosity, I took it. The professor was a petit caucasian woman who was kind and gentle (I am currently trying to find her if anyone happens to know her, her last name is WEISS) She should be in the NYC area.

I am proud of myself for going through all the steps it took, sacrificing my resources, putting in the effort, and getting the studio up and running. I will not forget the bravery and the boldness I had to build up even when fear told me I couldn't do it.
I did it.
There is still more work to be done, more lives to touch and inspire, but I did this! I that!
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Many people question whether a Christian should be doing Yoga; I am working on a detailed article on that. In the meantime, my answer is that Yoga is not a religion, you can bring who you are and what you believe to the mat, I spend a lot of still and quiet time on the mat, praying, reading my bible, and listening.

If taichi, karate, dining at Thai, or Indian restaurants, etc., does not affect a Christian, I don't know how Yoga will.
After getting trained and certified, Yoga has become about growth and understanding who I am to the rest of the world. Just as much as the bible teaches me that I am the Light of the world, so does Yoga teach me to let my inner light shine.

The principles of Yoga teaches us to be kind not only to others but to ourselves. It teaches us to be disciplined, it shows us to ease our suffering by letting go of control, and above all, it teaches us to LOVE!
These principles and many others are parallel to what the bible teaches me in many ways.

I have also found that the health benefits of Yoga are many. For a long time, black people have not acknowledged or taken advantage of these benefits: from relieving stress, high blood pressure, chronic pain, inflammation, building strength, improving flexibility, healing migraines, etc.
The health benefits of practicing Yoga have become more apparent, and many health care practitioners recommend Yoga for different ailments and healing. Early in my profession as a yoga teacher, I gained private clients with chronic pain, and I have found that Yoga always gives them relief.

Yoga can aid anything from weight loss to better sleep; it helps with stress relief and alertness, making you mindful and conscientious. Behavior yoga has proved to be beneficial to children with behavior and self-esteem issues and continues to be one of the leading ways to get both children and adults to function at their peak.

I hope that I can be a representation, and I can bring more people who look like me and share my cultural and spiritual believes to their mats for the first time as I have been doing these past few years.