My yoga journey began in 2011 with Diamond Dallas Page's DDP Yoga, a low-impact system developed by a former World Champion wrestler that helped me combat my chronic back pain and numb appendages due to being overweight. I was also dealing with degenerative discs and a torn labrum in my hip, among other physical issues.

After losing 50 lbs in just six months with DDP Yoga, I moved on to Hot Yoga, but struggled to keep up with the intense heat. I also tried other types of yoga, but struggled to find a studio and teacher where I felt comfortable enough to return.

Despite the challenges, my interest in yoga grew, and I began exploring different types of yoga like Iyengar, Vinyasa, Yin, Kundalini, Ashtanga, and Karma. As a black man in Seattle, I often found myself being the only man or the only black man in the classes I attended. So, I searched for "black yoga teacher Seattle" on Google, but the results were few and far between. This was the catalyst that led me to become a Yoga Instructor.

I enrolled in Seattle Central College's Yoga Teacher Training program, where I was fortunate enough to have Dee Williams, a black woman, as my instructor. I selected Restorative and Hatha yoga as my concentrations because they were just my speed and aligned with my initial reason for practicing yoga, which was to reduce my own pain. The experience was great, and I completed the training in September 2019.

Since completing the training, I have led classes at various places like @wanawari for Sunday Series, @aseasana as Yogi in Residence, and @kingcounty for the Balance You program. During the pandemic, I also taught a few online classes. Currently, I lead classes every Tuesday at @rainierhf, and I'm passionate about sharing my love of yoga with others who may feel underrepresented in the yoga community.