Today we’d like to introduce you to Yogi Akasha Phoenix.
Hi Yogi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started practicing yoga for myself 14 years ago after the passing of my brother in June 2008. My childhood wasn’t somewhat great. I was a single mom of 3 boys in a very bad domestic violence situation and I was working on my Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice and was working towards my bachelor’s in legal studies at Paul Quinn College in Dallas. During that time, I was having hard time with the amount of weight that was on my hands from survivor domestic violence, sexual assault PTSD, a close call Suicide, and my children father almost killing me in October of 2019. I was dealing with a lot with anxiety and panic attacks. About a year after my brother’s death, I started my spiritual journey where I was still having bumps in the road. That’s when yoga came in and saved my life with a close call suicide attempt. I felt like a brand-new woman every time I stepped on my yoga mat and I wanted everyone else to have the same experience. I knew my purpose and testimony would help other Melanin women and young women.
I knew I loved teaching yoga, so in 2019 that’s when I took my 200hr YTT at Blackswan yoga in Dallas. I used all of my creative energy to take birth my name Akasha Phoenix and my business The Phoenix Alchemy Holistic Healing and Yoga Wellness to another level. I started with a deep diva in my desire and passion to be different and authentic. I wanted to help other black mothers like myself rediscover life through movements and meditation. I knew how life-changing it had been for me to start a yoga practice but I also knew how difficult it was to understand the practice of yoga and to get my body to do things that it had never done before safely.
I started pushing myself more in yoga and that’s when I discovered my yoga idols @bahayogi and Racheal Speaks. I wanted to work with women and young women who wanted to tap back into their femininity and thrive instead of just surviving. I got incredibly consistent and I never sugarcoat my life journey. I show people my real body, my real practice, my real life. I am just a mom that decided that I deserved radical self-care in order to truly be the light I want the world to see me as. I started doing pop yoga at different place such as Pan African connection, taught at Chosen yoga in Duncanville, and at parks and lakes locations.
Because I wanted to focus more on mental health, survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, suicide, and me as a black yoga teacher and representation matters in this community. So many students do not feel comfortable in traditional studios and often find that they are the only people of color in the room being judge by society. I show that we as black women, children, and men have access to self-care, that we can do amazing things with our bodies and we can take control of our mental health without unnecessary interventions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. I struggled and still is due to Covid having to shut my yoga business down and also with me not using my throat chakra able to use my voice in my gifts. I went to school to become a criminal Justice major because of what I experienced during my life. So, I had to find apps for scheduling, payments, and video chatting, and then integrate it all into one space. I’m still learning all of this. When I first started, I didn’t have the budget for anyone to help me so I did everything myself on top of donations from friends. I created my own brand and busy and figured it all out but trust me I had plenty of tears along the way and wanted to give up. I remembered getting so frustrated not being able to figure out how to integrate certain things that I would just burst into tears and want to give up. I didn’t give up I just would stop and take a breath, step away from the computer and remind myself that just like some yoga poses, I can do hard things and if I survived all of that. Then I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Right now, I am struggled with marketing like most small businesses. But it’s a learning process. I don’t have the budget for ads so I get really creative with what I have and spend a great deal of time researching how to make my yoga business grow. This is when I met my yogi sister/mentor KeKe Woods of Twistedyogi. She seen something in me and understood and has helped me so much. It isn’t easy trying to balancing students, working a 9-5 job, being a civil rights activist, an advocate, and being a mother. I won’t stop just because of a few obstacles along the way.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Phoenix Alchemy Holistic Healing and Yoga Wellness LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Phoenix Alchemy Holistic Healing and Yoga Wellness is a safe space for BIPOC & LGBTQI community to heal and rediscover life through movement and meditation. We offer yoga and meditation sessions online and in person. We work with 1:1 client for a more personable experience in the privacy of their own home. On top of me also being a Reiki HealHER and meditation coach. We also offer corporate yoga to businesses, corporations, and nonprofits to reduce workplace-related stress and increase social-emotional well-being of employees. We are most known for body positivity, the Twerking yogi, and accessibility. We believe that yoga is for ALL bodies and we create sequences that work for everyone no matter ability, your disability, or your size. You can do yoga anywhere and anytime. We offer online classes and pop-up events as we believe that yoga should be accessible in many different ways and the ability to pay should not be a barrier.
What sets us apart is our unique approach to yoga. We use the traditional practices of yoga and put our own spin on it by offering nontraditional playlist and being completely unapologetic and free. We encourage freedom of expression and customizable experiences.
We are also known for our Twerking yoga which is rooted in African tradition culture and focuses on healing trauma through deep hip opening and sacral healing. We are unapologetic in our approach and believe that the practice of yoga is all about the self and doesn’t have the be in a box.
The Phoenix Alchemy Holistic Healing & Yoga Wellness also helps healing and rediscover life through movement and meditation. We take yoga beyond the studio and meet you exactly where you are. We believe in intimate & personalized experiences designed specifically for you, your business or special occasion.
I deeply respect everyone efforts and interest to grow and understand more about this most interesting topic and indeed a way of life. Together we look into the heart of Yoga, what it means to practice deeply, and make choices that bring harmony to your life and to others too. It is always a joy to share, and extremely rewarding to see the sparkle in the eyes and the light in the hearts of those that take on this most sacred journey. The intention of this journey is to give yourself the tools you need to grow and provide a depth of understanding that transforms the student into a potential teacher if you wish to wear that hat. We give our best effort and all our combined experience to help you reach your potential and accept yourself more deeply than before.
I wish to welcome you all to this journey of self-growth and discovery of how Yoga & Meditation can help transform our lives. It’s a special marker in your life when you decide to commit to understanding yourself more clearly and take care of your health and well-being. Finding your voice and expression of yoga as a teacher is a beautiful way to deepen your understanding and share the blessings of what you’ve learned. To truly convey the heart of yoga & meditation, one requires to live a life of yoga & meditation day by day by practice consistently for some time and grasp the most subtle of understandings, the nature of oneself. Our exploration together spans over 9 months, like a pregnancy, we grow in the womb of Yoga practices and assimilated life values, cultivating healthy habits and emotional stability, and open heart. We move, chant, sing, pray, stretch, breathe, challenge, accept, assimilate, invigorate and learn to listen to our hearts. On behalf of the great The Phoenix Alchemy family we are honored and inspired to share with you what has profoundly blessed my life in every way and how yoga change and saved my life.
Love, light, And Prosperity,
~Yogi Akasha Phoenix🌻🌼🦋✨
Pricing:
- 65 1:1 Virtual
- 75 1:1 face to face hands-on
- 40 1:1 mini sessions
- 50 1:1 45 mins Basic Reiki healing
Contact Info:
- Email: bookingakashaphoenix1111@gmail.Com
- Website: https://the-phoenix-alchemy-wellness-yoga-llc.square.site/
- Instagram: Yogi_akashaphoenix1111
- Facebook: The Phoenix Alchemy Holistic Healing and Yoga Wellness
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCLvkPoETAFhOWOlyYpFevug
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3CLzeDInoHQKF0qryX958w?si=iKy4T-EAQCSbkoeKiBdY-w
- Other: TikTok: @yogiakashaphoenix11
Image Credits
Diamonte
Dialuvunte
Dialashawn
Chris
Alex Kaufmann
KeKe Woods
BodyByO Tactical
Black Poly Nation
Brandin Wilson
Latisha Thomas
