Meet Kinyata Jackson of Remembrance Wellness & Yoga

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinyata Jackson.

Kinyata, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My yoga journey, like many other epic stories, began with a hot guy! My desire to help those in need has always been a deep part of who I am. It is what roots me to community. I am born and raised in Denver, CO. In fact, there is no other place I have called home for more than six months. My desire to support and empower my community has presented me great opportunities to volunteer, to learn, to lead.

Youth advocacy and education, homelessness, worker’s rights, justice reform and women’s rights including launching March 4 Black Women Denver are a few of the social issues I have had the pleasure of bringing awareness to. In 2013, while coaching JV Cheer at local George Washington High School, where I am an alumni, I met Im’Unique Founder, Tyrone Beverly. Over the next three years, I had the pleasure of working with the very talented Mr.Beverly on a variety of projects as well as following his yoga career. In 2016, Im’Unique launched its’ first 200hr Yoga Teacher Training. To my delight the program incorporated social justice and more! I applied for the training and a scholarship, was accepted and the rest was history, or so I thought.

I’m going to keep it real. The first day of training, I was extremely nervous. I had never practiced yoga before! I went to the restroom, convincing myself not to walk out. I returned to the studio to find my childhood mentors mat laid out to mine and immediately KNEW I was where I NEEDED to be. I was excited to get my “White Girl Yoga Booty” as I called it, help these asthmatic lungs and teach my baby how to meditate. I was not going to ever TEACH yoga, that simply was not apart of the plan.

As the training progressed, I evolved. I found a space, a tribe where my curiosity was feed and thrived! My yoga teacher training cohort quickly became a family. The exercises, activities and challenges we overcame together bonded us beyond race, gender, and social-economic status. Our practices elevated our conversations, expanded our hearts and poured into our minds. I was able to shed Christianity, a religion that hadn’t been serving me for over a year. I questioned and had a healthy debate with my “family” without the shame, rebuke and ridicule I received from the church. Yoga teacher training freed my spiritually and provided the transformation of Kinyata as a person, as a being that I had been seeking through Christ for years. Yoga empowered me to be accountable, aware and in harmony. Accountable for who I am and how I show up, aware of how my actions affect others and in harmony with the world around me.

The spiritual and emotional freedom I found was startling. I repeatedly found myself asking, why isn’t everyone in my community doing this? Why don’t we know about yoga? I felt compelled to share this lifestyle I discovered, this science that is being kept away from communities that can most benefit from it. From this need, Remembrance Wellness and Yoga LLC (RWAY) was birthed.

Since 2016, RWAY has traveled through the Denver metro area and beyond sharing the truth, benefits and healing power of a yogic lifestyle. We have partnered with businesses like Mercy Housing, Denver Public Schools, Tedx, and Scholars Unlimited to provide custom yoga and wellness programs. Remembrance Wellness and Yoga LLC has also had the pleasure of sharing our practice and brand of healing with local youth, health, nonprofit, and social justice organizations to create greater access to health and wellness for women and under-resourced communities as well as social justice and trauma healing.

Remembrance Wellness and Yoga LLC will continue to dedicate our work to partnering with communities, companies and organizations to support their mental, physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Workshops, classes, online sessions and custom, on-site sessions ensure RWAY can exceed community expectations. Our services engage families, women, men, seniors, employees, and more!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the greatest challenges in providing wellness services has been engaging a community that is heavily under-represented in the yoga world in this practice. The communities RWAY serves often have little time to practice yoga due to being in constant survival mode. The systemic oppression of women, Black and people of color communities and workload of social justice workers keep people overwhelmed and depleted with little resources for luxuries such as yoga.

Changing the public will around health, mental health and wellness is not easy. Again, yoga is a luxury, in most minds, reserved for middle and upper-class white women. There is a culture shift in communities of color that encourages investing in alternative forms of wellness like yoga, massage and acupuncture as forms of preventative care, not luxury spending, but it remains an uphill battle when you consider the ever-present economic disparities in place to maintain the perception of lower-class citizenship.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Remembrance Wellness & Yoga – what should we know?
Remembrance Wellness and Yoga brings yoga and wellness to you! RWAY specializes in yoga for women’s health, under-resourced populations and social justice and trauma healing. We partner with the local community, government, and corporate organizations to meet the health and wellness needs of their teams and constituents. We are known for our fun, light-hearted and upbeat classes that center healing. Our focus on yoga as a tool for healing versus a fitness routine sets us apart from many studios as well as our traveling model. RWAY is most proud of our communities that continue to lead the way toward revolution and harmony.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My desire to serve and overall kind and cheerful spirit has been key to my success. One of the reasons we provide custom programs is to ensure we are meeting the need of our audience. Clients constantly comment on how much they enjoy our instructors and the way they lead sessions.

Pricing:

• Memberships starting at $19.99
• Employee Wellness Packages starting at $39
• Private services starting at $29!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.remembrancewellnessandyoga.com
• Phone: 7203529208
• Email: kinyata@remembrancewellnessandyoga.com

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.