By Javacia Harris Bowser
For the Birmingham Times
Birmingham is known for its Civil Rights history, emerging restaurant scene, and beautiful parks. But Adi Devta Kaur wants the Magic City to be known for something else yoga.
She dreams of starting a yoga studio and school focused on getting yoga into the communities that she believes need the practice most. “My mission is to empower marginalized communities, the overlooked and unappreciated,” said Kaur, who believes a Black-owned yoga studio and school would be the key to fulfilling this mission.
“What better place than Birmingham, Alabama to be Black and strong and here,” she said.
Mama Sanovia Muhammad’s name came up again and again as a respected elder in the community of Black women yoga teachers and practitioners.
Originally from Birmingham, she went to New York at age 16, then returned 20 years later. In 2009, after her retirement from a 30-year labor and delivery nursing career, she became certified as a yoga teacher. Also, she wrote a book called A Journey to Forgiveness, about how yoga helped her through the traumatic experience of losing her mother to violence.
Message: “Yoga covers so many different things. It’s not just about posture it’s also about breath, meditation, prayer, posture and going inward. Yoga has a space for every body and all people.”