Stretch out your issues
Yoga instructor CJ Spears believes healing begins by slowing down, listening to your body and making space for your emotions. In this conversation with JR Valrey, she discusses yoga’s ancient roots, how the practice carried her through difficult times, and why she combines movement with journaling to help people process stress and deepen self-awareness. She also shares the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of yoga, along with upcoming classes designed to make wellness accessible to the community. The post Stretch out your issues appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.
Black News 
by JR Valrey, The People’s Minister of Information
Mindfulness, exercising and wellness are three major pillars to practicing preventative medicine. In a society where almost everything is poison, and pharmaceutical drugs are seen as the panacea for every ailment, we are encouraging our people to live and heal in the most holistic ways possible.
This summer we want to teach and remind our readers to be conscious of their overall health on a regular basis, because health is wealth. We talked with yoga instructor CJ Spears about her philosophy, practices and the classes that she offers. She is a young Black woman who is selflessly teaching others how to deal with this highly stressful environment known as Black life in Amerikkka, in a constructive way.
JR Valrey: What is yoga? Can you talk a little bit about its history?
CJ Spears: Yoga is an ancient practice of presence. It is so much more than just stretching; it is also being honest with yourself and others. It is body listening and mind opening and everlasting equanimity in the palm of your hand. It is a process meant to enlighten our spirit as it journeys through this human experience. Yoga practices have been traced back to India and Egypt over 5,000 years ago. Ancestors whose names we may never know sat in the same postures to maintain their connection to the Earth and each other. How beautiful is that?
JR Valrey: When and how did you become interested in yoga?
CJ Spears: I have always experienced huge emotions. I was the crybaby of the family, who could break down in tears just from watching someone die in a movie. Around the age of 14, I started reading buddhist literature and learned that meditation can help us to learn from our emotions and accept them, without allowing them to control my mind. That helped me a lot through high school, and I continued practicing yoga/meditation off and on throughout college. Detox yoga especially. I graduated in the pandemic, on zoom, and my yoga mat was the only place where I truly felt peace during that time in my life. I wanted desperately to be able to carry that peace off the mat and into the rest of my life. So I began my 200-hour yoga teacher training!
JR Valrey: What was the process from you becoming a practitioner to a yoga teacher like?
CJ Spears: Shifting from practitioner to teacher felt like breaking out of a cocoon. For years, this practice had held me together in the moments when I most felt like falling apart. My first year of teaching I did my best to offer the wisdom and subtle movements that I gained through a deeply personal, darkened transformation. I connected with my community in a new way, as I learned that care can look like sitting with someone as they feel their feelings.
JR Valrey: Why do you include journaling in your yoga classes? What is the connection between yoga and journaling?
CJ Spears: I love writing; it is a form of therapy for me. Combining yoga with journaling prompts based on the themes of the class really helps students to archive their healing and reflect on their inner environment. Yoga helps us move out of our thinking minds and into our feeling bodies. That is the perfect place to journal from, because the words that flow out of your pen are connected to your soul rather than your ego.
I have a few essays about this on Substack (@cjamswriting) called, “Poetry Is Really Just Yoga for Words” and “Handwriting Is Sacred.” You can check them out to learn more.
JR Valrey: What are some of the physical and psychological benefits of yoga?
CJ Spears: There are countless benefits, so I’ll just share my favorite three. First, yoga expands the space between life’s events and your responses to them. Second, you are able to relax your fascia and release emotions stuck in the body. And last but definitely not least, yoga is a practice of pure liberation for all beings on earth. It radicalizes you by grounding you in unconditional awareness.
JR Valrey: Where will you be offering classes in July and August?
CJ Spears: In June, I have five beautiful events in Oakland. They all will incorporate some aspect of journaling and restorative yoga.
The first two are FREE:
Yoga & Journaling at the Lake with Marley’s Mangoes and Lvrgrlsocial (Saturday, June 13, at 10 a.m.); West Oakland Library Friends Community Seated Yoga (June 13 from 12-4 p.m.)
The last three events are hosted at Black- and Indigenous-owned spaces; refreshments and mats provided if needed:
Flow & Write Through It at Obsidian Healing Camp (Journaling and Yoga, June 24 at 7 p.m.)
Slow down Saturday: Sade Yoga and Journaling at Choc’late Mama Boutique in Emeryville (June 27 at 6 p.m.) Lunar Healing Circle (June 29 at 7 p.m.)
JR Valrey: How could people participate if they are interested? How could people stay up to date with your class schedule?
CJ Spears: RSVP for any of these events to participate; all body types and levels are welcome! You can connect with me on Instagram (@cjamswriting) for updates on events or email me cjamswriting3@gmail.com if you would like me at your next event or a 1:1 session!
SF Bay View Editor-in-Chief JR Valrey is a veteran journalist who can be heard weekly on Wednesdays on 89.5FM KPOO or KPOO.com from noon to 3 p.m. His work can also be heard on www.blockreportradioworld.com.
The post Stretch out your issues appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.
