Shawandra Ford is the visionary of Brwnskn Yoga, is a beacon of inspiration. Her vibrant movement is not just about self-love, empowerment, and healing but also about cultivating inclusive spaces. She is on a mission to ensure that individuals of every shade and background can discover the profound impact of yoga.

Welcome to Issue 19 as our Cover Feature and the Bluff City Magazine family. We’re excited to know more about you. Please introduce yourself to us personally.

My name is Shawandra Ford, and I am the owner of Brwnskn Yoga. I am an original Memphian. I grew up in Whitehaven, but I hail from all over! My maiden name is Cowan. It's C-O-W-A-N. Some of us spell it with an S on the end, but we are all family.  

How long have you been a Memphian, and what do you love about our city so much? 

Since John Gaston Hospital. This is where I grew up. I’ve lived in every community in Memphis; I was a hip baby. I hailed from Orange Mound, Hurt Village, Lakeview Garden, Boxtown, Coral Lake, Whitehaven, Hickory Hill, and Cordova. What I love most about Memphis is the culture. I am not afraid of my people, and I fit in wherever I go. 

You look so young to have experienced all that right now. How old are you? What high school did you graduate from? 

I am 45 years old. I graduated from Fairly High School in 1997. I skipped college, and my first professional job was with Memphis City Schools at Ford Road Elementary in August 1997, under the leadership of Curtis Mitchell and Helen Currie. 

Why was there a transition in all the apartment communities? What made you want to have some relation with all the communities in the city and then all the apartment complexes in Whitehaven? 

I grew up in a very underserved household, so we moved a lot. I was a section 8 kid. I know what my students go through. I went to a lot of different schools, so I didn't always make friends very easily because we were always moving. I attended a lot of schools and lived in a lot of space. This generation is no different. We adapt to what feels normal for us.   

But, Whitehaven definitely holds a very special place in my heart. The Haven is my home.  

With all that transition and constant movement, how did you first become interested in yoga? What did you learn that made you want to own a studio and teach?  

Yoga and I fell in love with each other. I lost my mom in 2010 and Yoga was my outlet as I was grieving. I resigned from my career, and Yoga was an outlet. I’ve lost family and friends, but as usual, I always come back to my yoga practice. Yoga has healing power; finding stillness within has taught me so much. Learning how to be quiet has kept me out of so much trouble. There are eight limbs to Yoga. It’s a lifestyle that really can transform your life. 

I love that. That is amazing, Shawandra. I mean, it's absolutely amazing. You just mentioned there are eight different limbs of yoga, and when I did some research, I found that they’re also called branches. What specific method do you teach, and what ages do you serve? 

I teach all eight limbs of yoga, and I teach Affirmations. The tongue has the power of life and death. So, I teach my students to speak positive thoughts over their lives. I realized that if my students cannot affirm themselves and they cannot affirm their peers, then YES, it is easy for them to take someone’s life because they don’t value themselves, and secondly, they don’t value you. So, it is very important. 

You own and operate Brwnskn Yoga in the heart of Whitehaven, inside the Southbrook Mall. How long have you been a yoga instructor? 

This is my 5th year as a Yoga Educator.  

Outside of you personally doing yoga, have you seen any firsthand transformations where someone came to your studio broken, and you were able to help them heal from the inside out? 

Yes, I have taught in some very special places, such as homeless shelters, detention centers, schools, and hospitals. I have seen people release tons of emotions that they didn’t realize that they were holding too. Sometimes, even myself. One of my mom’s favorite songs was “Your Tears” by Bishop Paul S. Morton. Your tears really are a way to release pain and sorrow. But through the practice of Yoga, we start to acknowledge what we are feeling, and that’s how we start to heal. 

We know that our school system is very challenging, especially the elementary school system. We have impoverished and underserved communities where parents may not be supportive, children may not get a wholesome meal at home, and the list goes on. When you teach elementary kids the practice of yoga, they're becoming more and more trying to have a different perspective on life. What is it that they're going to glean from yoga in their current condition? 

I think the biggest part is understanding we're going to experience trauma. It's just going to happen. It's going to happen to us at any stage in our life. I think the biggest part of yoga is giving them coping skills. We're teaching them how to breathe, self-regulate, focus, concentrate, and how to navigate through conflict. We’re teaching them to be proactive and not reactive. Violence should never be an option. Self-regulation… Just like a thermostat, when you feel that the heat index is starting to go up, you need to know how to bring it back down. With the yoga practice, I hope to teach my students to see the value within themselves. 

I can see how that is so helpful. From the outside looking in, this is such an easier alternative. It just takes practice. What is the difference between Yoga and Pilates? Can you simplify that for us? 

With yoga, we're still talking about the eight limbs of yoga. Yoga and Pilates are both workouts. It's an exercise. You can burn a lot of calories with Yoga and Pilates. It's a workout. The difference, I would say, is incorporating self-realization, the Yamas and the Niyamas, the ethical principles of yoga. Again, yoga is a lifestyle, not so much just the poses. One of the messages I'm trying to convey is that yoga is more about how you treat yourself and others. That really doesn't have anything to do with Pilates. Pilates is a workout, and Yoga is a lifestyle change. 

So, girl, we're going to get into the meat of this thing.  We’re going to ruffle some feathers and debunk some myths. From my research, people on social media are talking about how yoga originated from Hinduism or Buddhism. Why do some think it's demonic or a sin? 

One reason is because they've never practiced before. Secondly, because yoga has been so commercialized, social media has definitely played a role in that. We have never really seen people who look like us, talk like us, think like us, walk like us, practicing yoga. Also, no one has ever taught us that breathing is a thing. Meditation and self-reflecting really is a thing, but no one taught us that. And lastly, sometimes people are intimidated by what they don't know.  

There's one book that I really love called Black Women's Yoga History by Stephanie Y. Evans. It's a memoir, and it’s about all of these Black women who have practiced yoga: Rosa Parks, Eartha Kit, Queen Latifah, Angela Davis, and many others. They're talking about how they came into the space of practicing yoga. At the very beginning of the book, it tells the story of how our grandparents would sit at the kitchen table in the morning before the sun came up and quietly read their Bible, read the newspaper, or listen to gospel music. All that is a form of meditation, and that is yoga. So, we've always practiced yoga. Unfortunately, no one has explained it to us that way. 

Could it possibly be misunderstood because people think chanting brings in demonic forces? Now that force is entering your body, and it's idolatry. I don't know this for sure, but I think people think yoga and chanting are synonymous, and you have to chant like Tina Turner did in the movie What's Love Got To Do With It, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō. 

That’s because she was saying it in a language people did not understand. She was speaking Sanskrit, an ancient and classical language of India. 

I would compare it to singing from The Book of Hymns. We're just using a different dialect. We don’t understand foreign languages; most foreigners don’t understand ours.  

If we remember the movie, her practicing chanting was something that gave her a new outlook and gave her the strength to stand up to her abusive husband.  

Yes. It's a mantra, and you're saying it over and over. I recite the Serenity Prayer every morning and several times throughout the day. That’s my chant and my motivation. The brain is a muscle, and that's how it strengthens it. There’s a book called Rewire Your Brain by John B Arden. The more positive things we say to ourselves, the more it reflects in our daily living and lifestyle. If you have a negative mindset, all you’re going to think about is negative things, and that's how you're going to live. I don’t think chanting is a bad thing. It's almost like a song. We do it all the time with our favorite songs. We're repeating those lyrics over and over again because that's what makes us feel good. 

This is why I chose to teach yoga to the people in my community. I go in, show up, and I’m authentic. I prefer to teach them in a way that is relatable. I'm not teaching Sanskrit. I'm not teaching, chanting. My choice of music is what I normally would listen to. I always tell people to find the right yoga space that fits their needs. Learn your lineage and then decide for yourself if you think Yoga is demonic. 

We've already unpacked a lot related to changing the narrative from your perspective when it comes to yoga. Besides people thinking it's demonic or besides the negative connotation that's associated with it, what is it that also bothers you the most about people's perception and understanding of yoga? 

Yoga being over-commercialized. Yoga is a lifestyle change. You don’t have to wear a certain outfit or be a particular size. I’m not promoting a gimmick. The word yoga means union and a connector of the mind, the body, and the soul. That's it.  

When I go into spaces and teach my little kids about yoga, we're not just talking about the yoga poses. We're talking about how the brain and respiratory systems function, how the skeleton and muscle systems function, and how all these parts of our body work together as one and become a union. Then, we start learning the practice of yoga.  

I explain to people that it is not just about the poses. Yes, we're going to do the poses. But if you think about it, one day, you're not going to be as flexible as you once were. 

I read an article about this blind 98-year-old man who was still practicing yoga. It wasn’t physical, but it was his mindset.  

How did you come up with this name, Brwnskn Yoga, and what does it mean besides skin color? 

Brwnskn was originally on my license plate years ago, and I just loved it. I have truly been inspired by Artists such as India Arie, Zayden Stellar, Chasity Londyn, and Beyonce to be “THAT GIRL.” I'm a brown-skinned girl. I am a representation of my mom, aunts, cousins, uncles, and all of the little brown kids I teach.  

Someone on your social media page expressed concern about your name, Brwnskn Yoga. Do you have to defend your name often? 

I do. People told me that if I named my company Brwnskn Yoga, I wouldn’t be successful. It simply wasn’t true. Someone posted on my social media that the name of my company was racist. I believe that representation matters. I have a very good friend, Sonjoria Sydnor, who’s the Author of Our Family Doing Yoga. She wrote the book because there were few images showing black and brown kids practicing yoga.  

I teach all kids regardless of their skin tone. My students come from different backgrounds. I am proud of all of them. I have white students who wear shirts that say Brwnskn Yoga, and they get it. We're just encouraging people. We're empowering people. We’re saying that yoga is for everyone. However, because I have a platform, I want to use it to promote health and wellness in black and brown communities. 

What are just a few tips that you can give those who are really interested in it, but because of the maybe naysayers or because of their own insecurities of being too big, they may not be able to be flexible enough. What are just a few tips you can give to those who may be interested in yoga? 

You can practice yoga anywhere. You can practice yoga sitting in a chair. You can practice yoga sitting on the floor. You can practice yoga sitting in bed. You can practice yoga without even moving your body. There are modifications. You don't have to move your body like you see someone do on Instagram or in a magazine. But the best part about it is that you can be still, and you can be meditating, and you can still be practicing yoga. 

You're not new to being featured and interviewed by different platforms. Tell us some of the publications and TV shows you've been featured in. 

I was featured on Good Morning, America in June 2022 as one of the Wellness Warriors, and they highlighted many of our students here locally. I’ve also been featured in The Commercial Appeal, the Gina Neeley Show, Live at 9 with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., WREG Bright Spot, Memphis Health and Fitness, and Memphis Voyager. 

There's a program called the International Yoga Association Therapy Group. I received a Seva finalist award from them in 2023. I was a recipient of the 2023 Comcast Rise grant. Locally, I was awarded the Best In Service by the Greater Whitehaven Economic Redevelopment Corporation (GWERC) 

Where do you aspire to go from here? 

I want to see Brwnskn Yoga expand beyond studio spaces. I want to take a deeper dive into those underserved communities. It doesn't just have to be here in Memphis. It could be worldwide. It can be anywhere in the country. I want to be able to reach people on the verge of giving up, who no longer feel that they have a space or a voice in this world. I want to go out, and I want to teach them and tell them that your life serves a purpose. You're here for a reason. We all have a story to tell; they deserve to be heard. That's what makes up a book of memoirs. It's your story.  

This has been a wonderful interview, Shawandra. Is there anything you want readers to know that I didn't ask? 

I want them to know that yoga is a lifestyle. There are eight limbs to yoga, so don't focus so much on perfecting the poses. My biggest goal is to be a good person. It's free to be kind. Kindness is free.