The Progress Center for Black Women and Dragonfly Hot Yoga have been partnering to provide a gender-inclusive space to folks who identify as Black, Indigenous, or other people of color. The Just Flow Yoga is led by Madison-area fitness instructor Keena Atkinson, and is for all experience levels.
Fall is a great time to settle into hot yoga, and the next Progress Center for Black Women Hot Yoga event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21, 1-3 p.m. It’s an inclusive and diverse space for women exploring physical, mental, and spiritual health through yoga. Located at the Dragon Fly Studio in Fitchburg, this event is open to all communities of color, genders, ages, and is a space dedicated to all experience levels.
“I love that we are creating this sisterhood … multigenerational sisterhood,” Sabrina Madison, founder and director for The Progress Center for Black Women, tells Madison365. The Progress Center offers various opportunities for education, financial well-being, professional development, and more.
This yoga event is a response to a community of people who seek to explore mental, physical, and spiritual well-being in an all-around inclusive space. “The number one thing we saw that [the community] wanted, along with education needs, was opportunities to address their mental health, and eating healthier,” Madison explains, Madison goes on to emphasize the importance of community building, especially after the pandemic, to combat feelings of isolation.
Atkinson, a hot yoga instructor and the founder of R’oujie Wellness, tells Madison365, that her personal experiences are what led her to her journey in joining and creating a space that seeks to include Black women at the center of its programming. She is excited about the partnership and mutual aid networks she has built with Sabrina Madison and The Progress Center for Black Women to teach yoga in an inclusive way that seeks to empower all the people who participate.
“Sabrina was able to create partnerships that supplied funding and scholarships through sponsors that were able to cover the cost for me to become a yoga instructor,” Atkinson says.
Since the conception of this partnership, Atkinson has become the Mind and Movement Ambassador for The Progress Center for Black Women. In addition to yoga instruction, Atkinson works with other organizations and programs to promote nutritional wellness, hormonal health, menstrual care, and social-emotional wellness.
To register or to find more information about The Progress Center For Black Women, the event, or to contact the organization for accommodations visit their website. For more information on Keena Atkinson, yoga education and instruction, as well as various wellness practices, visit R’oujie Wellness.
