My story

Trigger warning- sexual assault, mental health, anti Blackness

I’ve always had a natural, spiritual, and ancestral tie and draw towards the art of stretching and twerking. It has been a natural way for me to self regulate my emotions and become intimate and take agency in my body after surviving sexual assault and white supremacy. I often struggled in feeling present in my body as I later developed complex- ptsd and somatic movement was a lifeline that I used to feel whole and safe in my body again. Like many people I had repressed my childhood trauma and stored these different feelings of shame, fear and anxiety in different parts of my body. Through movement and other healing sources I began to release these feelings and incorporate somatic movement and twerking into my daily practise to self regulate and release. I found freedom in my movement and joy in being able to self-stimulate through twerk. Twerking was not only a powerful tool for me to take agency in my body but also an ode to my Black American and west African ancestors. Twerking through the white gaze has been hyper sexualised and demonised but I denounced these notions and allowed twerk to heal me and exist in its natural free form. I found twerk complemented my yoga practice perfectly as it allowed me to release tension and strengthen my hip area, while also bringing awareness to my root and sacral area and grounding me to the earth. My practice helped my heal and I wanted to share that healing with others that needed it. During 2020 I began teaching free online somatic stretch classes to other members of the Black community that where dealing with effects of the hyper visibility of Black Lives Matter in the news cycle and global Dehumanising of Black folk, and needed a space to feel empowered and vulnerable. This is how stretch and release was born, I want to continue this legacy by offering discretionary rates to Black and brown low income folk , and making sure the most marginalised folk are centred in my classes and practice. I constantly derive healing and tranquility from my art, and advocate for others to engage in such practices.