How Coast woman fights against stereotype that ‘black people don’t do yoga’
This is Color on the Coast, a series created to share the journeys, experiences, successes and challenges of people of color on the Coast. You can find episodes on our Instagram (@SunHeraldBiloxi) and YouTube (Sun Herald) pages.
On the Jan. 10 episode of Color on the Coast, we head to downtown Gulfport to meet LaToya Bass-Barnes.
LaToya is the owner of The Soular Yogi Yoga & Wellness. At her studio, she strives to “promote diversity, body positivity and inclusivity in the yoga community.”
In our interview with her, Bass-Barnes shared how yoga “saved her live” during a time when she was consumed by the pressures being a wife and mother.
We also discussed stereotypes within the black community regarding self-care and mental health.
“We constantly hear that black people don’t do yoga, or that yoga isn’t for us. I fight against that stereotype every single day,” Bass-Barnes said.
“There’s a very biased opinion about who yoga is for or who should do yoga and who represents yoga... but the truth is, yoga is for everyone.”
Because of that bias, Bass-Barnes said she had to jump over hurdles with several landlords before finding a space.
“They wanted six months of my banks statements and all types of different records, I guess to prove that I would be able to sustain the business.”
And this isn’t the first time she’s been faced with this type of challenge.
“As a black woman, you always feel like you have to go above and beyond to prove that you’re worthy.”
To hear more of LaToya’s story, head over to our Instagram (@SunHeraldBiloxi) or YouTube (Sun Herald) page to watch her Color on the Coast episode.
This story was originally published January 10, 2020 at 10:00 AM.
