Wellness is a serious journey, but we like to laugh and have fun with it too! We laugh and create together in workshops like the

Yoniverse: Womb Wellness Workshop
(in which yoni eggs are discussed).
The Yoniverse will be October 20,
Saturday, in Durham, NC. 

Our latest yoni egg activity is the "What Is Your Yoni Egg Style" Quiz.
​Take it now:

During one of those goofy moments that sistafriends have, my girl was like,"Are you yoni-ing? Everyone is doing it?" Then I said, "Yeah, I get my yoni on!" We laughed and that is how I came up w/this flowchart. It's all in fun and jest, so it's supposed to be light and fun. I know Yoni is not a verb, but guess what-it is now! Have fun following the flow and see where u end up. Be sure to read the descriptions below the flowchart for a breakdown.

Wombman:
Queen Sistar! You are one with your yoni and enjoying the creative healing energy! You feel naked wo ur glittering menagerie of yoni eggs and crystals. U love flowers, especially in ur spiritual bath or yoni pot. See you & ur tribe at the next henna party or belly dance class!!

U Outchea Twerking: 
even if it's only in the mirror. There’s a sacred wombman in u waiting to break out!! You ready, but somethings holding you back. Maybe it’s your schedule or a little out of ur comfort zone. you are on the brink of your feminine awakening & it’s about to be transformational., take time to get to know you, check your inner voice, do you have positive body image, confront any shame that you were taught as a girl, overcome any abuse or betrayals, keep a journal. Release, release, release and see u at the Yoniverse Workshop. I recommend watching the Rites of Passage Institute’s YouTube Channel & any of the Rites of Passage Institute’s 1-on1 sessions 
( moontracking class, henna, belly binding, health assessment)

Kings:
Look, Man, I know ur not a woman, but you can still benefit from tapping into ur feminine side. Remember we need to find balance with the feminine and masculine. NO, you don’t need to be in bellydance class, but encourage and support the women in your life while they are on their journey. Everyone comes from a yoni! Get bae a yoni steam chair. You both will benefit ;)
​
Darth Vader of the Yoniverse:
The vagina is just an organ for urinating and if you touch it, it might fall off. Enjoy your life of sugar, douche, & tight underwear.Oh, and don’t forget body-shaming & judgement r handy in case any humans w/ vajayjays try to build w/ you.

​Yoni Steaming?!! Vajacial?! Steam What?! Who? How?!! Yes, show your “girl” some love. It’s ok. The rhetoric about ladyparts being nasty and dirty has died with your great aunt’s missile bras and taken us deeper into our roots.  By embracing our bodies, we are also dusting off ancient traditions that we lost through oppression, colonialism, slavery, witch hunts, and or westernization. Mannn, listen! You know it must be good if it survived all of that!!

 Yoni steaming is “Me” time, self-care, and has its sensual pleasures too.  When I say it’s a small part to a bigger picture, I mean it’s a break off from the Hammam (i.e. Turkish Bath) culture and from the womanhood rites of passage rituals throughout Africa, Asia, & Arabia (pretty much the indigenous world). To learn more watch the video below, visit our shop (where you can purchase yoni steam herbal blends, yoni steaming chairs/stools, etc), attend a Rites of Passage Institute Workshop, or book a yoni steaming session with us! Oh, and I am drinking tea in this video, but I promise I’m not putting anybody in the sunken place 😉

Did you know breathing eliminates more toxins than pooping? Breathing gives you more energy, focus, peace, and straightens your teeth. You can't beat it. Remember to breathe in your nose and out your mouth or nose. No mouth-breathing because it's not cute and healthy is the new sexy, so yeah. Avoid these common breathing mistakes:

• holding your breath
• shallow breathing
• quick breathing

And check out Desmond Green at www.ibreathconsciously.com. He will be offering a breathing class in Raleigh, NC soon. 

This is brought to you by the 20-Day Heal & Chill Challenge in celebration of the Heal & Chill Women's Wellness Event December 2. Check for updates on FB! If you want to be part of the 20 Day Heal & Chill Challenge, but you are not on FB, sign up and post below about your experience in implementing today's challenge. 

​Have a ZEN Holiday!

3. Henna can be confused as Cannabis.

• Tests created in the 70’s couldn’t distinguish between cannabis and henna. Henna is the only other botanical that caused the false positive. Tests are more sophisticated now.

4. Henna originated in Africa.
Henna or Hennu (the Ancient Egyptian word for Henna) originated in Egypt. It’s an arid desert shrub. Through the DNA and scientific study of 11th dynasty mummies such as Hierakonpolis and Ramses II, researchers found that Egyptians have been using henna since 3400 BCE (6, 000 years ago). Formulas for extracting henna oil etc have been found on papyrus. Egyptians used henna as an essential oil for healing and perfume, preservative in mummy wrappings, hair dye, sun block, coolant for the body, and body art.

Learn the Secret to My Henna, Click the Video Below:

As a belly dancer, the bengkung belly binding has been a lifesaver. I’ve had 3 children, and after each child I’ve had to retrain my abdomen muscles. After my 3rd child I couldn’t figure out why it was so difficult to strengthen and isolate my abdomen muscles, especially when I’ve been doing it all of my life. It didn’t help when my sister came to visit and asked if I was pregnant again. Although I had lost all my pregnancy weight, I still had a pooch. I didn’t really mind having it, I welcome all curves, but it didn’t make sense to me because I was so fit.

Recently, a post popped up in my newsfeed on Facebook. My friend had shared a post of a European American woman saying, “Black women look like men--there's nothing feminine about them.” Instantly I was thrust into a place in my past.
 
​I was 7 years old. Across the street lived an Euro-American girl (around 7 years of age as well) with long blond hair and rotten teeth named Anna. She often came across the street to play with us. Our house was an epicenter. I had 3 sisters close to my age, plus 2 African American girlfriends who lived next door, and a Cuban-American girlfriend the next house down, and lots of other neighborhood children with whom I played and roamed the neighborhood. Constantly busy in our play, a pack of us children, my big sister in charge, would roam down to the pond, pick fruit, pound rocks to powder, practice dance routines etc. 

​While playing house Anna always cast herself as the wife or mother and she would try to get one of us (or any melanated girl) to play the husband/man or baby. She would say things like, “because your hair is shorter, you play the man.” Or when dressing up in finery, she would suggest that I hold my lips in. When she didn’t get her way, she would resort to pulling or throwing dirt in our hair, but we easily got the best of her. 

We loved the way our braids swung in the wind and clicked when we jumped double-dutch. Second, our elders always admired us, commenting how we resembled this or that elder, or how so-and-so got the family lips, eyes, or hair. These were features to be coveted. AlhumdilAllah, we had healthy self-esteem and power in numbers. Anna, was Smeagol (Gollum). You felt sorry for her.

One day, we were playing and my mother, who had already been upset about Anna throwing dirt in our hair, overheard Anna growling about our hair being nappy, short, and ugly. We had been arguing when I felt my mother’s shadow and looked up. My sisters and I fell silent, but you could hear Anna going on and on. I saw my mother’s face; her eyes were fierce and her mouth twisted. Mom folded her arms across her chest. I just knew she was about to send Anna home, and have a talk with her mother. “Come on Anna, let me braid your hair,” my mother snapped motioning us into the house.

“Ma’am?!” responded Anna. We were all shocked. What did doing Anna’s hair have to do with this? Why would Mom invite her in when Anna was so mean and nasty?
​
“You want me to braid your hair?” Asked my mother.

​Occasionally, my mother would braid Anna’s hair, and she became good friends with Anna’s mother. After that day, Anna never called us names or talked bad about our features. We became good friends.
​
Since then I have met many Anna’s in school, the workplace, and social media. So to the “white” woman (or anyone feeling inferior) who wants to talk about melanated women being masculine, ugly, loud, etc, I say with the wisdom of my mother, “Sure, I can show you how to be a Queen! I'm not less of a woman because of the crown I wear, and neither are you."

I turned to my husband and asked him if he thought it was ok to get the doll for our daughter. He said no. I threw it in the cart anyway. When I got to the register, I gave it to the cashier and told her I wasn’t buying it. Once I got in the car, my daughter being an immature warrior princess said, “Where’s my doll?” I had no idea she’d been paying attention. I had got something for everyone, but her. My husband told me to get the doll if I wanted it. So, I ran back in the store and bought them. 

​I still wasn’t satisfied though. That night I went online and searched how to give a doll an Afro.  A plethora of videos, blogs, etc. appeared. The process looked a bit arduous. What could I do to make it more fun?  In the midst of all this doll business, I had been wrecking my brain for a way to get my daughter around other girls her age. You see she has 2 big brothers and most of my friends have boys. Therefore, she is always around boys, and trust me she holds her own, but I want her to be well-rounded. 

​I posted it on social media and it was an instant hit. People wanted to do it! I got a lot of interesting responses. One woman messaged me that her daughter didn’t have any African dolls. I thought that was interesting. No matter what ethnic group you belong to, living in multicultural America, why not have dolls of various ethnic groups, colors, shades, facial features, hair types? I love that we live in a country where such options are available. There’s no excuse. But I let her know that the doll did not have to be African or of African descent. Like white people don’t have Afros! 

How does it make your melanated son feel when you give him that Buzz Lightyear Toy, Mario Brother’s game, etc?

​If s/he has been fed a steady diet of mainstream media (cartoons, clothes, books, toys), s/he will be excited. In fact, any child may be excited because the mainstream media are exciting, colorful, fun, and it connects one to a group experience. After all, these companies spend loads on marketing to children and parents. However, what is the subconscious message and what is it doing to your child? 

​Play at the expensive of my child’s self-esteem—no thanks. “Hispanic and Black girls who watch more Black-oriented television have higher body satisfaction,” (nationaleatingdisorders.org/media-body-image-and-eating-disorders). Negative media stereotypes (thugs, criminals, fools, and the disadvantaged) are demoralizing and reduce self-esteem and expectations. Dealing with negative expectations may also create stress and drain cognitive resources in some contexts — leading to the lowered performance. Not to mention these negative media stereotypes feed white fear/imagination. Lack of diversity in children’s literature is a blockage to melanated children becoming motivated, engaged, and proficient readers. And even when they do become proficient readers, despite the lack of positive representation, guess what that teaches them? Don’t be yourself and you will be successful. Serve those not like you and you will be successful. 

Here is a list of Black-owned businesses that create children's toys, books, etc with equity and positive representation. Go shopping:
​
https://edanimeproductions.com/shop/dvd-meltrek/
http://www.blackbeautydolls.com/
http://www.misszee.net/
http://www.myakids.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
http://www.bbe4.com/vandora.html
http://www.martidumasbooks.com/books
http://babysparkles.biz/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=259
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1530439191/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
https://www.icecreamtoysandbooks.com/
http://www.pattycakedoll.com/black_dolls
http://www.sugarfoots.com/
http://shawncrealcreations.com/
http://yeslioness.bigcartel.com/category/coloring-books
https://www.etsy.com/shop/OffDHookCreations
https://sites.google.com/site/buymoorish/place-your-order
http://www.funrise.com/positively-perfect/#/store/collection/zair
http://www.itsbathtimebaby.com/order.html
http://www.taylormadenc.com/new-products/
http://www.kujichaguliapress.com/
​Swift Walker Books
Fred Crump Jr Fairy Tale Books
Children's Backpacks, clothes, shoes:
https://www.facebook.com/AyAnnAsArt/
ayannasartfashion@gmail.com
Islamic Children's Books:
Reading Books
Fairy Tales 
*The Prophet 
*not Black-Owned, but positive representation.