BmoreArt

Can you describe the journey that led you to a career in health and wellness?

My journey in health and wellness started in sickness. I was born to a disabled father, so I began my caretaker journey early in my life. But it wasn’t just him. My mother, Linda, made sure we knew our elders and stayed connected to our lineage. My aunt, Barbara Peterson, who is now an ancestor, also paved the way. She was a medium, and many people called her crazy as people often label powerful women to limit their credibility. 

She started a nonprofit organization called On Our Own of Howard County to support people with mental illness. She was my favorite aunt, and during our time together I witnessed readings where she would receive divine messages. It was a blessing to see these moments as a child, though sometimes I really just wanted to go home. I didn’t realize the privilege that I had, but she knew I needed that training. 

Today, I am a 200-hour certified yoga teacher, doula, Thai yoga practitioner, stretch therapist, certified personal trainer, and mindfulness educator. When I started working for myself, my first loyal clients were Coach Calvin Ford and Gervonta Tank Davis in 2017. This journey that I am on began long before I came into this physical body. This journey is ancestral and will not end when I leave this physical body. It will be continued by the many people whose lives I have touched and by my sweet daughter, Seven.

How did you end up in Baltimore?

I was born in DC and raised between Prince George’s county and Detroit, but Baltimore is a very magical place. Baltimore chooses you, you don’t really choose Baltimore. My family is very close on my maternal side, so when my sister went to Coppin in 2008, our whole family moved here in order to support her. I ended up graduating from Patapsco Center for the Arts and the city and the art scene has kept me here. This city has consistently supported me. 

How long have you worked as a doula? It seems that bringing new life into the world is the ultimate act of creativity. Could you talk a bit about how you see creativity as a part of the work you do?

A doula is often a medium between life and death, a conduit for life force energy. There are different types of doulas: pleasure doulas, death doulas, postpartum doulas, full spectrum doulas. I have been a conduit doula for most of my life. The first time I was a conduit between life and death was for my father. My sister and I helped my father transition out of his physical body. We provided end of life care for him and made him comfortable enough for him to leave his physical body. I was fourteen, but I don’t currently work as a death doula. 

The first birth I facilitated was four years ago. Birth is the ultimate act of creativity. We are constantly giving birth to new versions of ourselves. Life and death, creativity and destruction, all exist on a spectrum. You have to be creative in order to be a healer. To be a healer is to imagine someone in a state that they aren’t yet in and support them to get there. 

What is your role at Divine Alignment Wellness? What kind of services do you offer and what do you see as the benefits to prioritizing wellness through yoga and healing touch? 

I’m the founder of Divine Alignment Wellness. We are a Baltimore based, international well-being collective. We cultivate healthier communities of color. We offer a few different services, events, and community and cultural programs to reach that goal. 

We have Healthy Minds, a youth yoga program that uses mindfulness and storytelling as ways to expand children’s social and emotional development. We also offer free community yoga in St. Mary’s Park. We also offer doula and family support services, Thai yoga massage, sound healing, stretch therapy, and creative consulting. 

Wellbeing is integral to the creative process and being creative is integral to our wellbeing. When we sit on ideas that we want to create and don’t bring them into the physical realm, we are suppressing our creative energy. Suppressing energy leads to stress, depression, and anxiety. We all come here with gifts, and if we don’t share them it leads to a blockage. How can you leave your physical body and return to your ancestors still holding the gifts they gave you to share with the world?

How did you get connected with BmoreArt and the Wellness Issue (19)?

I got connected through my community! I don’t just serve the people; the people serve me as well. We exist in a relationship of reciprocity. I saw a post on Instagram asking for recommendations for the Wellness Issue and asked my community members to nominate me. A fellow community organizer and artist, Jessy DeSantis, also recommended me. Although we use different mediums and tools and serve different communities, we are comrades in the collective struggle for liberation for all people from the shackles of imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. The same ways that I show up for the Black community, Jessy DeSantis shows up for and holds the Latinx community in Baltimore.

What were you up to Africa? Have you traveled there before?

This was my second time in Africa, and I was there for three months. I’m deeply interested in building a Diasporic bridge, a transatlantic conversation, and an international organization. I stayed in Johannesburg, South Africa and got to move around the country. 

Post the Transatlantic Slave Trade, I am the first person from both my paternal and maternal lineage to return to the continent of Africa, so every time I touch African soil I’m healing my bloodline.

There aren’t words I can use to describe the body-healing sensation of making that kind of pilgrimage. It’s a return to the natural order of things. I think sometimes people forget that Black American folks were stolen from their natural habitat and brought here. Anything or anyone removed from its ecosystem becomes more susceptible to illnesses.

Could you talk about any recent projects you’ve been working on? 

I’m working on so many projects I’m deeply passionate about right now. I’m launching a virtual Wellness Studio called Revolution Moves in December 2025. Revolution Moves will be a Somatic Wellness studio for folks who know the revolution begins within. At Divine Alignment Wellness we just wrapped up supporting Chef Sanza’s Yeoville Dinner Club tour in Baltimore. Chef Sanza is a gastronomic smuggler and internationally known chef who cultivates Pan-African and Diasporic stories on a plate. So that went beautifully. We sold out the evening, and our ancestors ate well. 

We have also started our Fall Free Community Yoga weekly series every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Park, led by myself and Diamond Arielle. I’m also doing powerful and transformative work with Oh to Dream as Program Manager and Social Media Manager. Oh to Dream is a Black artist-owned social enterprise based in Baltimore, MD with a mission to build an environment where creativity can flourish and artists are empowered. We have a few programs coming up for Baltimore artists and creatives including Fall Sunday Dinners. The next one will be November 2nd at Baltimore Center Stage with DJ and Artist afrOdelic.

Oh to Dream has been hosting Sunday Dinners since 2023. It’s an opportunity for artists to fellowship, connect, and share new works. It also is a convening space for all our goals to be met by healing artists through access to healthy and fresh food while also paying artists to showcase their gifts and build their network. 

We are currently fundraising for Divine Alignment Wellness and Oh to Dream to continue to be able to serve the community.