Sinikiwe Dhliwayo — The Balanced Black Girl
Sinikiwe Dhliwayo — The Balanced Black Girl
Sinikiwe is the founder of Naaya, which roots people of color in their wellness. Whether making yoga and meditation accessible to those who need the practice most or telling the stories of marginalized folx through elevated photo and video, Sinikiwe is dedicated to changing the conversation around what it looks and feels like to be well. Her work and efforts to make the wellness space more equitable can be found in Goop, Elle, Marie Claire, Refinery29, and Cap Beauty. Previous teaching and speaking engagements include: Create and Cultivate, The Wing, UnwellConference, Lululemon, Goop League, Summit, Faherty Sun Sessions, and Girlvana.
What is your definition of freedom? What does it look and feel like to you? And how do you cultivate it daily?
Freedom to me is the ability to do more than just exist. As someone who exists in a black female body the ability to rise above my circumstance feels very very difficult. The idea that speaking out against whats wrong can be considered a liability is heartbreaking.
To be free would mean experiencing boundless joy unmitigated by white supremacy. Freedom would feel like. Breathing easy and exhaling even deeper. Freedom would feel like the warmth of the sun on my skin and freedom would taste like a slice of pecan pie.
I cultivate freedom daily by talking to my sister friends and people that I hold in high regard. I cultivate freedom through my meditation practice which has taught me the ability to work with my mind. I cultivate freedom by making a conscious choice to be heard.
How have your thoughts, perception, and understanding of freedom evolved with time? What was it before and what is it now?
I think when I was younger my idea of freedom was making my own decisions. So eager to “ do what I wanted” as a teenager. Not realizing that being free comes with big gravitas. Like I’m accountable for me no one can take responsibility for my actions but me.
Freedom can feel like something we’re all seeking, but may have trouble grasping. What's one piece of advice or some words of wisdom you can offer to this community as they look to "get free"?
I think the best way to be free is to do the hard thing. Besides the burdens of structural oppression and the ways that we internalize that oppression. We also live in a culture where people are quick to not take accountability for their actions. I think my biggest learning lesson has been to realize the ways in which I do harm. Taking accountability for my actions and doing better is the best way to be free.
Share an anecdote, memory, or practice in your life that embodies freedom in every way.
My heart swells whenever I get the opportunity to teach youth and young adults. This summer I was a mentor at Girlvana a camp for female identifying teenagers. I spent a short amount of time, but they filled me up. As much as I “taught them” through the practice of yoga and meditation. They gave me a moment of softness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. Tears ensued and my heart burst open.
Everything we do and/or create is parallel to our own journey and experiences. At what point in your personal did you realize Naaya was something our community needed? And what has been your most freeing experience thus far?
I realized Naaya was necessary after teaching with Bent on Learning. Bent on Learning is a nonprofit that places yoga teachers in NYC public schools. I had the privilege to teach an amazing group of high schoolers in Crown Heights Brooklyn. What I noticed is that my students didn’t have the opportunity to take yoga outside of the classroom setting. Either due to financial limitations or because of a lack of representation in studio settings. The first iteration of Naaya was going to be a studio but I decided against it for many reasons. Namely I had this thought that if studio spaces aren’t generally received to be welcoming for POC’s then I wanted to shift that narrative. By bringing yoga and mindfulness to us and giving us an opportunity to access these practices on our own terms.
My most freeing experience thus far has been starting a business on my own. For the last 10 years I have worked in settings where I haven't had a voice. Running Naaya has helped me give voice to the inequality I have seen in the wellness industry and given me agency to do what I can to change it.
What is one song that helps you get free?
Thomas Mapfumo’s Nyoka Musango is a song that makes my heart sing. It reminds me of growing up and being connected to my Zimbabwean identity while growing up in America.
What is one book that has helped you reclaim your freedom?
Radical Dharma by Jasmine Syedullah, Lama Rod Owens, and Rev. angel Kyodo Williams: This book gives context to how white supremacy and racial injustice play out in spirituality namely Buddhism. Its always been interesting to me how spiritual folx often bypass harm done. By using their spirituality as a means to indicate that they can’t do harm because they don’t see race etc. etc.