Black women are healing and unapologetically rediscovering their power in nature. Yes, you're reading that correctly. These women are looking within, evolving, standing in their power, speaking up, clapping back, showing up, showing out, paying their bills, getting degrees, becoming bosses, and healing in nature. All of it and we are here for it!
It's no secret women of color (especially Black women) have naturally placed their healing secondary to others' needs. Black women are nurturers. Naturally caring and loving for their own before caring for themselves, until now. Black women are having a rebirth; by connecting with mother nature, in order to reconnect with themselves. And they are doing so by embracing mindfulness practices like yoga, meditation, long walks, affirmations and more.
To further expound on this necessary conversation, I had the pleasure of speaking with Vogue beauty editor Akili King and holistic coach Catherine Spriggs, two inspirational Black women who are redefining the healing process. Here are their experiences.
Catherine Spriggs
Courtesy of Catherine Spriggs
"I enjoy taking my shoes off and feeling my feet on the grass. I played soccer as a kid and this is what I always did. When the pandemic hit, it was really tough to get back into the groove of things. We were forced to stay indoors. I had to find a way to make this work, so instead of going to the bird sanctuary. I find myself going to my backyard.
"I feel personally like the sun gives me power and energy."
"The sun really enhances our energy and our power. Especially on days that I felt down, doubted myself, or felt powerless. If you're outside and you soak up the sun for 10-15 minutes, you're going to see a huge shift.
Courtesy of Catherine Spriggs
"I like the holistic wellness approach because it focuses on the whole being."
"If you feel like one thing is out of balance, such as you not going outside to get fresh air or sunshine. You're going to see this affect your mood. You're going to see this affect your digestion, like what you're putting into your body, and you're going to notice that trickling into other areas. I think we should always be mindful of looking at life in a holistic approach.
"Get clear and specific on what you want. What are you trying to get out of nature? Are you trying to gain peace, be more mindful, or clarity? Also, be open-minded. Be open to natural holistic approaches. Be patient and give it time."
For more of Catherine, follow her @healingwithhollisticsllc to gain more knowledge on the benefits of holistic healing.
Akili King
Courtesy of Akili King
Photo Credit: Sara Laufer
"I suffered from PTSD my senior year of college, due to an accident I was in, and have struggled since then with anxiety. Focusing on the present - not the future or the past - has truly helped me heal, and being present in nature has been a huge part of that process.
"Being present means giving my body what it truly needs and wants in the moment and truly honoring my temple."
Courtesy of Akili King
Photo Credit: Danni Cano-Garraway
"Nature is our source of oxygen. And breathing/breathwork is a huge piece of healing. Breathing in nature; fresh air, is the best place to practice mindful breathing because of that. Nature also teaches us so many lessons: flowers don't spend time comparing themselves to each other, they just grow and do their own thing.
"I feel Black women are nature. Black women are the blueprint. We're a huge part of the earth's harmony and its beauty and peace."
"Take daily walks. If you're super busy, take your work calls while walking or call friends while you're walking. Or listen to a podcast, guided meditation or some music while walking.
"In the winter, invest in some beautiful plants to bring the nature inside of your home. It's such a beautiful process to watch something grow that you're caring for. Plants also have this way of reminding us how to care for our own selves, too: To be gentle with ourselves, stay hydrated, and get sun!"
For more of Akili, follow her on Instagram @akiliking and @polesibilities, a safe space account for healing and movement therapy through pole dancing.
Featured image courtesy of Akili King
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
Keep It Cute Love And Hip Hop GIFGiphyAs the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Aint It No Way GIF by UFCGiphyOuch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
Break Up Friendship GIF by TLCGiphy“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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