Vanessa Lherisson, Founder & Director

 

Vanessa is the creator and visionary behind BlackGirlYoga.

 

When beginning her yoga journey, Vanessa searched for relatable yogis who reflected her passion and image. She immediately recognized a need for increased visibility of Black practitioners. BlackGirlYoga was created in 2013 to build a loving and inclusive community. In searching for her own inspiration she designed a space which globally motivates a practice of self-love and self-care. 

 

That passion and drive later led her to become a certified yoga teacher herself continuing her mission to share in the beauty of this practice with others and service her community.  She currently teaches yoga in Central NJ.  Aside from yoga, Vanessa enjoys photography, poetry and running. She has a B.B.A. in Economics with a minor in Psychology.

 

Follow her on Instagram: @vmerieyoga

Tiffany Goins, Brand Artist

 

Tiffany teaches yoga in the Philadelphia area. Her passion for the art of Yoga has simmered and developed consistently since 2009. This passion is what fuels her to not only practice, but also share the love and healing elements of Yoga with all who enter her regular weekly, and select employer-sponsored sessions. Tiffany attests that Yoga has changed her holistically.  Personally, she's realized personal physical, spiritual and mental growth and affirms that these changes have provided her tools for identifying, managing and defeating the unpredictable nature of clinical depression.

 

A serial autodidact, Tiff has begun to explore and has  fallen in love with writing poetry, simple sketching, and doodling.  As creative motivation dictates, she now infuses poetry, yoga, lettering, doodling, and sketching into one big box of love. Expressive art has become one of the greatest tools in Tiffany’s mental wellness kit.

 

Two favorite quotes: 

 

“Yoga has a sly, clever way of short circuiting the mental patterns that cause anxiety”.  ~Baxter  Bell

 

“Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul…and you answer. ~Terri Guillemets

 

For her on Instagram: @yogatiffany_

Donna Ricketts, MPH, Facebook Team

 

Donna is a health coach, educator and yoga lover passionate about helping others make healthy choices.

She’s holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise, Nutrition and Wellness as well as a Master’s in Public Health. Donna is also a certified personal trainer and a Mad Dogg Certified Spinning® Instructor.

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www.facebook.com/GoodFoodMama 

www.twitter.com/GoodFoodMama

www.goodfoodmama.com

www.instagram.com/gfmdonna 

 

Donna Ricketts, MPH

Health Educator- Health Coach

 

"Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going." 

-Jim Rohn

 

Follow me on...

Facebook www.facebook.com/goodfoodmama

Twitter www.twitter.com/goodfoodmama

Blog www.goodfoodmama.com 

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Instagram: @donnaricketts.mph

Angus Smith, Facebook Team

 

Angus is originally from Baton Rouge, LA but reside in Austin,TX. She is the mother of two girl and a glam-ma.  She loves to encourage, uplift and motivate others each time she gets. She is the Ambassador for Black Girls Run here in Austin and love the whole movement. She also says BGR saved her life because she lost herself when her oldest was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 10. The movement came along at the time that she truly needed an outlet and she has been rocking with them every since.

 

She has completed several 5ks, 10ks half marathons and she did her first full marathon 3 years ago. She truly believes you can do anything you put your mind to once you believe deeply in yourself. She has always been active in school playing sports but running races she actually just started when she turned 40 which brings us to her yoga journey. She really started getting serious with it within the past two years because as a runner, there are so many great benefits to yoga. She is still learning a lot of things and get inspired with getting more knowledge of yoga and seeing what it has to offer her.

 

"One thing yoga has truly taught me is to let the ego go, show yourself more compassion and be patient with yourself. Once you do that everything falls into place. I am truly grateful to be in this group and love all of the Beautiful Queens inspiring stories."