BGY Featured Yogi - Niecey P.

Niecey Peace was born in Atlanta, Georgia and spent a large chunk of her life living with family in West Virginia. Supportive parents, close siblings, and a handful of friends kept her entertained without skipping a beat. She was always active and enjoying every experience to the fullest! Once she graduated from high school, she attended college at Johnson and Wales University concentrating on Marketing, Consumer Behavior and Strategy Development. Today, Niecey is gearing up for a Masters Degree in Psychology and her 200hr Vinyasa Yoga Certification for 2017! She is also an aspiring Live Art and Nude Model, with dreams to create a masterpiece with her body.

How long have you been on your journey?

I've been on this journey, consciously, since about 2013, which would be over 3 years. It started with my desire to create a relationship with something similar to the one I had with Dancing. I also wanted to try out the natural (hair/fitness) lifestyle, and Yoga seemed to be a great compliment to my big chop lol.

How did you discover yoga?

I discovered Yoga through Dance. I was forced to take my first class ever in 2009 by a very strict Dance Instructor who I would love to hug today, lol. For years we used what I now know to be influenced by Vinyasa Yoga as a warm up before class. It helped me to work on my flexibility and was also a fun way to connect with friends before we got serious. I also took Yoga in gym class and occasionally after school. I lost my little connection to Yoga once I went to college in 2011, but I slowly discovered it again, sticking to it in 2013 😊

How often do you practice?

At the very least I practice a full sequence about 3-4 times a week. I pretty much bounce on and off of my mat throughout the day even if it's an unorthodox routine. I'll pop into poses at gas stations or grocery stores as well. In my opinion, you can practice ANY and everywhere!

What type of yoga do you practice?

While I do have a rather consistent Vinyasa practice, I don't consider my practice very traditional at all. I've recently learned to incorporate more fluid movement into my home routines and it helps me to understand what my body desires better. I like to call it Sensual Yoga. It's basically combining the practice of asana and dance to stimulate the mental, emotional and physical pleasures (I took a lot of time defining it a loooong time ago😂.) Being a dancer for so long made movement apart of my healing process. I love everything that a traditional Vinyasa flow has to offer, but it satisfies me on a far deeper level to add dancing as well. Sensual movement, to me, is ideal for confidence building, physical therapy and channeling creativity. I think it's important to take our Yoga practices and really make them our own, because that's where the light shines. I also practice Acro Yoga with my best friend a couple times per week. I adore Acro because it teaches me to trust outside of myself. It is a great practice to establish new friendships, improve relationships, and it forces you to communicate! You have to tell your partner what works and doesn't. 

What have you learned from your practice? What has it done for you?

Oh wow... I've learned to let go and enjoy the moment, most importantly. Sounds cliche, I know... but hear me out! Originally, I struggled to see progress because I was just forcing it. I wanted to reach the end expression so bad that I completely ignored the journey. It wasn't until I took appreciation in the prep poses and warm ups that I really began to understand myself, how I handle situations and what truly makes me happy day to day. This realization completely liberated me. It allowed me to deal with my problems when they came up as opposed to letting them fall to the side. It taught me to find strength in myself for how far I've come and also taught me to accept and forgive the negative moments of my past.

What is your favorite and least favorite pose or type of pose?

My favorite group of poses is definitely hip and hamstring poses because I've found the most comfort in them. My least favorite group of poses are backbends, I'm hoping to find some inspiration to start practicing them again, but I just find them so intimidating.

What keeps you motivated throughout your practice?

I would definitely say the connections I've made through social media are what motivate me most. Not only has it brought to light SO MANY people who inspire my practice, lifestyle and creativity, but it has allowed me to provide inspiration as well. When I reflect on my everyday life, I'm a loner with 4 friends for the most part lol. Social media has put me in contact with people that live extremely similar lives, believe similar beliefs and most of all accept me for exactly who I present myself as. At the same time, we're all so different and we have completely different styles. It's just so cool to know that there actually are people out there I can relate to. I feel like there aren't many around my parts.

What do you think about the increase in black women getting into yoga?

I adore this increase! I definitely think it has affected our community as positive as the Natural Hair movement. I never even took note in how rare it was to see other black women in class until I found the IG Yoga Community back in 2015. I've witnessed nothing but positive interactions between fellow black yogis and the love is so genuine.

Who are your yoga inspirations?

@iamreneewatkins HANDS DOWN, she is the person who helped me make my Naked Yoga debut. Her confidence and unapologetic nature sparked action in me to go public. I've always considered myself a nudist. I have always found comfort when I have little to no clothes on, I just always felt I had to cover up to avoid judgement of others. I realize now, thanks to Renee, that I am not here to live for anyone but myself. She's also incredibly strong, flexible, confident and STUNNING 😍 Another person I consider a "role model", if you will, is @her_naked_truth... Not only is her beauty completely captivating, but I really admire her knowledge of sexual health. I can definitely relate to her views on sensuality, and I just really love her approach to life!

What do you find most challenging and most rewarding?

I think the most challenging part about my Yoga practice is knowing when to dial back on a pose. I often push myself further than my physical body can handle. After experiencing my last two injuries, however, I will definitely be more mindful to what serves me best. On the flip side, I find that when I'm not in hyper-training mode I see the most progress. It's like my body just decides to do a pose one day after I spent weeks working on it. As soon as I'm not paying attention, I get it 😂 It makes practicing fun, spontaneous and definitely rewarding!

What do you think about the increase in naked yoga and sensual yoga?

Let me just say I LIVE for this. I get to see so many diverse bodies taking such artful forms! It's is so satisfying to my heart. The naked body is probably my favorite thing to observe and learn. This increase represents an awakening, in my opinion. Taking nudity in a completely different direction than it is normally portrayed. Displaying our poses in the nude showcases raw strength, beauty and purpose. Naked Yoga helped me to accept and love my body 100%. I can't hide from anything when I'm nude. For most of us, clothes cover the scars and body parts we're ashamed of. You can wear certain colors and garments to alter your appearance in its natural state. People who are willing to take their clothes off AND post it to Social Media are saying 'thank you' to the scars for helping them grow. They're saying 'I appreciate you' to the stretch marks, cellulite and rolls. That's bravery! That's LOVE!!

Contact Niecey:

Instagram: @nieceypeace_

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