A certain image comes to mind when people think of yoga. Chic workout clothes, expensive mats, and maybe even a matcha in hand as a post-workout pick-me-up are all things people picture. What’s more, yoga studios are often located in more affluent areas, with prices that can be prohibitive for some communities. But a woman who goes by the name Blu Inoarg has found a unique way to strip away all the extras and bring yoga to underserved communities.
Blu owns InoarG, a yoga studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she also doubles as a birth doula. One of her programs is what she calls “Pull Up N Yoga.” She drives around local neighborhoods with yoga mats looking for groups of people hanging out outside. When she spots a group, she rolls her window down and asks them if they want to do yoga.
Community care in action
Photo Credit: Canva
Blu doesn’t try to sell them a class or get them to come to her yoga studio. Instead, she pulls her car over, grabs yoga mats out of the back, and sets them up on the sidewalk. Many of the groups seem to be teenagers or young adults, likely with nothing much to do during the summer. Surprisingly, the groups often jump at the chance, though they may feel a little wary at first. It’s clear the strangers don’t know what to expect from Blu or yoga, but they go with it, and the results are heartwarming.
As the yoga instructor walks them through each position, the participants begin to visibly relax. She includes positive affirmations for them to repeat while they hold certain poses. In one of her more recent clips shared on Instagram, she finds a group willing to participate and exclaims, “I’m trying to help you feel better inside!”
Feel better inside
One of the young men she talks to hesitates, saying his leg hurts. Another man in the group reminds others they don’t have anything else to do. Still, the hesitant group member finds another excuse, saying he’s smoking. That’s when Blu jumps in, saying, “You can smoke your [Black &] Mild on the mat. You keep saying everything. You can do all that on the mat. That’s the whole point of this. The whole point of me pulling up is to let y’all know y’all can do y’all own space and stuff.”
Soon, the mobile yoga instructor was leading a small class right there on the sidewalk. Amazingly, the group was able to keep their focus while all the city noises continued behind them. People passed by blasting loud music, cars drove by, and plenty of people were carrying conversations; all of it was tuned out while they learned to take cleansing breaths. There were a couple of nervous giggles at the start, but they quickly fell into the flow of yoga with Blu.
Yoga is for everybody
As they sat on their mats taking deep breaths, Blu called out positive affirmations. “I am loved. I am protected. I am safe,” she says. At the end, she gave her impromptu students their own mats so they could continue the practice. “You ain’t gotta do it around nobody. Keep it under your bed,” Blu tells the man who was a little more hesitant to get started.
Viewers were impressed with her unique approach, with one person praising, “Regulated nervous systems is healthcare, is crime prevention, is community safety, is happier people.”
Photo Credit: Canva
Someone else writes, “GIRL YOU ABOUT YO BRING DOWN THE CRIME RATE!!!”
Another says, “This is what I’m talkin bout. DIRECT COMMUNITY OUTREACH.”
“You are such a gift. Thank you for showing up and sharing humanity with humanity,” one person says.
Someone shares, “You’re incredible. This is what the world needs.”
