My name is Alicia Crysta Easter, which means “noble anointed one of dawn” (Eostre was a Germanic goddess of spring). I am the daughter of Cynthia Geneva Lawson, granddaughter of Eleanor Cecilia Lawson. I am a yogi, Black woman, teacher, podcast host, candle designer, liberator, Black joy beam, writer, facilitator, lover, sister, and friend. I stand on the shoulders of the 10,000-plus ancestors who came before me, and I do not take my presence here lightly. I have the honor of being a pair of shoulders to stand on for those who come after me. My ability to claim who I am, fully, came through the beautiful practice of yoga.
I took my first class in 2007, led by an elegantly strong and brilliant Black woman in Southside Chicago: If you’ve ever visited, you know it is predominately Black, beautiful, proud, and full of love! Since this was my introduction to the practice, I assumed every studio was inclusive and diverse like this. Unfortunately, over the next decade, I would learn that this was not the case.