Abigail Ekue came to one of the very first naked yoga classes I taught in 2007 and actually ended up writing and publishing an article about her experience. She is a powerhouse of a woman and someone who I consistently learn from. I asked her to tell me about her relationship to her body and if and when she had ever experienced shame. 

Abigail Ekue Interview by Isis Phoenix

I’ve always been athletic.  When I was young, I loved the swings, jungle gyms, hanging upside down. I had an adventurous spirit.  I grew up in New York City – the urban jungle.  In our apartment building, I would jump up and down full flights of stairs.  Water fights by the hydrants in the summer, snowball fights in the winter.  I ran with the boys.  When puberty hit boys began to notice me in a different way. And I was noticing them. Puberty was an awakening. My breasts began to grow.  My body was changing.  My left breast grew faster than the right – ‘Hefty Lefty,’ is what I call her.  It was the last time I can remember experiencing being uncomfortable in my body.  I was eleven years old.

I’m a weight lifter and kick-boxer.  I do yoga, plyometrics, jumping, bounding, power work – box jumps, squat jumps, combo moves, mountain climbing moves – anything that makes me feel powerful.  Love the way the body looks and feels when I lift – the quiver, the burn. I never starved myself.  I never went on any crash diets.  My mom is Jamaican and my father is from Nigeria.  Our bodies are round and strong, our butts are high.  Black women would warn me to be careful of losing too much weight with all the working out I was doing. Black women are “supposed” to have big butts.  I liked being tight and toned.  I loved the feeling of being strong. My butt isn’t going anywhere.

I was a personal trainer and a certified Athletic Trainer.  I enjoyed teaching people how to take care of their bodies and how to accept them.  Now I do that through my art.  I’m a writer, photographer, model, provocateur.  My work celebrates beauty and darkness.  Mainstream would have you believe there isn’t beauty in us all.  It’s time to change the mainstream.

Abigail writes about her experience in naked yoga here

More about Abigail click here