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Transmuting Trauma Into Power With Trap Vinyasa™
Abiola Akanni, the creator of Trap Vinyasa™, is not your average yogi. Biola, as she prefers to be called, dedicates her life to rewriting unhealthy body narratives and cultivating inclusive wellness spaces. Her vision is the result of her own life’s story, one in which she was able to transmute trauma “combining the storytelling power of hip hop with the healing nature of yoga.”
For too long, Biola had a difficult relationship with herself. As a Nigerian-American, she soon realized that the bodies of women of color are continuously sexualized in this world. “I had profound insecurities and suffered sexual trauma, so to beat that and gain some easy confidence, I fell into the hyper-sexualized black woman stereotype”, she told Mindful Feminism.
Growing up in Atlanta, the motherland of Trap music, this culture always held a special place in Biola’s life. Spending many of her days around Trap communities, she soaked in all the elements of the lifestyle. Drugs were a common part of it, and she spent years using on a regular basis.
“In Trap communities, I find lack of judgment, there’s so much freedom to express who you are, and I was surprised that I wasn’t able to find that at a yoga studio. I felt like the varying degrees of my personality couldn’t be shown.”
