MJ (they|them) is a parent, a yoga instructor, an embodiment coach, community birth worker, somatic practitioner, a holistic health advocate, and community builder. their center is rooted in reproductive justice, social justice, and sensuality. they created this space as a response to their access (lack thereof) to whole body wellness, pleasure, and community as trans, queer, black parent.

they began their sensual experience, non-sexually, touching themselves to connect to their senses to heal their sexual trauma. that ignited into movement and reclaiming their power during the birth of their son. now it has evolved into spaceholding and guiding folks into their body, into their community, into self-discovery to reconnect with their inherent wisdom and resilience within.

when MJ isn’t parenting (very rare sighting lol), they’re whipping up body care products, playing in herbs, taking a walk, belly laughing, or dancing while cooking in the kitchen! 

MJ’s History

there are many paths to being here. my journey’s into birthwork, yoga, parenthood, and through college are points i’ll hit.

my siblings had, what I like to call, a birth war - constant babies for 5 years in a row and this doesn’t include my cousin’s births. during this birth war, i took on the amazing title of what we know now as doula (preferred term birth worker) but to them i’m sure i was just an overbearing sibling. after the birth of my youngest nephew, a nurse mentioned I should consider birthwork. after some research, they joined the Richmond Doula Project (RDP) where they were mentored, trained, and ran the collective operations. RDP is a grassroots, community-forward organization that taught me everything I know about humanizing experiences and meeting people where they are.

monarchs stand up! I’m an old dominion university alum psychology and women’s studies major. during my time there, I had the opportunity to study abroad to rome, italy with 12 amazing people. these people changed me for the better. i have experienced sexual assault and emotional abuse (to name a couple) in childhood and adulthood. this group of people were the first time i felt a sense of community. they were the first people to SEE me and give me space to see myself. we talked about our experiences, held space for each other, related, rock paper scissored our way around rome. a beautiful time.

when we came back, i enrolled into therapy. i’ve been in therapy since with some failed therapeutic relationships lol. EMDR was the most transformative experience for me in terms of therapy. in 2019, I started therapy in response to frequent panic attacks. shortly after, I left the position that was causing them and began therapy working with my trauma history.

mindfulness was nothing new to MJ. they did breathwork regularly to support their anxiety and every day tasks. even during their pregnancy they did yoga asana movement almost daily.

a few months into their postpartum journey, they noticed their mental and emotional health on a decline and wanted to reignite the clarity and routine they had with practicing daily. they ran across the Mindful Life and Community Fellowship with BareSoul Yoga, 10-months long, that supported this intention. the fellowship focused on self care in order to be in community care and learning the yoga philosphy. since completing the program in 2023, they’ve been practicing spaceholding with their initmate connections to create a better access point for plus-size, queer, and reproductive communities.