Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. I held that passage close to my heart when I first realized my brothers (Mark & Michael) were diagnosed HIV-positive as a result of blood products they infused for their hemophilia. It was 1982, and all I wanted was for the nightmare to be over. During that time, an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence, but worse was the discrimination, bigotry, and the lack of compassion the average American had for an HIV-positive person. My greatest fear was that people would find out, and we would be in danger.
Raised in a Southern Baptist home in rural Louisiana, I had to be a good Christian girl and have faith. Months went by as I internalized my fear, and like most children I lashed out. I directed my fear and hate upon my mother, my father, but the worst of all I hated God. I constantly asked myself, how in hell could God allow this to happen. My brothers were kind, we went to church, but most of all God takes care of the believers. So where was God’s mercy and love for our family.
This fear and anger followed me into my 20s, and I didn’t start to let go and fall back in love with God until my older brother’s death was looming. That is when I first cried on my yoga mat. The moment love and devotion reopened my heart, and like Hanuman I felt the light of God shine in me. I can’t remember the exact day, but I do know there was a shift in my yoga practice and I could finally feel life again. I had faith to walk bravely through the shadow of my brother’s death and fear no evil. For God was with me, God was in me, and God was me. From that moment, my yoga practice was and will always be a spiritual experience. I can honestly say, “Yoga delivered me back to GOD!”
Born to share the practice, Faith Hunter is an inspiring and divine instructor that incorporates her Louisiana upbringing, yoga philosophy, modern mystical sounds, and the purity of breath to awaken and ignite the spirit of flow in the body and soul. This global yoga instructor has appeared on the cover of Yoga Journal twice, inside the pages of YJ numerous times, cover model and expert contributor for OmYoga and Lifestyle Magazine in the UK, and has been featured in numerous other magazines and online blogs. Faith has been called “Spiritually Fly & Hip” because of her dynamic transformational spirit and soulful modern approach to the practice of yoga. To her, yoga is about “embracing your flow” in every moment of life, and allowing the practice to be a tool of personal freedom. Faith invites her students to “embrace the flow” of their own bodies, and use it as a divine instrument to spread love. Faith is an experienced-registered yoga instructor (E-RYT 500) whose subtle connections in the body, breath, and spiritual symbolism draw you deeper towards the experience of freedom and passion for life. Faith is a social advocate, writer, yoga podcaster, and leads yoga teacher training programs throughout the year. She is the owner and founder of Embrace (http://www.embracedc.com), a yoga loft located in Adams Morgan, a multi-cultural nest of Washington, DC. As Faith continues to learn, explore and share the practice, she is a constant student of ayurveda, tantra, bhakti, and spiritual awakening. Her message to the world is “live life to the fullest, embrace life with passion!”
You can practice with Faith around the globe, or find her online at www.faithhunter.com
All Photographs Courtesy and Copyright Drew Xeron Photography
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Thank you for the wonderful story. We are bombarded with religious witnessing… This makes sense and is from the heart.
Beautiful experience – brought tears to my ears as it solidifies how much I need Yoga. Thank you for sharing and being who you are!!
The world grinds on its relentless way, oblivious to fairness, justice, compassion & mercy. These are human inventions. (Some of our best!) At some level, we know that the world exists independently of our ideals and that death awaits us. And yet, we get up and go about our day. Each day, we walk through the valley of death. What courage! With attention, intention & luck, we can also help others. You have helped me and so many others. Your life inspires us and honors your family, those living and those who have passed.
Thanks for sharing your personal journey toward realizing that Paramatama – the Supersoul – residing perpetually in the heart of all beings and at the heart of all being is our most dear friend throughout all the trials and tribulations our fate may bring. You inspire all of us on our own journey toward bhakti, the yoga of devotion, and remind us that deliverance back to God is ultimately what yoga is for.