Racheal Weathers: How This Self-Taught Yogi Overcome Her Body Issues By Practicing Yoga
The people are watching. As she slowly raises herself up from the floor and onto her hands, arms at 180, unfolding and then folding herself back into position like a collapsible chair, they stare in awe—then break out into accolades ranging from “beast" to “fuckin' goals" at her majestic display of strength and grace all in her tiny 5'1'' frame.
No, I'm not talking Gabby Douglas, I'm talking Racheal Weathers, an equally extraordinary talent in her own right.
A self-taught yogi, if we want to boast.
To her hundreds of thousands of followers, it's almost hard to believe that just four years ago the master of body manipulation was sitting at home twiddling her thumbs when fate led her to the page of fellow yoga queen Irene Pappas. Suddenly filled with inspiration, she tapped into her training as a former gymnast, pulled up a few YouTube videos, and began her own at-home practice.
“I was like I've done this before; it's definitely different, but I think I can do that," says Racheal. “People are always like oh you're good because you did gymnastics and I'm like no that's not the case; it's just practice. You don't have to have a background in anything to start."
Starting from home came with its own set of perks. For one, it kept money in her pockets. With the average cost of a yoga class ranging from $10 to $20, a person looking to make this into a daily practice would quickly find their wallets emptying. It also gave her a chance to become disciplined, and the lack of structure meant that she could go at her own pace and practice in a judgment free zone.
“I've definitely been to a couple of classes and I get stares and looks, and it's like I'm invisible. Then it's like, oh wow her practice is amazing, now let's talk. And it's annoying, it's very annoying."
She's not talking about the admiration experienced from her followers whenever she posts an inspiring photo or video clip of some seemingly impossible magic trick, but the slightly condescending gasps from those surprised that people of all races, genders, and genetic makeups can equally flex and contort their way into jaw-dropping positions, despite the growing popularity of the ancient practice.
“They're just blatantly ignorant to it even if they're not trying to be insulting. I'm coming in there and I'm not comfortable because you're starting at me. And I'm black and I got an afro."
Racheal's not one to talk about it without being about it. Instead of allowing the experience to consume her with anger, she instead channeled her energy into creating a space where people much like her and much different than her could come and comfortably reap the benefits of yoga and meditation.
“I don't care if you weigh 300 pounds, if you want to wear a sports bra and shorts you can and nobody is going to be staring at you or harassing you, you're not going to be ostracized."
As confident as Racheal speaks now, she wasn't always the person who could walk into a room, back straight and head held high. Growing up in Riverside, California, Racheal spent the majority of her childhood taking gymnastic classes, and by middle school became well aware that her thighs were a little thicker and her bottom a little rounder than her naturally thin counterparts. Though she was petite she says she was never skinny, and it became an insecurity that she carried with her even when she slipped her slightly-muscular frame into leggings and a t-shirt, and later into more skin-baring clothing.
“I was like okay, it's getting kind of hard to wear leggings and t-shirts, I need to just step outside of the box," says Racheal. “I was recording my progress on Instagram and I was wearing tank tops and shorts, and I really battled with that hard. So hard. And it's so funny to look back on it, but that was my reality at the time. I definitely give a lot of props to my yoga practice wardrobe for getting me into the mindset of 'okay Racheal, honestly no one cares,' which is a beautiful thing."
It's almost ironic, considering that many of her clients ask her how to get bigger arms and a toned body similar to hers, but Racheal notes that not everyone's body responds the same to the calistitenic-like workout. In fact, looks can be quite deceiving to where a person who appears to have no definition is extremely strong and the person who is flexing their biceps is barely holding their own weight.
But one thing that does appear to be beneficial for all is the spiritual and mental shift that often accompanies yoga. Although there are many practicing Buddhists and Hindus in the yoga community, people of varying beliefs sing the praises of what the practice has done for them mentally and spiritually. For Racheal, it was her relationship with God that grew stronger along with her body. “I don't know the requirements of what those religions are, but they say these certain things and I'm like I'm definitely not there. Those are the moments where I have to say either I'm going to stand for something or fall for anything—you can let them define you or you can define yourself. And it was almost like not defending my faith, but defining it. So from there, my relationship with God started to grow, things started to change, it was a whole 360 spiritually and mentally. Not giving practice the glory, but it was definitely a huge resource getting me to where I am today."
Who she is today is a woman who knows herself and knows what she stands for. She knows that her circle is a reflection of who she is and the direction her life will go, and that anybody with a lifestyle or mindset that doesn't align with hers can be kept at a distance.
“If I'm with you I want our lives to match up in a certain way, and there's a lot of people in the yoga industry that I've connected with. Sweet people, but I would not do a retreat with them because of how they conduct business. Even the yoga apparel lines, they pay amazingly but on your website you have all white women weighing 92 pounds, so what are you really saying? Yeah, you're a great person and you have a great product, but you're not here for everybody, and I am. So I can't connect with you."
In other words, nobody can kill her vibe. It's no surprise that she hangs out with fellow positive energy-enthusiast Alex Elle, who's also built a strong following by speaking her truth and staying rooted in who she is. The writer and entrepreneur took Racheal under her wing and helped her with the foundation of her product line Til.Co, which currently houses her Palm-Aid hand and foot mist to help keep yogis from slipping on their mats. Although she's not out to prove herself as a brand, she's thankful that she's been able to turn her passion into profit. Posting her pictures on social media under the moniker Yoga Racheal has lead her from having a small following to teaching sold out classes all over the country and Caribbean, as well as hosting retreats with some of the same women that she used to admire from afar. When she's not traveling, you can catch her at Green Tree Yoga in Inglewood teaching her weekly class, or pursuing other passions, such as voiceover work, as she transitions out of the Air Force and into following her purpose full-time.
“It's beautiful because when I teach classes and people are like you inspired me to do this, I'm like that's amazing to me—to be used for something so amazing and so much bigger than myself. It's literally all God; I had no hand in this."
And she's being completely humble when she speaks of the lives that she's changed by following her instinct. She's not only helped her many students with achieving things with their bodies that they never imagined possible, but she has even helped couples such as Shelah Marie and Ace Hood build stronger relationships and create a deeper connection on an emotional level.
If you ask her, it's simply a part of her purpose.
“I've come to the final realization that I was definitely destined to be a blessing to people. It's so bad because I always want to give stuff away for free, and it's just that part of me that wants to be a blessing. I definitely have to find a balance, but at the end of the day I found that it's what I want to be. If I had to put that on a tombstone it would say: Racheal Weathers wanted to be a blessing."
You can keep up with yoga on Instagram @YogaRacheal.
All images courtesy of Racheal Weathers
Kiah McBride writes technical content by day and uses storytelling to pen real and raw personal development pieces on her blog Write On Kiah. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @writeonkiah.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Have You Heard Of The 4B Movement? Here's Why It Matters.
Depending on what side of TikTok you’re on, you’ve been seeing an uptick in content about the 4B Movement. In response to South Korea having the world’s lowest birth rate, TikTok user @denimchromosome gave a brief synopsis of the movement on February 16. “Korean women are so done with Korean men that they’re literally just deciding to die out," she said in her post.
While the video is only 30 seconds, this user broke the movement down to its essence and sparked a broader conversation for people to fully dive into knowledge about the movement and why some Korean women have decided to fully commit to this push for gender equality and social justice.
What Is the 4B Movement?
The 4B Movement gained notoriety and prevalence in 2019 when a collective of Korean feminists decided they would no longer marry men (비혼 bihon), have children (비출산 bichulsan), date men (비연애 biyeonae), or have sex with men (비섹스 bisekseu). The name of the movement came from all four agreements, starting with the letter B in Korean. The women who have chosen to participate in this movement are doing so as a result of the blatant misogyny that exists in their society.
They are challenging the cultural norms of their country by removing themselves from the dating scene, ignoring the beauty standards and consumerism propagated toward women, and calling out the pay disparity in the Korean job market.
Go Min Hee, a political professor at Ewha Women's University in Seoul, told NPR, "Gender gap in education has disappeared with the declining number of children and growing attention to education.” As of 2003, women’s college enrollment rates in the region have surpassed men’s.
“But the income gap in the post-education labor market hasn't closed," she continued. South Korea has the largest gender pay gap in the developed world, as of 2022, women still made 31% less than their male counterparts.
In the same report, Jeong Han-Wool, head of the Research Institute of Korean People, shared “For a long time, patriarchal norms governed South Korean society. But those social norms dissolved with democratization, and I don't think we have established new norms that can fill the vacuum.”
Han-Wool said the 4B movement was ignited by the Me Too movement here in the U.S., which he said sparked a new wave of young feminists in South Korea.
While others don’t connect it directly to the movement, they doacknowledge that 4B emerged after multiple incidents of high-profile murders of Korean women, a rampant culture of revenge porn, and spy cam sex crimes were at an all-time high.
Additionally, there is blatant discrimination against women in the workplace; married women are often subjected to gender-based violence, and women are expected to take on the majority of household and child-rearing responsibilities.
Tackling Gender-Based Bias
Digital creator Ryan Carriger said, “Through amplifying the voices and the experiences of the movement, it can illuminate the far-reaching nature of gender-based bias and challenge the social structures that reinforce inequality.”
However, some, such as Anna Lee, have said that the Western media is sensationalizing this movement in South Korea. Despite the fact that reports from the country’s Ministry of Education support the quickly diminishing juvenile population, which many argue is a direct result of feminism. As of February 2024, 157 elementary schools throughout the country will have zero first graders. The lowest reported since the ministry began keeping records in 1970.
Likewise, because of the uptick in feminist voices, young men have shared their feelings of “reverse discrimination” and want the government to get rid of the Gender Equality Ministry in large part because it’s making the job market even more competitive.
Yet, this government entity focuses on more than career equity. One of its main purposes is to protect Korean women who are victims of gender-based crimes such as sexual assault and rape. Opponents of the government’s desire to dismantle this ministry believe it is a dangerous idea and will only lead to more harm toward women in the future.
As the online dialogue continues to build around the 4B Movement, many women from across the world are standing in solidarity with the women of South Korea. Some American women online are sharing a similar sentiment that they’ve already committed to the agreements of the 4B Movement in their personal lives without knowing it was associated with any deliberate social activism.
@wtfaleisa Replying to @user9720585462941 ♬ original sound - wtfaleisa
Decentering Men and Toxic Patriarchy
As many women’s studies scholars have found throughout history, to truly gain gender equality, you have to destabilize patriarchal systems and institutions. Activist, feminist, and author bell hooks once wrote, "Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. Decentering men is a central aspect of this movement." Judith Butler, a gender studies scholar, has further added that decentering men "does not mean erasing men or their experiences, but rather acknowledging that our social and political structures have been built around a narrow understanding of masculinity."
Yet, in true social media form, some of the discussions that are emerging online are demonizing, shaming, and insulting women who are choosing to distance themselves from men, that are collectively harmful to their overall well-being. Proponents of the movement are providing counterarguments to these videos.
Some people can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that there are women who would rather be single, have full autonomy over their bodies, and build a life that they want for themselves. Many naysayers of the 4B Movement are calling these actions misandry.
Carrieger disagrees with the notion that the movement is discriminatory against men and says, “Just as Black individuals have long fought against systemic racism and oppression, women have faced their own battles against gender-based discrimination and inequality.” He continues, “The 4B movement's call to challenge traditional gender roles and advocate for the empowerment of women reflects the struggle for equality that resonates within the Black community.”
Finding Common Ground for Social Justice
Historically, any oppressed group looking to gain equal citizenship in a society is always met with pushback, violence, shame, and blame. We saw it with America's civil rights and women's suffrage movements. We saw it with the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and, most recently, with the women’s movement in Iran. This conversation could continue for hours upon hours, and the debates on whether women hate men could rage on for millennia.
The one piece of the conversation that some people are failing to address is that women, not only in Korea but globally, have decided they’d rather be single, child-free, and at peace than have to be subjected to constant trauma, discrimination, and abuse.
It goes without saying that not all men fall in line with patriarchal beliefs or disagree that there are toxic men in the world. However, this conversation is about a collective experience women around the globe share when it comes to their roles in a misogynistic world.
Even women who are in loving relationships and happy to be mothers have shared their understanding of why women would not want to have anything to do with men. Women standing up for themselves and not wanting to feel like second-class citizens isn’t an attack on men, but a call for them to be held accountable for their behavior, both past and present.
And for men to acknowledge that women play just as important a part in society as they do.
I’ll leave you with this quote from activist and scholar Angela Davis: "Decentering men is not about diminishing men or their contributions, but about recognizing that true liberation requires challenging all forms of oppression, including patriarchy."
This quote fully embodies the essence of the 4B Movement and similar movements that aim to decentralize men in our global society.
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Featured image by Delmaine Donson/Getty Images