Marcia Faye McGee makes yoga accessible in Downtown Flint
Marcia Faye McGee has been breaking barriers and providing what she calls, “gateway yoga” to Flint residents since 2010. She’s a certified Kripalu style yoga instructor and does her best to make the experience seem like a party rather than a chore with her donation-based classes at The Ferris Wheel.
“In the early 2000s my friends were like, ‘You look stressed, you should try yoga.’ So I called three different yoga studios about doing it and the one that called me back is where I started taking classes,” says McGee. “I was very lucky I practiced at the Samadhi Yoga Center, which is in Flint township. The owner was very nice so I kept coming and it felt comfortable. It was something fun to do for fitness and calming me.”
As McGee progressed, she knew it was time to take things seriously. The instructor asked several times if she had interest in being a teacher, and finally after observing her helping others, Marcia Faye McGee took a leap of faith.
“From there I was teaching at her studio, but I felt like I needed to get more training just to expand my yoga knowledge,” says McGee. “In 2010 I went to Kripalu in Massachusetts and did a one month intensive to get my certification and I became a registered yoga teacher through them.”
The accessibility and inclusivity factors of McGee’s practice are able to bring out people who would either scoff at the idea of yoga or avoid it based on preconceived notions, physical disabilities or financial troubles. Once they realize it’s fun and beneficial to their health — both mental and physical — they keep coming back.
“My concept of yoga was trying to take it out of being so serious. I always wanted to make it accessible and like a yoga party. To do that I felt like I needed to know more of the basics and grounding of yoga,” says McGee. “So the students are learning the basics, but making it less scary. If they feel like, ‘Oh, it’s a party. I could do this!’ Then we can form it into a deeper form of yoga from there.”
Now McGee uses her yoga knowledge to teach 5–6 classes a week in untraditional spaces. Some of them she teaches as a volunteer, which were eventually picked up through grants and programs while others are open to the public and donation-based.
“I’m trying to take yoga out of the studio and into the community,” says McGee. “One of the classes I teach is at the Genesee Valley Regional Center which is a juvenile detention facility. That program allows me to take those principles of being calm and being responsible of your own personal space into an area people don’t normally go into that will help them calm their brain down. These are young girls I’m working with. The other class I teach is at the Boys And Girls Club of Flint and it’s just kids who want to play, so we take that to the yoga mat.”
In addition to those, McGee’s Saturday morning donation-based class at The Ferris Wheel grew from an intrigued pair of students in 2018 to a room full of excited regulars in 2020.
“It’s a community class that’s part of making yoga accessible, so it’s donation-based. So whatever you have, you throw in the jar and take the class. Sometimes people don’t even have money, but you’re still welcome in the class. What we do with the money collected — and when I say we I mean all the students — is take that money every 2–3 months and donate it to Flint-based charities.”
So far McGee’s class has donated to great Flint-based charities and organizations like The Ennis Center For Children, Voices For Children, The Latinx Technology & Community Center, Greg Gaines Gardening PLUS, Flint Fresh and many others.
“The Ennis Center is right around the corner so we give to them annually. Our first check to them wasn’t very big, but they treated us like we were the Mott Foundation! They’re so nice and their work is so challenging so we make sure every year we honor that treatment of us.”
In addition to local organizations and charities, McGee has a soft spot for Flint businesses.
“I always go to Foster Coffee Co. I really enjoy the Farmers’ Market. There’s something about going to Halo Burger that just makes me so happy. Dryden retail space is great. When you’re shopping you meet the people who are making the products and clothing and can ask them about it. When I’m on a trip I wear my GoodBoy Clothing shirt and when people ask about it I get to say, ‘Yeah, we have clothes in Flint!’”
Marcia Faye McGee continues to bring people together whether it’s on the mat or on the street and she’s not slowing down any time soon.
“I’m really thankful that The Ferris Wheel took a chance on our class and supported the work that we’re doing. They didn’t know what was going to happen, but Heather (Kale) who runs it said, ‘Sure, let’s give it a go.’ So the fact that we’re still doing this is a joyful miracle for myself.”
Join Marcia Faye McGee for her donation-based yoga class on Saturday mornings at 8:15am in The Ferris Wheel.
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