Amanda Muhammad & A Peace of Yoga

Helping us find peace in today’s chaos

Published in

The 2017 Black Creators and Tastemakers

5 min readMar 29, 2017

As millennials, we often find ourselves trying to cram too much into one day. The result is us spending time stressed and upset instead of relaxing and truly finding ourselves. I’m a person who stays up late each night because I simply want to get things done right away instead of spreading tasks out over a few days.

While I take pride in finishing things quickly, I must also learn how to recognize when it’s time to take a step back and practice self-care. I’m a person who is always “on” and connected to my phone, but it often takes people like Amanda to remind me to value my time and focus on what is important. Learn more about Amanda and why she wants everyone to experience mindfulness activities like yoga.

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First & Last Name

Amanda S. Muhammad

Why did you decide to start A Peace of Yoga?

Throughout my years of academia, professional careers, and personal relationships, I’ve noticed one universal issue — stress. We’re experiencing a stress epidemic and few people are doing anything about it. I decided to create something that would teach people the importance of stress management and self-care. Further, I decided I wanted to take these healing practices into non-traditional spaces and communities that may not typically be exposed to yoga and mindfulness. I wanted to show people that healing practices are for everyone despite their race, religion, socio-economic status, body type, sexual orientation — you name it. My goal is to make this practice accessible to anyone.

What does A Peace of Yoga mean to you?

A Peace of Yoga (APOY) means a lot to me. Mostly because I run the practice with my mother, Celestine. She’s in Kansas City and teaches out of our family dojo. APOY has been something that has strengthened our relationship over the last eight years. A mutual falling in love with yoga during a rough time for our family planted this seed. It was a tough time, but I’ve been able to find gratitude in it, because now we have our practice.

What have you had to overcome in order to achieve success?

I had to cut the crap and cut out a lot of negativity. I got really strict about what (and who) I would allow in my life and became a very intentional person. I pretty much went cold turkey on the turn up and stopped wasting my time doing things that weren’t taking me in the direction I wanted to go. I became unapologetically focused on mastering my craft. Naturally, from taking these steps, I have been thrown into healthier company and built stronger more meaningful relationships which have supported my success with A Peace of Yoga.

What does it mean to be a black business owner?

I was the kid who would let you borrow a dollar and charge interest upon return (lol). Business is in my blood.

I grew up watching my dad run his business and that was probably the root of my desire to have something that is mine. I studied business in undergrad and grad school and always knew that I wanted to be running something. It’s an amazing feeling to build something with my name on it. As a black woman, it is simply empowering. I think about my niece Aria everyday. I want her to see that she can do big things in this world through hard work and unwavering faith. I want her to be able to see someone who looks like her that followed their dream and saw success because of it.

What advice do you have for people who are ready to follow their dreams but are hesitating?

There’s never going to be a perfect time to start living a life you love and doing something that matters to you. For a long time I would show up at a job I hated, head to happy hour to complain about it, then come home, eat a bunch of crap, and talk on the phone (and complain more) until it was time to wake up and do it again. That was killing me. But, when I decided to start APOY, the energy around everything just got lighter. I wasn’t so obsessed with hating my job because I had something I loved. That’s the power of passion and purpose. If there’s something you love to do, put some action behind it. Continue to do it until you find a way to make something of it, or monetize it. Keep chipping away at it. When you’re really ready, there’s not a thing in this world that will distract you or keep you from following that dream. Just start moving towards it.

Bragging Rights

I recently launched an online resource site called Mako Mindfulness. I created this space to teach yoga, mindfulness, and meditation as a tool for stress management and self-care. Mako Mindfulness hosts my blog, free eBooks, guided meditations, courses, and a plethora of other resources as time goes on to help you on your journey to creating great days.

Want to contact Amanda for more information?

You can reach out to Amanda via A Peace of Yoga’s website, APeaceOfYoga.com and via email at Amanda@APeaceOfYoga.com. A Peace of Yoga is also on Facebook and Instagram at @sfmako1908. More information on Mako Mindfulness can be found at MakoMindfulness.com.