At 40 years old, Oneika Mays found herself in limbo. After walking away from a great paying job with all the perks she could never have imagined possible for herself growing up, she found herself in the middle of a sweaty hot yoga class in New York City and on a threshold. In the throes of chair pose, she realized she didn’t know the way forward, but she knew it wasn’t what she had been doing—the way ahead was outside her comfort zone. Today, Oneika is a Mindfulness Coach working full-time in Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York, and everyday she explores the grayness of finding joy and connection in a jail while also believing that the oppressive system must crumble. “Joy does sometimes exist in conjunction with pain or with sorrow,” she says, and “we have to allow that to happen.”

In addition to her work within the prison system, she teaches classes, facilitates workshops and trainings, and leads retreats. She believes that when we can connect with ourselves we can become more connected to the world around us.

Connect with Oneika

Website: https://www.oneikamays.com

Instagram: @oneikamays

Twitter: @oneikamays

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneikasYogaLife/