On

a

crisp
Saturday
morning
on
Chicago’s
South
Side,
a
group
of
about
30
Black
men
are
lying
down
on
yoga
mats
in
the
shadow
of
the
newly
minted
Barack
Obama
Presidential
Center.
Shoes
off,
the
men
are
waiting
patiently
for
their
next
set
of
instructions.

“It’s
OK
if
we
fall
out
of
balance
as
long
as
we
what?”
yells
their
guide,
Jason
Campbell.

“Get
back
in,”
the
group
responds
as
they
move
into
crow
pose.

The
men,
all
Black
and
brown
fathers,
are
listening
intently
to
Campbell,
who
serves
as
the
primary
yoga
instructor
for

Fathers
Flow,
a
wellness
initiative
hosted
by
the
fatherhood
mentorship
organization


Daddy
Victory
Club,
Axon
Yoga
and
Brand
B
Sports.

“It’s
really
about
providing
an
opportunity
for
Black
men
to
engage
and
commune
without
the
expectations
of
society,”
Campbell,
a
longtime
yoga
instructor,
tells
HuffPost.
“It
allows
us
to
tap
into
our
inner
selves
and
create
a
space,
a
safe
space,
for
us
to
be
vulnerable.”

Building
that
community
is
key
for
Kouri
Marshall,
founder
of
Daddy
Victory
Club.
“Black
dads,
dads
in
general,
who
are
intentional
about
fostering
growth
with
their
families,
with
their
children,
are
also
looking
for
ways
that
we
can
fill
our
own
cups,”
Marshall,
44,
explains.
“People
who
are
intentional
about
pouring
into
their
families
in
our
communities
also
understand
the
importance
of
filling
our
own
cups
so
that
we
can
pour
into
others.”

Marshall
launched
Daddy
Victory
Club
in
the
summer
of
2024,
shortly
after
the
birth
of
his
son,
when
he
struggled
to
find
resources
and
organizations
that
could
help
him
prepare
for
fatherhood.

In
2023,
then-U.S.
Surgeon
General
Vivek
Murthy
declared
loneliness
an
epidemic.
Social
isolation
can
increase
the
risk
of
heart
disease
by
29%,
according
to
his
office’s


report.
The
statistics
are
far
more
dire
for
Black
men,
who
are


already
at
significantly
higher
risk

of
dying
from
heart
disease
than
the
rest
of
the
U.S.
population.

The
group
launched
Fathers
Flow
three
weeks
ago,
and
about
20
dads
showed
up.
The
most
recent
yoga
session
saw
about
65
sign-ups.
And
the
mothers
are
thrilled.

“Out
of
all
the
things
we’ve
done,
[Fathers
Flow]
is
the
thing
that
most
seem
to
be
interested
in.
Mothers
are
contacting
us,
asking,
‘How
can
my
husband
come
and
do
this?
When
is
the
next
one?’”
he
adds.

Women
are
generally


socialized
to
form
and
maintain
communities

with
other
women,
while
many
men
lean
on
their
partners
for
social
support
as


male
social
circles
shrink.

“We
did
this
as
an
opportunity
for
us
to
gather,
but
now,
obviously,
it’s
something
that
needs
to
be
a
programmatic
area
for
us
to
focus
on,
which
I’m
a
bit
shocked,”
he
says.

The
weekly
meeting
may
be
adding
years
to
their
lives.
According
to
a


nearly
90-year-old
Harvard
study,
meaningful,
high-quality
relationships,
like
those
fostered
in
Daddy
Victory
Club,
are
powerful
predictors
of
long,
healthy
lives.

Marshall
“understands
the
importance
of
community,
particularly
around
healthy
meetups
and
healthy
connection.
And
so,
he
came
up
with
the
idea
that
we
should
collaboratively
do
a
yoga
session,”
Campbell
says.

Marshall
also
makes
sure
attendees
understand
the
well-documented
health
benefits
of
mindful
exercise
such
as
yoga.
“At
the
start
of
our
instruction,
we
talk
about
the
health
benefits
of
yoga,
and
how
it
can
help
process
endorphins.
It
can
help
our
synapses,”
Marshall
explains.
“It
helps
us
respond
better
to
our
families.
I
find
that
yoga
and
working
out
help
me
to
show
up
as
a
better
husband
and
as
a
better
father.”

In
Cincinnati,
Blu
Cauthen
brings
yoga
directly
to
her
community
—
literally.
The
yoga
instructor
drives
around
neighborhoods
in
her
hometown
with
mats,
looking
for
people
outside
to
join
her
Pull
Up
N
Yoga
sessions.
After
she
finds
a
group,
she
beckons
them
from
her
vehicle
to
stop
whatever
they’re
doing
for
a
yoga
session.

For
Cauthen,


a
firefighter,
paramedic
and
mother
of
five,
these
Pull
Up
N
Yoga
sessions
are
her
method
of
teaching
young
Black
boys
and
men
how
to
process
their
feelings
and
love
on
themselves.

“When
was
the
last
time
you
gave
yourself
a
hug?”
Cauthen
asks
the
teenagers
in
one
of
her
viral
videos.

“I
ain’t
give
myself
a
hug
in
about
…
my
whole
life,”
one
of
the
participants,
a
14-year-old,
responds.

“It
takes
a
lot
to
be
vulnerable,
but
in
most
of
the
videos,
they’re
always
like,
‘You
know
what?
Let’s
do
it.
I’m
here,’”
she
explains.
“And
then
their
other
friends
follow
suit.”

Cauthen
recognizes
that
many
men
may
not
naturally
see
yoga
as
a
viable
outlet,
since
it
isn’t
typically
associated
with
traditional
norms
of
masculinity.

“Somebody
that’s
on
the
streets,
they
are
not
going
to
just
walk
into
a
yoga
class.
So
I
was
like,
‘Let
me
go
ahead
and
bring
this
to
people
on
a
block
or
in
the
people
who’s
outside,’”
Cauthen
says.
“These
are
people
who
need
to
decompress,
who
needs
to
de-stress,
and
they
need
to
understand
that
you
can
find
peace
in
your
environment.”

Yoga
helps
“you
to
calm
down
and
relieve
some
of
that
anxiety,
helping
you
be
less
likely
to
deal
with
heart
disease
in
the
long
term,”
she
says,
explaining
the


health
benefits
of
the
exercise.
“Once
you
start
focusing
on
yourself,
you’ll
start
thinking,
‘I
wanna
eat
better,
I
wanna
do
better,
and
I
wanna
feel
better.’”