Founder story

Nuna Gleason is a Kenyan storyteller, cultural consultant, and community leader who believes magic happens when transformation begins inside. Her work centers on creating platforms for the oppressed, honoring untold narratives, and revealing resilience and beauty from seemingly broken situations.

Her yoga journey began when she received a scholarship from Sea Change Yoga to complete a 200-hour Teacher Training at Portland Yoga Project. She was the only Black woman in her class of twelve—and one of the few with no prior experience. “Like many Black folks, I used to believe yoga wasn’t for me. I almost quit, but I’m glad I didn’t.”

In those spaces, Nuna saw yoga framed as healing, but rarely in ways that spoke to her community. She thought of asylum seekers struggling with systems of immigration, African survivors of sexual and domestic violence silenced by culture, and families burdened by trauma and oppression. She knew that yoga could be a tool for healing, but it wasn’t being taught in the spaces that needed it most—and not in ways that everyone could access.

So she began creating something different. For those who don’t speak English, for those who cannot sit still in a traditional class, for those whose bodies and spirits need movement that resonates—she returned to her African roots. Exploring Kemetic yoga and African movement traditions, she began shaping an Afro-centered practice that embraces rhythm, flow, music, and storytelling.

This was the seed of the Maine Afro Yoga Project: a practice that redefines yoga, making it multilingual, trauma-informed, and culturally rooted. A space where joy and belonging matter as much as poses, and where every body is invited to heal, move, and grow together.