Tamisha J. Ponder, A.B.D., E-RYT, is the founder and owner of Sankofa Yoga and Wellness Center. Open since July 2019, Sankofa Yoga and Wellness Center is a space where yoga and community thrive. Located on Main Street, Laurel, the studio serves to provide members with the tools to commit to healthier and happier lifestyles while sourcing community.
She found yoga at a time when her years as a community organizer had taken a toll on her well-being. After years of visiting neurologists, massage therapists, and chiropractors to ease migraines and tension headaches, stress and anxiety had gotten the best of her. It was time to make a conscious change. After short stints of practicing on and off, in 2011 she was recommended to practice yoga consistently, and it completely transformed her life.
Tamisha immediately fell in love with yoga’s ability to relieve stress, promote mental clarity, and empower her body. The practice not only grounded her, but also complimented her marathon training and weight training routines. She enrolled in yoga teacher training and began to learn that yoga was about far more than asana, the physical practice; rather, yoga was about the eight limbed path. It was then that she realized that she wanted to help spread yogic good on and off the mat. Her practice is grounded in the eight limbed path of Raja Yoga, focusing on its spiritual, physical, and mental restraints.
Teaching since 2012, Tamisha completed yoga teacher trainings in Levels 1 (40-hr); 2 (200-hr); and 3 (300-hr) Jiivana L.I.F.E Yoga® Teacher Training at Spiritual Essence Yoga & Wellness Center. She is also a Reiki Master, certified meditation teacher, life coach, Thai Massage practitioner and Doula.
Holding degrees in journalism, history, gender studies, and cultural studies, Tamisha is currently completing her Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture and is researching student activism. She works to promote social justice, cultural responsiveness, equity and inclusion in educational systems, non-profit sectors, and in the yoga community.
Working over a decade in higher education as an administrator and professor, Tamisha received additional trainings from the Mindfulness in Education Network (MiEN), as she also works to bring mindfulness into schools and culturally sensitive environments. Tamisha was also featured on Roland Martin discussion the benefits of yoga in urban communities.
Tamisha believes there is something powerful when you’re able to share your authentic self with others, so by blending together her passions for both yoga and community, she and her husband created Sankofa Yoga and Wellness Center. Seeking to create more spaces to foster community, relationships, and wellness, Laurel, the city in which she was raised, was selected as its home.
When she is not on the mat, you can find Tamisha and her husband, Marcus, traveling the world, running competitive races, watching low budget movies, and loving up on their rescue dog, Chance.