Breath, movement, and cultural connection — every Monday and Wednesday at Bo Diddley Plaza.
Community-led yoga, free and open to all.
Educator. Mother. Healer. Makeda Meeks is the founder of Yoga Sankofa — a practice rooted in the belief that healing is not a destination but a sacred return.
Based in Gainesville, Florida, Makeda’s path draws from Vhavenda spiritual traditions and the Tshivenda language — weaving ancestral wisdom into every breath, every pose, every moment of stillness. Her teaching is not clinical. It is not transactional. It is an invitation to remember who you have always been.
She came to yoga the way many do — through exhaustion, through searching — and found in it something she hadn’t expected: not flexibility, but freedom. Not perfection, but presence. That discovery became a calling, and that calling became Yoga Sankofa.
Sankofa — from the Akan tradition — means to go back and fetch what was left behind. It is the practice of reclaiming. Of remembering. Of coming home.
Yoga Sankofa brings free, outdoor yoga to the heart of Gainesville every week. Culturally rooted, trauma-informed, and open to everyone — no experience needed, no mat required, no cost.
Led by Makeda Meeks. Drop-in welcome. Bring a mat, water, and sun protection. All bodies, all levels, all backgrounds. Come as you are.
Three entry points into the work — each rooted in trauma-informed care, ancestral wisdom, and the belief that healing is collective.
Free, drop-in outdoor classes every Monday & Wednesday at 9 AM at Bo Diddley Plaza. All bodies, all levels, all backgrounds. Come as you are.
One-on-one and small-group sessions in-person or virtual. Tailored to your body, your goals, and your season of life. From $75 per session.
Half-day and full-day intensives on breathwork, somatic release, and ancestral healing. Limited seats. Subscribe to be notified.
Bring trauma-informed yoga to your team in Tampa, St. Pete, and across Florida. On-site, monthly, and one-time offerings.
These are not courses. They are not certifications. They are doorways — invitations to meet yourself exactly where you are.
Grounded in compassion, our practice meets you where you are. We never push past the body’s wisdom. Every pose, every breath is an invitation — never a demand. Because healing doesn’t happen under pressure. It happens in safety, in softness, in the patient unwinding of what the body has held.
Your nervous system holds the story your mind may not remember. Pranayama practices calm the body’s stress response, restore balance, and create space for clarity. This is the yoga most people never learn — and need most. The breath is always already here, waiting for you to return.
Rooted in ancestral knowing, somatic movement reconnects you with the intelligence your body already carries. We honor the traditions that understood: the body remembers, and the body can release. You don’t need to explain the story for the body to begin its healing.
Healing isn’t only physical. Through sacred ritual, journaling, and guided reflection, we create containers for the deeper work — naming what needs to be named, releasing what no longer serves, and honoring the journey back to wholeness. The work beneath the work.
Whether you’re at home, in the room, or on the ground — there’s a way in.
Free
Mon & Wed at 9 AM at Bo Diddley Plaza. Free, drop-in, all bodies welcome. Donations appreciated but never required.
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In-person and virtual yoga for individuals, groups, schools, nonprofits, and corporate teams. From $75. See full pricing.
View Classes & Pricing →Two mornings a week, the plaza fills with breath, laughter, and the quiet kind of stillness that changes a whole day. Free for everyone — always.
Yoga Sankofa creates a space where healing, movement, and community come together. Every class leaves me feeling grounded, empowered, and deeply cared for.
Yoga Sankofa is more than a yoga class — it's a healing space. From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed, seen, and supported exactly as I am. Makeda creates an environment that blends movement, mindfulness, community, and genuine care in a way that feels accessible to everybody and every body.
[NEEDS QUOTE — TODO Makeda] The Monday-morning class at Bo Diddley has become the gentlest part of my week — Makeda holds space like nobody I’ve ever practiced with.
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Real Moments. Real Practice.
…Bo Diddley Plaza mornings, breath shared in stillness, community held in motion. Tag @sankofaflowos to be reposted.
“Every Monday morning I show up sore from the week — and leave lighter than I came in. This practice has become the rhythm that keeps me whole.” — Aaliyah · @sankofaflowos
Try a paid session →“Makeda teaches like she’s holding a prayer in her hands. You don’t just practice — you remember.” — Jordan · @sankofaflowos
Try a paid session →