Donnie Watson is reshaping the way the Black community thinks about wellness. As a part-time yoga instructor, he’s using movement, breath work, and faith to help Black men and women confront stress, trauma, and the stigma around mental health.
“I’m born and raised here in Wichita,” he said. “I was a first responder for many years and worked in sales. But I needed something to help reset my nervous system — something active but spiritual. That’s when I discovered yoga.”
His journey began through Yoga for First Responders, a nonprofit that helps emergency professionals build resilience and process trauma. After practicing at Limitless Yoga Studio, Watson began teaching and volunteering at The Phoenix, a sober active community gym.
“I first heard about yoga back in college at Wichita State,” he said. “But it wasn’t until that first responder program that it really clicked.”
Breaking Stigmas Around Black Men and Yoga
Yoga is still seen by many as a White, female-dominated practice. But Watson is challenging that perception with both presence and purpose.
“If you look at the history of yoga, it was originally practiced by men in India to train warriors’ minds,” he explained. “It [yoga] is not about the shape of the body. It’s about the shape of the mind.”
Standing over 6’2″ and weighing more than 300 pounds, Watson surprises people.
“People are shocked. ‘I didn’t know a Black person taught yoga — let alone a Black man,’” he often hears.
With his yoga he shares a message that resonates — especially with Black men carrying unspoken trauma.
“Growing up in fight-or-flight mode — surrounded by violence, survival or fatherlessness — your nervous system is always activated. That kind of stress leads to disease and bad decisions.”
Watson teaches his students to breathe with intention and move mindfully. Each class ends in shavasana, a resting pose used to reset the mind.
“We take between 17,000 to 28,000 breaths a day,” he said. “But how often are we intentional about them? When you breathe deeply — even for 20 seconds — you stop reacting out of stress and start making clearer, more grounded decisions.”
Recovery, Mental Health, and Community
Watson’s heart is deeply tied to The Phoenix, where he volunteers weekly.
“When I found out The Phoenix offered free yoga and fitness for people in recovery, I had to get involved. But I didn’t realize how much I needed it too.”
He recalled two meaningful encounters: a woman thanked him for encouraging her to volunteer, saying the community changed her life. Moments later, a man said he practiced yoga in jail for 90 straight days after taking Donnie’s class. “He said yoga got him through.”
Faith and Accountability
For Watson, wellness isn’t just physical — it’s spiritual. He attends a Christian boot camp every Wednesday at 5:30 a.m. for prayer and connection.
“Yoga is what you make it,” he said. “Traditional yoga may include chanting to other gods. That’s not me. I focus on being present and breathing. There’s only one God… and that’s who I serve.”
Newly married, Watson also practices yoga with his wife at home.
“There’s intimacy in it. You’re breathing together, calming your bodies, side by side.”
From Healing to Action
Watson hopes to become a licensed therapist and open a space that offers counseling and yoga to first responders, veterans and the Black community– for free.
He’s honest about the challenges facing Black men but calls for accountability.
Even though his father struggled with health and addiction since Watson was a child, he believes self-work can ead to real-world change.
“If a man can heal, he can go back and be the father our communities desperately need,” says Watson. “If you learn how to be the best version of yourself, love yourself, you can make an impact.”
