Akili Yasmine shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Akili, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I love this question!
There is a brilliant woman I discovered about two years ago named Devi Brown; a renowned well-being master teacher, advisor, and healer. A quote she shared this Spring really resonated with me:
“Your earliest waking hours are sacred time. Use them with purpose and devotion.”
I live by this.
Since I was young, I’ve risen with the sun. I’ve always felt the power of beginning the day with intention; wrapped in the quiet peace God offers before the world fully awakens. The first 90 minutes of my day are intuitive and gentle, held with grace. They often include quiet time with God, prayer, meditation, a little bit of stretching or yoga asana, and moments of reading or journaling.
I’ve noticed that when I don’t begin my day in this sacred space; when I skip prayer, meditation, or the things that make me feel whole – I feel less anchored, less grounded. So, that sense of purpose and devotion Devi speaks about; I do my best to practice it daily.
This is my way of saying thank you… thank you, God, for this day, for my awakeness, and for the opportunity to experience this life. I just feel grateful for how regulated I feel when I begin my day with purpose. I don’t beat myself up about it if the day doesn’t flow how I anticipate it but I think slow starts to the day are loving for self.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Absolutely! My name is Akili Yasmine. I consider myself an expressionist; someone who connects with whatever creative medium resonates most in each season of life, even if I’m not a master of that art (ha!). I am a muse – teaching, storytelling, and evoking inspiration through movement, modeling, and being captured through photography.
I am also a wellness advocate, supporting people in discovering liberation and deepening their connection with themselves, and with the God within them, through intentional somatic movement, breath, yoga, intention, and healing modalities that have supported me on my own journey.
While I affirm that I am special and carry a specific assignment, I don’t believe the work I’m doing is unique. It’s simply me doing my part in pouring into the collective assignment God has given all of us as humanity: to grow deeper within ourselves and closer to the Most High. We aren’t broken things in need of repair, and healing isn’t a single pivotal moment we reach and move past. It’s a beautiful, lifelong, embodied practice; tethered to purpose. Because of that, healing and helping others go hand in hand for me.
The work God has entrusted me with flows through Solful Yoga with Akili, Muse Awakened retreats and workshops, and various personal projects as they arise. Right now, I’m cocooning and tending to myself, so that I can continue to support others from a full, nourished well.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
This is deep, I love this question!
At this point in my life, with the experiences I’ve collected and the wisdom I’ve embodied (while knowing there is still so much for me to learn and experience), I believe fear is what breaks bonds between people. Fear of being seen. Fear of being retraumatized. Fear of losing who we think we are. Fear of surrender. Fear that oozes from wounds and unresolved emotions. The list goes on, but I believe it all comes back to fear.
And I believe courage is what restores bonds.
The courage to be seen for who we truly are; not who we’ve been conditioned to identify as. The courage to love from a pure place. The courage to try again (if healthy, safe and mutual), even when it means facing what’s being mirrored back to us.
I felt inclined to look at this through the lens of chemistry. I’m by no means a scientist or expert, but what I learned is that when a chemical bond between two atoms breaks, a reaction occurs; new bonds are formed, and energy is released. When I think about bonds breaking between people, I see that as an opportunity rather than just a loss.
I can’t wait to read how others respond to this question, because truly… what a question.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Oh! This makes me think of a concept that I believe comes from Buddhist philosophy (I could be wrong), but I always recall it as:
“Everyone experiences pain, but not everyone suffers,”
often quoted as, “Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”
I come back to these words often because I think pain and discomfort are some of our greatest teachers, real emotional excavators.
The moments when pain felt like suffering were often the moments my heart broke open into a million difference pieces and it felt like I had completely fallen apart. Yet it was through the process of picking up the pieces and rebuilding myself that I expanded and transformed; stripping away false identities, projections, and beliefs that no longer served me. There were seasons when I had to get very quiet so the pain didn’t have to work so hard to get my attention. Seasons where solitude became nourishment. And moments where I realized the pain itself was guiding me toward the medicine I needed.
Because of that, I believe there is profound triumph, victory, and even prosperity that follows pain… when we allow it to teach us rather than define us. I always tell myself, I am spiraling upwards and in the moments where I feel like I have hit rock bottom – the only way OUT is UP!
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
They could say a lot of things! We’re all a little silly, so I’m sure something witty would come out before anything deep (ha!).
But if they really had to name what matters most to me, I think they’d say empathy. The ability to truly hold space in your heart for what someone else may be feeling or experiencing; not taking it on as your own, but loving, understanding, and meeting them with compassion. In a way that reminds people they are seen, appreciated, and not alone and that continually restores hope and faith in humanity.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Wondering why people didn’t choose me.
Ultimately, that ain’t any of my business! This life of mine that I’m living out right now now is and it exists because I know why God chose me and I know why I would choose myself every time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://substack.com/@theintimacyofknowing
- Instagram: @solfulakili and @akiliyasmin.e
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AkiliYasmine
- Other: SUBSTACK: https://substack.com/@theintimacyofknowing
Image Credits
Photographed by @h0txgirl
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